Newsletter Issue 44
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THE BARROW HILL ENGINE SHED SOCIETY MAGAZINE Spring 2014 Price £2.50 Issue 44 A historic weekend for the Roundhouse - “East Coast Giants” Review See page 11 VIGNOLES RETURNS ROUNDHOUSE See page 35 MYSTERIES See pages 38-40 OpeningOpening Shot...Shot... Another atmospheric shot from one of the photo charters for “East Coast Giants” in February 2014. Photo: Duncan Langtree ABOVE: Top Shed 2014 - A4 4464, A4 4489 and A4 60008 line up for “East Coast Giants” during one of the photo charters in February. Photo: Duncan Langtree BELOW: Class 20 20142 shunts the GBRF barrier wagons used for hauling London Underground S-stock around the country. Photo: Dale Holford CONTENTS A proud day for the Roundhouse! East Coast Giants lined up in the Chairman’s Chinwag 4 yard in February 2014. Headline News & Newslines 5 Photo: Chris Milner - Your Roundhouse Needs You! - I’ll Huff and I’ll Puff…. - Tornado, the P2 and the BBC - Commercial Activity - Comings and Goings - Electronic Newsletter - Reboarding of Pits - 100 Years of Service Events Update 11 - Membership Evenings 2014 - Christmas Social - “East Coast Giants” - Rail Ale Preview - Roundhouse Open Days and “Barrow Hill Live!” Dave Darwin remembers 17 The Archives 18 Locomotive Department 24 DPS Report 27 Volunteers’ Report 31 Money Matters 32 Membership Secretary’s Report 34 Historical Corner 35 Other Items 38 - Caption Competition - A Mystery Window - And Finally…another Mystery? FRONT COVER: A4 60008 Dwight D Eisenhower on shed at Barrow Hill during “East Coast Giants” in February 2014. Photo: Fred Kerr by thanking all of you who helped and be continuing to develop the commercial HAVE YOU GOT A MEMORY From the Manager attended and made it such a success; your side as well as maintaining, repairing OF BARROW HILL IN support is always appreciated. and developing the heritage side of our STEAM OR DIESEL DAYS? Welcome to the first operations. Please tell everyone about all Newsletter of 2014. We are now planning for the rest of 2014 the events at Barrow Hill so we can attract Do you have photographs at the Roundhouse which includes “Rail even more people this year than last! of the depot which you think we’d Ale” in May (with a Thursday evening like to use in future issues And what a start to 2014 it has been! of the Newsletter? The “East Coast Giants” event over the session being added to this year’s event I look forward to seeing you all at Barrow weekend of 8th and 9th February was a – along with some other improvements), Hill in 2014. Here is to another excellent Please get in touch with us at: year, full of surprises no doubt! Barrow Hill Roundhouse, far greater success than we could ever “Roundhouse Open Days” in association Campbell Drive, Barrow Hill, have hoped for - and it didn’t snow! There with our friends at the Chesterfield Canal Chesterfield, Derbyshire S43 2PR is a more detailed report further in in Festival in June and “Barrow Hill Live” in this Newsletter but I would like to start September. Alongside these events we will Mervyn Allcock, April 2014 Designed and printed by design print web signs Tel: 01777 860579 www.burgessdesignandprint.com 2 3 CHAIRMAn’S CHINWAG HEADLINE NEWS Writing these notes just a few days detailed expressions of how those Aims YOUR ROUNDHOUSE NEEDS Email: [email protected] after “East Coast Giants”, I am still will be achieved. The Committee has YOU! Post: Simon Hartshorne, VLO, Barrow astounded by how lucky we were with come up with a list of what we think is the weather and how many people the way we want to go, but this is your The need for a Volunteer Liaison Officer Hill Engine Shed Society, Campbell Drive, turned out to view our display. We Society, and we want to see whether you (VLO) was identified some time ago as Staveley, S43 2PR share our views. So please have a look at had initially been concerned about part of an ongoing process to improve the the supplement to this Newsletter where I will then send you a survey form either the possibility of being snowed off and the Aims and Objectives are set out and ‘lot’ of volunteers at Barrow Hill. It has by return email, or by return of post, then later rained off. We need not have let me have your comments. been clear to me for a while that some whichever you prefer. I look forward to worried. As I tell all our visitors “the discontent is present within the ranks The second major activity is putting working with you to improve and develop sun always shines on Barrow Hill”. and I have offered to establish and fulfil together an application for a £1m grant your role at Barrow Hill; remember – if the role of VLO for a period of one year There is more elsewhere about the event, for the Heritage Lottery Fund. This you don’t contact me I can’t help you. only – until the next AGM. This should but it is worth pointing out how much time covers two main activities. The first is goes into planning and preparing for these for an extension to the Roundhouse allow sufficient time for the Committee to I’ll Huff aND I’ll Puff events, and how much time is spent by to provide better facilities for visitors, establish my successor. including a new entry point, better AND I’ll BLOW YOUR volunteers over the weekend. There is also Some of you may be aware that I already a significant cost in staging something like catering and eating facilities, a shop better HOUSE DOWN placed to encourage sales and some occupy a position within the management “East Coast Giants”. All of which makes our Well it might have been some dynamite admission costs pretty reasonable. A fact new toilets. We also want to be able to structure at Barrow Hill, having held the recognised by most of our visitors. provide better facilities for conference/ position of Compliance Manager for some rather than a big bad wolf and there training events for the rail industry. seven or so years. As part of this I have certainly weren’t three little pigs but I try to thank all involved in putting on The second major activity is to encourage carried out some training (predominantly 12th December 2013 was the day the these events but to those of you I missed, more non-rail enthusiasts to visit Barrow ‘Initial Safety’ and ‘Responsible Officer’) brick yard chimneys – after many months can I say how much your efforts are Hill and learn about the history of the and many of the competence assessments of rumours – finally came down in a appreciated. Without you such events depot. This we hope will include many on site. I may also be familiar as one of thoroughly professional and organised way, would not happen. of the local people who are descendants the ROs at events and open days. For this as evidenced by the video footage that you of former workers at the depot. One of can find on the Barrow Hill website and Turning to Committee activities, there the ways we are thinking of doing this I receive a nominal remuneration – the are two issues which are taking up a fair is to tell the story of the shed through additional duties of VLO will not incur any Facebook page. bit of our time at present. The first is the lives of the people who worked here additional expense. Dave Darwin looks back at the history of the need to get our Accreditation return from its opening in 1870 right through these iconic local landmarks. to Arts Council England so that we can to the current day. We hope to do this In order for this to be a productive 12 maintain our status as an Accredited by means of a theatrical production months I need your help. I have a list of 12 noon on the 12th day of the 12th Museum. This is useful for marketing in the Roundhouse using professional those of you who either (in one form or month. purposes and ensures that we remain actors and local people, music, film another) have undertaken, or continue to eligible for grants. So it is a worthwhile and most importantly of all, steam and undertake, volunteer activities on site. I This was the exact moment when the if laborious exercise. One thing we need diesel locomotives. It is potentially a would very much like to hear from you as silent sentinels which have overlooked to do is to produce a Forward Plan for very exciting project, and would involve soon as possible so that I can establish a the Roundhouse and shed yard for 84 the next five years. This sets out what many people in researching the story, and years were demolished, without ceremony, we want to do and how we are going devising and putting on the show. starting point for the programme. to do it, and it covers all aspects of our by controlled explosion. The brick yard I have developed a short survey which I’d operations. A key part is the section on The next few months look like being very chimneys, built in 1929 and in use by 1931 Aims and Objectives. Aims are the broad busy but very rewarding, which is in itself like you all to complete, please contact me took just seconds to be razed to the ground. headings of the sort of things we would the story of Barrow Hill! in one of the following ways to set the ball like to do and Objectives are the more Mike Kennedy, Chairman rolling: 4 5 HEADLINE NEWS continued..