Issue No. 10 Autumn 2008 he inaugural IRS meeting took place at the Model T Railway Club in London on 22nd February 2006, and was attended by about 20 prospective members from all around the UK. A general discussion took place and introductions, suggestions and proposals were made. At this meeting a small committee was voted on and tasked with setting up the Society on a formal basis.

The Committee members are: Chairman David Stevenson Secretary Charles Phillips Journal Editor Michael Guerra Treasurer & Membership Secretary Tony Bowles Publicity & Exhibitions Myles Munsey

THE BASICS The remit of the Society is to stimulate interest in and disseminate information about railways on the Iberian Peninsular and the Balearic Islands. It was felt at this time that extending this remit to Spanish and Portuguese speaking areas of the world would be too ambitious.

It is proposed that a Society Journal be published four times a year and that this would be the main conduit between members. Local meetings and branches were also to be established wherever possible to encourage membership from the widest possible area. A fledgling library could be made available to members as time went on.

Consideration would be given to organising trips from the UK, both formal and informal, as a way of enabling members to meet in a very convivial atmosphere and whilst indulging their passion for rail travel!

MEMBERSHIP Membership was to be open to all and would entitle the member to receipt of the magazine, use of the Societies’ facilities and attendance and voting rights at an Annual General Meeting.

MEMBERSHIP RATES FOR ONE YEAR – APRIL 2006-MARCH 2007 UK £12.50 £15.00 REST OF WORLD £16.00 Payment CHEQUE (Payable to: Iberian Railway Society) - Send to: Tony Bowles 1 Station Cottages Stow Road Toddington Cheltenham GL54 5DT

Those joining during the year pay the Annual Rate and will receive all copies of the journal for that year. Membership of the IRS is subject to the rules and constitution of the IRS. Membership records are held on a computer database in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act. 2 Title Page

The Society 2 The Chairman’s Page 4 The Editor’s Page 5 Spanish Travels 1963 - Part 2 6 La Mancha - Part 4 16 Passage to Porto 19 Return Trip To Santander 23 Back to the Anoorak 27 Information 31

Contributions for publication should be, if possible, by email or computer disk (to avoid time spent transcribing text). Photos should be of good quality, sharp, well composed or of significant historical interest. Prints, slides, digital photos or good scans can be accommodated. All prints and slides should be sent by recorded delivery, they will be scanned as quickly as possible and returned by recorded delivery. Scans of 6”x4” prints should be scanned at 300dpi, 35mm slides should be scanned at 1600dpi, digital photographs should be 1920x1200 minimum. Articles can be of any length, though generally of between 500 to 800 words for a book review, and up to 4,000 words for a main article. Maps should be of a good clear line, and legible at quarter page size.

Submissions should be to: Michael Guerra, 6 Nash Close, Welham Green Hatfield, HERTS AL9 7NN Email (pref): [email protected]

Front Cover: Mataporquera: FEVE 1666 diesel with short from Bilbao to Leon. 15.02.08 Alan Sprod 3

OLA!

fter each AGM we all come away feeling enthused and energised; I said as much in A the last OLA. We have now got a website up and running and some things are moving forward. At the same time I am terribly concerned at our continued inability to recruit more members. Our numbers this year are down on last and whilst the support of those who have rejoined is very welcome we need more members, it's that simple. If we don't I am not convinced that there is a future for us. Over the past couple of months I have been thinking about very little else, trying to see a way forward and more importantly considering my own position. When we started IRS off we all had high hopes; we were all convinced that there was a pent-up demand for what we have to offer. Perhaps we are mistaken. Other societies had been formed before the advent of the Internet and so were able to offer budding enthusiasts what they wanted. It seems possible that all the information is now available without the need to join a specialist group such as the IRS and that we may have missed the train. Certainly our success has been very limited.

Correo is the one manifestation of the IRS that we can all look to and be certain that we got it right, or at least Michael gets it right with the help of others. I get all the magazines from all the Societies and other than those produced to semi-professional standards it is the best, and in terms of content it beats most of the semi-professional journals as well. It seems however that this is not enough.

So where do we go? I said earlier that I have been considering my position and to be frank I came very close to giving up and resigning, but I have never been a quitter and so want to make it work. You can probably sense a but coming and you would be right. The big but is that the committee cannot do it on their own. We need members to become more involved. Some have of course, in particular Ian Buck, who is the throes of producing a Stock Book, and Alan Sprod who has offered to run a magazine service. The response to both of these initiatives so far has been muted.

I am very conscious that lecturing to members and badgering them into getting more involved can be quite a turn off. It is however a fact that unless some more become involved we are going to have serious issues about our ability to continue. The oxygen of publicity is the key to this. We have to get our message across wherever we can. Please contact me and let me know how you would like to help, do you need some leaflets for your local club? Do you travel on organised tours to and ?, give me a call and I'll arrange for some leaflets for you to take with you. Please do what you can to help us to make it work.

Adios, David Stevenson, Chairman – Iberian Railways Society Tel: 01905 358440 Email: [email protected] 4

his short missive is written while on our family’s annual summer retreat to North T Wales. We climbed Snowden up the PyG track (ouch!), and visited most of the Little of Wales.

My maternal great grandfather, following Chamberlain’s visit to Munich, moved his family to Colwyn Bay from Liverpool, filled the cellar with coal, dug up the garden and awaited hostilities. My maternal grandfather was a doctor in the Port of Liverpool, before being called up just before D-Day. Afterwards, he retired to a house in Deganwy and my 40+ year relationship with North Wales begun. I have a close association with the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland railways where I have designed a number of items of rolling stock. However, on a recent trip to Corris to visit the re-emerging slate railway I was intrigued to hear from the Corris chairman and historian that the death knell of Welsh slate was sounded by cheap imports from Spain! I asked him from where in Spain, but he didn’t know exactly.

This got me thinking. As we travelled back on the X32 bus past Cadir Idris and through the gentle rocky landscape of Mid-Wales it occurred to me how similar the landscape of the Celtic north of Cambria was to the ‘Celtic’ north landscape of Cantabria, Asturias and the Pais Vasco. And yet, as I searched my memory I cannot remember ever seeing a slate roof in Spain; nearly always the Roman red clay. I do remember seeing some stone (not slate so far as I know) roofs on ancient preserved grain stores, but nothing on a church or equally old building. All the 10th-16th century buildings in the preserved mediaeval precinct in Santillana del Mar (near Torrelavega) where I spent half my youth have clay roofs, and yet the area around is renowned for mineral extraction of all kinds since pre-history. If anyone can point me to any information on Spanish slate and railways used in their transportation I would be most grateful (an article would be better).

Next summer we will be travelling slowly between Santiago de Compostella and Bilbao, so I will try to discover if there was any slate industry in the North when I am there.

Geoff Eley has reported on some very uneven application of the new photography directive on a day trip to Murcia, though fewer problems elsewhere. Please send in any reports you have on this (and any other) issue. Re-reading the directive does seem to give a good deal of latitude to local interests, so be patient and smile sweetly until they realise that the average middle-aged north European with a camera is not likely pose a threat to railway operations!

Also, as it is the end of the summer hols I will expect lots of articles about the interesting things you saw in Iberia!

Michael Guerra 5 Spanish Railway Travels 1963 - Part 2 Murcia to via Cadiz

riday the 21st. of June saw Richard and I doing a bit of ‘normal’ tourism and taking F early lunch in the beautiful city of Murcia (why didn’t we at least go to have a look at the terminus of the Murcia-Caravaca Railway? Perhaps we got up late, and in any case I do recommend Murcia catering) before catching the 13.50 Automotor from Valencia to Granada. It was a long and tortuous road to Granada, and much as we might wish for the train to be steam-hauled, the railcar would at least complete the journey in six and a half hours for the 332 kilometres. As diesels go, the big comfortable 81-seat automotor, no. 9212M was quite interesting, built by Ganz of Budapest for the Norte Railway in 1937.

On the way south we ‘crossed’ three of the admirable Great Southern of Spain Moguls, namely 130-2121 ‘Murcia’, 130-2125 ‘Huercal’ and 130-2126 ‘Baza’, all by Neilson’s of 1889. At Guadix the shed gave a fine display of Andaluces Railway 2-8-0s; six of the handsome Babcock and Wilcox machines of 1926/8 and one of the even more handsome type built by North British in 1919. At Fonelas we overtook the Alicante- Granada Correo, drawn by one of the interesting Spanish-built Mikado tanks, 141-0212 (Maquinista 1925). Some went to the Madrid, Cáceres and Portugal Railway and some to the Baza and Guadix Railway. In 1963 they were concentrated in the Granada area. Lawrence Marshall remarked that they were particularly speedy machines – they certainly looked good. Another one, 141-0216, was in the loop at Deifontes with a Granada- Moreda Mixto local, and two more, 141-0214 and 141-0219 pulled in to Granada double-heading the Madrid Rápido, arriving virtually simultaneously with our automotor at 21.20. We were late to eat and late to bed, very pleased with the day and looking forward to the delights of deepest Andalucía.

A very hot Saturday was spent ‘doing’ Granada as normal tourists, then an even hotter Sunday saw Richard and I at the station in plenty of time for the eight-o-clock Algeciras Automotor. Pottering about with some shunting was our first centenarian. We had made 99 years at Albatera, but here was ex-MZA 030-2299 (Grafenstaden, 196/62, rebuilt Astillero Cádiz in 1939). It is never quite clear what ‘rebuilt’ means in these cases. It could mean something drastic or just taken to pieces and put together again. 2299 looked as antiquated as ever. On shed were three fine ex-Andaluces 2-8-0s by Baldwin from 1920, 140-2007, 2013 and 2014, plus five equally fine ex-Andaluces Mastodons by Borsig of Berlin and Hanomag from 1922. 240-2017, 2020, 2023, 2927 and 2044. Mastodon never quite caught on as the Whyte notation name for a 4-8-0.

6 The Algeciras Automotor was 9321, a typical Renault built by Material Móvil y Construcciónes, Zaragoza, under license in 1956. An hour down the line at Loja there was another Baldwin 2-8-0, an MTM 2-8-2T and a Borsig 4-8-0. At Bobadilla we changed to the Malaga-Sevilla Automotor with sister railcar 9319, leaving at eleven-o- clock. At La Roda we ‘crossed’ a freight train with another interesting type, a four- cylinder compound ten-wheeler, 230-4135 (Babcock & Wilcox 1928, but to an original French design of 1902). Another one was at Osuna, also on a freight train, and yet another one at Arahal. We arrived at Utrera at 13.18, and found time for a spot of lunch between observations from the platform. Here we met a nice station official who told us ‘I have to tell you that photography is not permitted here. I shall be away for lunch for at least two hours’. At least three good photographs were taken illegally. We had nearly three hours at this excellent junction station. Shunting about was ex-Andaluces 030-2552 (R Hartmann 2743/01) and visible on shed was ex-Andaluces 240-2045 (Hanomag 1922).

Movements at Utrera were:- 13.18 arr. 13.25 dep. Automotor 9319 - Granada-Algeciras (Our arrival train). 13.45 pass. 231-2005 Light engine – southbound. Here was another new to ‘cop’, and just about my favourite of all the Renfe types. They were big-wheeled Pacifics built by Babcock and Wilcox in 1930 for the Andaluces railway. They were still employed on their home ground, but soon to be banished by the dreaded diesels. One is preserved in the museum at Madrid Délicias. 14.58 arr. 15.05 dep. 231-2003, Cádiz-Madrid Correo (Photo. by Richard) 15.11 arr. 15.13 dep. 231-2004, Fish freight – northbound. 15.26 arr. 230-4128 (Euskalduna 101/28) Freight – southbound (loco to shed). Richard secured another nice photograph. 15.47 arr. 16.00 dep. 230-4142 (B & W 223/28) Morón to Sevilla Omnibus local, reversed with an engine change to 230-4136 (Euskalduna 101/28) 15.57 arr. 16.02 dep. 231-2006 (B & W 364/30), Madrid-Cadiz Correo. Jolly good! Not a diesel to be seen, and we got a ride behind a lovely Pacific on to Cádiz.

Fifty minutes later at Lebrija we ‘crossed’ another type of Pacific, ex MZA 231-2012 (Alco, Schenectady 1920) on a northbound freight train. Another hour later, during a six-minute stop at Jerez de la Frontera we observed the arrival of a northbound pick-up freight with an odd-looking ex-Andaluces 030-2497 (Fives-Lille 2827/92) and on shed were sisters 030-2496 and 2500, Alco Pacific 231-2022, and ex MZA 020-0239 (Couillet 1885) and 232-0228, a Baltic tank by Maffei of 1911.

On to Cádiz through flat deserted sherry grape vineyard countryside, arriving at 19.17. Here, on shed were ex-Andaluces 030-0225 (St. Leonard 1895), 030-2501 and 2551 (R. Hartmann 1877 and 1901), 231-2005 (see Utrera 13.43 pass.) plus one of the dreaded diesels -1606 (Alco 1954). These Alcos were part of an American Aid package, one imagines at least in some measure in exchange for facilities for the US Army Airforce and Naval bases, such as we shall meet later in this tour.

7 Utrera 23/06/63 - Renfe ex-Andaluces compound 230-4128 (Euskalduna 74/27) on southbound freight.

Utrera 23/06/63 - Renfe ex-Andaluces 030-2552 (R Hartmann 2743/01) shunting.

8 We started out a little late next morning, arriving at Cádiz station at half past eleven, in time to see the Madrid Expreso arrive behind Co-Co DE no. 1611 (Alco/GE 1955), a typical single-ended A-unit. Bad news, that didn’t bode well for the northbound Correo that we were going to take. Automotor 9518 plus trailer departed as the Madrid TAF. 9518 was one of the original Fiat express railcars from 1953. Three series of speedy TAF (Tren Automotor Fiat) trains were built, the third series being built in Spain by CAF under license from Fiat in 1964. As soon as the TAF cleared station limits there was great joy for Richard and me as a Pacific backed on to the stock for the Correo, away at 11.40. It was only a slight disappointment that it was 231-2006, our traction from the previous day. A different one would have been nice.

Utrera 23/06/63 - Renfe ex-Andaluces Pacific 231-2003 (B & W 361/30) on the afternoon Cádiz-Madrid Correo.

Eighty minutes later we were back at Jerez de la Frontera, where we changed to the 13.10 Jerez-Bonanza MV (mercancías y vehículos) mixed train, drawn by ex-Andaluces 030-2496 (Fives-Lille 2871/92). 2496 had been seen on shed the day before, when we remarked upon its odd looks; stepped running plate, huge stack, huge dome cover, and natty sunshades over the spectacle plates. The 22 kilometres through the sleepy vineyards took 66 minutes, and it was not very easy to find lunch in Sanlúcar de Barrameda at half past two. In most places that would be quite a normal time, but Sanlúcar was a dead-and-alive hole that had apparently gone to siesta already, in contrast to nowadays when, I am told, it is a very lively locality indeed and quite the ‘in’ place to

9 be. We returned to the main line by the other line, to Puerto de Santa Maria (two routes to a place that didn´t seem to justify one!). Our motive power was a pleasant machine, ex MZA Baltic tank 232-0223 (Maffei 3262/11). During this slow branch-line journey, we were intrigued to note that the line, and therefore our train and its passengers, passed unfenced and unchecked right through the centre of the huge US Navy base at La Rota at walking pace, in through a hole in the fence at one side and out at the other. This was at the height of the ‘cold war’ when the Yanks in particular were extremely jumpy, security-wise. No doubt the official gates were heavily guarded!

Puerto de Santa Maria was a pleasant place to spend a couple of early evening hours with a couple of beers under the vine-clad pergola of the station cantina, waiting for the Cádiz- Madrid Expreso. Another of the Fives-Lille six-coupleds ran through ‘light engine’, followed a few minutes later by a different ex-MZA class, 030-2546 (Hartmann 2638/01). A Cádiz-Jerez Omnibus came through with another Pacific, 231-2007, then half an hour later at 20.35 came our train, the Cádiz-Madrid night express with diesel 1611 (seen arriving at Cádiz on the same working that morning). Why couldn’t it have been 231-2007? A two-hour run saw us into Sevilla (San Bernado) at 22.28. Fortunately Sevilla is a very late kind of city, so we had no trouble finding food and a hotel.

Tuesday 25th June, and we were now really in the land of the centenarians. We went to the Plaza de las Armas station and straightaway there was one shunting – ex MZA 030- 2313 (Schneider 1863). In the station was an American Mikado, 141-2049 (Alco 1918) and then an American Pacific came in on the Madrid night express, 231-2024 (Alco 1920). Then we noticed that our intended train, the 08.50 Sevilla-Huelva Omnibus, had a near-centenarian hooked on! 040-2041 (Cail 1280/64) set forth with two very pleased passengers – for four minutes. Then, ex MZA Mountain 241-2062 (MTM 320/27) hooked on the other end, and we set off in earnest in the other direction. Oh well, we had four minutes with old 2041.

Only a few minutes down the line we came to Camas, where the works of the metre- gauge FC de las Minas de Aznalcóllar al Guadalquivir were situated, and reasonably well visible from the train. We could see 0-6-2Ts nos. 1 ‘Cadiz’, 3 ‘Aznalcollar, (but name not seen)’ and 4 ‘Guadalquivir’, built by Jung in 1904 and supplied new to this little railway. I had marked in my notebook at the time that we saw the works of the Minas de Cala line, but now it is apparent to me that was not so. After about an hour we crossed over the Rio Tinto, and it really was a bright red river from the effects of the natural and man- made copper pollution upstream. Here the three-foot-six gauge line of the Compañia Española de Minas de Rio Tinto SA came alongside the Andaluces line from the north and ran parallel to the main line into Huelva. At the next place, Las Mallas, we saw two of the large fleet of Rio Tinto that worked this 83 kilometre line. This was a British concern until 1954, and it certainly looked very British. I was reminded in a vague sort of way of the National Coal Board system at Ashington Colliery in Northumberland. They too had substantial locomotives, workmanlike but not at all handsome. No. 85 was a North British class I 0-6-0T of 1906 and 204 was a modern small-wheeled Mogul by Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns, 7700/54. Another case of a wrong maker’s plate, as it should have been 7703. 10

The mid-day temperature at Huelva that day was 41C or 105F! Not exactly conducive to energetic gricing, but we had a look at the Rio Tinto loading dock, where we saw 0-6- 0Ts 53 (Dübs 1883), 59 (Dübs 1884, 67 (Dübs 1889), 83 (North British 1906) and 121 (Avonside 1907). A couple of hot hours later we caught the 13.50 local back to Sevilla, in the form of new but uncomfortable ‘Ferrobus’ automotor no. 310 (later 591-310), Spanish-built under license from the German originators, Wagonfabrik Uerdingen. A heavy freight was about to leave Huelva with double-headed American Mikados, ex Norte 141-2044 and 141-2052 (Alco 1918). Another one, 141-2051 was in the loop at Escacena with another ‘up’ freight. At Camas we ‘crossed’ a Sevilla-Huelva Correo with an American Pacific, 231-2022 (Alco 1920). Back at the Plaza de las Armas station, we noted the shuttle train to San Jeromino had heavyweight power in the shape of 1954- built Alco diesel-electric Co-Co no. 1606. Altogether quite an Anglo-American afternoon.

We judged that the fine city of Sevilla warranted a bit of conventional tourism for the rest of that afternoon and the next morning. At the top of the Giralda tower we met a Spaniard who told us that in the thirteenth Century King Alfonso the Wise rode his horse all the way to the top of the tower whereupon the horse burst! According to my linguist brother his word could only possibly translate as burst.

On the way to the San Bernado station we noted, at the riverside sidings at Muelle de las Délicias, another of the Yankee Mikados, 141-2032, plus two more grand 99 year old 0- 6-0s, ex MZA 030-2305 and 2306 (Graffenstaden 1864). At San Bernado there were three more old-timers, 030-2323 (Schnieder 704/63), 030-2330 (Schneider 812/64) and 030-2335 (Schneider 834/64). We were sorely tempted to break our planned itinerary to take the 14.00 ‘MV’ local to Alcalá, to get a good ride behind 2335, but in the end we took the Cádiz-Madrid TAF express railcar as planned. The TAF was an hour late, with 9518 + 9518R. 9518 was one of the original series of Fiat diesel-mechanical cars of 1952, and of its kind it was quite comfortable, especially in the trailer.

Passing San Jeronimo we spotted two more ancient 0-6-0s, 030-2311 and 2312, by Schneider Creusot. A 2-hour run and we were in Córdoba, where we joined up with the Málaga portion of our TAF express, in the shape of 9533. We were now in 3000v d.c. electric country, but some venerable and interesting steamers were on show, if not quite so old as the inhabitants of Sevilla. There were ex-MZA 030-2242 and 2243 (Evrard 1883), ex-Andaluces 030-2515 (Cockerill 1897) and ex-MZA 0-4-0-2067 (Cockerill 1865). The parade of electric locomotives included one of the excellent Alsthom Co- Co’s, no. 7684 of 1956, of the design made famous on the SNCF as the record-breaking class 7100, three of the equally admirable British Vulcan Foundry/EE Co-Co’s of similar age, nos. 7770, 1 and 2, and two of the rival Westinghouse/SECN/Lima Bo-Bo-Bo’s, 7825 and 7826.

11 Valdepeñas 27/06/63 - FC Valdepeñas a Puertollano (750mm) 0-6-0T 'Asturias' (O & K 1001/05) on 08.30 arr. Calzada de la Calatrava 'Omnibus' local.

Valdepeñas 27/06/63 - FC Valdepeñas a Puertollano (750mm) 0-6-0T 'Asturias' (O & K 1001/05) on 08.30 arr. Calzada de la Calatrava 'Omnibus' local (in Colour!) 12 Out of Andalucía and back into La Mancha, three and a quarter hours later at 20.09, we stopped for the night at Valdepeñas. We took a quick look at the adjacent little station of the FC de Valdepeñas a Puertollano, where we found one of the delightful 75cm. gauge original locomotives of this railway, named ‘Vitoria’, a quaint 0-6-0 by Couillet of 1891. Industrial Railway Society pocket book SNG quotes this locomotive as rebuilt and converted to oil-burning in 1963. The same booklet states that the line closed on the 1st. September 1963, so that was another line visited, however briefly, just in time. There was also a small 0-6-0DM, no. 20, which pocket book SNG tells me was built by Metalúrgica de San Martín SA of , works number 1 of 1935, and coming to the VP from the Palamós line up on the Costa Brava. Was this the only locomotive that San Martín ever built? In the morning we were on hand to see the arrival of the mixed local train from Calzada de Calatrava, in the charge of 0-6-0 ‘Asturias’ (Orenstein & Koppel (Madrid) no. 1001, of 1905), very much as quaint as ‘Vitoria’.

Cinco Casas 15/10/66 - Renfe ex-Norte Automotor 9026M (pre-war Wismar type 4-wheeler, rebuilt Miró-Reig 1943.

Our train to Madrid was the 08.54 Córdoba-Madrid Correo, hauled by big Bo-Bo-Bo no. 7807. 7827 was at the Renfe station with a southbound freight. At Manzanares, 25 minutes up the line, we ‘crossed’ two freight trains in quick succession, with 7771 (Vulcan/EE) and 7829 (Westinghouse). Passing Cinco Casas we spotted in the sidings 4- railcar no. 9026M, an old Norte 4-wheel DM unit, used on the Tomelloso branch. Half an hour later we arrived at the important junction station of Alcázar de San Juan, where the line from Alicante and Murcia joins the Córdoba line. An engine change here, back to steam, and I was very pleased to experience another ‘class cop’ when we saw ex- 13 MZA 241-2109 (MTM 507/39) backing on. This small class of ‘semi-streamlined’ express locomotives, ten in total, had a quite striking appearance, with a curved running plate rolling down to the buffer-beam, wind-cutter cab and side shrouding reminiscent of Gresley’s ‘hush-hush’ LNER no. 10,000 (not that I ever saw that before rebuilding as a 4-6-4 with A4 type cladding. I suppose streamlining was all the fashion rage in the 1930s, but as Lawrence Marshall commented in his ‘Steam on the Renfe’ “exactly why the MZA decided to introduce streamlined locomotives is not quite clear as speeds on the Spanish Railways have never been high”. Mind you, that’s no longer the case, as we all know.

It was nice to be drawn back to Atocha by such a remarkable locomotive. We passed through the haunts of big standard Renfe types, of the series 240-2471 to 2717 and series 241-2201 to 2257. The 4-8-0s were introduced by the Andaluces Railway but the design found favour with the Oeste and the MZA, and finally with Renfe. The big ‘Mountains’, built for Renfe by MTM from 1944 onwards were the impressive pinnacle of Spanish design; save for the ten 4-8-4s of 1955, that worked the ‘Iberia Express’ through non-electrified Castille. Another older type of MZA ‘Mountain’ was 240-2025 (MTM 203/25) which passed us by on the approach roads between Cerro Negro and Atocha whilst we waited for a platform to be cleared. It is not often that a photograph taken from the carriage window comes out so well. The down Cádiz TAF rolled out of the terminus and we rolled in. We arrived at 14.10, nice time for lunch and then a stroll up the road past a magnificent building that turned out to be the Ministry of Agriculture to the famous Prado Museum Gallery for an afternoon of culture. Velasquez, Goya, El Greco and the Flemish and Dutch School paintings. Fabuloso, fantástico.

The next morning, and the last day in Spain for 1963, there was time to find the Madrid ‘Goya’ terminus of the metre-gauge Ferrocarril de Madrid a Almoróx. Goya terminus was in a rather working-class and unattractive quarter of Madrid, somewhere across the Manazanares River from the city proper. The railway was almost moribund in 1963, but is now largely incorporated in the Madrid metro and tram-train network. There was no activity at Goya at the time of our pedestrian visit, but four locomotives were present. ‘On shed’ were 0-6-0T no. 5 and 2-8-2T no. 5 and in the yard were two diesels, which I noted as 0-6-0DH no. 2 and Bo-Bo DE no. 1157. The smaller no. 5 was one of the original locomotives for the Ferrocarril de Madrid a Navalcarnero y Villa del Prado, built by Krauss of Munich in 1890. The other no. 5 was a ‘Ferrolana’, an exile from the Ferrocarril de Ferrol a Gijón, in the shape of one of the ten Mikado tanks built at the Arsenal of Trubia in 1934, but never used on that line. The first of the diesels was a ‘standard’ Batignolles product , works number 10 of 1959, built for the Government Ministry of Works (MOP) under the narrow gauge modernisation plan of 1953. These handy locomotives turned up at various metre-gauge centres during the ‘sixties’. The other diesel was also a member of an ‘MOP’ class, a group of twenty 675 h.p. Bo-Bo’s. 1157 was one of the second batch (the first batch of ten were diesel-hydraulic whereas 1157 was diesel-electric) delivered new in 1958 from Societé Naval courtesy of Schneider Creusot, and commonly known as ‘Schneiders’. In my notebook at the time I wrote 14 ‘possibly Alsthom’ but that was not correct, although that firm did supply some other ‘modernisation’ diesels through the MOP and later to individual railways.

That was a quiet finish to the 1963 tour, and on the way to Barajas Airport my brother Richard was already musing over another tour for 1964, suggesting that I travel overland to Pau in the French Département of Pyrénées-Atlantique, in the Basque country, and then over the Pyrenées to Zaragoza to meet him there. That sounded good to me.

Madrid Cerro Negro 27/06/63 - Renfe ex-MZA 241-2025 (MTM 203/25) light engine backing down to Atocha.

15 Our publications officer Myles Munsey reports most of the scenery in place on his latest modelling project 'La Mancha'. The layout nears completion.

s reported in Correo 9 work on 'La Mancha is going very well and I am pleased to A be able to report that the project is not all that far off completion. The plan is to carry out scenic enhancement work through the months of June, July and August (mainly at weekends) - with the actual unveiling to a select band of invited guests projected to take place in early September. This will also coincide nicely with my birthday!

Although every little scenic detail may not have been finished, it will I hope be a case for the layout to be in good enough order both scenically and electrically for a series of 'opening ceremonies' to take place.

Since the last issue a number of structures and buildings have been placed on the layout with a view to permanent attachment when all is well.

16

An N scale grain bin was purchased from Model Junction at Burnham (Bucks). This is intended to be a kind of upwards loading chute for cereal hoppers. N scale was selected simply because the HO version was too broad to actually fit into the space available bearing in mind that this is a very small layout. I made sure though that there was enough clearance below the chute/pipe for locos and wagons to actually pass underneath. There is - just!

For the goods shed I was actually struggling very badly with a kit until I came across a Skaledale factory building. This is supposed to be a British model, but I have painted the walls white and the roof orange (pending a view to thatching it at some point). Alongside a Faller Yard crane makes this little area look quite authentically Spanish and the goods shed will in time not look too dissimilar to the one at Tortosa. It has the advantage of having roller shutter doors and a nice hipped roof (which means it can be thatched) and is in my view a perfectly reasonable representation of a warehouse building).

Work on the cornfield continues. As described in the last issue this is a marathon task. I have used three and a half packets of field grass so far and have completed about 2/5 of the available area. Four more packets of this excellent product are on order - hopefully these will be enough.

17

None of the scenery around the platform area will be fixed down permanently until I am happy that the electrical side is 100% reliable [I was having a spot of bother with this recently] but this area can take its turn in the queue behind the 23 or so other tasks that I have listed out. This may seem daunting but in fact most of these are quick fixes -an hour's work or less perhaps, so it is nowhere near as bad as it might seem!

Bear in mind that an uncluttered look is essential. The rails have been repainted with an orange paint which gives a super oxidised effect, and looks excellent when set against the light grey bleached ballast.

Exhibitions (If you can help please contact: [email protected])

Saturday 27th September German Railway Society Exhibition Town Hall, Upper Clifton Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands B73 6AB 1030-1700

Saturday 22nd November and Sunday 23rd November Warley MRC Birmingham NEC 1000-1800 Saturday, 1000-1700 Sunday

18 Passage to Porto (and a few other places)

his article is a about a journey that I have just made to Porto and some excursions T that I made outside of it. My journey started on 31st August 2007 and finished on 10th September 2007. Sadly the no longer has a portion for Porto and that anyone wishing to travel to Porto has to change at B Consequently because of this Rail Europe in London cannot make bookings to Porto or any places between Coimbra B and Porto. Coupled with this was the difficulty of when tickets for the Sud Express were loaded on to the computer. Further Rail Europe have only one computer which handles booking to Spanish and Portuguese destinations. Also as a result of information that I had been given by Rail Europe I had been lead to believe that it was now possible to book a night train 90 days in advance and not 60 days as previously. Consequently I had to make three journeys to Rail Europe in London in the space of five weeks before I could obtain tickets for a journey to and from Coimbra B.

My journey to and from Coimbra B was relatively simple – if a trifle eccentric in that I decided to walk three miles to the nearest railway station rather than getting a taxi and arriving at Liverpool Street I walked to Waterloo via St Paul’s, the Millenium Bridge and the Tate Modern. Not that I went into either St Paul’s or the Tate Modern. Five years on my way to Stockholm I had visited the Tate Modern and nearly got robbed by it when the cloak room attendant decided to give me back only one case.

At Liverpool Street I’d bought a copy of the September edition of Cook’s European Timetable.

At Waterloo I took a that left for about ten minutes past ten. When Eurostar moves to St Pancras I will miss the journey out of Waterloo. There is, or when you read this was, something nice about seeing London from the train. Big Ben and the tower of Westminster Cathedral come to mind. When Eurostar started in 1994 I was working in a building just across the road from Lambeth Bridge and on the other side of which was Lambeth High Street. The building is now demolished. There is a degree of sentiment in what I feel about Eurostar using Waterloo.

Because, as you are probably aware, Portugal and Britain have the same time zone and are thus an hour behind and Spain. Consequently I did not change the time on my watch but relied rather on train numbers, which if you bear in mind the time difference in France and Spain is less risky than it may appear.

In Paris I took Line 4 of the Metro to Montparnasse station, where just before four French time I boarded a TGV to the . Note please anyone deciding to do this journey that you must validate your ticket in the self service validating machine before you board the train. Not a great deal can be said of the journey to Irun. By the time the train had reached the border with Spain. Fortunately the train was more of less on time, 19 whereas in 1997 when I went to it had been held up by problems with the overhead wire south of Biarritz. At Irun the Spanish insisted on x-raying everyone’s luggage for security purposes.

The Sud Express at Irun consisted mainly Portuguese 1st and 2nd class sleepers, 2nd class day carriages and a dining car and two Spanish 2nd class couchettes. Only one of the couchettes was in use. Motive power for the journey to the Portuguese border was as I later found out a RENFE class 333 . The Sud Express left Irun ten in the evening Spanish time. Had I wanted to take diner that evening on the train I could have had it.

The next morning I got up some time after five thirty or thereabouts when the train reached the Portuguese border at Vilar Formoso with the intention of watching the scenery from there to Coimbra B. As the train waited some time at the station I stepped on the platform. However unlike the late Pope John Paul II I did not kiss the ground. I knew that I was in Portugal because of the ornate tiles on the station building. Here the RENFE diesel was replaced by a CP of class 2600 .

The run from Vilar Formoso to Coimbra B for those who do not know it is very scenic with mountains and also a wide deep river.

On arrival at Coimbra B the first thing I did was book a ticket to Porto. I understood that reservations could be done at very short notice. Unfortunately I turned up on the day of the Red Bull Air Race in Porto and so I had to wait until 11.46 before I could get a train. However I did manage to get breakfast at the station buffet. The weather was and blazing hot sunshine and would remain so until I left Portugal. The 11.46 to Porto Campanhã was a class 4000 Alfa tilting train and was very comfortable and capable of reaching 220 km per hour. Each carriage had a screen which showed the time, outside temperature, next station and the speed. At one point the train reach 219 km per hour. Because of a number of factors, which may or may not have been connected with the Air Race the train was over a quarter of an hour late into Porto Campanhã. Here I went and got a ticket to Porto São Bento Because of the Air Race the train was absolutely packed. The train was a class 3400 four car emu. At São Bento a helpful policeman gave me directions to my hotel.

During my stay in Portugal I had plenty of time to observe the transport scene. The main form of transport in Porto is the bus. These are single deck non articulated vehicles. There is the new Metro with its articulated cars, which whilst I saw them I did not ride on them Porto is so easy to walk around. However contrary to what guide books say there are still two tram routes running. These are Routes 1 and 18 both of which serve the excellent tram museum which is situated at Massarelos on the river side. Route 1 goes from Infante to Passeio Alegre (Cantareira) and Route 18 from Infante to Carmo. However Porto is now reopening some of its tram lines and consequently at present in the centre of the city and there are number of unopened lines complete with overhead wiring. I rode on both routes. The cars used on the services when I used them 20 were four wheel cars. The livery was light brown and cream. The tram museum, which does have a good guide book in English has a large collection of trams dating back to the first trams in 1870s including a mule car. There is also a trolley bus and modern diesel bus which runs on natural gas. Quite a few Porto buses run on natural gas. And they advertise it!

All exhibits are labelled in Portuguese and English and the curators were very helpful. Photography is not allowed. But I only found this out after I’d taken some photographs – and no no-one stopped me. Next door is a depot which has various preserved road vehicles including trams, trolleybuses and buses. Whilst most of the most of vehicles are single-deckers there are a pair of double-deckers, which look very British, but are not because they are left hand drive. Since Porto’s tramway system carried goods traffic as well as passenger traffic there are a number of goods trams. Additionally the tourist information office at Infante is a tram. Apart from the trams Porto’s other significant transport interest may be found at São Bento station of the former Minho e Douro Railway.

The concourse is decorated with wonderful tiles depicting an episode of Portuguese history and the story of Portuguese transport. Porto also has some very interesting museums and churches. The best museums were superb with an excellent guide book supplied. Not so good were other museums where a non English speaking guide was provided as a matter of course. These guides it turned out spoke little Portuguese and did not let you linger in a room for long. The churches are quite interesting but beware because opening times seem arbitrary particularly on Sundays. Some never open to visitors. You can also take a good boat trip on the Douro under the bridges. And of course there are the port wine lodges. A lot of whom you can visit. All of whom want you to buy. And some are more subtly forceful than others. Sadly I did not find any model railway shops in Porto. Neither could I find very many books on railways in the book shops. I did however track down a nice book in Portuguese on Portuguese stations in old post cars another one on Portuguese steam written in French and Portuguese. Despite asking I could not find the book that was written to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Portuguese railways.

I also went beyond Porto as far as Coimbra, Aveiro, Guimarães and Braga. All are very interesting places. When going to and from Coimbra I was able to obtain reservations on trains leaving Campanhã and Coimbra respectively within 20 minutes. Reservations are compulsory on IC and Alfa trains. On the other hand on a busy day as happened when I arrived you may have to wait a few hours if you have not already booked. Fares on local trains are quite cheap. Coimbra still has a few trolley buses running. To give a summary of the towns: Porto is the Manchester of Portugal, Coimbra the Cambridge, Braga the Canterbury, Aveiro the Venice and Guimarães English equivalent would be Colchester as it is where Portugal was born.

Unfortunately I did not travel on any of the narrow gauge lines in Portugal although I did see the Vale do Vouga line. This was because I didn’t have time.

21 Equally although I saw the Railway Museum at Lousado advertised I did not visit it. . From my personal observations the main motive power on the (O)Porto to Lisbon line on Inter City trains are the class 5600 locomotives. These locomotives are also used on freight trains on that line and on the line to Spanish border at Vilar Formoso. The class 2600 locomotives are used on the Sud Express and on domestic passenger trains on the line to Vilar Formoso. The Sud Express is a class 2600 worked train. Class 2600 also work freight trains on that line and the main line. Classes 2500 and 2550 appear from what I saw to be confined to freight working. The (O)Porto electrified suburban services are almost all in the hands of the class 3400 emus although a few trains were in the hands of class 2100 emus. I did not see any diesel hauled passenger trains unlike my trip in 1997. The most common diesels were class 1400. These were used for all sorts of things including shunting, freight and empty stock working to the carriage sidings at Porto – unless the example I saw with passenger stock was going to work a passenger train. Class 1960 were confined to freight workings with class 1150 was solely engaged in shunting. Although I saw a class 350 rail car at Coimbra B several times I did not see it in action. At both Porto and Coimbra I saw class 400 and 450 dmus. At Aveiro and Espinho I saw the class 9630 dmus working the narrow gauge Vale do Vouga line. Whilst the Vale do Vouga trains at Aveiro share the same station as the main line trains, at Espinho the main line and the Vale do Vouga stations are 600 metres apart. Or for those who prefer imperial measures, well over a quarter of a mile apart.

Accommodation in second class carriages varies. On the Sud Express I observed leatherette seats in the second class carriages, but on all the internal trains that I travelled on mocquette seats were normal.

Portuguese stations for those who don’t know them are a mixed batch. In some of the major ones such as Campanhã there are subways. But equally some do not as at Coimbra B, which means that one has to cross the line. The railways do have a man to control passenger movements. No doubt Network Rail would have a fit. From my limited experience where stations have historic features such as tiles at Aveiro, Vilar Formoso and São Bento they are kept. São Bento is a very good example. Indeed the station is well preserved. In Guimarães the old narrow gauge station has been kept intact, but replaced by a new one for the broad gauge trains. Braga has a very new station.

Coming back I did sample the restaurant car twice on the Sud Express – for diner and breakfast. Dinner cost 20 euros and breakfast a little less than 5 euros. Whilst I enjoyed the experience of using the restaurant car it was not quite one would have experienced in 1929 when according to my Continental Bradshaw for April of that year the Sud Express was a train De Luxe.

If the Society at any point decided to visit Portugal I would happily go along – by train. At least you don’t have problems bringing the famed product of Portugal back. However I would recommend that entire compartments of couchettes for the society as sometimes not having a good grasp of a Portuguese can cause problems with other occupants. 22 Return Trip To Santander By Geoff Eley

s someone who doesn’t do flying my usual route when going to the UK is Valencia A – Barcelona (), Barcelona – Paris (), and Eurostar to London.

Class 130 Mini-Pato for Santander at a sunny Alicante on 07.02.08

Fancying a change I decided to try the direct route from Alicante to Santander using the new class 130 and ferry to Plymouth. The cost was €160 First class for a trip of over 500 miles each way and included 2 meals each way with wine and brandy on each trip covering a time of 8 ¾ hours.

Pair of Class 252 with 7 stock at a damp and overcast Alicante on 25.05.08 23 Front elevation of Santander RENFE/ADIF station on 26.05.08

Front elevation of Santander FEVE station on 26.05.08

24

So at 1405 on a damp and overcast Sunday we set of from Alicante. The first class consists of only 14 seats and at the end of the carriage a L.E.D display bearing train number and coach number and below this the details continually changed from time to destination to speed and temperature. The set used was 130-007/008.The early part of the journey produced no railway activity but there was plenty of building activity in progress with regard to the AVE extension to both Valencia(2010) and Alicante(2012). At Albacete only a 440 unit and at Alcazar 2 x 333 locos 339 and 351 and 1 x 470 unit. On arrival at Aranjuez there were 10 x 465 units – stabling point.

Also 3 carriages of the Tren de la Fresa but alas no sign of 282F0421 which hauls this train (see June issue of Today`s Railway Europe for pic)

On then to Madrid passed the large freight yard with plenty of locos visible in the distance including 310-046, 269-328 and 319s 228/241/258/320/326/328 and the AVE depot and under ground to Atocha and then onto Chamartin 12 minutes late but with a 20 minute stopover for replenishment this was soon made up. Visible here were 102-031/032, 130-015/016 and 252-025/034.

On leaving Madrid we pass the new depot for the 130`s and then through the gauge changer to take the new line to Segovia and Valladolid. This gave the train a chance to stretch its legs to 200kph. Segovia is approx 35 minutes travel and the majority of this is underground in two tunnels- Cero de San Pedro 8929 metres and Guadarrama 28697 metres (mobile phones even worked in these tunnels). Segovia produced 130-023/024. Onto Valladolid which produced 310-009 and a 440 unit.

Further stops at Palencia, Medina del Campo, Reinosa, Torrelavega and arrival in Santander at 2242. Nothing much seen due to rain and nightfall.

On the return journey 3 weeks later with class 130-019/020 one was able to admire the ruggedness of the north of Spain countryside especially the mountains where one minute a road crossed the railway way above the train and the next it was crossing a valley way below the train. Of note on the return journey there is a freight yard at Venta de Banos between Palencia and Valladolid and here were 6x class 269s 090/309/502/954/957/969. At Valladolid one of new Euro 4000 series locos class 335 owned by Comsa and also 310-009/014 and 269-093/705/708 and single unit 596-003. This appears to be quite a busy station/yard. At Madrid one of only 3 old Talgo locos 354-006 was working. At Albacete a mixed 130 set with 037/042 apparently fresh out of works was stabled.

The class 130, which is still in production, certainly gave a very smooth ride at both gauges and as usual the staff were excellent and the only problem we had was on the return journey after Madrid the air-con packed up and we sweltered for the rest of the journey at 28 degrees.

25 Santander RENFE: Local Class 440-078 stabled between turns. 26.05.08

Santander RENFE: Class 269s 962 & 971. 26.05.08 26 Back to the Anorak

ailway observation in the provinces of Alicante and Murcia is generally a hot shirt- R sleeved occupation, but in late November we had an unexpectedly cool and wet day – just the day I had chosen for an expedition in search of the fabled free tram of Murcia. The old anorak, complete with hood, had to be dug out of storage. It felt just like old times in the UK, the coat embracing my shoulders like a long-lost friend, but in the event it was far too hot for ‘cool’ Spain.

The train to Murcia was also far too hot, because the Spanish are not good at managing cool conditions. Escaping gasping from the overheated and very grubby DMU, I decided to walk (the fresh air was welcome, city traffic fumes and all) up to the city from the MZA station in the suburb of Carmen. The station is sometimes known as Carmen or Murcia del Carmen, which can be confusing to strangers. I crossed over the grand old bridge over the Segura river, past the Cathedral and the Casa Consistorial via Gran Via to the Plaza Circular, in search of the Murcia tram. I had a vague idea that the new tramline ran from the Plaza Circular, but I couldn’t find it. What I did find however, was the old terminus buildings of the Estado-built Murcia to Caravaca Railway. In imminent danger of death by thirst, I popped in to an adjacent pub and bought a beer. I asked the barman ‘Is the tramway somewhere near here?’ He replied ‘Sure, 100 metres along there’, indicating the road running past the old station. I also asked him ‘Is that the old station of the Murcia Caravaca line?’ He replied in astonishment ‘Good grief yes! How did you know? It’s the Water Company now.’

Murcia Caravaca line (Estado) terminus, now the water company offices. 21/11/07 27

During the years of the demise of steam the closed MC line was used to store many ‘dumped’ locomotives, and therefore became a bit of a Mecca for enthusiasts, rather like Barry Island. Unfortunately, I never visited it then, but I’m sure the likes of L G Marshall knew it well. The new tramline, laid down by Acciona, from just outside or at the throat of the MC terminus runs along the line of the old railway. I like to ‘ink in’ the map of lines travelled, but I wonder if a new standard-gauge tramline would qualify me to ink in that couple of kilometres of broad gauge Renfe line. I think not.

Alstom Citadis tram 151 - 1/7 arriving at Murcia Plaza Circular, 21/11/07

I photographed the incoming tram, and then rode it to the outer end of the line, at Parque Empresarial Nuevos Juzgados, where we were deposited on the central reservation of a busy dual carriageway, and one of the main routes into the city. The passengers had the privilege and pleasure of pressing a crossing button and stopping the traffic to leave the platform. , who presumably have the running and maintenance contract, have set up a temporary tram-shed and works pit just off the outer end of the station – the temporary terminus. Since opening at the end of April 2007 the trams have become heavily used, partly because the ride is free, but mostly because it has become a useful ‘park and ride’ facility, putting great pressure on the street parking in the adjacent industrial estate.

The line is double track, and although they operate a ‘one tram in juice’ scheme, they adopt right-hand running, very properly. Also very properly, the conductor (English 28 sense, not Spanish) solemnly issues single tickets for each journey, even though the ride is free for a period of thirty months from opening day. It is a pilot scheme, for a plan to lay down a whole network of trams around Murcia. To adopt and modify a modern saying ‘the tram is the new tram’. There is no sign, neither by earthworks nor by billboard notices, of extensions. It is a long way from the Plaza Circular through the city to the station, for instance. Presumably much of the system would have to be dug under the city by tunnelling machine, a much more expensive proposition than the easy laying of the pilot scheme on a central reservation, once a railway line.

The trams themselves, borrowed from Madrid, are standard Alstom Citadis 302 units. The two on view on the day of my visit carried the Murcia coat of arms and the brand name ‘TRANVI-MUR’. Their running numbers were 151-1/7 and 152-1/7. I was a little puzzled by the number stencils showing sections 1 to 7, because I could only see four corrugated ‘bendy’ joints. The commodious through flat floor makes it in effect one long tram anyway, but how does it divide into seven?

Murcia Renfe (ex MZA) station, 13.58 arrival of Lorca-Barcelona Talgo with 334-012. 21/11/07

For those who find themselves in Murcia with a couple of hours to spare, a visit to the tram could be enjoyable, not least because anything free must be a bargain. I discovered on my return to the station that I could have ridden the no. 39a bus between the station and the Plaza Circular for 85 cents each way, but I comfort myself with the thought that 29 the exercise did me good. I got back to the station around one-o- clock, and just had time for a beer and a bocadillo (Serrano ham) and a visit to the adjacent home of the Murcian Friends of the Railway (they have an excellent HO gauge layout of Murcia in the 60’s) before the busy few minutes when two expresses pass through in quick succession. The 13.38 Madrid to Cartagena Altaria and the 14.00 Lorca to Barcelona Talgo. These trains were at a useful time for a railway photographer because at that time all the security staff wandered off for the most important duty of taking lunch! Back at Callosa de Segura, one of my two ‘home’ stations, the other being Albatera-Catral, there was one last bonus of a southbound container freight to photograph. Once again, a good day out.

Callosa del Segura; Southbound container freight with 333-334. 21/11/07

30 Madrid : An Impression

he capital of Phillip II is almost unavoidable to travellers wishing to avoid the T Costas. Plucked from obscurity in the 16th century it is very definitely at the centre of things, both geographically and politically. Like Paris is to France and London is to Britain, Madrid is also the central hub of the mainline railway network. It is also the home of my father and several members of my family, even though my paternal family roots are definitely Cantabrian. Without wishing to repeat myself, the only proper way to arrive in or depart from Spain is on the Trenhotel from Paris. While currently less economically efficient or speedy than flying, nothing else really brings the size of Spain home than taking breakfast or dinner while immersed in such an ancient hard landscape. A landscape shapes its people, and while Madrid is geographically incongruous, it nevertheless moulds its citizens with its extremes of weather, and the feeling of being hemmed in on a plateau. My late cousin Mercedes had a summer house (more a shed really) in the Sierra Guadaramma (above Los Cotos). Her family used to escape the mid- summer dry heat to picnic or weekend there and look back at the lights of the city. She, like me, was brought up in Torrelavega, but she had become a Madrileña, and loved the city most when she could watch it from the Sierra. I miss her.

We arrive at Charmartin, and even if we have to get to Atocha for a connection, immediately go upstairs to enjoy a café con leche and look at the model trains in the toy shop nearby. If we have time we’ll stand on the through platforms and watch the world go by. It’s easier to spot than at Atocha, while the old Norte station at Principe Pio has become a shopping mall with a railway intersection. Eventually we’ll take the Cercanias to Atocha (via Nuevos Ministerios – now called Huevos Mysterios in the family!) and get our connection onward. Atocha is grand where Charmartin is unassuming, and Principe Pio is more Liverpool Street. Atocha is detached from its trains, in the same way that the 1970s Euston is. Turning railway stations into airports dampens the magic of travel, and excessive security makes us all feel unnecessarily suspicious.

If we are staying in Madrid we’ll be in one of those hotels between Puerta del Sol and the Prado. The centre of Madrid is pretty easy to walk round, and especially in the evenings it is quite enjoyable to be out buying ice cream and enjoying the paseo. During the day there are the art museums and the delightful botanic gardens nearby. We use the metro with the carnet tickets if we want to go out to Delicias, and occasionally the children have persuaded us to go out to the Warner Brothers park on the Cercanias.

Madrid is also an ideal place to visit the old capital of Toldeo with its rebuilt Alcazar and sword shops; Segovia, Aranjuez and the ancient University town of Alcala de Henares, are also worthwhile days out. Madrid may have many of the problems of a big city, but it smells less than Paris or Rome, and is more interesting than Zurich or Frankfurt. The chips aren’t as good as in Bruxelles, and the architecture is perhaps less stimulating than Barcelona or Sevilla, but if you are passing through, and the weather is equitable, then plan to tarry a day or two in Phillip’s, and my, city. 31 Murcia trams - Alstom temporary depot with 152 - 1/7 inside, 21/11/07 Rarfe Chambers