Colchester in the Age of Steam

Physical meeting at Shenfield Parish Hall also available via Zoom as a Hybrid

Colchester is a major railway junction in Essex with much to interest the railway enthusiast. This talk will cover the period up to September 1962 when steam operation ceased through the town. The railway infrastructure in the town included three stations, all with goods facilities, a major locomotive depot, a quay tramway and even a laundry. The area enjoyed a few years of concurrent steam, diesel and electric operation, during which a major station reconstruction was completed.

David Goodyear has lived in Essex for most of his life and inherited his love of railways from his father, who was a Senior Marine Engineer based at Parkeston Quay. Although living in Dovercourt David attended secondary school in Colchester and has maintained an interest in the railways of both the Harwich and Colchester areas. His career as a Chartered Mechanical Engineer started at Paxman in Colchester working on the HST Valenta engine, but rapidly moved on to automotive engines at Perkins Peterborough, and then returning to Essex to work at Ford’s Dunton engineering centre for 25 years before taking early retirement. He now lives near Saffron Walden with his wife, two horses and a sixteenth century house, which leaves a little time for continuing to pursue his interest in railways