False Starts, Near Misses and Dangerous Goods E-Book

Geoff Body

• Herausgeber: The History Press
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 275

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Running a railway is a complex business beset with drama. The operation of heavy equipment at speed, twenty-four hours a day, across the full length of the country and using extremely technical signaling, track and mechanical engineering is no mean feat and throws up a constant stream of challenges. Fortunately, the highly professional railway staff are ready to deal with these daily obstacles using their expertise, dedication and, as is so often required, a sense of humour. Here Geoff Body and his son Ian have collated a selection of entertaining and revealing anecdotes that illustrate just how unexpected working on the railways can be.

Leseprobe

Arriva Train Wales unit 150230 runs into Platform 7 at Cardiff Central with a ‘Valleys’ service heading for Barry Island.

Cover illustration: A scene of locomotive neglect typical of many places with the coming of the end of steam.

First published in 2017

The History Press

The Mill, Brimscombe Port

Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2QG

www.thehistorypress.co.uk

This ebook edition first published in 2017

All rights reserved

© Geoff and Ian Body, 2017

The right of Geoff and Ian Body to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

EPUB ISBN 978 0 7509 8189 7

Original typesetting by The History Press

eBook converted by Geethik Technologies

CONTENTS

Introduction, Sources and Acknowledgements

Glossary

A Couple of Near Misses (Bill Parker)

What’s on Next Week? (Jim Dorward)

Course Fare (Geoff Body)

Drama at Chester (Peter Whittaker)

Tattenhall Junction, 1971

Chester Station, 1972

Reprieve (Philip Benham)

Strike Service (Philip Benham)

Off the Road – Again (Bryan Stone)

Nocturne at Haymarket (Harry Knox)

Less than Grand Openings (Ian Body)

Not for the First Time

A Rather Soggy Event

Train ‘Gapped’ (Jim Gibbons)

The Show Must Go On (Mike Lamport)

False Start (Geoff Body)

North of Shaftholme Junction (Donald Heath)

A Right Regular Royal Train (Bill Parker)

Reward? (Geoff Body)

The BR Representative – for Rabbits! (Jim Dorward)

Knowing One’s Place (Ian Body)

Polmont 1984 (Peter Whittaker)

Joint Road and Rail Office (Geoff Body)

Anglia Region Control Office (Chris Blackman)

Honestly, I Want to Pay for a Train (Ian Body)

Happy Birthday (Don Love)

No. 1 Pump House, Sudbrook (Geoff Body)

The Railway Inspectorate (Bill Parker)

Railway Inspectorate Inquiries (Bill Parker)

Lodgings and Digs (Geoff Body)

Britannia Bridge Drama (Brian Arbon)

Anglia Train Planners (Chris Blackman)

A Lesson to be Remembered (Jim Dorward)

One Way Only (Jim Dorward and Bill Parker)

Putting on a Show (Mike Lamport)

A Lonely Funeral (Colin Driver)

In the Bleak Midwinter (David Barraclough)

Back to Normal (David Barraclough)

Seaside Summer (Geoff Body)

Reservation Challenges (Ian Body)

The Scottish Television Train (Jim Dorward)

US Railroad Stations and Buildings (Theo Steel)

New Stationmaster (Fernley Maker)

On from Northfield (Fernley Maker)

The Loco (Geoff Body)

The Great East Midlands Storm (Chris Blackman)

Scientific Services (Brian Arbon)

Filming Gaffer (Chris Blackman)

Quick Thinkers and Slow Thinkers (Ian Body)

Yesterday’s Tools, Yesterday’s Skills (Bryan Stone)

North American Interlude (Jim White)

The Return (Jim White)

Derailments (David Barraclough)

Wath Yard

Doncaster Division

More Derailments (David Barraclough)

It Can Now Be Revealed (Philip Benham)

The Pay Run (Ian Body)

Winteringham and Frodingham (Bill Parker)

Royal Moments (Philip Benham)

Merseyside Reflections (Jan Glasscock)

Dangerous Goods (Philip Benham)

Sometimes Almost Fiction (David Barraclough)

INTRODUCTION, SOURCES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Transport is a highly complex business, nowhere more so than in its railway arm. Paradoxically, it is an industry that seeks constantly and earnestly to be routine and orderly but stands no chance of total and consistent achievement of that objective. There is no certainty in the day-to-day operation and the plan, however carefully organised, is always liable to interruption: an unexpected influx of passengers, mechanical breakdown, the vagaries of weather, the acts of trespassers and vandals – the possibilities are endless.

A great dividend from this uncertainty is that railwaymen are permanently schooled and ready to deal with the unexpected and challenging. Indeed, they have been doing so since the birth of the railway. It follows that significant incidents in a railwayman’s career tend to be etched deeply in his memory and the aim of False Starts, Near Misses and Dangerous Goods has been to unearth a range of these recollections and put them together in a readable and entertaining form that also reveals something of the complexities of the railway business and how the industry is organised to manage them.

The writers between them have a good few, strong memories of their own, but this book could not have been prepared without the huge input from its contributors. Most of them are names that have appeared in the acknowledgements in previous books, and to everyone mentioned in the heading for each entry we are extremely grateful. To single out anyone would be an invidious task but, once again, Bryan Stone has done us proud from his photographic library, recalling in his present home in Switzerland the years when his wisdom resulted in a record of the detail of railway working that others had overlooked. New contributor David Barraclough has poured out a wealth of material from his time at Boston, Wath and Glasgow, and this book would not have happened without the efforts of long-term colleague and good friend Bill Parker. For inspiring contributions, his ideas, checking and much other help, thank you Bill.

As so often before, Amy Rigg and the editorial staff at The History Press have combined efficiency with unending helpfulness. Our thanks to them and the promotion, sales and other folk at The History Press.

Except where otherwise credited, the illustrations used in the book are all from the authors’ collections.

The departure board at Basingstoke gives echoes of the past: Burford, Itchen Abbas, Torrington, Bideford, Lynton – stations long gone.

GLOSSARY

absolute block

standard railway signalling arrangement, ensuring only one train can be in a designated track section at a time

ASLEF

Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen

bay platform

dead-end station platform

BG

Brake Gangwayed (guard’s brake van/parcels van with bogie wheels)

bogie

the framework carrying wheels which, in turn, is fixed to the railway vehicle

bogie bolster wagon

long wheelbase flatbed freight vehicle

BR

British Rail

BRB

British Railways Board

BRSA

British Railways Staff Association

BSK

Brake Standard Corridor (second-class corridor passenger coach with brake section)

BT

British Transport

BTP

British Transport Police

catch points

a safety turnout designed to derail vehicles running back out of control

CIÉ

Córas Iompair Éireann (Irish Railways)

clamping/clipping and scotching

a clip and a wedge used to immobilise a set of points (often for engineering work)

conrail

conductor rail in direct current, third-rail electrified systems

CP

Canadian Pacific

demurrage

charge made to freight customers when wagons were not released within the stipulated period

DI

District Inspector, often seen as the key local ‘rules and operations’ expert

DOO

Driver Only Operation (no assistant in the driving cab)

DMU

diesel multiple unit

DTM

Divisional Traffic Manager

ECS

empty coaching stock (passenger vehicles running out of service)

EMU

electric multiple unit

facing and trailing points

facing points are divergent and allow a change of a train’s direction, while trailing points are convergent

four foot

space between the two running rails

fully fitted

the existence of braking operated by the locomotive on all the vehicles in the train

GWR

Great Western Railway

hot axle-box

lack of lubricant on the axle-box, which can cause the metal to overheat and possibly fracture

hump

an incline from which shunted vehicles have a free run down into a marshalling yard or sidings

Hyfit

traditional open merchandise wagon with train-operated brakes

IO

Inspecting Officer

LDC

Local Departmental Committee (the basic unit of local staff representation)

lengthman

an engineer with responsibility for a specific ‘length’ of track

light engine

engine operating without any attached vehicles

Lowmac

a flat bogie freight vehicle with a lowered centre for extra height clearance

merry-go-round

freight service which unloads automatically while on the move

MoT

Ministry of Transport

off the road

a colloquial term for a derailment

out and home

a staff driving/guard shift involving out and back in the same day – relates to the days when overnight lodgings were not uncommon

partially fitted

includes some vehicles that only have handbrakes available

permanent way/p-way

traditional railway term for the track and supporting structure

permissive block

signalling system allowing for more than one train in a single section

pilotman

member of staff acting as the authority for a train to enter a signalling section

PNB

Physical Needs Break (guaranteed break in a turn of duty, initially between the third and fifth hour of work)

PRO

Public Relations Officer

right away

signal given to a driver to start the train

second man

additional assistant driver

seven bells

‘stop and examine’ signal sent from a signal box to the one ahead to stop the train because of a defect on it

slide chairs

the unit for holding a rail to a sleeper with the additional facility of accommodating movement where points are involved

SLW

Single-Line Working (two-directional train operation over a single set of rails)

SNCF

Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (France’s national state-owned railway company)

Special Traffic Notice

list of services that have been planned outside the standard regular timetable

sprag

a piece of wood put through the wheel spokes to prevent movement

switch and stock rails

stock rails are fixed while switches move to facilitate a change of direction

TA

Traffic Apprentice (long-running training scheme to fast-track individuals to senior management)

tail traffic

freight vehicles attached to a booked passenger service

ten foot

the central space on a four-track railway (which may not actually be 10ft)

Tipfit

fitted brake wagon designed to be unloaded by tipping

TOPS

Total Operations Processing System (a national system for managing the use of freight vehicles)

TPO

Travelling Post Office

track circuit

simple electrical device to detect the existence of a train on a particular stretch of track

trap points

similar to catch points but usually designed to divert vehicles into a sand trap

TSO

Tourist Standard Open (open second-class coach (non-corridor))

Up line and Down line

used to differentiate lines by the direction of travel and not related to inclines

vacuum brake

vehicle-braking system where the maintenance of a vacuum keeps the brakes off

Vanfit

brake-fitted box wagon

Weekly Traffic Notice

temporary advice of amendments to operations

wrong side failure

failure of a piece of equipment that compromises safety

A COUPLE OF NEAR MISSES

Bill Parker was to encounter some new and rather unexpected experiences at one of his relief stationmaster postings

As a young, summer-relief stationmaster I spent most of one summer in the early 1950s covering the stationmaster’s vacancy at Claypole, a small station in a rural area on the East Coast Main Line just south of Newark. Despite the few passenger trains stopping there, the passenger activity could be fairly busy, particularly in the mornings and evenings and on market days at Grantham and Newark. There were three sidings in the goods yard together with a cattle dock and a goods shed. Quite a few parcels were dealt with and there was some freight traffic, mainly agricultural and coal. It was a good station for gaining all-round experience.

I had visits from the district passenger manager and the assistant district operating superintendent, both of whom had been on the selection panel that had appointed me, and both giving me a thorough but encouraging grilling. The district inspector (DI) also made several visits and tested my signalling abilities by watching me work the signal box and the heavy, wheel-operated level-crossing gates. The district wagon inspector checked my daily wagon returns and the demurrage position in connection with the raising of charges for wagons not emptied within the stipulated free period.

One morning I was less than pleasantly surprised by a knock on my office door and the appearance of a tall, barrel-shaped, red-faced man in uniform who entered and announced, rather aggressively, ‘I’m the sack inspector from Lincoln sack headquarters.’ I was aware of letters I had received demanding ‘sack returns’, but the whole sack business was a mystery to me. At the time, the railway companies provided free grain sacks for the conveyance of corn by rail, but these were supposed to be accounted for and charges should have been raised for loss, damage or non-return within the free period allowed.

In my defence, I had eventually found and sent off some of the completed earlier returns when prompted by the third letter, but could find no book of regulations about sacks – most unusual, as there were regulations about everything on the railway – and my neighbouring stationmasters were less than helpful about what they considered a matter of minor importance. The more recent returns I had compiled using my mathematical skills, along with a measure of inventiveness. Now, however, nemesis had arrived and the inspector’s visit was clearly to chastise me for the delays and check my recent submissions.

The gods must have been with me that day, for just before the serious interrogation started I had a telephone call from the signalman saying that there was a hot axle-box on one of the wagons of an up freight approaching Claypole. I had been ‘saved by the bell’ – in fact, the seven bells ‘stop and examine’ train signal. My inquisitor accepted that my priority now had to be dealing with the emergency on the main line.

I was soon occupied with the business of detaching the defective Vanfit wagon into our goods sidings and arranging for its freight sundries contents to be reloaded into an empty van that happened to be in the goods shed. By the time I returned to my office the sack inspector had gone, leaving a note saying that he ‘would be back’. Fortunately by that time I had moved on to another appointment!

My time in this job involved an on-call responsibility, which required me to lodge locally on alternate weeks. My landlady was typical of her calling, with the house impeccably clean and myself hugely overfed, necessitating the lengthy bike rides to and from the station to help control my weight. Although I spent long hours at the station, especially working the signal box in the evenings, I needed other interesting activities.

The village cricket team, its supporters and the pavilion’s bar were most welcoming; so, too, was the Anglican vicar and his church members, particularly the organist and choir. The latter told me how much they would like to sing anthems, many packets of which were stacked away in the vestry. I volunteered to help and instantly became acting choirmaster. Because the organist, a good bass singer, wanted to sing in the choir, I also became piano accompanist and sub-organist. The choir’s enthusiasm and performance quality was wonderful, tackling, as they did so very competently, the choral music of Byrd, Bach, Handel, Stanford and Elgar.

I also enjoyed the choir’s habitual adjournment to the pub after choir practice and Sunday services. There, unsurprisingly, they led the singing of rather less religious songs, along with the other locals. As I played the piano, I had the benefit of free beer!

The availability of sacks for hire influenced many grain forwardings to rail, but getting the sacks back was another matter, despite the use of this form.

The choir members were a very friendly group, revealed in one way for which I was quite unprepared. After one practice a sturdy, well-proportioned and attractive soprano took hold of my hands, complimented me on my playing skills and forthwith propositioned me! How does a young relief stationmaster react to something like this? There was nothing about it in the railway rule book, nor in the advice my stationmaster father had given me. Completely overwhelmed, way beyond surprised, I spluttered out, ‘Sorry, but I have to go back to the station to do the sack returns.’ Perhaps the young lady had talents other than her singing ones – I would never know – but I did try to avoid eye contact during the remainder of my time conducting the choir and had learned something for my many subsequent years of musical activities. It was, at least, a rare occasion when sack returns had come in useful!

WHAT’S ON NEXT WEEK?

Jim Dorward describes the variety of content appearing in a typical British Rail Special Traffic Notice

British Rail’s (BR) ability to move different types of special-passenger train traffic over its extensive pre-Beeching network in the 1960s is well illustrated by the diversity of trains listed in almost any Weekly Traffic Notice of the time. For example, the Scottish Region’s SC2 Notice for Saturday 6 to Friday 12 June 1964 included the following:

Saturday 6 June

Llandovery to Glasgow (Central) and Edinburgh (Princes Street)

A military special. Such trains were easily recognised by the ratio of first- and second-class seats provided. This train had thirteen firsts for officers and 265 seconds for soldiers. The train split at Carstairs, the front portion continuing to Glasgow (Central) and the rear portion changing direction for the journey to the soon-to-be-closed Edinburgh (Princes Street).

London (St Pancras) (5 June) to Oban and Return

A ‘hotel on wheels’. This thirteen-coach special, including sleeping and restaurant cars, was carrying passengers for a boat trip to Staffa and Iona. The train was booked to arrive at Oban at 8 a.m. and depart for the journey back to London at 8.55 p.m. The route included the now-closed line between Dunblane and Crianlarich. The trip would involve some beautiful scenery, provided BR had arranged for there to be no rain in the notoriously wet area around Oban.

Irvine to Kilmarnock

This was a ‘Tote’ special comprising a single BG bogie brake and parcels vehicle for the conveyance of Tote betting equipment used at a nearby race meeting. The vehicle was subsequently to be attached at Kilmarnock to the regular 9.25 p.m. Glasgow (St Enoch) to London (St Pancras) service. The operators of the equipment would have been amazed at today’s Internet betting.

Scottish Region Special Traffic Notice, June 1964. (Jim Dorward)

Renfrew (Fulbar Street) to Stevenston and Return

Sunday school picnic. The interesting aspect of this train was the arrangement that BR had to make for the train to travel over the goods line between Paisley (Abercorn) and Paisley Goods. This needed the introduction of Absolute Block Signalling Regulations, a 10mph speed restriction and the clamping and scotching of facing points. One wonders if the revenue managed to cover the permanent-way men’s overtime!

Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June

Bertam Mills Circus

Two special trains from Workington to Stranraer Harbour along the now-closed line between Dumfries and Stranraer. Bertram Mills Circus had used four special trains for many years to move the circus from town to town. By 1964, however, television had started to change the live entertainment world. Consequently, prior to closing down the tenting show, Bertram Mills had decided to have a tour of Ireland using only two BR trains for the journey from Workington to Stranraer Harbour and the return journey to Ascot (West) where they had their winter quarters. Two special trains were assembled by the Irish railways.

The 9 p.m. from Workington included two passenger coaches and eleven bogie bolster wagons loaded with circus trailers. Speed was restricted to 25mph. The 12.10 a.m. (Sunday) from Workington conveyed four passenger coaches, elephants and horses. Speed was restricted to 30mph. These trains, particularly the one with the circus trailers, brought to an end the close working relationship between BR and Bertram Mills, together with the possibility of free tickets for some of the BR staff involved.

Tuesday 9 June

Perth to Gourock and Return

Two specials for a sail on the River Clyde for the General Accident Insurance Company’s annual staff outing. Both trains included restaurant cars and the timings were designed to give passengers adequate time to enjoy the delights of a BR four-course lunch and high tea.

Wednesday 10 June

Glasgow (St Enoch) to Greenock (Princes Pier)

This was a special train for Scots immigrating to Canada on Canadian Pacific Railway’s Empress of England. A special parcels train preceded the passenger train, conveying luggage and mails for the transatlantic crossing. No doubt many a tear was shed on the platform at St Enoch station.

There is little wonder that when the Special Traffic Notice arrived each week signalmen would say, ‘What’s on next week … and is there any overtime?’

Central Scotland lines. (Jim Dorward)

COURSE FARE

Geoff Body was privileged to attend several BR courses, acquiring a few unusual memories in the process

BR ran a great many instructive courses, chief among them a trio aimed at junior, middle and senior management. The aim of a good course is clearly to imbue knowledge that gets ingrained in life and work skills, but a good course will also create sufficient liveliness to result in a few extra curricular and memorable incidents. Or so I found it on these three particular courses.

The junior management event was so long ago that I recall only two things, both of which were linked to the catering. One is that the venue was a country house near London that was being used to train young chefs – and making an excellent job of it if our food was anything to go by. The other is the embarrassment of the first breakfast when my polite passing of the sugar basin and tongs resulted in dislodging the latter into a full jug of milk with a generous, impromptu baptism of the senior officer sitting nearby.

The middle management course was held at Derby and was largely devoted to practical skills, while the senior one involved a period in the British Transport (BT) Staff College at Woking for an intense instruction period lasting eight weeks. Derby was memorable for the end-of-course excursion around the Peak District when the rendering of rugby songs was quite as astonishing as the scenery was beautiful. At both of these events we had lectures on ‘Effective Speaking’, each memorable, but for different reasons.

A colleague from the hotels side of the business had a slight stammer, which the rather unprepossessing lecturer set out to remedy in what turned out to be the cruellest performance I have ever witnessed. It consisted of reducing the unfortunate subject to near-tears by barbed criticism and devastating pressure until he could barely talk at all. But it worked; a cure was achieved.

The other presenter on the art of effective speaking was an attractive woman in her late twenties or early thirties, very well groomed and confident. This was a challenge that one red-blooded member of the course could not resist. He had a slight hair lip, which tinged his speech, although not to any great degree. Referring to this, he stood and asked the lecturer if she could help with a remedy, clearly ready to delight in her failure to meet his challenge.

She was more than his match. ‘Mr X,’ she said, ‘if your question is a serious one I presume you will be willing to act upon any advice I give you.’

Already the challenger was snared. If he said no it made a mockery of posing the question. If he said yes she could impose pretty well whatever demeaning action she liked upon him, and duly did so when he had to indicate assent.

‘Thank you, Mr X. What I want you to do is stand in front of a mirror each morning and evening, put a finger on the damaged lip and splutter at least ten times. And I’d like you to do it for the whole of the remainder of the course, and in front of your colleagues as an earnest of your good faith.’

The lecturer’s would-be tormentor had been well bested and took it well. We warmed to our speaker and what she then had to pass on in her lecture.

The Woking course was no sinecure; the reading list alone would have occupied the rest of my days. But there were several consolations, not least a croquet court where I acquired a little skill and a lot of respect for an intriguing and sometimes vicious game. The principal beat me in the prestigious final, so, along with a mathematics wizard from the British Railways Board (BRB) headquarters, we turned to beating the odds on the fruit machine in the relaxation room. He was a random-numbers expert and we did manage to make a profit, but the grand total of 19d per 2 hours of effort was not generally adjudged overly impressive.

A feature of each Woking course was a short visit to some out-based activities, in our case to the Continent to marvel at the then-new Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam and the pioneer activities of a haulier specialising in the handling of garments on racks. From our visit to the former we had to use a tram to get back to our hotel and, for some obscure reason, were moved to collective song to lighten the journey. Getting rather carried away with the occasion, we were so encouraged by our fellow tram passengers’ applause that we went round the tram circuit again, still in full voice. What a contrast was our return journey early on the final morning of the trip when the temptations of duty-free Geneva on board the BR ferry had taken its toll. The stooping, ashen-faced gang that disembarked at Harwich looked as little like a group of potential high flyers as did the bollards to which our vessel was moored!

Croquet interval for British Transport Staff College course No. 16 with Louis Verberckt threatening to go home to Belgium following defeat!

The traditional course group photograph where we posed in front of the British Transport Staff College at Woking, with the principal and his staff in the front row.

We had recovered by the time of the end-of-course show that, by tradition, the members staged. In drag, with awful songs and rhymes, we produced our version of ‘The Woking Ladies Finishing School’ and a sketch in which we parodied the assessment process by a, hopefully, witty critique of the staff and tutors who had served us so well but with no light hand.

DRAMA AT CHESTER

From his time as area manager at Chester, Peter Whittaker recalls two serious accidents

Tattenhall Junction, 1971

It was a lovely summer evening early in July and I had been in my first real management job, as area manager at Chester, for just four months. I was mowing the lawn prior to taking the family – my wife and three very young boys – on holiday the next morning. Midway through my task my wife appeared to tell me that Chester Control was on the phone. This was unusual, as I was not on call, but they thought I might like to know there had been a serious derailment on the patch.

This advice arrived some 2 hours after the actual incident, so, rather than add my presence to the undoubtedly already overcrowded accident site, I went straight to Chester Control to brief myself, having told my long-suffering wife to continue the holiday packing, with no expectation of when I might return home. On arrival, the story I found was that a returning schools party special train from Rhyl to Smethwick had become derailed on buckled rails at Tattenhall Junction outside Chester, with serious casualties and at least one fatality.

I was able to establish that the emergency services had been on site very rapidly and were performing extremely well. I also contacted my deputy at the site to check that my presence there was not needed at that stage and then got in touch with Birmingham Control. The power of the network again – in charge at the Birmingham end was a friend and former colleague, Peter Barlow. He had managed to obtain from the school a list of the children, teachers and other adults who had been on the trip. I was gradually able to assemble, by contacts with the crash site, the police and the local hospitals, a list of the survivors who were returning to Birmingham, those awaiting collection by parents and others, and casualties who had been taken to hospitals at Chester or Wrexham.

For several hours it was hoped that there might be only one fatality but, sadly, as the last of the wrecked coaches was being examined, a second, unidentifiable body was discovered. By comparing my list with Peter’s we were able to establish that an 11-year-old boy was missing, later identified.

It is difficult to imagine the horror entailed in this situation of setting out from a deprived area of Birmingham for a sunny day at the seaside and then to find the party ended in such a way. The strength of feeling among the Chester staff was such that on my return from holiday I discovered they had raised a spontaneous cash collection for the school. The gesture and the amount raised were such that I felt I must deliver it personally to Benson Road school rather than just send a cheque by post. The walk from Smethwick Rolfe Street station through Winson Green to the school caused me to reflect again upon the responsibility we carry as transport operators.

Chester Station, 1972

On a Tuesday evening in early May, after a particularly stretching day as area manager, Chester Control came on the phone at 9 p.m. I was not on call and so only likely to be contacted about something fairly serious. A voice said, ‘Sir, there has been a serious accident at the station and the station roof is on fire.’

As I stopped at traffic lights approaching the outskirts of Chester, the whole sky seemed to be alight, reminding me of my earliest childhood memory of a wartime bombing raid on Liverpool. I thought, ‘This is not just the station roof – it must be the whole station on fire!’

On arrival at Chester station I was greeted by not only a raging fire but a scene of general destruction. A freight train from Ellesmere Port to Mold Junction had run away down the falling gradient approaching Chester and run through points set for the bay platform, colliding there with an empty diesel multiple unit (DMU) at about 20mph. The first coach of the DMU was completely destroyed and the second coach was torn from its bogies and thrown up on to the adjacent platform where it came to rest having demolished half of the refreshment room.

A major fire had started when the burst fuel tanks of both the DMU and the freight locomotive ignited – it had indeed set the station roof on fire. There were additional complications: the first five wagons of the freight train were tank wagons containing kerosene, petrol and gas oil. Petrol from two of these tanks had begun to boil and been forced out of the pressure-relief valves, adding to the conflagration.

Fortunately, the fire brigade was based locally and had arrived at the scene very quickly, but they were faced with a challenging situation. Mercifully and, in the circumstances, miraculously, there were no serious injuries. My duty manager had performed magnificently. Having established that all emergency precautions had been taken, he then very quickly – and at no small risk to himself – uncoupled the freight train between the third and fourth tank wagons, averting a further extension of the fire. Under my direction he then used the same shunting locomotive to further remove some other tank wagons from an adjacent siding. These contained ethylene dibromide which, when heated, can discharge some highly toxic gases.

By using copious amounts of foam and continuously spraying the tank wagons to control the temperature inside, the fire brigade was able to contain the fire, although it was not finally extinguished for some 4 hours. The senior fire officer on site advised me that the fire was out and he was on his way home. I asked whether this meant that my staff could get into the area and start some sort of a clear up. He confirmed that this would be fine but, fortunately, some sixth sense sent me in search of his deputy, who was appalled at the idea. The tank wagons would need to be sprayed continuously for at least another 8 hours before the site could be declared free of further risk – an interesting lesson in seeking a second opinion, even in the case of experts! When I asked later what would have happened if they had been unable to cool the tanks sufficiently, the answer was that there would have been a fireball over the whole of Chester.