tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post8798895291815131401..comments2023-07-10T14:18:09.980+01:00Comments on Extension Blog: Siding completedJo http://www.blogger.com/profile/05480195769830116100noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-54641401020896196262017-08-24T16:32:28.713+01:002017-08-24T16:32:28.713+01:00I don't know if I'll be at Broadway for th...I don't know if I'll be at Broadway for the actual opening day, but I'll certainly be there as soon as I can. I live in London these days, but my mum still lives in Cheltenham (she always asks when the GWR will get to Stratford, so she can go to the theatre!) and I visit the line fairly often.<br /><br />I can't claim to have played a big part in the early days. I did a bit of shovelling, basically. My dad helped to run the Toddington shop for a while, and was even Father Christmas one year, when the grotto was in the office attached to the goods shed. There was thick show that year, so it was a very authentic scene.<br /><br />Now that I'm thinking of all this, I remember I also drew up some track plans for possible layouts at Toddington and Winchcombe, which were then turned into slides by Mike Shorland, for use at a public meeting at Cheltenham Town Hall. <br /><br />I remember Mike was very insistent that although the plans were fairly theoretical (we didn't actually have any track at the time), they had to accurately represent operating procedures. So I had to make sure the front siding at Toddington (which occupies the bed of the old northbound running line) was correctly shown at a greater distance from the single-track running line (the former southbound line). If you look at the Toddington track layout, you'll see a slight swerve in the platform 1 line when it becomes a siding and moves over to create the mandatory clearance. I remember drawing that in my bedroom, before there was any track on the ground!<br /><br />All this was at a very early stage, before the GWRS had even bought the trackbed. We were trying to convince people that rebuilding the railway wasn't a completely mad idea, and please could everyone give us some money.<br /><br />As I recall, the meeting was hosted jointly with Sustrans, who wanted to turn the entire line into a cycle path. The idea was to have the cycle path and a single track side by side - not a plan that everyone liked. But Sustrans had access to some fairly generous government grants, so it was a case of going where the money might be found.<br /><br />I don't quite know what happened to the cycle path idea, but it obviously didn't happen - although Sustrans did eventually take over the Long Marston - Stratford section.<br />Michael Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08386451061160258935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-89037953410284440002017-08-23T19:25:16.571+01:002017-08-23T19:25:16.571+01:00Michael Johnson,
Fantastic to read your part in t...Michael Johnson,<br /><br />Fantastic to read your part in the GWSR story. Thank you for taking the time to explain what happened.<br /><br />Michael, will you be at the opening of the Broadway Station?<br /><br />Best Wishes,<br />Mark.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-70594321773721903752017-08-23T09:10:30.917+01:002017-08-23T09:10:30.917+01:00Cadbury is now up at Tyseley - I seem to recall it...Cadbury is now up at Tyseley - I seem to recall it revisited GWSR (albeit not in steam) a few years back?Geoffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-17367583962072361112017-08-23T00:41:35.503+01:002017-08-23T00:41:35.503+01:00Cadbury No 1 came back to the GWSR (in non-working...Cadbury No 1 came back to the GWSR (in non-working order)from the BRM at Tyseley for display temporarily during the May 2009 Cotswold Festival of Steam. I remember it hauling the 1st train from Toddington on the GWSR opening day in April 1984. It belonged to the Dowty Railway Society who, as Michael Johnson quite rightly says, had a significant collection of standard gauge as well as narrow gauge stock. (One item was a beautiful Collett GWR Centenary coach, which v quickly went off to the GWS at Didcot! Only the narrow gauge and some fine museum memorabilia now remains at Toddington. For the GWSR opening day, Cadbury No 1 carried a headboard proclaiming "22nd Year Dowty Railway Society" At the time I thought that was downright mean and part of me has never forgiven that hissing little coffeepot for what it displayed on that day! Toddington Ted.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-25782737384618541592017-08-22T22:17:18.978+01:002017-08-22T22:17:18.978+01:00Fascinating little story there!
Cadbury No. 1 is ...Fascinating little story there!<br /><br />Cadbury No. 1 is sat in one of the turntable roads at Tyelsey by the way - word be great to have it back here one day...<br /><br />AlexAlexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-59463945135653249532017-08-22T21:52:26.335+01:002017-08-22T21:52:26.335+01:00One memory I have from the earliest days at Toddin...One memory I have from the earliest days at Toddington is the day we found a short piece of track that the demolition contractors had left behind. That seemed like real treasure at the time.<br /><br />When the line was lifted, the contractors took every last inch of track - there was nothing left but bare ballast (although I do recall seeing some Great Western AWS ramps left on the ballast at the Cheltenham end, some time after the track itself had gone). Toddington was just a windswept expanse of dereliction. <br /><br />Many people at the time thought that the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Society, as it then was, would never be able to rebuild the line. The job was just too big. And I must admit, standing in the middle of all that empty space at Toddington, it did seem like an impossible dream.<br /><br />But then we found a length of track - and suddenly it all seemed possible again.<br /><br />The approach road at Toddington originally extended alongside the goods shed (where the road/rail transfer siding is now). The siding that gave access to the yard curved away from the main line near the present ashpit siding (look out for a drainage pit alongside the track, positioned at what seems an odd angle - that's the alignment of the original siding). <br /><br />Where this siding crossed the road to the goods shed, there was a level crossing. Rather than dig up the road, the demolition contractors had left about 20 feet of track in place at this spot. This was the only piece of track remaining between Cheltenham and Honeybourne.<br /><br />Everyone pitched in to dig this length of track out of the tarmac. I remember a big crowd of people hacking away with shovels and pick-axes. Eventually the track was lifted, and transferred - with a certain amount of ceremony - to the side of the goods shed, where it became the first length of track on our first siding. It felt like a great achievement. We were rebuilding a railway!<br /><br />As far as I know, that section of track is still there. It's somewhere under the Steam dept's mess coach. I don't know if it's possible to identify it now, but there's a little bit of history lurking under that coach...Michael Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08386451061160258935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-2743701610512451002017-08-22T21:19:51.481+01:002017-08-22T21:19:51.481+01:00As a teenager I went on some of the earliest worki...As a teenager I went on some of the earliest working parties at Toddington, and also helped to demolish the old Birmingham Snow Hill station, bits of which were recycled as Toddington's platforms (which meant that when BR decided to reopen Snow Hill, they had to rebuild everything from scratch). I also went on an expedition to rescue two industrial tank locos from a scrapyard in Dursley. That must've been about 1981 - slightly amazingly, you could still find steam locos in scrapyards back then.<br /><br />The chap in blue overalls on the left of the shovel line-up might be Mike Shorland, the railway's first S&T man. I think the bloke in the hi-viz vest in the following pic is Dave Heathcote, the original head of the permanent way department - although job titles were fairly flexible in the early days. Everyone did a bit of everything.<br /><br />The motley assortment of stock seen in the photos - including the 'Cadbury' 0-4-0 loco - were originally the collection of the Dowty Railway Preservation Society at Ashchurch, near Tewkesbury. <br /><br />Dowty was a big company at the time, making aircraft equipment and hydraulic gear - it was big enough to have its own rail yard where rail enthusiasts among the staff could restore their own collection of stock and host visiting locos. Occasionally the site was open to the public and they'd offer brake van rides. <br /><br />It seems quite odd now to think that there were enough railway enthusiasts in the company to run a fairly large preservation project - much like the Great Western Society at Didcot, but all based on the employees of one firm.<br /><br />In the very early 1980s the Dowty rail yard was sold off (it's now a housing estate) and the entire collection was transferred to Toddington. This gave the fledgling GWR a great boost, because all of a sudden we had a working steam loco. The Dowty collection also provided the basis for the narrow gauge line at Toddington. For a few years the Dowty and GWRS worked very well together.<br /><br />I can't recall why, or when, the Dowty stock was eventually moved away from Toddington, or where it went, but the break was quite sudden when it happened. When the Dowty crew moved out, they even took their engine shed with them! I don't think the collection was kept together. 'Cadbury' in particular seems to have vanished completely.<br /><br />There's an interesting history of the early days of the Dowty Railway Preservation Society here - only up to 1970, so the Toddington period is not mentioned. But it's a fascinating insight into how the heritage railway movement in the UK got going...<br /><br />https://sites.google.com/site/gloucestershirerailwaymemories/home/messrs-dowty-s-private-siding-ashchurch<br />Michael Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08386451061160258935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-39925893535924091392017-08-21T16:29:46.652+01:002017-08-21T16:29:46.652+01:00169 is owned by the 5542 group & is being rest...169 is owned by the 5542 group & is being restored by them @ Williton on the WSR so I am sure it will return one day<br /><br />Regards Richard SymondsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-15985588651437115412017-08-20T20:31:13.124+01:002017-08-20T20:31:13.124+01:00Donations will be welcomed Donations will be welcomed Steve Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03246751941088920565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-2907692994446075872017-08-20T20:30:01.370+01:002017-08-20T20:30:01.370+01:00Hear hear Hear hear Steve Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03246751941088920565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-59920967325865928382017-08-20T20:29:13.698+01:002017-08-20T20:29:13.698+01:00Agree we should borrow a. Heritage coach set or tw...Agree we should borrow a. Heritage coach set or two for future galas from svr didcot or wsrSteve Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03246751941088920565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-22095039578933056292017-08-20T19:22:04.369+01:002017-08-20T19:22:04.369+01:00When is there going to be some money in the budget...When is there going to be some money in the budget to do the steps for the footbridge? It looks a bit bare without them! Also, if Platform 2 is going to be used for passenger trains shouldn't the siding have trap points?Aardvark11https://www.blogger.com/profile/13090938730424120909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-25420863110147824582017-08-20T15:11:38.937+01:002017-08-20T15:11:38.937+01:00I,remember seeing some pics of the purlins,for the...I,remember seeing some pics of the purlins,for the canopy extension,on one of the blogs,some time ago!.The station building,is coming along great,now!.I,do remember seeing 35006,shortly after it arrived at Toddington!.That autocoach,169,stood in the yard,at Winchcombe,untill it was sold!.5542 Ltd,own it,now.It's being restored,at Williton,on the WSR!. Regards!. Anthony.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08974105717079432895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-88718848051042216012017-08-20T14:16:25.208+01:002017-08-20T14:16:25.208+01:00When I write about 'GWRifying' CRC and Got...When I write about 'GWRifying' CRC and Gotherington Box, it is a desire at this stage and not a costed work. Regards, Paul. St Blazey 1925https://www.blogger.com/profile/16697444840076235191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-13228235837850154752017-08-20T14:14:14.142+01:002017-08-20T14:14:14.142+01:00Yes. I too also hope that the canopy extension can...Yes. I too also hope that the canopy extension can be built at some time in the future as it is a feature of Broadway station and unusual in design. Regards, Paul.St Blazey 1925https://www.blogger.com/profile/16697444840076235191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-23631841336392575492017-08-20T11:41:29.443+01:002017-08-20T11:41:29.443+01:00Great to see the appearance of period detail such ...Great to see the appearance of period detail such as wooden mouldings on the end panels of the canopy and authentic chimney brickwork. It is also good to know that all is not lost with the canopy extension. Well done to you and the GWR Trust for your influence and the Broadway team for doing the work.Trevorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12841825195068179068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-42881330615962749052017-08-20T10:52:33.523+01:002017-08-20T10:52:33.523+01:00The chap with the beard and white shirt in the 198...The chap with the beard and white shirt in the 1981 picture at Toddington is Richard Major, now living in Kent. Peter Crippshttp://www.petercripps.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-28724345344369395342017-08-20T09:07:44.443+01:002017-08-20T09:07:44.443+01:00You are quite correct. The autocoach was elsewhere...You are quite correct. The autocoach was elsewhere on site when that photo was taken. The coach in the photo is indeed a Churchward Third Class coach, one of 4 camping coaches from Dawlish Warren which arrived at the GWSR. At the time, the opportunity to restore them was beyond the capability of "Toddington Scrapyard" which some locals referred to us as, so they all moved on. I believe that some of them ended up at the WSR where they will eventually form a period GWR rake. If only we could have some! I have some "oldie" images so I'll e-mail them to you.Toddingtontedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02470051178926426104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-69647681443089714712017-08-20T08:18:24.109+01:002017-08-20T08:18:24.109+01:00Hi, while the steps say autocoach the coach is not...Hi, while the steps say autocoach the coach is not an autocoach, it's the wrong shape. Looking at pictures it may be a churchward third class coach.<br />Graham Grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07731050620839897463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-69099576932681947542017-08-19T22:58:49.468+01:002017-08-19T22:58:49.468+01:00I have some photos from 1984 - 1988 including trac...I have some photos from 1984 - 1988 including tracklaying at Hailes in Oct 85 and Greet tunnel 88 and the sponsored track walk march 85. Will dig them out to scan.Steve Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03246751941088920565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-86400667482583549972017-08-19T22:45:10.813+01:002017-08-19T22:45:10.813+01:00The Autocoach is No 169, which went to the Cholsey...The Autocoach is No 169, which went to the Cholsey & Wallingford until it was rescued by the WSR and is now under restoration. It would have been marvellous if it could have remained at the GWSR but the Railway wasn't equipped to restore it then. The figure 3rd from left in the bottom photo is David Heathcote, who was one of the directors and a Mr Fixit in the early days. The Midland Railway lamppost migrated to Winchcombe I believe. It originated from Gloucester Eastgate Station, whatever that was. Steam services commenced in April 1984 using the Avonside 0-4-0T in the 1st photo. I always expected it to "puff" like most steam locos do, but it didn't, it just hissed. Very disappointing! (Apologies to Avonside industrial tank loco fans.)Toddingtontedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02470051178926426104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-47412304023570012842017-08-19T22:31:14.592+01:002017-08-19T22:31:14.592+01:00Great idea about CRC and how much money do you thi...Great idea about CRC and how much money do you think that's going to cost?Toddingtontedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02470051178926426104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-44769473905157430612017-08-19T21:38:47.500+01:002017-08-19T21:38:47.500+01:00The photo from Feb 1984, second from left could be...The photo from Feb 1984, second from left could be Dave Black.....Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16472091754594424659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-31141155630241009062017-08-19T21:07:53.386+01:002017-08-19T21:07:53.386+01:00It's wonderful to see the trackwork coming alo...It's wonderful to see the trackwork coming along at the rate that it is. This is all credit due to the P Way crews who make it possible. Thanks also go to you for providing extra pics of the station building, which is also getting along wonderfully. Perhaps B & S could 'GWRify' CRC after Broadway is complete,, and also the signal boxes at CRC and Gotherington. Maybe? Regards, Paul.St Blazey 1925https://www.blogger.com/profile/16697444840076235191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914276256646518799.post-70119152222082072942017-08-19T20:56:03.900+01:002017-08-19T20:56:03.900+01:00Progress is now coming on in leaps and bounds in a...Progress is now coming on in leaps and bounds in all fields, gets more exciting each week, we'll done everyone and thank you for the wonderful informative blog, including the bits on the rebuild, which otherwise we wouldn't know about.Steve Cherryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11690848806301527120noreply@blogger.com