7th December 2021 – ‘Members’ Presentations’

7^TH DECEMBER 2021 MEETING

After a couple of physical meetings it was back to a virtual Zoom meeting, and as usual for December we had an evening of Members’ presentations. We opened with Committee Member Rob Freeman who  showed us the rest of the H.C. Casserley photos that he couldn’t fit in when he did last January’s presentation.

Entitled ‘North from Kings Cross’, we started with 60022 Mallard on the RCTS ‘Aberdeen Flyer’ in June 1962 and a lovely June 1946 shot of ‘Top Shed’ before moving to Finsbury Park with the ‘Queen of Scots’ in 1938 and Stirling Single No. 1 on its way to Cambridge. At Alexandra Palace we saw the ‘Poplar & Edgware’ Tour from May 1956, and a shot at Skegness showed K2 61757 in 1954. There followed a Peppercorn Pacific at Grantham, B1 61337 at Cottingham in 1956, and an overall view of Leeds Central in 1954. Shots at Ripon, Levisham and Goathland followed, and in 1956 A8 4-6-2T No. 69881 was on Sandsend Viaduct and classmate 69861 on Larpool Viaduct.  41329 was at North Road Darlington on a four-day North Eastern railtour. A busy Kirby Stephen East yard was photographed in 1956 and a lovely 1935 shot of a steam railmotor going over Durham Viaduct also 1504 and 2561 just about to pass each other on the same viaduct a year after.

The wonderful signal gantry at Newcastle was viewed then Tyneside Electrics at Manors in 1947 and Percy Main in 1955, and our last shot was of 61199 on the Royal Border Bridge in 1955.

Next up was David Jackman, known to one and all, who showed slides from 2011 and started with a Class 57 pulling a Pendolino at Chester and a EMU 377 at Blackfriars during the rebuild. A Pacer was at Wakefield Kirkgate before renovation of the station. A Class 90 at Pudding Mill Lane, 66116 at Olympia, an EMU 313 at Moorgate with a 3-car train, something that doesn’t happen nowadays, another one seen leaving Lewes for Seaford, a pair of 86s at Kenton, EMU 465 at Abbey Wood before all the Crossrail work, EMU 332 and an HST passing Hayes, a Central Line 92 Tube Stock at East Acton, also a 92 Stock and a Class 168 at North Acton, DMU 172 at West Ruislip, Parry People Mover 139 001 seen leaving Stourbridge Town.

The forerunner of all those nasty railbuses was the Leyland Experimental Vehicle, a joint venture between Leyland and BR  to combine the worst features of rail and bus, and LEV1 was pictured at Weybourne on the NNR where it stayed until after its restoration before moving to the NRM who own it. An A60 set was at West Hampstead on a Baker Street service and another one in Northwood sidings on its way to the cutter’s torch, HSTs were at Newcastle and Mill Hill Broadway, EMU 455 at Weybridge, EMU 442 near Coulsdon, a 1938 Tube Stock on a railtour coming into Harrow-on-the-Hill from the Uxbridge branch, at West Ruislip was 67014 on the Up with DMU 168 on the Down, DMU 150 passing Tyseley, D Stock 7092 at Gunnersbury, 67003 on a VSOE at Nunhead, Class 172 at Moor Street.

David then took us abroad and we saw the older style trams at Basle, Leipzig, Budapest, Prague and Vienna. We finished with a Class 112 and 218 at Flensburg, a V43 in Hungary, 854 223 and 218 462 in Germany.

The third member up was Humphrey Gillott with a presentation of Double Headers, starting with 66s at Kew Bridge, 90s and a 66 and 90 at Willesden Junction, 37s at Bletchley, 66s at Stewartby, at Berkhamsted a 66 and a 90, two 37s and a 37 and 57, 66s at Wellingborough and York, 90s at Stafford, and a 66 and a 70 at Redbridge to finish with.

Bernie Holland was up next with some videos which worked perfectly well. They were taken at the GWSR 40^th Anniversary event on 6/7 November 2021. We saw 35006 entering Gotherington, 4270 with a Demonstration Goods Train with 20 happy railfans having a Brake Van ride on the Queen Mary, passing Southam Road Bridge, 7820 Dinmore Manor and 7903 Foremarke Hall entering and leaving Gotherington with 4270 heading to Cheltenham Race Course then 37218 to Broadway doing the same.

Our penultimate presenter was Dave Boot, a regular visitor to Watford Zoom meetings who had presented ‘Ramblings of a Head Station Master’ for our February date. All the photos were taken on the GWSR over a few years apart from 6024 King Edward I which was at Henley-in-Arden. We kicked off with 4920 Dumbleton Hall, D9553, Flying Scotsman, Green Arrow, City of Truro, 34007 Wadebridge, 4F 44422, Class 20s, 2-6-2T 5542 was in a few photos as it was used in the TV Series ‘Land Girls’. David Shepherd with his loco Black Prince, 9466, 3803, 8274, WD 348, 925 Cheltenham with most of the Cheltenham School in attendance at CRC, 45379, 34091, 6960, 3205, 35006, 46521, 92214, 76017, 1450, 70013, a Warship, CR 828, B1 1264, 6023 King Edward II, 5199 and 4771, all taken whilst visitors to the line.

Last one up was Jeremy Harrison with photos of locos at Heritage Railways. We started with 35028, 4953 Pitchford Hall at North Weald, 6989 Wightwick Hall at The Battlefield Line, on the GCR we saw 62035 (?) and 73156 at Quorn, 4953 and 45305 at Loughborough, down at the Mid-Hants Railway were 30925, SR 506, and 41312, 6412 on the C&PRR, a lovely shot of The Ashbury Stock with a Birdcage carriage, 80078 on the Spa Valley, at Didcot were 6023, and 2999 Lady of Legend, Bahamas at Oxenhope, Braunton was at Godstone, there were various night shots and we finished the evening with the East Somerset Railway.

48 was the attendance and well done to Branch Chairman Geoff Plumb for organising this [his first] zoom meeting.

Rob Davidson, Branch Secretary