Barrow Hill's Midland Railway and LMS Celebration
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE BARROW HILL ENGINE SHED SOCIETY MAGAZINE Winter 2015 Price £2.50 Issue 49 Barrow Hill’s Midland Railway and LMS celebration See page 10 More memories from Dave Darwin Merv & Dale go back to school Page 25 See page 44 MORE photos and stories INSIDE... including a preview of 2016 events - Rail Ale and Members’ Social Evenings See pages 15-18 Top: Sunbeams shine down upon a fabulous LMS/Midland line up in the Roundhouse just before the September gala, giving us all a glimpse of what it might have been like some 50 years ago. Bottom: One of the seven visiting locos at “Ticket to Ride”, 43106 Flying Pig is seen in the yard being prepared for the gala. Photos: Geoff Griffiths OpeningOpening Shot...Shot... It’s not just about the big engines - Vulcan was also popular with the photographers at the “Ticket to Ride” gala. Photo: Dale Holford CONTENTS Chairman’s Notes 4 Heritage Lottery Fund update 5 Headline News & Newslines 6 - Turntable Overhaul - The Welshman - Alma Rail - Class 50 makes a return visit to Barrow Hill - The Polar Express - Belmond Pullman Servicing Events Update 9 - Engine Shed Concerts Presents . - The LMS & Midland Region Steam Gala of the Year - Rail Ale 2016 - Members Evenings 2016 Aspects - A Model Railway 19 Dave Darwin Remembers 25 Steam Locomotive Department Notes 29 From the Archives 32 Volunteers’ Report 34 Money Matters 37 Historical Corner 40 And Finally 44 FRONT COVER: Star of the show Duchess of Sutherthand at the “Ticket to Ride” gala in September. Photo: Geoff Griffiths HAVE YOU GOT A MEMORY From the Manager OF BARROW HILL IN Welcome to the final edition of the STEAM OR DIESEL DAYS? Barrow Hill Newsletter for 2015. Do you have photographs of the The year is coming to a close but there are depot which we could use in future some exciting prospects in store for 2016. issues of the Newsletter? The lottery bid was handed in on Friday 13th Please get in touch with Alexa Stott November and we should know the result by post: Barrow Hill Roundhouse, by March 2016. Campbell Drive, Barrow Hill, Chesterfield, Derbyshire S43 2PR. It was an excellent effort by all those involved but particular thanks should go to Or email: [email protected] Anita Hollinshead who has done a fantastic job of putting the bid together. If we are Designed and printed by successful then it will be the beginning of design print web signs another exciting phase in the life of the Tel: 01777 860579 www.burgessdesignandprint.com 2 The crowds gather on a sunny September day to view the fabulous LMS/MR line up at the Roundhouse. Photo: Dale Holford Roundhouse and will move us even further help boost our annual tally. up the Premier League! The HLF bid, if successful, along with the Reflecting on the second half of 2015, the ongoing growth of the commercial side of September concerts (Rick Wakeman on the business, plus the volunteer projects and Friday 11th September and Paul Carrack the 2016 Rail Ale Festival – and anything else on Saturday 12th September) were a very that crops up (there is usually something!) - pleasant alternative to our normal events and should provide us with a busy but satisfying our fantastic LMS/Midland Railway steam gala 2016 and help Barrow Hill to continue to (on Friday 25th, Saturday 26th and Sunday grow and prosper. 27th September) was a great spectacle Thank you to everyone who has played a part and received very good coverage in the in our success and here’s to a fabulous 2016. magazines afterwards. Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year We can now look forward to our May 2016 to you all. Rail Ale Festival which will undoubtedly be a big fund raiser for the Roundhouse and also Mervyn Allcock bring in a large number of visitors which will General Manager 3 CHAIRMAN’S NOTES It has been a busy (sometimes Apart from all that, the main work has hectic!) and enjoyable year at been the preparation of our Round Barrow Hill, but they all are, 2 Heritage Lottery Fund bid for £1m. aren’t they? Following the success of our Round 1 bid we had to produce a much more The events are reported elsewhere, but comprehensive submission setting out the were probably more varied this year detail of our proposals. than before, ranging from the one day “Morayshire” event to the four day “Ticket Most of this work was ably done by to Ride” Midland Gala. In between we had our consultant Project Manager, Anita the Diesel “Rarities”, a Classic Car Rally, Hollinshead, who led a team of specialists two concerts with Rick Wakeman and Paul to produce the detailed architectural, Carrack, and a wedding. interpretation and learning work. This was reported to the Committee on a regular Attendances at the two big events were basis and to the membership in our last satisfactory, but we could have done with Newsletter. more to justify the costs and time involved in staging them. We shall need to think The submission was finally made on Friday hard about what sort of events to stage in November 13th, hopefully a lucky day for the future. Whilst we always want to put Barrow Hill. We shall not hear the result on good shows we need to make money as until March next year and, if successful, we well to pay for improvements to the site. should get the go ahead in June 2016 and work will continue until 2019. In terms of personnel, 2015 sadly saw the retirement of Don Cambridge from the During some of this time parts of the site Committee, although his commitment to and buildings will be shut for essential Barrow Hill remains; he is team leader in works to proceed. The current thinking the Archive. is that the main disruption will take place after the 2016 Rail Ale event until May He was replaced on the Committee by the following year when there will be re- Paul Millington, who also acts as Volunteer opening celebrations. We will publish more Coordinator, introducing new volunteer details of all this in subsequent editions policies and induction procedures to when we know whether or not we have ensure that everyone knows what they are been successful with our bid. doing and what their responsibilities are. He will be assisted in this work by Sandy For now, best wishes to you all for a Happy Crawley. Jon Pridmore has also come onto Christmas and a happy and successful New the team to assist in ensuring the Health & Year. Safety of volunteers. Mike Kennedy 4 The Heritage Lottery Fund and Barrow Hill Roundhouse PROJECT UPDATE Anita Hollinshead, our HLF Project Manager, brings us up-to-date on the progress of the project since the last Newsletter. The Round 2 Bid for the Moving Forward Project was submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) on Friday 13th November. We will find out if the bid was successful in March 2016. the Coal Board Authority and Borough Council advised that they required us to The overall purpose of the project has identify any shallow coal workings on site not altered since our Round 1 application that would impact upon the construction but the work the project team has of the new entrance building. In October, undertaken over the last year, coupled with we commissioned borehole works which the feedback we got from the Heritage would establish the situation. Happily, no Lottery Fund when we met with them shallow coal workings were found and we in October, has led to some additional were able to reassure HLF that there was activities being included in the project. no risk to the project in this regard. These include: a Community Archaeology Anita Hollinshead Project focusing on the site of East and West Railway Terraces which were adjacent So that’s it for now: the hard working to the Roundhouse and demolished team can take a well-earned breather! around 1970, transforming the redundant However, the fundraising for the Moving workshop space in the Roundhouse into Forward Project continues. The HLF has an engineering conservation and training made it clear that it considers sustainable workshop and refurbishing the office fundraising a key part of the project as it in the Roundhouse to provide office moves forward. If you would like to be a accommodation for the new Project part of the next chapter in the story of Manager and Learning & Access Officer the Roundhouse, please take a look at our when they are appointed. fundraising page on the Barrow Hill website or email Alexa Stott at alexa@alexastott. In September Chesterfield Borough Council com. Thank you for your support. awarded full planning permission for the project proposals including listed building Now it’s all fingers crossed for a positive consent. During the planning process result in March 2016! 5 HEADLINE NEWS In early September we discovered some issues with the heart of the Roundhouse, the turntable. So in November Victoria Fabrications commenced the vital repairs, initially dealing with a fault on one of the support wheels which runs along the outer rail in the turntable pit. They then levelled the turntable to stop any loco wheels catching the raised rail as they enter the turntable. However, in doing this, some further small issues have been identified which will need to be dealt with. Work is continuing but the table will be running smoothly well before the 2016 Rail Ale event in May. In late October, long term resident and a familiar sight at the side of the Roundhouse, Manning Wardle The Welshman left by lorry to go to its new home at the Foxfield Railway.