Mid January and we are all, once again, in a lockdown situation meaning that anything railway related has been well and truly 'put on ice' - except essential work. This includes the checking of batteries and, because of the weather, ensuring the locos (particularly those outside) are not showing the effects of the bad weather and cold temperatures.
Well, what to do in a blog that showcases.....well, not a lot. By this time we were hoping that D6948 would have been lifted and work could start on its bogie refresh and air leak repair, 1693 would have been ever closer to its repaint, D5343 would on the road to having its engine put back together and, for the DMU Gang, preparation would be well underway prepping the Class 117 for a week of early year running in March! Sadly, all of this has been pushed back and, having had our Motive Power AGM last weekend, the general thought is that we won't be running until the spring at the earliest - possibly around Easter.
So…..we take a journey back in time, again. However, we look at two different 'Days Gone By on the Honeybourne Line'. Firstly, again, I extend my eternal thanks to Tom Cullimore and Nigel Black for giving their permission to share these fine pictures.
Stop 1 is a trip back 51 years to 1970. The Honeybourne - Cheltenham line was still very much in use, primarily for freight or for diverted passenger and parcels workings. Northbound passenger workings that were due to be routed via Toddington, that were also booked to stop at Cheltenham Lansdowne (now Cheltenham Spa) station, would face an interesting reversal move out of Lansdowne station to Lansdowne Junction before picking up the Honeybourne route. However, south bound services, it seems, were never required to stop at Cheltenham Lansdowne. The first of two pictures from the collection of the late Bill Potter shows a working running south past Lansdowne station on the Honeybourne line.
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| Brush Type 4, 1909, heads towards Lansdowne Junction, Cheltenham, on the 1V90 1430 Leeds-Plymouth which has been diverted over the Honeybourne Line. This is showing the line heading towards St. James station. To the left, the ex-LMS line starts to curve into Cheltenham Lansdowne (Spa) station. 12 June 1970. (Bill Potter Collection, courtesy of Tom Cullimore) |
It is strange to see the tracks of the Honeybourne line seemingly well used and it belies the fact the route only had 6 and a half years left! In fact, you could say that they are in better nick than the ex-LMS route to the left! This area is now utilised as part of the station car park at Cheltenham Spa.
1909 would lead a very long life in service. The loco was renumbered 5 times (1909, 47232, 47665, 47820 and 47785) and would carry two names as 47785 - 'The Statesman' and 'Fiona Castle'. It was delivered new to Cardiff Canton in 1965 and would see allocations to Gateshead, Glasgow Eastfield, Bristol Bath Road and Crewe Diesel, before being withdrawn in 2003. The loco was subsequently preserved and is now based at the Wensleydale Railway.
The next picture is a little further up the line at Bishops Cleeve and gives a view that is very different to that we have today.
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| Another Brush Type 4, 1727, this time in BR Blue, heads a Class 8 coal train past the what was to become the Royal British Legion and, more recently, a nursery at Bishops Cleeve. The loco would be approaching, what is now, the foot crossing into Woodmancote on the current line. 20 December 1970. (Bill Potter Collection, courtesy of Tom Cullimore) |
For those not well acquainted with the area, the picture shows a marked difference to how the area looks now. As we drive through there, modern housing has now encroached on both sides of the line, giving little clue to the railway infrastructure that was there. The site of Bishops Cleeve station can be identified by the ubiquitous Scots Pine trees in the background, above the rear of the train. It is also interesting to see that it appears that the signal box, sited on the 'down' side of the line, has been demolished.
1727 was new to Old Oak Common in 1964 and would see subsequent allocations to Bristol Bath Road, Bescot, Immingham, Stratford, Cardiff Canton, Crewe Diesel, Carlisle Kingmoor, Gateshead, Glasgow Eastfield, and Toton, before being withdrawn in 2007. Like 1909, it would also be renumbered 5 times in its career - bearing the numbers 1727, 47135, 47664, 47819 and 47784. It was also named, as 47784 - 'Condover Hall'.
Stop 2 sees us lurch forward in time to the fledgling GWR and the years 1993 and 1994. By this time, the railway had made great strides south and the line now reached Far Stanley. Cheltenham Racecourse was still a little under a decade away. The following photos are courtesy of Nigel Black who has been a mainstay of the P'Way Department at the GWR and, like Mr. Cullimore, was a regular loco spotter on the line in his youth. The photos below were all taken during Nigel's early volunteer years with the P'way department.
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| One time resident, Class 50, 50021 'Rodney' heads past the site of Hayles Abbey Halt as it heads towards Winchcombe. It would be another 20 years before Hayles Abbey Halt would reappear on the railway map and, another 25 years before the sounds of an English Electric 16CVST engine were heard echoing through the Cotswolds. 1993 (Courtesy of Nigel Black) |
50021 was one of the first 'heavy' mainline locos to arrive on the line and was restored by a number of volunteers who would go onto form the early Diesel Department and, eventually, would become mainstays of the railway. 'Dave', as the loco was informally known due to references from characters in UK comedy Only Fools and Horses, would leave the railway in 1995 and headed to Bo'ness where she languished for a number of years. Bought by a private individual back in 2015 with the intention to return it to mainline use for railtours, the loco is currently undergoing a very thorough overhaul at Eastleigh.
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| If ever a photo epitomised how the GWR has progressed, its this one. 50021 has arrived at Winchcombe, which still resembles a building site, with a southbound train. No second platform, no Carriage and Wagon shed extension, no footbridge, no station canopy! September 1993 (Courtesy of Nigel Black) |
After the arrival of 'Rodney' there was a brief explosion of diesel loco arrivals to the GWR. Initially, the fleet included three Class 14s and a few shunters - industrial and ex-BR. However by 1994, the GWR was also to become home to a Class 20, a Class 31, a Class 37, a Class 47 and, of course, 50021. There was also the arrival of a DMU set. In these views from the 22 July 1994 we see how the diesel fleet had expanded somewhat.
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| Class 31, 31123, and Class 47, 47105, out on test at Toddington shortly after arrival at the railway. Its evident to see the amount of parts robbing had occurred to the Class 31 between withdrawal and its preservation. (Courtesy of Nigel Black) |
Sadly, 31123 would not last long in preservation and would be out of service with a serious engine failure by 1997. Sold to the A1A Group, she was used as a spares donor for 31271 and 31418 before being cut up in 2006. On the other hand, 47105 is currently in the final throes of an 8 year overhaul and will hopefully see service again towards the end of 2021.
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| The Class 14s were a very popular addition to the diesel fleet, however, they would eventually end up being taken elsewhere by their subsequent owners. At this time, Toddington Yard was all open and any restoration work was done either in the open or in one of the small prefab sheds dotted around the yard. It would be another 12 years before the David Page shed was built, and 2012 before the diesel shed was built. In this line up we have Class 14, D9537 as well as pre-restoration 37215 and 20137. Behind them is a Class 108 DMU that was an early resident of the line. (Courtesy of Nigel Black) |
