Ashton Boatman

I thought I might start uploading photos from my collection. A lot of them are very bad but they remind me of things. In 1961 aged 8 I got a bike for my birthday and my sister gave me her old Brownie 127 camera. Unfortunately it wasn't entirely light proof which spoiled a lot of pictures. Anyway, I was able to cycle away from home (no restrictions in those days) make friends in other villages and take photographs of trains. This is, I think, my second ever photograph.

Harbury cutting is, I think I'm right in saying, the deepest railway cutting in the country. It's on the old Great Western London to Birmingham route a few miles south of Leamington Spa. The deepest part of the cutting is pretty inaccessible but, from Harbury village, a little lane runs downhill then crosses the cutting on a high 3 arch bridge, ending on the far side at a farm. It was here that I photographed the up afternoon Blue Pullman.

These trains were pretty new then and were almost the only diesels that we saw. They ran between Paddington and Birmingham Snow Hill, Paddington and South Wales and, the Midland Pullman, from St Pancras to Manchester Central. They were an attempt at retaining business custom in reply to the challenge of the M1 and domestic air travel.

The Birmingham and Manchester Pullmans were also intended to retain rail traffic between these cities using alternative routes whilst the main west coast main line was being disrupted by electrification work. With the switching on of the wires through to Euston in 1966 the Birmingham and Manchester services finished and the redundant units used for posh commuter runs to Oxford. They were scrapped in the mid 1970s when Inter City 125 units were introduced. Part of the route into Paddington that they used to take has been mothballed as trains on this route now terminate at Marylebone. Part of the route of the Manchester Pullman through the Peak District has long since been ripped up and Manchester Central is now the Gmex exhibition hall.

Although they were seen at the time as trains of the future they weren't really that brilliant. Like most of the first generation diesels they were underpowered. They had a 1000 horsepower engine at each end. The Inter City 125s have twice the power. The ride was also not great, especially on the sectional clickety clack track of the time.

Em had a plan. She wanted to go and see Lancaster Castle and go on one of the witch tours. So, off we trolled to Lancaster on an overcrowded Northern train. Isn't privatisation wonderful? We stayed at the Sun Inn in Lancaster. Nice room, ridiculously expensive drinks. In the evening as Em rested I went for a walk. I was looking for the old railway track to Glasson Dock, but it seems to have disappeared under Barratt homes. Nice walk down the river though.

The square concrete things are Heysham Nuclear Power Station I think.

There was some sort of rescue going on from the other side of the river.

Another walk in the early morning took me to the Millenium Bridge.

The buildings in the distance are old warehouses from when ships from Ireland used to dock here.

Lancaster has some picturesque bits.

I'd like to show you a lovely picture of Em having a cup of coffee in a cafe but she won't let me.

Next day another crowded Northern train took us to Preston. Em went shopping while I went in search of the Ribble Steam railway, which runs trains at weekends on the former dock railway. The docks are now a pleasure boat marina, but I was surprised to learn how important they once were, handling ro ro ferries to Ireland as well as coal exports and imports of fruit, timber grain etc. Surprisingly large ships used to navigate the narrow Ribble. It all finished in 1981. The cost of constantly dredging the river had got too much for the dwindling traffic.

In steam for my visit was a lovely Hawthorn Leslie saddletank of 1930s vintage.

There's an excellent collection of mostly industrial locos on display. Many of them have come from the former Steamport museum that used to be housed in the old Southport loco shed. One engine I'd hoped to see was "Cecil Raikes", an 0-6-4 tank of the subterranean (and sub aqua) Mersey Railway. This used to be at Steamport but since its closure has been in store with its owners, Liverpool Museums.

https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/cecil-raikes-0-6-4t-mersey-railway/

I was just about to leave when I noticed a sign inviting me to look at inside the workshops, a rare treat in this age of elfin safety overkill. This was the best bit. There was no-one else about but in the gloomy interior I was surrounded by frames, boilers, cabs etc and locomotives part dismantled and part re-assembled.

There was the old Furness Railway 0-4-0 tender engine

And an old friend that used to be on the Keighley & Worth Valley, USA tank No 72.

As I trudged back towards the main line station and another Northern sardine tin I took some photos of the Hawthorn Leslie hauling its train up the line, then setting off for the return trip from the exchange loops.