Memories

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KX6465
LNER J94 0-6-0ST Austerity
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Re: Memories

Post by KX6465 »

[quote="manna"]G'Day Gents
Hi Hitchin,
I do remember the staff van KX to Liverpool ST, I caught it more tlmes than I could count,the usual driver was a west indian fellow, nice enough ,but he did like to put his foot down!! I'm sure the he had that van on two wheels more than once, The van use to run from KX at 1am 3am 4am and 5am (a long wait if you just missed the 1am van) and left Liv. St at 12-30am 1-30am 2-30am up till 5-30am, I fell asleep standing up once at Liv St waiting for the van.

I remember this van from my time at KX in 64/65.

I was still living with my parents in Mile End and would go on the van (if finishing in the early hours) to Liverpool St and walk from there.

My memory of it is that it was a Bedford CA Dormobile with seats and was still in "Blood & Custard" livery. The driver at this time was a ruddy faced pleasant irishman.

I am not certain on this next point but think it must have made its way into the station via the taxi rank but am certain that it used to drop us inside the station itself.

The reason I remember it so clearly is that as it approached our dropping off point (wherever that have been) it ran parallel with a brick wall on the right hand side (van drivers side)

On reaching the end of the wall and fortunately slowing down, one of the tugs that used to pull the mail sack trucks round the platforms, suddenly appeared from the right immediately in front of the van, there was no time for the van driver to avoid it and ran into it with almighty crash.

I never seen a human being react so fast in my life, the van driver was out of the van and ten foot away from in what seemed like milliseconds.

Everyone in the van was ok including the driver as was the driver of the tug, then began a very heated discussion between the van driver and the tug driver.

I just left them to it as did the others in the van after it was seen that they were ok, just a bit shocked.

Regards
KX6465
Last edited by KX6465 on Sun Feb 17, 2013 2:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Its best to be seen in two tone green
KX6465
LNER J94 0-6-0ST Austerity
Posts: 36
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2013 2:04 pm
Location: Romford

Re: Memories

Post by KX6465 »

manna wrote:G'Day Gents
There is/was one at Brentwood that overlooked the railway, and when one escaped the first thing they would do was walk down to the railway line for a better look, the Clacton units were doing about 100mph when the came down Brentwood bank, your imagination can do the rest, I've be held up there many a day going to or from work.And drivers that I've spoken to all say the same thing,they stand there waving at you?? so sad.
I've heard of Colney Hatch,do'n't know where it is, it's quite possible thats where she came from

The one at Brentwood was called Warley Mental Hospital and has since been demolished and replaced by an up market private housing estate but the residents would probably use the term "development". The gate house(s) still stand and I think these are now private houses.
Its best to be seen in two tone green
KX6465
LNER J94 0-6-0ST Austerity
Posts: 36
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2013 2:04 pm
Location: Romford

Re: Memories

Post by KX6465 »

giner wrote:While we're on the subject of mental hospitals in ECML territory, here's a tale of another one. About a mile east of the old Three Counties station (a few miles down the line from Hitchin and before Arlesey) stood a spooky old victorian building which used to be a mental hospital. Anyway, two of us were building a retaining wall in the grounds and this fairly well-dressed fellow stood quietly watching us. After a few minutes he asked us the time. I said, "Almost twenty past two." He made no reply and again asked the time. So, thinking he hadn't heard me clearly, I repeated the time to him. Still no reply, then he asked again. Suddenly he flew into a rage, effing and blinding, then, just as suddenly, switched off and calmly walked away, thanking me for the time and saying it had a been a pleasure meeting me. I know it sounds like a Monty Python sketch, but it was pretty unnerving at the time. So my labourer and I had a cuppa afterwards to get ourselves together again.

In 1974 I was driving buses for Eastern National from Basildon garage.

On a Sunday a service was put on to take railway passengers from Wickford station to Runwell Mental Hospital which is only a couple of miles maximum on the road to Rettendon, the running time for this journey was only about ten minutes.

Every time you arrived at Runwell a guy would approach and ask " Is my mum on there?"

You can imagine how many journeys you did during the course of a shift and each time you would be asked the question, as has been said, very sad.

On a lighter note Alvin Stardusts mother used to own the cafe at Wickford station, here endeth todays useless information!
Its best to be seen in two tone green
Mickey

Re: Memories

Post by Mickey »

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silverfox
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Re: Memories

Post by silverfox »

Manna, and Flamingo.
Have just found this thread, and am slowly going throught it. There is a pic on page 3 where Flamingo used to stand. I did too.! do you remember the GPO switchboxes that were just up by the bridge that gave you a slightly better view of the Up line signals if you sat on them?
Went to school at Trinity Grammar Wood Green from 58-63, and spent near enough every dinner time either on Wood Green Station of going Down to Hornsey/KX to see what was in. The Porter at Wood Green we christened Thunderguts, by Golly he could shout, esp if we decided to 'camp out' under the public footbridge
Also rushed up after school to see the Lizzie and also the scotch goods, only on the day i didn't, Sir Visto went out on it. However later did see Sun Chariot go through on an up express one winter evening from the top deck of a 233
Also remember a lot of the lads going on 'Ernie trips' One lad, a year older than me, Blondie Johnson, did actually clear all the steam locos in 1961. and another schooolkids brother worked in the kitchen cars and had been hauled by every Pacific.
God like figure!!
The was another chap who worked in KX and gave us all the working timetable train reporting numbers. As a result some of the lads started 'movement' books and logged each loco on each train, rather than ignoring it once 'copped' These would have been a mine of info for Tommy Knox.
We then found a small yard that was situated on the down side just after the bridge, and looked down on the Khyber Pass. At the top of this was a cable run in ducting, and the posts that supported the trunking were about 3ft apart. A game soon was made, were we would walk along using the top of the posts. To turn round at each end involved spinning each foot on the posts without falling off. It seemed a very long way down to the track! One lad held the record by keeping on them for the whole of the time spent there during the dinner hour,never missed a beat even when a 9F went passed.
So we too may well have crossed paths during that time.
KX6465
LNER J94 0-6-0ST Austerity
Posts: 36
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2013 2:04 pm
Location: Romford

Re: Memories

Post by KX6465 »

hq1hitchin wrote:
StevieG wrote:Reminds me of a shot a colleague once showed me only a few years ago, of his then regular 'mate' (fireman) posing on-depot to show off his new, green, early diesel era, uniform. How many of us (who had the opportunity) would have bothered with that?
Now, (IMHO) it's one rare, brilliant record of a time past.
Funny you should mention those uniforms, Stevie. I remember a KX driver - (Willie Watt, I think his name was, one of the M&GN blokes made redundant and who came to London to keep a job) telling me of how proud one of his colleagues was to have the new green uniform until the day he was on a Leeds job. As he climbed down off the Deltic, he got into conversation with one of the natives who, it turned out, knew a thing or two about cloth. The uniform was closely inspected and the passenger told him that it was only made of shoddy i.e inferior reclaimed or recycled wool. He was never as proud of it again. Mind you, BR overcoats were the bees knees - in fact I still have two and the black one comes out occasionally for railway funerals, an occupational hazard in my link!

Mention of the green era uniforms brings yet another memory to mind.

As a passed cleaner all you had was some blue overalls and I believe a donkey jacket which quite a few of the more senior men still used even though steam had gone from KX.

Another passed cleaner I was friendly with had a full green uniform, trousers, jackets, waistcoat, dust jacket and I have to say this looked a lot better that the blue stuff in my eyes.

I asked him how it was that he had this uniform when he was still only a passed cleaner. "Easy" he said "just go along to the storeman and have a quiet word and mention some mutually agreeable financial arrangment and he'll see you alright"

He told me where the store was so off I went and for the princely sum of ten shillings returned with all the items listed above which I placed in my locker and took home with me at the end of my duty.

I was once told that the material the green uniforms were made of ex army surplus material left over from the Malayan emergency that had been dyed green. How true this was I don't know but it certainly was very "robust" in nature.

KX6465
Its best to be seen in two tone green
silverfox
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Re: Memories

Post by silverfox »

Manna,

your map of the 'north side' of the wood green road bridge, that is the exact spot!!!!

Also used to do the 10d return after school from Wood Green to KX and get on the normally pacific hauled first stop Finsbury Park, Had all classses but not all engines!
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manna
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Re: Memories

Post by manna »

G'day Gents

I'm glad your all enjoying the memories, Oh, so many times I stood by those railings, and watched the Pacifics pound past, but one of the problems, with those railings, was, at the base of the railings was a long concrete strip at least a foot wide, then a drop of about six inches, consequential, if you dropped your pen or pencil, you couldn't get it back, as me arms were to short :lol: which was a real bind, as we never carried a spare, no more numbers that day......*$#**^ :mrgreen:

manna
EDGWARE GN, Steam in the Suburbs.
Mickey

Re: Memories

Post by Mickey »

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silverfox
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Re: Memories

Post by silverfox »

Micky
You are stalking me. My Dad used to take me there on the way home from visiting my nans in Mildmay Street.Other times after my visits to the Eastman Dental Hospital in Grays Inn Rd. It was off to KX (sometimes with a deviation to look in Bassset Lowkes Windows and the train back to FP, then a trolley home to Edmonton. That was pre 52 as i also remember getting on the 33 tram up to Manor House. ! am pretty sure that there were Blue/Purple A4's in the 50's, but that was over 60yrs ago and i was only no more than 5, so excuse the possible errors.
sandwhich
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Re: Memories

Post by sandwhich »

The BR green uniforms, remember them well, my father being a former police officer was used to pressing his trousers and used to press mine as well, the creases were so sharp you could be in danger of cutting your hand on them! I know that if you were caught in a heavy shower or storm that was it these things would end up looking like you were wearing a pair of balloons. Truly awful.
Another memory more recent, was what became the Up Connington loop just south of Peterborough, if you were turned in and stood at the signal that was almost opposite a church about a quarter of a mile away that stood on its own well away from the village of Wood Walton at night it could be quite spooky, as an aside on a couple of occasions filming took place there during the night, you started to have visions like Micheal Jacksons "Thriller". You wondered that if you went down to the side to releive yourself you might not be seen or heard of again and become a railway mystery, it really was spooky especcially when a breeze blew across the fields.
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manna
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Re: Memories

Post by manna »

G'Day Gents

Hitting gale force winds at Connington was bad as well, you could feel your train slowing down, or if your were on a slow goods, you couldn't for the life of you go any faster, The signalman at Abbots Ripton would shake his fist at you, if they had left you out main line, flat out 30mph with a type 2 :lol:

manna

I hear there talking about four tracking it again :?:
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R. pike
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Re: Memories

Post by R. pike »

I got caught out there last Wednesday (13th) a bitterly cold day with a lot of standing around. I think i was wearing every piece of clothing i could find in the van and was still cold and didn't get warm again until i got into bed.

Edit to add..

There are plans to put it back as it was as well as quadruple the bit that never was..
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StevieG
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Re: Memories

Post by StevieG »

manna wrote:G'Day Gents

Hitting gale force winds at Connington was bad as well, you could feel your train slowing down, or if your were on a slow goods, you couldn't for the life of you go any faster, The signalman at Abbots Ripton would shake his fist at you, if they had left you out main line, flat out 30mph with a type 2 :lol:

manna

I hear there talking about four tracking it again :?:
I've never been outside along there, but certainly recall the 'fen blow' phenomenon (storm of mainly loose dry soil grains) that used to occur (still does?) in a brisk easterly wind, in the period 1975-78 when I was commuting Peterboro'/London.
Certainly once or twice during that time, emerging from the cutting approaching Wood Walton (north of Abbots Ripton) a brown 'fog' could be seen ahead to the north-east. Once in it, visibility was very poor, particularly when crossing Stilton Fen [between Holme and Yaxley ('& Farcet') ], with the soil grains and small stones making a real clatter against the Mk.I or Mk.II carriage window until passing the site of Y&F station and immediately, from the 2-track onto the then 4-track section (another mistaken economy -[like removing most of the Connington South-Huntingdon North {No.2 box} Up Slow, leaving only two signal sections from CS to Wood Walton], - cutting the 4-track start/end back from Yaxley, northwards to instead be at Fletton Junction, in railway operating traffic regulating terms, barely a throne's stow from P'boro' [Crescent Jn. as was] ).
BZOH

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Mickey

Re: Memories

Post by Mickey »

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