THE COLONEL 70 ISSN 0268-778X1

THE COLONEL Number 70 Spring 2003

CONTENTS 2 - Editorial 15 - Terrier Secrets 3 - News 16 - Behind the Scenes 6 - Letters at the Colonel 12 - AGM Preview Stephens Museum 14 - My Father’s Dealings 18 - HM&ST: One or Many? With The Colonel 20 - Jackson’s Jottings

THE JOURNAL OF THE COLONEL STEPHENS SOCIETY FOR ENTHUSIASTS OF THE LIGHT AND NARROW GAUGE RAILWAYS OF COLONEL HOLMAN F. STEPHENS 2 THE COLONEL 70

Editorial: A PAUCITY OF PICTURES

orry there are less photos in this issue is decent photos of our favourite Colonel S than you might be entitled to expect, but railways - which makes it ironic that there there were a lot of articles to cram in whose are so few in this issue - but the subject does text alone is full of great interest. get a serious airing. Once again, we have discovered a previ- The news story opposite gives an update ously unexplored piece of Colonel-related of the availability of S&MR photos from the history among our own membership: Roy Kidderminster museum. The next issue of Cunningham’s account of his father’s deal- The Colonel is planned to feature a few of ings with the Great Man’s enterprise on be- these, along with another original historical half of Thomas Ward’s, on page 14. account relating directly to them. We’ll be hearing more from Roy in future And we tackle an issue that has cropped issues, as he has written of his visits to sever- up time and again: the availability of images al of the Colonel’s railways in the 1950s. from the Colonel Stephens Historical Ar- Moreover, he has supplied a treasure trove of chive. The article about the Colonel Stephens unpublished photos he took at the time. Museum on page 16 is fascinating in its own Also, a bumper mail-bag of contribu- right, but also explains the problem of access tions, queries and answers from members, to its massive photo collection. has resulted in a Dispatches section that fills So the next issue should more than make a mammoth six pages of this issue. up for the dearth of pictures in this one, with This kind of thing is meat-and-two-veg some real treats in store. Speaking of treats: to a ‘correspondence society’ such as our- see you at the AGM! SH selves. It’s clear that our membership is in- deed a mine of information. Let’s hope we can keep it up in future issues. One thing that most of us crave above all

Staff Officers www.colonelstephenssociety.org.uk

CHAIRMAN Bryn Hir, Llanio Road, Llwyn-y-Groes, Derek Smith Tregaron, Dyfed SY25 6PY 30 Upper Road, Meole Brace, Tel: 01974 821281 Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY3 9SQ Email: [email protected] Tel: 01743 249088 ARCHIVIST EDITOR & SECRETARY Stuart Marshall Stephen Hannington 53 Peasland Road, Saffron Walden, 131 Borstal Street, Rochester, Essex CB11 3ED. Tel: 01799 500528 ME1 3JU Email: [email protected] Tel: 01634 830370 Email: [email protected] PUBLICITY OFFICER Position vacant MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY David Powell Gateways, Bledlow Road, Saunderton, Princes Risborough, Bucks HP27 9NG Tel: 01844 343377 Email: [email protected] TREASURER Nigel Bird THE COLONEL 70 3 Society News AGM 2003: are you coming? If you are planning to attend the society’s pect to have to specify times during which 2003 AGM, this is the final call to let mem- members get in free - we can’t monitor bership secretary David Powell know, oth- visitors forever - so latecomers will run the erwise you might miss out . risk of having to pay. Not only do we have to make catering So do please let David know that you arrangements, but we also have to make are coming, and whether or not you also special provisions for members to get into want to visit the LBR. His contact details the Bucks. Railway Centre free by showing are at the foot of the opposite page. their Colonel Stephens Society member- Also worth bearing in mind is that ship cards at the entrance. nominations for committee posts should Membership secretary David Powell reach the secretary at least two weeks be- also aims to negotiate a fare discount for fore the meeting. That includes the publici- those wanting to travel on the nearby ty officer’s position, which is currently Leighton Buzzard Railway before the vacant. Any takers?  meeting. The LBR is the current home of For full details of the AGM arrangements, the Baldwin 4-6-0T that got £100 from our turn to page 12. coffers last year towards its restoration. So remember: you MUST bring along your membership card to get into the AGM. And please do be prompt. We ex- Donations update: Russell says thanks,

Following our donation last year of £400 “On behalf of the Welsh Highland Rail- towards the further restoration of original way and Russell, many thanks for your help.” Welsh locomotive Russell, You’re welcome, Mr Binns. He also the society received a letter of thanks from included a pair of complementary tickets, Cedric Binns, commercial manager of the entitling the holder to one free adult day- Welsh Highland Railway (Porthmadog). He rover ticket and one free footplate pass. included the following update: These will be raffled at the AGM in April. “Russell is likely to remain in service Our other donation, of £120, was for until mid-June 2003, when its boiler certifi- copy negatives to be made for 30 S&MR cate expires, but this is subject to it passing photos in the collection of the Kidderminster its annual boiler inspection in January. Railway Museum. Unfortunately, there have “We aim to commence work in the sum- been delays due to unforeseen problems as- mer of 2003 and if the work proceeds as we sociated with storage. would wish, it may be possible in the later KRM’s photographic archivist Audie stages of the project to return Russell to ser- Baker has apologised and assured us that vice during a summer season, whilst continu- these should be resolved before too long, and ing restoration work during the winter. that all those who have ordered photos will He added: “We would hope to have the be contacted as soon as the problem clears. vast majority, if not all, of the restoration Please be patient.  work done in time to celebrate Russell’s 100th birthday in 2006. 4 THE COLONEL 70

News S&MR station relics ‘under threat’ The poor condition of the remains of the favours the building’s conversion into a tour- Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Railway’s ist information centre. Shrewsbury terminus has attracted attention The Shropshire Star newspaper quotes from local authorities and the local newspa- Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council per, which describes the remains as facing director of development services Peter Jarratt “threat of demolition”. as reporting: “The building itself is of signifi- CSS member Phillip Scoggins, who is cant historical interest as the last surviving also chairman of the planning committee of structural relic of the Shropshire & Mont- the Shrewsbury Civic Society, brought the gomeryshire Light Railway in Shrewsbury. matter to our society’s attention, asking us to “There appears to be a strong collective officially contact the local council explaining will among railway enthusiasts and ward the significance of the remains. councillors to preserve this building for fu- “There’s no imminent danger, but the ture generations.” sooner representations are made, the better,” The Colonel Stephens Society is to add he said. its voice to the calls for preservation by writ- Most of the station site is now a car park, ing to the council pointing out the im- but the platform and booking office – the portance of the building in the national con- latter dating from 1866 – have survived. It is text of Colonel Stephens’ works. He revital- the condition of the long-neglected booking ised the site in 1910 when he created the office, whose end wall is shored up and whose S&MR out of the ruins of the Potteries, roof is collapsing, that has attracted attention. Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway, which Shrewsbury Civic Society, concerned opened in 1866 and survived for a mere 14 with the welfare of historic buildings in the years.  town, has asked local councillor Miles Ken- ny to explore the options for saving the book- ing office. He has agreed to visit the site, and Ashover terminus may live again Butts Quarry, the terminus of the now shire District Council for planning permis- extinct Ashover Light Railway, could once sion to develop the area. again become a railway venue if plans put The trust owns 35 locomotives, of forward by the Moseley Railway Trust which only one is a steamer: Kerr Stuart (MRT) come to pass. Tattoo class 0-4-2ST Stanhope. This collec- MRT, which owns a large collection of tion, along with other equipment and rel- industrial narrow gauge locomotives, aims ics, is currently in storage at the trust’s to establish a base at the quarry, including base at Buxworth, Derbyshire. a museum and short running line. The line The Colonel was engineer to the 7- would resurrect a short section of the AL- mile, 60cm gauge ALR, which opened in R’s turning-triangle in the area. 1924 to serve the stone quarries of the “It may be that in the future a passen- Clay Cross Company. It provided a pas- ger boarding point can be provided at the senger service between 1925 and 1936, and site of the old Ashover [Butts] station,” the closed in 1950. Trust says. For more details of the trust, take a MRT has been in negotiations over the look at www.mrt.org.uk.  use of the Butts Quarry site since 2000, and has now applied to North East Derby- THE COLONEL 70 5

News New history of EKLR due next year - and heritage group becomes Trust Stephen Garrett’s long-awaited history of ‘forthcoming publications’ section of the East Kent Light Railways is scheduled Oakwood's catalogue, though not as two for publication next year. CSS member volumes. Volume 1 will cover 1910-1939 Stephen has been working on the book (and the coalfield pre-1910) and Volume 2 with the late Maurice Lawson Finch for will cover the remaining history, plus roll- many years, doggedly unravelling the ing stock and line details. line’s convoluted story. “The book will appear as The East Kent “At the moment Volume 1 of the book Light Railway by Maurice Lawson Finch is in the queue for ‘early 2004’ with Vol- and Stephen Garrett. The title was a bit of a ume 2 scheduled for approximately a year problem: East Kent Railway would deceive later,” he said. “Actual dates will depend early LC&DR enthusiasts; whilst the more on Oakwood's production schedules: correct East Kent Light Railways would might be sooner, might be later. disappoint anyone wanting information on “The title is now mentioned in the the Chattenden & Upnor and so on.” For a taster of what might be in store, refer to Colonels 14, 15 and 16 for a serial- ised transcript of an excellent talk that News in Brief Stephen gave to the society, based on his researches to date, back in 1987 at a meet- ing in Keen House, .  Spotted in an advert in the December 2002 issue of Heritage Railway magazine: The Hawkhurst & Westerham Branch Lines, PRESERVATION NEWS 55mins, £16 post paid, newly available from These transcripts, incidentally, are being Online Video, Little Martins, St Michael’s, reprinted in East Kent Railway News, the Tenterden, Kent TN30 3NQ. Email: newsletter of the East Kent Railway Trust, which runs a preserved section of the EKR [email protected]. between and . The organisation has recently reconsti-  Four photographs of the Weston, Cleve- tuted itself as a trust - which its describes don & Portishead Railway in the ‘20s and as “a much more secure status” - that has ‘30s – believed to be previously unpublished taken over all the responsibilities of its – have been sighted in Railway Bylines De- former incarnation, the East Kent Light cember 2002. Thanks to Andrew Ullyott for Railway Society. the tip-off. The Colonel Stephens Society is a cor- porate member of the EKR Trust. If you  Albyn Austin writes: The Industrial Rail- would like to become an individual mem- way Society has published a couple of articles ber, the membership secretary is Brian on early Snailbeach locomotives, Nos. 164 Hancock, 33 Beauxfield, Whitfield, , and 171. These are available at £3.50 each Kent CT15 7PD. Tel: 01304 821007.  plus 50p postage. Also, photocopies of Eric Tonk’s Snailbeach booklet are available at £3.00 including postage. All can be obtained from Mr S.C. Robinson, 47 Waverley Gar- dens, London NW10 7EE. 6 THE COLONEL 70

NewsDispatches Letters to the editor K&ESR wagon-snapper revealed Someone sent me a ‘stat of p.13 of your Winter issue and I can confirm it is not me. Richard Jones, Heswall, Merseyside The car looks like a Delarge, which would have been beyond my pocket. Several light railways had hay trains, including the East The photo on page 13 of the new Colonel is Kent. If No.4 had arrived [on the K&ESR], not by R.W. Kidner: it was taken by H.C. and No. 2 was still steamable, the date must Casserley on 21 September 1935 (at least have been about 1933. The location looks that is what my copy says on the back). Two correct. I did visit in that year. of the characters depicted are Mrs Casserley and young Master Casserley. The car is a Roger Kidner, Bow Street, Ceredigion Fiat. Don’t know the name of the dog!

Les Darbyshire, Bracknell, Berks. Re the photo on page 13 of Colonel 69: I have a copy of this, which I think I got from Lens of Sutton a few years ago when several I was intrigued by the K&ESR hay- of us were putting our three-ha’pence to making article. This activity occurred on Stephen Garratt on the goods vehicles of the the WHR south of Aberglaslyn during the K&ESR. I inquired of the late John Smith Colonel’s reign and I wonder whether it who the people were in the photo. was of his prompting? Anything to save - If my memory is correct, the gentle- or make - a bob or two! man in plus-fours is H.C. Casserley, the lady with the dog is his wife, Kathleen, John Keylock, Childswickham, Worcs. and the little lad is R.C. Casserley. Again, if my memory serves me well - and I may have a letter from John Smith somewhere - the other lady is a Mrs Clarke, whose husband was a friend of H.C’s and is the photographer on this occasion. Thanks for The Colonel’s Guide This is an appreciative note to thank Jon would allow for periodical updating when Clarke for his efforts in producing this very the feedback that Jon invites starts coming useful source guide, which I hope will get through. I will aim to look through my own wide publicity and add to the interest in the modest archive to see if there is anything not Colonel's enterprises. I’m also grateful to listed in the Guide, but at a first glance I Jon and the society for the time and expense would be surprised if there is! involved in providing it as a free ‘perk’ of I am very impressed with the way that membership - it could easily retail for a this society is run, focusing on its aims and pound or two, or more! producing a cash surplus on a very modest It complements the society's website, subscription. My compliments to all in- which I looked at this morning for the first volved! time, and was delighted to find there a com- prehensive index of articles in The Colonel. I Michael Bussell, London W14 wonder if it may in due course be feasible to put the Guide onto the website as well? This THE COLONEL 70 7

Letters to the editor Dispatches Request for information My special interests are the East Kent, Kent of the brake end of this coach? & East Sussex and Sheppey Light railways. I 3) At a number of locations, the Colonel have an S-scale layout under construction, used wind pumps to obtain a supply of water based on the proposed extension of the East for locomotives. Photographs exist of a num- Kent beyond Wingham Road. ber of these structures. The best I have seen Baseboards are built and track laid, and I am is that at plate 101 in the Middleton Press now working towards producing locomotives book The East Kent Light Railway. and rolling stock. I also have some O-gauge Does anyone know of the measurements EKR coaching stock under construction. of any of these wind pumps? Were they It has taken me some time to get to commercial products purchased from a man- where I am now and has involved a lot of ufacturer’s catalogue? From recent reading research, which I have, and continue to en- on the subject of wind pumps, I suspect the joy. It is the research aspect that has prompt- latter was the case. Does anyone have any ed me to write. I have four particular que- knowledge of information held on the wind ries: pumps used by the Colonel on his railways? 1) The EKR acquired from the K&ESR a 4) Does anyone know how access may be 41ft long brake composite built by Picker- obtained to photographs described as coming ing. This was one of three coaches supplied from the Colonel Stephens Railway Ar- to the K&ESR by the company, all of which chives? Last year I wrote to Middleton Press were the subject of an article, with drawings, because I wished to obtain original copies of in the January 1970 Model Railway News. photographs appearing in their book on the The author was none other than [our very East Kent. own] Leslie Darbyshire. They advised me they would pass on my I would like to know the internal layout request to those persons credited with the of the brake composite during its time on the photographs who were still contactable. The EKR. I have written to Leslie, but he has list included the Colonel Stephens Railway been unable to assist. Is there anybody who Archives, but my letter – including SAE – might be able to throw some more light on has not met with any response. All others did this matter? respond, including those who are now una- 2) During the 1920s – believed 1926 – the ble to assist. EKR purchased two ex-LCDR six-wheel Any information that may be available I composite brakes. One was a slip coach, will, of course, be willing to share and, in the with a droplight situated in the centre of the case of information regarding the coaches brake end of the coach. The other was, I and wind-pumps, would wish to prepare believe, a plain composite brake. Details are articles and drawings - I am no draughtsman, shown in the Oakwood Press publication but will do my best - with a view to publica- Carriage Stock of the SE&CR by David tion in The Colonel. Gould. On the subject of articles and drawings, I I have managed to collect a selection of should say I have a few bits of information I photographs of both coaches. However, hope to transform into a publishable state whilst I have a number of pictures of the when time permits. Firstly, Phil Coutanche brake end of the slip coach (EKR No. 11), I of the SE&CR Society, of which I am also a have only two showing any of the brake end member, has provided me with the original of the plain coach, EKR No. 10. One shows LCDR/SECR numbers for the four-wheel a small portion ‘peeping out’ from behind a LCDR coaches sold to the EKR. He has also loco, and the other is a very oblique shot. provided enough information to, hopefully, Does anyone know of any other photographs enable me to produce drawings, which 8 THE COLONEL 70

Dispatches Letters to the editor would be sufficient for model-making pur- nel and rely on it for odd bits of information. poses. An example is the drawings of the Colonel’s Beyond that, perhaps some of the meth- camping huts found and submitted by the late ods I am using for coach construction in O Martin Brent (Colonel 50). Excellent stuff, and gauge might be of interest. I have a part-built just what I need to produce a goods store on LCDR six-wheel brake composite fabricated my S-scale EKR layout. Take an offcut of mainly from thin ply, but with nickel silver plastic drainpipe, some 4mm scale corrugated duckets. I have also purchased some six- iron courtesy of Ambis (just right for S scale), wheel Midland coach sides from Slaters that, some fine brass T-section from John Flack, with some cutting and juggling, should pro- some other bits and pieces and: Hey Presto! duce the ex-Midland six-wheel slip brake composite purchased by the EKR. Robin Fielding, , Kent By contrast, my S-scale coach building is a bit pedestrian, with some Trevor Charlton  Editor’s reply: An article on the wind- etched zinc sides and ends for a Pickering pumps used by the Colonel, written by our bogie coach, and an LCDR six-wheeler being own Tom Burnham, appeared in The Ten- built from Plasticard, along the lines de- terden Terrier magazine number 85, Sum- scribed by David Jenkinson. mer 2001. Tom tells us that they were Aermo- I should say how much I enjoy The Colo- tor products made by US firm Lloyds. Four were installed on the K&ESR, and one each on the EKR (Staple) and SMR Southern Heights: (Kinnerley). An etched brass kit of a differ- ent, but broadly similar, design of pump is produced by Scale Link (Tel: 01747 811817). The Colonel Stephens Railway Archive is On return from my Christmas break, I was one of the attributions used to denote the interested to read the article in the Winter collection of historical material held by the 2002 edition of The Colonel on the Southern Colonel Stephens Museum, situated along- Heights Light Railway. This supplemented side Tenterden station in Kent (see page 16). my own article published in the Spring 1998 CSS member and K&ESR historian edition of The Colonel [number 54], which Philip Shaw, in whose personal care much was a shortened version of my article pub- of the museum’s material rests, said that the lished in Back Track magazine for May 1999. Archive cannot normally supply copies of Both of these articles gave a more de- its photos because it does not have the facil- tailed map than the Southern Railway one ities to reproduce them. provided by Mr Winkworth, together with “Our policy is that we don’t supply copies some copies of relevant documents. of photos to all and sundry,” he said. “But we Taken together, all three articles give a have helped serious researchers, such as fairly complete picture of this abortive pro- those preparing books, in the past.”  ject which, if it had come to fruition, would have provided an interesting local line and, had he lived long enough to see it completed, given some added glory to Colonel Stephens. Croydon Local Studies archive contains copies of correspondence and other docu- mentation regarding the project and are well worth inspecting.

Arthur R. Nicholls. Kendal. Cumbria THE COLONEL 70 9

Letters to the editor Dispatches

Wembley was a Hudswell - and the Southern Heights was not the first I was interested by Ron Mann’s Wembley and Wembley respectively, together with the problem on the Selsey Tramway. E.W. Ma- information that another locomotive, Chich- bott’s Manning Wardle Locomotive Works ester, had been scrapped. list gives Ringing Rock’s history as: This would seem to be strong circum- stantial evidence that it was the Hudswell 2/5/83 Vida J.C. Billups contr. Cardiff Clarke that was known as Wembley on the No. 7 To Paulings & Co. contr. tramway, and not the Manning Wardle. To R.O.D. c/1915 I am afraid the Industrial Railway Socie- Wembley To McAlpine, contr. -/22 ty Pocketbook for South Eastern England Ringing To West Sussex Railway doesn’t cast any light on possible Wembley Rock scr. 7/35 namings, but the area did abound in schemes that might have involved contractors, ranging Clive Hardy’s Hudswell Clarke Locomo- from Watkins’ ill-fated plans for an Eiffel tive Works List gives Chichester’s history as: Tower to the works associated with the Em- “Built 2/7/02, sold to Naylor Bros, contrs pire Exhibition. 31/3/03 for £990 as No. 1 Huddersfield, re- On a completely different tack, can I add named Wembley, to H.M. Government via a correction to the article on the Southern T.W. Ward?” Heights Light Railway [Colonel 69]? This Hardy does not give a date for the renam- would not have been “the first light railway ing, nor is it clear whether this change was which from its commencement would be made by Naylor, T.W. Ward or H.M. Govt, worked electrically”. but on the face of it, both locomotives really Many applications were made under the were named Wembley at some time. Light Railways Act to authorise electric However, both works lists, published by tramways, such as the Tottenham Waltham- Thomas Aleksandr, include information sup- stow Light Railways Order 1906. Both the plied by contributors in addition to that found Cinque Ports Light Railway from Ramsgate in the manufacturers’ records, so it may be to Hastings, which applied for its Order in that they are only repeating a confusion from 1899, and the Dover, St Margaret’s & Martin some other source. Mill Light Railway, which was granted a In a return to the Light Railway Investi- Light Railway Order in 1909, were both gation Committee, made extremely reluctant- projected as electric railways. ly by Stephens in 1902, he gave the tram- There was also the Burton & Ashby Light way’s locomotive stock as one 2-4-2T, one 0 Railways system, for which the Midland -4-2ST and two 0-6-0STs. Elsewhere he Railway obtained a Light Railway Order named these as Selsey, Hesperus, Sidlesham c.1904, and which ran from 1906 until 1927. I am sure there are many other examples.

BY THE WAY: Stephen Garrett, London E4 See news page 5 for the latest on Stephen Garrett and Maurice Law- son Finch’s new history of the East Kent Light Railways 10 THE COLONEL 70

Dispatches Letters to the editor The Isle of Wight connection I have not found any references in the maga- Perusing the Directors’ Minute Book, zine index, so I have been wondering wheth- the authors note that at a meeting held in er the society has any note on the Colonel’s April 1911, H.F. Stephens was appointed to brief association with the Isle of Wight Cen- take charge of all engineering matters, in- tral Railway? My information comes from cluding locomotives and permanent way at a the Oakwood Press book The Isle of Wight salary of £100 p.a. plus expenses. Central Railway by R.J. Maycock and R. In November he resigned, stating that his Silsbury, published 2001. other railway commitments did not allow him to visit the railway as often as he needed to. The only indication of his influence dur- ing his term of office was that on his advice the company bought six carriages from the I recently purchased a video cassette that and a number of members of the society might find of in- goods vehicles from the , terest, as it includes film of the Weston, rather than rebuild old rolling stock. Clevedon & Portishead Railway. Just over We can assume that Stephens would two minutes are shown, but two very in- have met Harry Willmott, the company teresting minutes. chairman, in the course of his work, and this We see the large Drewry railcar arriv- way well have led to his appointment to the ing, and then departing Weston station. Edge Hill Light Railway when Willmott and There is a view of Clevedon station and others formed the company later on. shed, with No. 5 arriving from Portishead The directors’ minutes in early 1904 refer on a passenger train. The locomotive then to an offer by R.Y. Pickering to supply a four- backs down to the tank to take on water. wheeled steam railcar for the Ventnor West The ex-LSWR coaches are shown. line, and also to correspondence with H.F. There are shots from trains of, I be- Stephens over a similar railcar on the Kent & lieve, Wick St Lawrence station and, final- East Sussex Railway. There is a discrepancy in ly, of intending passengers running to join dates here that I have not been able to resolve, the train at Portishead station. This foot- as I have always understood that the K&ESR age is preceded by shots at the GWR sta- railcar did not arrive on the line until 1905. tion at Clevedon, and also of the miniature Finally, when negotiating with the railway in the town. LB&SCR for the purchase of an A Class 0-6- The rest of the cassette shows steam, 0T [Terrier] in 1903, the company refused and some diesel, on lines now lost to us. No. 71 Wapping because it was already over However, for me the highlight is the old 30 years old. Instead, it bought No. 84 Crow- black-and-white footage of the WC&PR. borough, the last of the class to be built. As The cassette is titled Volume 91: Som- we know, Wapping was subsequently bought erset’s Steam Railways, and is available by the K&ESR to become No. 5 Rolvenden, from B&R Video Productions, The Old and there seems no reason to suppose the Smithy, Uffington, Nr Shrewsbury SY4 K&ESR later regretted its purchase. 4SN [tel: 01743 709680]. I purchased the cassette recently for £17.75. John Crum, Budleigh Salterton, Devon

Roger A.H. Casling, Llandaff, Cardiff THE COLONEL 70 11

Letters to the editor Dispatches Selsey Tramways’ baggage trucks’ history unravelled

As a belated reply to Dave Churchill’s query flex set early in 1928, and it receives a men- in The Colonel number 54, I believe I’ve tion in The Locomotive Magazine article unravelled the history of the baggage trucks dated 15 February 1928 [See The Colonel used on the Selsey Tramway, whilst re- number 25]. searching what I hope will be the definitive After the closure of the Selsey Tramway history of that line, to be published by Plate- in January 1935, the truck was taken to way Press. Chichester, but unlike the chassis of the The five-plank luggage trailer, built by Shefflex railmotor that accompanied it – Messrs. Cranes of Thetford, Norfolk, was which probably went for scrap – the baggage delivered new to the Selsey Tramway with trailer was returned to the S&MR, where it the Ford railmotor in September 1924. With survived, with the addition of buffing blocks the arrival of the Shefflex set early in 1928, on the headstocks, until some time after the the trailer was transferred to the Kent & East Second World War. As far as I’m aware, its Sussex Railway where, with the addition of a eventual fate remains unknown. hand brake at one end, it outlived that line’s The ‘Tin Saloon’ [the centre car of the railmotors, surviving in departmental use three-car S&MR railmotor set] still remains until about 1948. a mystery, but although I’ve yet to find any The two-ton, three-plank open baggage evidence that it ever ran on the Selsey Tram- truck, also from Cranes, was originally sup- way, might it have accompanied the baggage plied to the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire truck from the S&MR in 1928? Railway, arriving with its three-car Ford railmotor in the autumn of 1923. It arrived at Laurie Cooksey, Ramsgate, Kent Selsey at around the same time as the Shef-  Editor’s note: Laurie would like to hear from any member who has information or Nigel Bird photos of the Selsey Tramway, to help him with his research for the book. Replies via Books the editor, please. RAILWAY BOOKS And on another tack, how might the RARE, OUT OF PRINT, flimsy baggage trucks have made their journeys between Chichester and the SECONDHAND AND NEW S&MR or K&ESR? The railmotors appear BOUGHT, SOLD AND SEARCHED to have travelled on ‘Lowmac’-type wagons. FOR Would the baggage trucks have done the SAE for current catalogue to: same? It seems a lot of effort for such tiddly Nigel Bird (Books) things. Any thoughts, anyone? Brynhir, Llwynygroes, Tregaron, Ceredigion SY25 6PY Tel: 01974 821281 Fax: 01974 821548 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.nigelbirdbooks.co.uk 12 THE COLONEL 70 AGM 2003: HOW TO GET THERE AND WHAT TO DO

Membership secretary David Powell details arrangements for our next get-together, this year taking place at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre

or those planning or just thinking of com- Pages Park, which is just to the south of F ing to the society’s AGM at the Bucking- Leighton Buzzard on the A4146. hamshire Railway Centre, Quainton Road Aim to be there by 11.00 to catch the near Aylesbury, on Sunday 27 April 2003, 11.15 train to Stonehenge station, where here are the details: there is a display featuring the body of the ex -WD Baldwin locomotive whose repairs we Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway have helped sponsor. Those wanting to inspect Colonel Stephens’ If you produce your CSS membership favourite narrow gauge locomotive type will card, you will get a discount on your ticket, meet at the Leighton Buzzard Railway at normally priced at £5.50 standard fare and £4.50 senior citizens. The society has provi- AGM 2003 sionally reserved space on this service, but we do need to give the railway an accurate estimate of the number of likely travellers. Likewise, the actual discount has still to be 1) Apologies for Absence finalised, as I suspect that there are members out there who have yet to confirm that they 2) Actions from the last AGM are coming. Returning on the same train, we arrive 3) Committee reports: back at Pages Park at 12.20, with time for a brief look at the rolling chassis of the Bald- Chairman win before the 15-mile drive to Quainton. Treasurer This will be via the A418 (Aylesbury) as Membership secretary far as Wing, then on the back-roads through Editor Cublington and Whitchurch to Pitchcott, Publicity Quainton and the well-signposted Quainton Road. The plan is to have some information 4) Election of Officers sheets available with directions for those who have left road maps at home. 5) Subscriptions for 2003/04 Buckinghamshire Railway Centre For those going straight to Quainton Road, 6) Donations to Related there is plenty to do both before and after the Organisations AGM. The Centre is well signposted and is a mile north of Waddesdon on the A41 west 8) Any Other Business of Aylesbury. You must bring your CSS membership card and produce it to gain free entry to the site and the AGM. Please be prompt, otherwise you THE COLONEL 70 13

might find yourself having to pay the Coming from the West Midlands? standard entry fee of £6 or £4 for seniors, Do we have any members coming from the as we can’t keep the gates open for CSS West Midlands who could liaise with our members forever. chairman Derek Smith to convey him either The Centre has recently put down over a from Shrewsbury or from a mutually-agreed mile of tarmac paths, making the area totally meeting point? Derek’s contact details are: 30 accessible for wheelchairs. Upper Road, Meole Brace, Shrewsbury, For those coming via Chiltern Trains to Shropshire SY3 9SQ. Tel: 01743 249088, or Aylesbury, there is a Star Travel (01296 422 his mobile phone number is 07974 559293. 225) bus that runs to Quainton Road. I have been advised that it leaves the Aylesbury bus AGM 2004 station at 11.00 and 13.00 and runs via the If any of you have suggestions and a format Safeways bus-stop by the railway station. for next year’s AGM, could you let secretary The journey should take about 30 Stephen Hannington know. Membership is minutes. There is a return service leaving the spread throughout the country, predominantly Railway Centre at 17.00. For more infor- in the Midlands and the South. Ideally, those mation about the Buckinghamshire Railway making the suggestion should live locally and Centre, see their comprehensive web site at be able to help with the arrangements.  bucksrailcentre.org.uk. To let David know you are coming, contact AGM him at: Gateways, Bledlow Road, Saunderton, The AGM will be held in the function room Princes Risborough, Bucks HP27 9NG, within the rebuilt Rewley Road Station, next Tel: 01844 343377 to the restaurant. The room has been booked Email: [email protected] from 13.00, and we would hope to start at 13.30. We are arranging light refreshments to  NOTE: The position of Publicity Officer be enjoyed during the AGM. Hopefully this is vacant. All nominations for officers must tactic will restrict questions on committee be submitted to the society secretary at least members’ expenses! two full weeks before the meeting. Based on previous meetings, the formal proceedings should be over by 15.30, leaving time for a conducted visit to the new covered museum complex before you are left to your own devices to enjoy the many fascinating features of this large site.

Planning to come along? As with the visit to Leighton Buzzard, could you please let me know if you are coming, both to help us arrange the refreshments and to finalise entry requirements.

14 THE COLONEL 70

MY FATHER’S DEALINGS WITH THE COLONEL

Roy Cunningham let slip that, as an employee of Thomas W. Ward Ltd, his father had business dealings with the Colonel. We demanded to know more.

y father, Harry Alfred Cunningham tion of the amount of wear that they had M (1903-1984), was the Industrial Plant sustained. Department manager for the Home Counties In those days, most of the nation’s area of Thomas W. Ward Ltd from 1922 freight was moved by rail and the standard until his retirement in the early 1970s. Indus- terms of business would quote a price F.O.R. trial plant comprised rails, permanent way (free on rail), meaning that the vendor would fittings, joists, girders, storage tanks, indus- load the goods onto railway wagons, but it trial boilers and, indeed, almost any iron or would be the purchaser who would pay the steel product that was not classified as either carriage charge. machinery or scrap, for which there were In February 1948, my dad wrote to Bill other departments. Austen, reminding him that Wards were still My Dad’s job was to buy and sell any at their service. He got a very shirty reply items that Wards categorised as industrial from the then newly nationalised British plant. Most of the trade was in second-hand Railways Southern Region Stores superin- material, and one of the organisations with tendent A.B. McLeod, stating that the East which he dealt regularly was the conglomerate Kent and the Kent & East Sussex railways of light railways managed by the Colonel from were now just another part of the Southern; the office at Salford Terrace, Tonbridge. and, as Wards must well know, there was My Dad often visited Rolvenden and only one channel through which any busi- Shepherdswell to inspect materials that the ness could be conducted: his office. Colonel, or his successor Bill Austen, was Although the Tonbridge office continued offering for sale. He would also respond to to function until 3 May 1948 under Bill Aus- their enquiries for items that they needed. ten’s management, Mr McLeod had moved I have no records of the business my much faster than his colleagues and taken full Dad did with the Colonel or Bill Austen, but control of all the purchasing and sales func- they may well have bought second-hand tions for both railways early in February. double-head rail and fastenings from him. In It was well into BR days when dad the 1920s and early 1930s, there was still a called at Shepherdswell to inspect some lot of double-headed section rail, mainly material lying at or near the site of Eythorne lifted during track renewals by the Big Four, station. He was met by a BR representative finding its way onto the market, and the who confidently told him that there was no original flat-bottom track on the Rother Val- train due, so they might as well walk through ley section of the K&ESR was replaced with Golgotha tunnel to the site. double-head by the 1930s. Later, possibly The BR man had got it wrong: they were during the war, some lengths of the East half-way through the tunnel when a coal Kent were relaid with bullhead material: see train from colliery came photos 84, 109 and 115 in the Middleton through. Fortunately, there was room to Press book. stand clear in the tunnel, despite the fact that Although my Dad could make a pretty the space for the second track was never accurate guess at the weight of a stack of fully excavated. Dad was not impressed. rails or joists by looking at it, when he was In 1967 my dad and I became involved inspecting rails he wanted to purchase, he in the acquisition by the Ffestiniog Railway would make sample ‘rubbings’ of the rail of an ex-BR Southern Region Matisa tamp- ends to give potential customers an indica- ing machine – BR number DS73 – that had THE COLONEL 70 15 been offered for sale by the Southern Re- Dymchurch Railway, and he was warned by gion’s stores superintendent (I think that Mr one of his colleagues never to accept an offer McLeod had retired by then). of a lift from Howey who, he was told, drove The Southern region refused to sell the on public roads with the same aplomb as he machine to the FR on the grounds that they had driven round the Brookwood motor did not want to assist a competitor(!), but racing circuit not so many years before.  they were quite happy to sell it to Wards, whom they thought would cut it up for scrap. The machine has been successfully regauged and has seen service on both the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland (Caernarfon) railways. My dad also dealt with very light track and equipment, typically Jubilee track and Hudson tipping wagons. Dealing with this range of materials brought him into contact with Jack Howey of the Romney, Hythe &

TERRIER SECRETS REVEALED

 Richard Jones sent this excellent photo he took of a Terrier cab interior in response to last issue’s article about building a model of the class. Points to note are that the reversing lever handle is painted red, the tops of the sandboxes are var- nished wood, and the inte- rior is painted cream above the halfway mark and black below. The round-shouldered boiler backhead itself is painted gloss black, alt- hough all these details probably varied a great deal between different members of the class. The locomotive in question is Number 32678, formerly Knowle, in BR livery on the preserved K&ESR. Thanks Richard.  16 THE COLONEL 70 BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE COLONEL STE- PHENS MUSEUM

John Miller, honorary curator of the Colonel Stephens Museum, explains the origin and extent of the museum’s extraordinary collection of the Great Man’s memorabilia in this extract from its website, reproduced with permission

he Colonel Stephens Museum’s collec- We must be thankful that other employ- T tion was first displayed in the Town ees also retained material from the offices, Museum in Station Road, Tenterden, which because everything else was taken away and was opened in 1977 in what were once the burnt. Fortunately, a large number of person- Kent & East Sussex Railway’s stables. The al relics of Colonel Stephens have survived, opening of a new display in a building adja- including nearly all the furniture and para- cent to the station at Tenterden was a great phernalia of his office, a representation of step forward when it opened in stages be- which may be seen in the Town Museum. tween 1996 and 1998. This includes his roll-top desk and office Display and interpretation were vastly chair, wicker filing trays, ledgers, pictures, improved and documents could be stored on rubber stamps, brief case and even pens, one site. Sufficient space became available pencils and pieces of chalk. We also have to display a locomotive, even if it was the the Colonel’s drawing table and stool, his smallest standard gauge locomotive in Brit- stationery cabinet, and his drawing office ain: the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire and surveying equipment. These are all dis- Railway locomotive Gazelle. played in the Museum as a recreation of the The present display is designed to in- Colonel's Office. form and entertain general, non-specialist Other bygones of the great man have visitors, through displays and models, for an also remarkably survived and most may be hour. seen: his Masonic regalia, bible, camera, The collection began in the 1960s, large- family snapshots, pocket watches, walking ly through the foresight of Philip Shaw, the sticks, vesta case, and his cigar case contain- Kent and East Sussex Railway’s historian, ing the last unsmoked cigar at the time of his who began putting aside items donated by death. A particular prize is the collection of former employees of the Stephens empire. family letters and papers spanning nearly 50 W.H. Austen Junior, in particular, was a years. considerable source of material, much of Of greater value still, are the two free which he had inherited from his father. pass collections. The first is a collection of Following nationalisation in 1948 and 72 wallet or card and watch chain passes all the closure of Colonel Stephens’ office at issued to Stephens, mostly in the immediate Salford Terrace, Tonbridge, a large chest pre-grouping years of 1921/1922. Stephens was stuffed with papers relating to the vari- was himself particularly proud of these and ous companies, and this sat unopened for 30 so are we. Most are first class and include years or so in the porch of William Austen’s many minor companies that are now almost home. It proved to be a veritable treasure forgotten. trove of papers and small artefacts, some of The second collection numbers 54 free which have still to be sorted and indexed. passes all issued to W.H. Austen, many of THE COLONEL 70 17 which are second or third class. Apart from these two collections, we do not know of any others to compare, all made out to a single person. The display of these passes is ex- “We receive many pected to be completed soon. The archive collection embraces material requests for copies of pho- from all the 16 railways associated with Colonel Stephens and a general selection of tographs, but, quite frank- artefacts may be seen in the museum. It is only a selection, because lack of space pre- ly, we just do not have the vents more being displayed. Included are timetable posters, trespass signs, nameplates, time to provide such a ser- permanent way materials, documents, tick- ets, notices and a host of other miscellaneous vice” items. Hidden behind the public display is the heart of the research section. The historical jects has been put together and this now papers dating from about the 1880s occupy numbers in excess of 50 titles. 32 steel cabinet filing drawers and the Interestingly, although the Tenterden preservation archives dating from 1961 are Railway Company (TRC) owns most of the contained within 78 lever arch files. preservation archives, the company only As today’s events are tomorrow’s histo- directly owns a small amount of the histori- ry, and each year more material is donated: cal collection. Much of the material is on the number of lever-arch files grows by indefinite loan or is lodged by personal about three each year. agreement into the care of Philip Shaw. Incidentally, it has been the policy for Some owners would like to make rather some years now to put aside at least two more permanent arrangements by transfer- copies of every piece of printed material ring ownership to a trust and that is a possi- issued by the company, and it is possible that bility for the future. we have a copy of every leaflet issued for The Tenterden Railway Company covers the K&ESR over the past 30 years. some limited costs, but the museum is reliant The photographic archive is considera- on income from admissions and sales to ble, though seldom are we given original cover acquisitions, conservation, framing, negatives. Although never counted, there are display materials, photography, stationery, probably somewhere between 3,000 and photocopying and so on. We make a little go 4,000 photographs, the earliest of which a long way, but even so, without the occa- were in the Colonel’s collection. We receive sional private donation we could not achieve many requests for copies of photographs, as much as we do.  but, quite frankly, we just do not have the time to provide such a service. The museum’s website can be viewed at We co-operate with a limited number of www.hfstephens-museum.org.uk established authors, and photographs acknowledged to ‘Colonel Stephens Railway Archives’ come from the Tenterden ar- chives. Although usually not individually credited, many other illustrations of hand- bills, tickets or correspondence are also from our collection. Not only do we supply mate- rial, but often we are also asked to proof- read texts before publication. The Tenterden archive is also acknowl- edged as a source of material for special exhibitions in municipal museums and in recent years we have lent to Chichester, Bexhill and Hastings. In recent years, a ref- erence library of books on light railway sub- 18 THE COLONEL 70

HM&ST: ONE OR MANY? Edited highlights from intriguing recent e-mail correspondences to the society

From Norman Langridge, secretary, pany’s seal taken from Going Off The Rails, Hants. & Sussex Area Group, Ffestiniog by Bill Gage, Michael Harris and Tony Sulli- Railway Society, to David Powell: van, published by West Sussex County Received your leaflet re The Colonel Ste- Council in 1997 (ISBN 0 8626 0 400 1). phens Society with the Heritage Group These do at least support the official title (Ffestiniog Railway) Magazine recently and of the company. Little that I have found in would draw your attention to one small error print explains the company’s original expan- relating to the West Sussex Railway. I think sion plans, so perhaps it was just thought you will find that its former name was The prudent to register the name in plural to save Hundred of Manhood and Selsey Tramways later complications. in the plural, and not in the singular as listed. Bill Gage is the county archivist and it The intention was that originally there was he that gave our society the talk on rail- were to be other tramways built as exten- ways in Sussex, which included the West sions, but they never materialised. No doubt Sussex Railway, and it is to him that I have Mr. Stephens lived in hope to the end.  to address my thanks for getting the company name right. From Les Darbyshire, light railway guru: As you probably know, Vic Mitchell is There seems to be a 50/50 split in the literature our society’s vice chairman and I also work between the singular and plural versions of the closely with him on his Middleton Press title. However, the certificate of incorporation albums, producing many of the tickets in his of the company, shown in all its glory on page coverage of the SR area. Incidentally, the SR 4 of the fourth edition of Edward Griffith’s printed the card tickets for the WSR as well book on the line, clearly shows it to be plural, as the EKR and K&ESR for through jour- i.e. "Hundred of Manhood and Selsey Tram- neys to the main line system. ways Company Limited". I did have a chat with Vic over his use The same plural title appears on the compa- of the singular form in his own book and I ny seal. We shouldn’t be too ashamed of getting think he feels that he can be forgiven as the it wrong, though. The first edition of Griffith’s book was published before Bill Gage’s book has it in the singular throughout!  presentation to us. Put it down to a typo- graphical error!  From Norman Langridge: The attached scans may help resolve the can of worms I seem to have opened. The first (excerpt below) is from The Selsey Tramways published in 1974 by the author Edward C. Griffith and the second (right) is of the com- THE COLONEL 70 19

 continued from page 20 outh, Devonport & South Western Junction thorised Bere Alston & Calstock Light Railway Railway Company, whose undertaking is and of the reconstructed East Cornwall Miner- worked by the London & South Western. al Railway, from Kelly Bray, the terminus of There is thus direct competition with all the present Calstock line, to Congdon's Shop, parts of that system. close to the Caradon Hills. The estimated cost “At present the week-day train service of the extension is £45,000. on the light railway consists of four trains “The authorised line from Bere Alston to per day in each direction over the whole Kelly Bray is now constructed, and awaiting length of the line, and one train in each di- inspection by the Board of Trade. In sanc- rection over part of the line. Two through tioning the proposed extension, the Commis- connections with Waterloo are given each sioners overruled the Cornwall County Coun- day in each direction. cil's objection to a level crossing at Kelly “The Calstock viaduct, more than 100 ft Bray, but insisted on gates, which were not to high, over the River Tamar is the principle be across the road, but across the rails.” engineering work. The opening of the line The awaited Board of Trade inspection was regarded as quite an event in the history was not long in coming, as it was only four of the neighbourhood, and the rejoicings on weeks later that we read the news that the the occasion recall some of the enthusiasm line has finally opened. Interestingly, and displayed over similar openings in the early confusingly for later researchers, the Rail- days of railways.”  way Gazette has now decided that it is in Devon rather than Cornwall! 6 March 6 1908: Devonshire Light Railway Development “By the opening to traffic on Monday of the light railway from Bere Alston to Callington Road, a district of Devonshire which has called for railway communication for the past 50 years or more, has at last been connected with a trunk line. The light railway has been constructed by the Plym- 20 THE COLONEL 70

 Jackson’s Jottings LIGHT RAIL TO CALSTOCK Chris Jackson peruses further light railway stories from The Railway Gazette

ne light railway project that was under way, the promoters of the new light railway. O way during 1906-08 was the Bere Alston “The most important engineering work & Calstock, for which the Colonel was the on the line, the Calstock Viaduct, is now engineer. The first mention of the scheme in complete, whilst alongside it is erected a the Railway Gazette was a short and terse steel lift to raise wagons from the river-side news report on 2 November 1906, indicating wharf to the railway and vice-versa, the that all was not quite going to plan: height being 112ft. 2 November 1906: Light Railway Order “It has been proposed to extend the East “The Board of Trade has recently con- Cornwall Line (which is to be worked as a firmed the undermentioned Order made by light railway) from Kelly Bray to a point on the Light Railway Commissioners:- Bere the North Cornwall Railway, and thereby to Alston & Calstock Light Railway (Extension give a shorter route from Plymouth and of Time, &c) Order, 1906, amending the Bere Devonport to the North Cornwall Coast.” Alston and Calstock Light Railway Orders, But the Great Western was not to be 1900 and 1903, and for other purposes.” defeated so easily. In January 1908 the Com- A month later came evidence that other missioners returned to the Tamar Valley to projects were afoot. As part of an extensive consider two more applications. report about 15 different applications pub- 31 January 1908: Light Railways in Corn- lished on 7 December 1906, the Gazette re- wall ports that seven had applied for extensions of “Today the Light Railway Commissioners time, including the Central Essex and the will be engaged at Plymouth, in considering Callington Light Railway: an application by the “By the Callington Order it is proposed for an order sanctioning an extension (1½ to transfer powers obtained in 1900 and in miles in length) of the authorised Callington 1903 to the Great Western Railway. The line Light Railway (from Saltash to Callington), authorised in 1900 was to make a junction the powers for which have already been trans- with the Great Western at Saltash, and to run ferred to the larger company. through St. Mellion to Callington, a distance “On Saturday they will consider an ap- of 11 miles.” (See also Colonel 68, page 5) plication by the Plymouth, Devonport & However, work was under way at Bere South Western Junction Railway for a seven- Alston, and the following year there was at mile extension of the Bere Alston & Calstock last some real progress to report. Light Railway and of the reconstructed East October 11 1907: Bere Alston & Calstock Cornwall Mineral Railway.” Light Railway Of the two extension schemes, it was the “The construction of the light railway Colonel's which came out the winner. Of from Bere Alston to Calstock and Callington course, the victory proved phyrric as neither is steadily proceeding, and it is hoped to route was ever to get built. open the line by November. 7 February 7 1908: Bere Alston Light “The line connects with the London & Railway Extension South Western Railway at Bere Alston, and “The Light Railway Commissioners, after at Calstock with the East Cornwall Mineral a public inquiry at Plymouth, on Saturday Railway to Kelly Bray (Callington), which sanctioned a seven-mile extension of the au- was transferred in 1887 to the Plymouth, Devonport & South-Western Junction Rail- continued on page 19 