Welwyn Garden City

[Mickey]

Sid the shunter he use to wear a railway uniform & waistcot with a peaked black railway hat, he spoke in a quiet'ish Hertfordshire dialect and use to ride a bike, he lived at Cole Green along the Hertford road. Micky

[R. pike]

Here's a nice shot of Welwyn..
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.n ... 24643.html

[Mickey]

Nice picture there Richard a V2 passing a A1/2? at Welwyn Garden City nice. Micky

[Auld Reekie]

Hi all, my first post on here but one which might be of interest for this thread.
Regarding the footbridge at Welwyn Garden, it was officially designated for demolition in 2008 as its sides are considered too fragile to support any weight leaning onto it, hence the rails which are a more recent addition.
Demolition still has not happened - my guess is that they can't afford the cost of replacing it during the economic crisis...

Nice thread by the way bringing back memories for me. I used to commute to Potters Bar from Welwyn in the late 1980's walking to the station via the footbridge and often caught the same train that Barry Norman caught when he still worked for the BBC. He always smoked a massive pipe.
I still on occasion catch an express from WGC to Kings Cross. I'm sad they demolished the KX footbridge so lets hope they find a great new home for it. Nabisco is also earmarked for demolition after being bought out by Kraft(?) foods. I distinctly remember the smell the factory produced on certain days drifting over to the station. They used to make Twiglets there and the whole area would smell slightly 'Marmiteish', and on Shredded Wheat days the smell was much worse. I live in the Midlands now but miss the old station building whenever I come down to visit relatives. The Howard Center is a joyless place.

[Mickey]

First time that i remember using WGC station would be around 1967 when i was 10 years old and my dad use to sometimes take me up to London on his business trips when he use to work in London now and then. I destinctly remember riding on a train (usually a x2 car Craven unit stopping at all stations all the way up to Kings Cross a journey that took nearly an hour) one day from WGC to Kings Cross and in the newspaper it mentions with pictures the 'Last steam locomotives' withdrawn by BR so that would have been in August of 1968. The old footbridge at WGC station was of course alot longer at it's western end when the staircase decended a set of stairs that took you into the old booking hall with a newspaper stand at the main station entrance. On a visit to WGC in early 1989 they were just starting work on the new Howardgate Centre, i went back nearly 2 years ago for the first time since 1989 and didn't recognised the place that goes for certain parts of the town although it's got to be said some parts around places like Woodhall, Heronswood road/Cole green lane roundabout area and Hall grove look the same as they did 35-45 years ago when i was growing up in the town. Micky

[giner]

Amen to all of that, Auld Reekie. I well remember the Shredded Wheat 'aroma' when I worked at Broadwater Press which stood where the Howard Centre's north multi-storey car park is now. Said 'aroma' mixed with printing ink was a weird blend, not to mention when further blended with what wafted out from our canteen.

[manna]

G'Day Gents
Of all the times I've been to Welwyn GC I never noticed the smell, probably because I was on a diesel and that masked the smell of everything

Worst smell of Any station, would have to be, for me Manchester Victoria, stood there many a time waiting to releive another guard, and this revolting smell would drift over the station, I was told that it was from the brewery nearby.
manna

[Mickey]

You should have been at Stratford freightliner terminal (East London) now the site of the 2012 London Olympic games the placed STUNK TO HIGH HEAVEN 24/7 back in the 1970s/80s because of a nearby soap factory which surprise surprise isn't there anymore i wonder why?. Micky

[Bryan]

The Hull dock branch after it crossed Hedon rd ran behind a refinery processing, I think, fish oil and that didn't half put you off your snap.
I was working besides it with a stoneblower in 1992 all day one sunday.

[Auld Reekie]

Its amazing how smells can invoke memories. Should we start a 'worst smelling train station' thread?
I was once again at Welwyn and noticed that the old wagon is still there, slowly rotting away in the sidings. I asked a couple of station staff about it and no-one knows a thing. Perhaps it will stay there now till it falls to bits or gets rescued by a heritage railway?
Nabisco has been earmarked for redevelopment, the bridge is still marked for demolition. I guess the former will be replaced by dull looking offices and the latter by one of those hideous enclosed Network Rail footbridges with as much character as a concrete silo...

[Mickey]

Even the up yard at WGC ain't like it use to be. 40 years ago there was about 8 roads plus a couple more on the other side of the concrete road, 40 years on (today) i think there is only 4 roads in the up yard. By the way i was in Welwyn s/box when the flyover was built to the south end of the station (or as the G.E.R. guy's would say 'the London end'). Building of the flyover commenced (i think?) in the spring of 1973. During Mon-Fri possession of the up slow line between the south end of the up slow line platform at WGC to Hatfield No2s first controlled colour light signal was BLOCKED usually between 10:am-4:pm all trains obviously using the up fast line going towards London. I think the work was completed on the flyover sometime in either late 1973 or early 1974 but i can't remember the exact date now?. Micky

[ajax103]

Hi all, my first post on here but one which might be of interest for this thread.
Regarding the footbridge at Welwyn Garden, it was officially designated for demolition in 2008 as its sides are considered too fragile to support any weight leaning onto it, hence the rails which are a more recent addition.
Demolition still has not happened - my guess is that they can't afford the cost of replacing it during the economic crisis...

Would you be referring to to existing footbridge that enables you to get from the upside to the downside?

If so, I didn't realise it was such a bad state.

[Mickey]

Yes i think that Auld Reekie is referring to the long footbridge (there is only one at the station). I read somewhere else on this or another thread that they have tried 'strengthening' the footbridge but it has had it's day unfortunetly, i saw that footbridge in archive railway film footage shot at Welwyn Garden City in the 1930s!. Talking of which i am going to have a ride down to WGC from Finsbury Park tomorrow (Friday 02/07/10) and have my 6 monthly 'walk down memory lane' to think i worked at that station back in 1972/73/ nearly 40 years ago!. Where does all the time go???. Micky

[hq1hitchin]

Yes i think that Auld Reekie is referring to the long footbridge (there is only one at the station). I read somewhere else on this or another thread that they have tried 'strengthening' the footbridge but it has had it's day unfortunetly, i saw that footbridge in archive railway film footage shot at Welwyn Garden City in the 1930s!. Talking of which i am going to have a ride down to WGC from Finsbury Park tomorrow (Friday 02/07/10) and have my 6 monthly 'walk down memory lane' to think i worked at that station back in 1972/73/ nearly 40 years ago!. Where does all the time go???. Micky

My second job, briefly, on the railway after starting at Welwyn North was in WGC parcels office, 1966 to early 1967, but the post also involved covering the East Side booking office for the morning peak. It was nothing more than a tin hut stucking out from the footbridge, about midway along and would have looked even better with a little chimney poking out of the roof. As it was, it was quite busy with passengers from the East Side of THE garden city (never mind Letchworth!) buying weeklies to Moorgate and what have you on a Monday morning. Those issued to females had to be overstamped with a big W - anyone else remember that? - and yes, the smell, the peculiar if not pongy smell, of Shredded Wheat being toasted or whatever they did to it, very distictive and I can still remember it now. Can also remember having to go with Mr Elway, the chief clerk, up to the bank to deposit the takings from the booking office. Joe Levy used to give us a ride up in his Karrier parcels lorry. High security? No, definitely not. The little suitcase we used was marked LNER though...

[Mickey]

East side booking office hq1hitchin i don't remember that one although i first used WGC station back in 1967 but i was with my dad at the time and i was only 10 years old so i wouldn't and we only used the main booking office entrance on the west side. I will think of old Pedler Palmer's wrong routing incident back in 1973 and will have a quiet smile to myself tomorrow when i step off the train from Finsbury Park and glance a long the down platform to where the old box use to be onetime... Happy days indeed... Micky