A well attended meeting in March provided members with several items of railway interest, including the Hornby Railways set that was marketed in 1985 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Great Western Railway Co. It was on the 31st of August 1835 that an act of Parliament created the longest lived company on the history of transport. The train set, brought to the meeting by Tony Winter, consisted of Hornby King Locomotive 6000 King George V and three coaches. It is fair to say that few of these sets where ever opened for use. Of particular interest is the fact that neither the locomotive illustrated in the catalogue nor the artists impression shows the King George V with its commemorative bell.
The actual locomotive was built at Swindon in June 1927 and only run for a few months in service prior to being shipped to the USA tin August to take part in the Centenary Exhibition of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. This is where the bell was acquired and was displayed on the buffer beam for the rest of its service.
The Climb out of Bath.
Last month we looked at some ex S&DJR locomotives at Radstock. The forst picture featured this month was taken about 8 miles north of Radstock and depicts an ex S&DJR 2-8-0 climbing to Devonshire Tunnel on the outskirts of Bath. The Midland Railway designed and built the 2-8-0's.
Six were built at Derby in 1914 and a further five in 1925 by the Robert Stephenson Co. All of these locos where absorbed into the LMS in 1930. They provided 50 years of service almost exclusively on that line.
The actual locomotive spent many years on a plinth in the open air in the Canterbury area. It was restored and moved to the National Railway Museum in the late 1970's. The line itself, which boasted the first railway tunnel in the world, closed to passenger traffic in 1931, remaining in operation for goods traffic until 1952.
Other items enjoyed by members at the meeting included a collection of postcards depicting subjects mainly of railway interest displayed by Richard Hobby.
There was also a showing of the video, " Steam in the Golden Valley" by Geoff Chandler. This video featured the Swindon to Gloucester line in 1985, dealt with many of the steam trips tha were available during the summer in commemoration of the earlier mentioned GWR 150th anniversary.
The April Meeting will be held at the usual Elliot street location on the 21st of the month, during the 1300-1630 time slot. During the meeting, Roy Hopkins will be presenting video footage taken on his recent trip to South Africa. Most of the footage will be non-railway in nature, however, bearing in mind the quality of Roys work, we can look forward to an interesting presentaion.
As referred to in an earlier newsletter, our May meeting will consist of a layout tour and meeting with railway enthusiasts in the Sarnia Pt Edward area. Full details will be provided in the May newsletter.
The Buffers have been invited to the June 11th meeting at the home of Platelayer, Brian Fayle. Several of our members have taken advantage of the hospitality before. Full details to follow.
Over a mile north of the Devonshire bank is Bath Green Park. This station was closed to traffic in March 1966, later being restored as a Sainsbury's supermarket in the early 1980's. A car park was established under the renovated station awning.
Pictured at Bath Green Park (mid 50's) is GWR Diesel Railcar No 23, likely on a Bristol temple Meads local service.
The International Daily Express reported that steam lovers and investors alike will soon be able to buy shares in 4472 Flying Scotsman. Tony Marchington has discovered that the great locomotive burns as much coal as money, so now he hopes others will be able to share in the burden.
.Please E-mail me your comments.