The School Railway Club

[Bill]

Can't say I remember her. What role did she play.

Was in the Lower School, then in the main school site. I doubt that many in her class 1M ever forgot her!

[the green mile]

There was a reluctant acceptance of spotting as a past time. I recall an esssay I did on a day trip while at primary school. I made a reference to 'catching' train numbers but this was boldly crossed through in red by our English master Dave Trott and replaced with the word 'collecting'.

If I was still there today,I think I would dispute this because collecting implies some sort of ownership to me. I would probably have been given an hour's detention for sarcasm if I had said anything at the time.

Of course, many years down the line the generic term 'gricing' evolved.

[76026]

70004 was indeed in steam at Patricroft. I have a dreadful photo of her probably taken with the same sort of camera. Oh to have been born a few years earlier!

I did not retain my spotting notes beyond about 1980. I gave up collecting numbers shortly after five digit TOPS numbers were introduced. I just did not see any point in keeping them at the time. Nor could I have realised that 30 years later we would have a tool which enables us to reminisce together about probably the railways' finest years. Or is someone going to dispute that?

Is it still archaeology if we dig upwards? Digging in our loft has uncovered some of my notebooks from the 1960s. IÆve found a list from that visit to Crewe South- wonÆt bore you with the full list, but to summarize we saw:

Thirty three Black 5s
thirteen 8Fs
four LMS 2-6-0s
three 9Fs
two Brits
one BR std 4-6-0- 4MT
one BR std 4-6-0- 4MT
one A4
+ Duke of Gloucester

It would be great to hear from anyone with more gen about these trips û dates etc.

Looking back, I realize that the sixth former who organized them was pretty impressive. I remember a meeting -1967 I guess- where he presented three options, pretty even handedly,

-the Isle of Wight (not many cops but pretty unique system, still steam at the time)
-Calais and other NORD sheds nearby, for mainline steam
-Nine Elms and ride to Bournemouth for the last of main line steam on the Southern

We voted for Nine Elms etc, and he organized it all. I think he probably earned the footplate ride he got on the Bournemouth Belle when the day came!

[the green mile]

Now this is really stretching the grey matter but I'm pretty sure the lad who organised the trips was a Russell Kilvington. I have a vision of him on a coach travelling up the M6, jumping up and down practically wetting himself when an electric train emerged in the distance with a number of XP64 coaches in the formation. What was all that about? Was BR maroon that boring?

The trip down the S&D from Highbridge obviously included the top and tail reversal out of Templecombe. I have a picture in my mind of Ivatt tank no. 41223 bringing us in and a Warship working a main line service on the Salisbury - Exeter route.

[76026]

Now this is really stretching the grey matter but I'm pretty sure the lad who organised the trips was a Russell Kilvington.

Yes, my grey matter agrees.I didn't get actively interested in railways until after Barrow Road closed: if it wasn't for Russell's trips I would have missed BR steam altogether.

[the green mile]

Were you on the trip to Kings Cross and Finsbury Park? It snowed heavily the previous night and we crawled into Paddington signal to signal. Very frustrating to be overtaken by the Blue Pullman somewhere in the Old Oak area. I think this was my first experience of travelling around London on the Tube.

There was an opportunistic extension to Stratford Works that day but we were denied access due to the lack of a permit. The feet were definitely cold and wet trudging through the snow and ice.

[76026]

No, I missed that one - before my time perhaps.

[WaltonPark]

Hello. I was at BGS between 1970 and 1976, and in the Railway Society from about 1972. I remember working on the model railway in the cellar at lunch times. It was loosely based on the S&DJR, I think, and was never "finished" (which I think is normal for model railways). Went on a few trips: the Dean Forest Railway at Parkend and the Clifton Rocks Railway come to mind (in the days before public access was common), and possibly one to London. The teacher in charge was Mr Walkley. Wrote a couple of pieces about the Society in the school mag. Happy days - in fact the Society was definitely one of the more postive aspects of my career at the school

[the green mile]

Welcome to the thread WP. You joined BGS a year after I left. The name Walkley does not spring to mind. I think the main man in my time was a Mr Kimber who was a really decent guy. Not one of the extreme disciplinarians who ruled the roost in most of the senior positions. As for the headmaster Dr McKay, I don't think he had a lot of time for railways as demonstrated by his attitude to my leaving school to join BR. Definitely no regrets on my part.

[Robin Summerhill]

The trip down the S&D from Highbridge obviously included the top and tail reversal out of Templecombe. I have a picture in my mind of Ivatt tank no. 41223 bringing us in and a Warship working a main line service on the Salisbury - Exeter route.

41223 was definitely a Templecombe engine from June 1965 until the end of the S&D, so your mental picture is probably correct

[76026]

Hello. I was at BGS between 1970 and 1976, and in the Railway Society from about 1972. I remember working on the model railway in the cellar at lunch times. It was loosely based on the S&DJR, I think, and was never "finished" (which I think is normal for model railways). Went on a few trips: the Dean Forest Railway at Parkend and the Clifton Rocks Railway come to mind (in the days before public access was common), and possibly one to London. The teacher in charge was Mr Walkley. Wrote a couple of pieces about the Society in the school mag. Happy days - in fact the Society was definitely one of the more postive aspects of my career at the school

Hi WP, it sounds like you joined just after my time. I do remember Mr Walkley- both as a good teacher and a friend to the Society. I think he accompanied us on a tour of the South Valleys, including a brake van trip on some freight lines. Anyone else out there remember this?

[76026]

I did not retain my spotting notes beyond about 1980. I gave up collecting numbers shortly after five digit TOPS numbers were introduced. I just did not see any point in keeping them at the time.

Discovering some of my books has been like opening a time portal. Once I opened my 1965 combine (purchased from Boots in 1967, reduced) the distinctive smell of that shiny paper took me right back. Now I keep finding reasons to look things up in it.

I noticed a small mistake in the summary of steam classes that I posted û we did see two BR 4-6-0s, but one was 4MT, the other 5MT.

CouldnÆt resist summarising the diesel classes we saw:
2 LNER 0-6-0
2 class 04
2 D2500-2589 Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0
4 D2900-2913 North British 0-4-0
3 class 08
1 class 11
1 class 24/1
1 class 25/1
1 class 25/2
2 class 40

(http://www.therailwaycentre.com/New%20T ... index.html was really useful for identifying TOPS codes for some of the shunters, particularly class 11).

ItÆs possible that we saw some of these on the main line during our walk to and from the station, rather than on shed.

I donÆt remember a teacher accompanying us on this trip, but Mr Drew came on the first trip that I went on (Birmingham sheds).