Hornsey carriage sidings ECML

[Mickey]

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[DaveGN]

If the NRM at YORK are collecting stuff like the panel from this place they must be getting pushed for something to preserve if they think that thing is worth preserving??.

True, but on the other hand, how many times in the past have we bothered not saving stuff that at the time we thought was rubbish, only to regret it later!
I remember clearing out the 'lamp room' at Hitchin and throwing dozens of signal and tail lamps in a skip, not to mention blue and white enamel signs, an LNER stamped ladder, folders containing paperwork about wartime evacuees, accounting sheets for shunting horses and various others things like box signal repeater indicators that no-one wanted kept!

[PinzaC55]

The NRM recently disposed of a large part of its "reserve collection" to various heritage railways. I viewed the collection and commented on the large number of BR enamel signal arms of no historical interest. The chap I spoke to explained that various people in charge of the collection over the years had their own "speciality" and would acquire items for the museum even if they were of no merit - they got the things for free and treated them as if they were their own private collection.

[Mickey]

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[Mickey]

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[Trestrol]

[quote="Micky"]Oh well it's final curtains today for the Hornsey ''control tower'' (thats an American railroad term isn't it??) and i suppose it begs the question wot was the point in building this structure in the first place for??.

Hornsey carriage sidings were virtually redundant when they built this structure back in the late 1970s and the sidings have layed unused for over a decade or more, still when it's other people's money thats paying for it's construction who cares i suppose??. [/quote

York Clifton Carriage shed is another example. They must have known that loco hauled stocks days were numbered but they built a brand new shed only to close it a couple of years later.

[Andy W]

York Clifton was a spectacular example of getting it wrong - opened and closed a couple of years later by the same Depot Manager - all because the ECML suddenly found itself (thanks to the BRB) with a few more HST sets to eliminate daytime LHCS working.

Hornsey CS was a better investment. It wasn't "virtually redundant" when it opened - it was pretty well used up until the time I left "the Area" (AME) in 1987 and it was only the loss of the mails & newspaper vans, the sleepers, the parlys and then electrification that denuded it of activity between the mid to late 1980s and the early 90s. There was, apparently, a real reluctance to use it for the Mk4 sets because of the fear of vandalism.

The real problem with it was you could approach it from the north up the bank from behind the boiler house and not be seen amongst the rows of stock until it was too late. Many a night we lost dozens of brass steam pipe ends and by the late 1980s the paint sprayers were about too.

The place was lit by two fixed towers with several sodium lamps fixed at the top. The ODM lads who did the maintenance got well deserved "height money" for going up there in all weathers. The boiler at the end was a 1963 Thompson Multipac (SB 4598 in the ER series) and was well capable of heating all the roads. It was kitted out for shore ETH/ETS supplies as well as individual battery charge ground pots supplied via some very dodgy 1970s electronics.

Quite a few times the stock left with the remains of a lead attached to it although on more than a couple of occasions the connection was ripped out of the stock at Hornsey which caused problems when the train arrived at the Cross and the loco was put on that end!

[Bryan]

Hull Speedlink / Container port was a complete waste of time.
Why build a transhipment centre at the West end of Hull to crossload onto a lorry to ship it to the East end of Hull?
How long was it before shippers realised it was easier to road it all the way.
The only winners in the area from this were the local caravan dwellers who demolished the place in record time.

[James Brodie]

Gents, lady carriage cleaners and young firemen, in 1953 whilst in between runs the ladies used to descend on our coaches and clean them but also give me some of their used Brasso cloths so I could polish the brasses on our engine/s
67281 or 67338. It wasn't possible to get Red Brick by then. I had to put up with their good natured but maybe coarse-ish banter but nothing serious was meant by it. most of these ladies were old enough to be my mother or even grandmother, I was only seventeen at the time. But I did drink tea, well until the first station then the tea bottle got refilled up with tap water and every station after that. I could never understand the drivers would take their small brandy bottles home with tea still in them.(until I got to be a driver that is). Ah for the days of a drink bottle standing on the shelf over the firebox door and a pork pie wrapped in a white cloth warming on top of an injector body. Absolute luxury plus if a tender engine (J39/3) a side sheet and back sheet made from flour sacks, things got nearly decadent irrespective of how deep the snow was outside or how heavy the rain was.
Jim Brodie.

[Mickey]

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[kudu]

I also refer to Alexandra Palace as WOOD GREEN i could never quite come to terms with calling it ALEXANDRA PALACE for some reason?

Not of course to be confused with Alexandra Palace station, which was located at umm... Alexandra Palace.

Kudu

[Mickey]

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[PinzaC55]

I was told a story (don't know if it was true) that a black guard had to take a train out of Hornsey carriage sidings and gave it a touch on the "butterfly" but the driver interpreted this as a signal to move the train, and he got a clear run into the Cross with the guard hanging on for dear life. Supposedly when they reached the Cross the guard was white as a sheet and had to be prised off the back of the train.

[Mickey]

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[manna]

G'Day Gents

It's possible, that or something like did happen, up until 1971, when the crew had to leave an engine somewhere, the loco key was left on the engine, after 1971, all drivers were issued with keys, and with the strict instructions, that they were responsible for there key, and must take them out when they left the engine.

I was lucky I got mine before they all disappeared, still got it in fact, along with my carriage key, which came in very handy for opening the windows on locked French trains

manna