Foreword:

In this section of the Crypt, it is my intention to provide informative text and illustrations for all that are interested. Thanks go to Ray for encouraging me to consider the venture, and Chris Skelhorn, who started the ball rolling with a question from his childhood! Not of course forgetting the Staff Team, without whom the whole magazine would not be possible, and the help, pictures and information provided by Watercress Line, and Simon Smalley. While all attempts to ensure information is correct will be made, the methods of research cannot be guaranteed, in which case, my profuse apologies. Now please enjoy what I have to offer you.

We start with a brief account of how railways grew from their original construction, through to the system we know now.

Canals were the original method of heavy transport, but had the major disadvantage of being fixed in their routes, making transport to the newly founded industrial towns awkward. This is because roads at this time were still reliant upon horse traction, and not well made. Traction engines were still in their infancy, hence slow and unreliable, making road transport rather expensive.

Rainhill Trials

After the advancements of James Watt with the stationary engine, various entrepreneurs sought to harness the power of steam with a self-propelled unit, giving rise to a variety of weird and wonderful designs along with a host of exhilarating claims from their designers, taking the lead from Trevithick. This indeed was a golden time for engineers, and they came from the most unlikely of back- grounds, along with a challenge of proficiency to be sited at Rainhill. Not all designs met with the same amount of success, however. Mechanical failures and the occasional boiler explosion took their toll of the competitors. The outright winner of the contest was given license to design and produce the motive power for the first steam hauled railway in the north, a fine prize in any consideration!

We must bear in mind that scepticism was quite rife at this time, along with the consideration that "one would suffocate at speeds in excess of 12 miles an hour"! Until this time, railways had been either horse-drawn or stationary engine powered, with a few supply lines gravity operated, the loaded wagons descending raising the empties by means of rope and pulley ( not well known for safety, as speed was difficult to control).

It may be noted that footplate men had no real training for the job at this time, rather it was a case of trial and error. Those with enough bravado to become footplate men enjoyed a sizeable income, and something akin to star status, not without a certain amount of risk, however!

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The Stephensons

After the success of "Rocket", the man later to be known as "father of the railways" went from strength to strength. Townships were growing at an ever-increasing pace, and along with them a need for larger consignments of goods and food. The railways were a natural choice for rapid transport of these commodities, and new companies sprang up everywhere. Affluent business men saw an opportunity to prosper from the railway constructions, and Mr. Stephenson was at a height of popularity! He wasn't the only one, though. Daniel Gooch, Isambard K. Brunell, and a host of other engineers arose, giving rise to some of the greatest engineering feats ever witnessed. As time passed, Stephenson's son rode to similar fame on the strength of his father's reputation, albeit with an occasional guiding hand. The replica of the 'Rocket', which, though not the original, has been constructed from Geor ge Stephenson's original plans, and operates at 100 pounds per square inch boiler pressure. Notable features are the large diameter long stoke pistons, a clear visible sign of a low pressure boiler being employed. See Rocket Picture Picture taken from The Book of Knowledge U.K. circa 1950

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Construction and Usage

At the time of construction of the railways, the British canal system was already virtually complete, which meant that there was a rich supply of navigation workers, known later as "navvies". These were the un-sung heroes of the day, for though not best known for their gentleness, would put most "hard working" men to shame, and regularly produced results in record time, with the simplest tools and the most harsh of working conditions. Frequently working away from home was the normal for these men, and dying on site was thought nothing of.

The "Steam-Navvy", when introduced, eased the workload of these men, and must have been a welcome sight for all. These excavation machines meant that earthworks could proceed far quicker than previously, giving the contractors a better chance of completing contracts within an acceptable time scale. Unfortunately for the navvies, tunnel boring was still a man against nature affair, and a risky task too.

The course of each line had of course to be surveyed, not an easy task in itself! The prior consideration was to reduce the import of materials to a minimum, using spoil from cuttings and tunnels to build embankments. Small parties of men would set out, and mark the route with small flags or staves, the navvies working behind them after permission had been granted to build.

This plan of action worked well here, but not always abroad. In one instance, the nature of the country's climate gave rise to the marking staves rooting; by the time the navvies got to them, it was impossible to distinguish between staves and natural growth!

Britain had become highly sought after for it's engineering skills by European countries, and held in high esteem for it's knowledge of railway building. The evidence of this may still be found abroad, though mostly in museums now. Locomotive and rolling stock designs had also advanced significantly, with faster and more comfortable services being offered. Smaller companies owning important linking lines were being absorbed into what was to become the "big four", and the gauge wars had started. Four Feet Eight, etc.

It had become evident after a while that trackwork of differing gauges was the major cause of inconvenience to passengers and staff alike; a great deal of train swapping would be involved when one encountered another company utilising a differing gauge. It had been known for a debate on the subject to descend to a near fist fight on several occasions; at the end of the day, the transport executive of the time selected the now standard four feet, eight and one half inches as the only acceptable standard, not to the likings of the now Great Western Railway who had fervently favoured the broad gauge.

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This, of course, enabled the traveller to remain in one train for the total journey, making rail travel a far more convenient mode of transport, and much like the system we have now. With this liaison, an extremely competitive situation arose who could provide the most comfortable / fast / inexpensive service for passenger and freight services. This competition, however, spelt disaster for a great deal of the remaining smaller companies, who simply disappeared into the 'big four' melting pot at the turn of the century.

War and the Railways

There was one thing certain by the end of the 1800's - the railways were here to stay, and war was another medium which proved their worth. By this means, all manner of armament, supplies, cavalry, etc. could be conveyed quickly and easily. This was a fact that the military had realised quickly, and utilised to the full; particularly on the battle fields, where other attempts simply 'bogged down'. The military, however, had little knowledge of railway construction, and the navvies had even less knowledge of the military ! This in itself must have given rise to problems as the navvies only took their orders from their own gaffers!

Peacetime Again

After W.W.1, the railways settled down to their previous competitive status, having played a crucial part in the war effort. This was another golden age for rail transport, with the now familiar names of Gresley, Stannier, Collett, Fowler, et. al. beginning to appear on the scene. Indeed, as these men matured in status, there was raised a question about performance and efficiency, which eventually led to the "locomotive exchange trials", and a contrivance to obtain the absolute best from the locomotive designs of the day. This went as far as to fitting streamlined casings to express loco's, which caught the attention of the populace, by now looking for improved services over distances. These trials proved to be most educational, in so far that some locos were discovered to dislike anything but best Welsh coal, whereas others still put in a reasonable effort regardless; the streamlining of locos however failed to produce any major benefits. If anything, the additional bodywork slowed the loco, and made routine maintenance a troublesome chore. The Gresley A4's had little to lose, such was the nature of construction.

One of Sir Nigel Gresley's hard riding B17 class, City Of London, in pre- grouping livery. See City of London picture.

Taken from A History of the L.N.E.R. (2) The Age of the Streamliners 1934 / 39 Michael R. Bonavia

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Designers

Sir Nigel Gresley ( L.N.E.R.) produced some outstanding machines, the most memorable being the A4 class with their aerodynamic casings, and unusual liveries. There were, of course, some less favoured designs, including the B17, a 4-6-0 which resembled a cut down A4, but which proved to be a rough ride, and required a highly skilled crew to get the best out of them. Sir William Stannier ( L.M.S) also produced memorable machines in the forms of the Princess and Duchess class express locos, the latter originally sporting a streamlined casing. These were extremely powerful pacifics, designed to haul heavy expresses over Shap Summit without the assistance of bankers, and did exactly that. Thankfully, both types of loco have been preserved. Also of note is that he was a protege of the G.W.R., evidence of which can be found in these designs.

Bullied ( S.R.) produced the strangest looking and lightest pacifics of all. The overall design was radically different to anything else on the British network, but proved to be too time consuming and costly to maintain without modification to a more standard arrangement. The fact that these machines were ever built is another story.

Churchward and Collett ( G.W.R.) produced some of the most aesthetic locomotives to be found on the British Railway network. The G.W.R. held on to it's green livery for motive power virtually from it's conception, and, when trimmed with polished copper and brass, resulted in the most pleasant sight. The last steam locomotive to be constructed at Swindon Works was 92220, 'Evening Star', which bore all of these hallmarks, and became unique in her own right, even though a Riddles standard design.

Illustration hand drawn by author of 'Evening Star' 92220 Riddles 9F class

6 Signalling

Of necessity, signalling had to be deployed, and the upper / lower quadrant signal system developed rapidly from the earlier patterns. These were rod activated from a local signal-box along with points in the vicinity, making the signal-man's job quite an exertive one. In addition, each signal box was connected by telegraphy, with a code of bell-rings to announce train and line status. Each of these areas were known as 'blocks', hence the system known as the 'block system'. In light of a series of mis-haps, signals were eventually interlocked with the points, eliminating errors from signalmen to a greater degree. The dictates of the block system were simple - until the next block was clear, no train was allowed into it.

Single line working with passing loops at stations were generally operated by the 'token' system, whereby the footplate crew would collect a token from a signal- man before being allowed into the next block. This would then be passed to the next signal-man ready for the next train, creating a virtually infallible safety check on traffic.

Today, colour light signalling is the common method employed, using track cicuitry for indication of a train's position. This, along with the relatively low weight of modern rolling stock, lends itself to leaves on the line causing havoc with the computerised system, as a heavy fall of leaves creates an insulator. Not all technology is for the better! That's all for now, I hope I've wet your appetites for the features to follow; Accounts of real life experiences, stories of railmen past and present, technical information, and lots more - bye for now!