Week 8

And here we are, into week 8 of inactivity. Volunteers have just been informed that the railway has cancelled all planned operations until at least the end of August, and cancelled all remaining special events, including Santa Specials, to the end of the year. A small pinpoint of light is that some non-operational departments might return to a degree of managed work, before we start to run trains again.

On the brighter side, work on the slip has resumed:

The sheet pile driver is still off site for a few more days, and in the interim drainage is being installed in the form of 45 degree channels filled with stone. There's also more soil nailing to come, all expensive stuff which we hope can be covered by our appeal for help.

Where are we with the appeal then? As well as can be expected, as the doctor used to say, the balance of the appeal was £230.000 and we are still short of £20.000 to cover the cost of the works.

If you would like to help with the last push, here is the link again:

GWSR emergency appeal

Let's hope we get there.



Heritage stuff

To keep ourselves occupied and to improve the historic appeal of the railway, we have continued making signage, and one of these signs, the timetable board for Broadway made last week, has now been lettered. The pictures below show the process:

Paper pattern applied

Pattern copied

The first stage to lettering the board is to apply a CAD design (we are very modern here...) by means of A4 sheets stuck to each other - note the spirit level on the left.

The back of the paper sheets is rubbed with chalk. Once they are attached the lines are gone over again with a pencil, so that when the sheets are taken off, the chalk lines remain on the board as in the second picture.

The slates are removable

With hanging time slates

'All' we have to do then is go over the chalk lines with black paint. Sounds easy, but it's a highly skilled job and not many have the steady hand to do this. Note the 'James Inglis, General Manager' on the bottom. That's right for the 1904 time as well!

The timing slates in the picture are cardboard ones for the time being, and when we have access to the railway's materials again we will make the permanent ones from a more durable material than the cardboard and BluTack in the picture. Still under discussion is whether to make the slates in white or in black (with white writing). What do readers think? At the moment there is rather a lot of white on the board, in our view.

The slates will be made in several versions, one for each colour timetable (in small letters at the bottom). When the times change at the end of the year, the slates are easily changed as well.





For comparison, here is the current arrangement as at Broadway, in corporate brown on aluminium.









GWR Stationmaster's pillbox hat

From GWRA Auctions

No offers to lend or sell us a pillbox hat yet. We're looking for one to act as a model for the costumier lady who is going to make us a replica.

If you can help us out, we'd be delighted to hear from you at breva2011(at)hotmail.co.uk.

Help make the GWSR more authentic!







Last week's quiz answers:

1.      What do the initials GUV stand for?                                                    General Utility Van       

2.      Between 1866 and 1895, Patrick Stirling was the CME of which       Great Northern   railway?                                                                                                                                                           

3.      What was significant about 6 June 2017?                                             Hayles Abbey halt opened to passengers

4.      Where’s the highest railway elevation in the UK?                                Mt. Snowdon                       

5.      On 7 August 2017, a landmark was reached when Dinmore Manor had travelled how many miles in preservation?                                                                           100.000 miles                                    

6.      What’s the voltage used on the third rail electrified lines south of London?  750 volts         

7.      By moving the southern turnout at Winchcombe Station, trains of how many coaches can now pass and be held in either platform?                                               8 coaches                                                                                      

8.      What’s the name of loco 60022 by which it is more famously known? Mallard                        

9.      When working on the running line, what does the display of a yellow flag signify?   The start of a temporary 5mph speed restriction.      

                                                                  

10.   What does GSWR stand for?                                           Glasgow & South Western Railway  (and not Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway!)                                              

11.   If you spot that a fishplate has been put on incorrectly, how many people do you alert to the error?                                                                                   Er, that was an in joke....                                                      

12.   In the 2018 timetable, what’s the usual scheduled journey time for trains departing Cheltenham Race Course to arrival at Broadway?                                  1hr and 1 minute                     

13.   Isambard Kingdom Brunel died in 1859, but in what year was the Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash opened?                                                                                        1859

14.   In the blue corner, weighing in at 135 tonnes, what loco was used to check that the track had been adequately packed in Road 6 of the Steam Shed at Toddington?  45149 (the Peak)     

15.   In September 1932, the GWR introduced the fastest scheduled train in the world which ran the 65 miles from Swindon to Paddington at what average speed?       71.3 mph                        

16.   Which of the following was a genuine reason for missing our Wednesday lunch:   (a) I’m washing my hair;   (b) I’m watching paint dry; or   (c) I’ve got to listen live to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s budget speech?                                                          C. (!)                                                                                                                                                                                                    

17.   Our 2-8-0 GWR tank, 4270, was, according to the 1962 Ian Allen Shed Code Directory, allocated to 88A.  Where was 88A? (it’s not the same as that shown on its buffer beam in current GWR livery)                                                                               Cardiff Canton                      

18.   Which railway station was the location for the film Brief Encounter?  Carnforth                      

19.  The gate security code used to be 7018 and we would remember this by its name, even if we couldn't pronounce it. What was that name?
                                                                                Drysllwyn Castle (so easy to remember!)

20. What, the first in the world, was introduced in 1860 at Mochdre, Conway by the LNWR?    
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                        Water troughs

How many did you get right this time? Remember this is just for fun, there are no winners.

If you're still up for it, here is the next quiz:


2018 Christmas Quiz:

1. What colour is Dinmore Manor?                                                                                                  

2. In joke - don't ask!                                                                                                                

3. Mallard recorded what speed on its record run in 1938?                                                        

4. Are we, as volunteers, employees of the GWSR?                                          

5. Which is Britain’s busiest railway station by passenger numbers?              

6. Brexit question. Who is the Minister for Transport?    (in 2018)                                                                 

7. You were travelling to Whitby on 14 June 2018 on the 10.30 from Birmingham New Street. You arrive before those travelling on the 10.03. How much did your journey cost?   (in joke, but an actual case, so have a go)          

8. What is the locomotive number of P&O?                                                         

9. Charles Collett was Chief Mechanical Engineer of which railway?                                          

10. Britain’s worst railway accident was on 22 May 1915 when 227 people were killed. Where did it happen?                                                                                                                

11. In the diesel shed we have D6948? What class number of locomotive is it?              

12. Which was the first preserved railway in the world?                                          

13. An annual Senior Railcard costs £30. How much does the 3 year card cost?  (in 2018)            

14. 2807 was shedded at 86E. Where was that?                                                        

15. (In joke, involving a sly dig at another railway over which we will draw a veil)                                                                                                           

16. What was the longest, at 704 yards, on the UK railway network?              

17. What was the name of the GWR terminus at Cheltenham Spa?                                          

18. On a steam locomotive, what is a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement called?                            

19. What is the length of a railway sleeper?                                                                                    

20. After our Wednesday work briefing, the Messenger yells what? (In joke, but have a go)

Write your answers on a piece of paper, and see how you did next week, when we will reveal the truth.





History corner.

Here's another original shot from Brian Parsons, former Broadway resident and BR fireman:

Don't try and zoom in to read the number, we'll tell you what it is, because Brian was very meticulous about that: It's 5089 Westminster Abbey, taken on April 30th 1960.

Brian was just 12 years old at the time, and this was his very first picture with a new camera. He felt a little nervous at the time and pressed the shutter release quite early. On the other hand, the camera had a slow shutter speed and any nearer and the train would be blurred due to the speed. The line speed here was 70mph and you can see that the loco was charging up the gradient to the summit at Broadway station.

Westminster Abbey was built in 1923 as a Star class loco, becoming a Castle class in 1939. At the time of the picture it was shedded at Wolverhampton Stafford Road, and when that closed in 1963 it moved to Oxley, from where it was withdrawn, and scrapped, a year later.

In the picture Brian was standing at the station end of the horse dock at the north end of the station, looking towards Honeybourne. Note the neat cutting sides with no trees or brambles, a constant struggle today. This cutting received blanketing by BR in 1959 - note the new, white ballast - and after it was completed the crossover to the horse dock was taken out. The walls of it are still there, today part buried under the now longer platform 1. The signal box closed on 10th October that year, after which the posts were knocked down, which you can see in several other pictures taken at Broadway at the time. At the time of the picture Broadway station had been closed for just 3 weeks, but there were no more passengers, or any staff.