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Newsletter No 126 – January 2016

DiARY 1

Friday 8 January 7.45 pm Kettering & DLS

Turn at Cricklewood for Kensington - John Downing at Cornmarket Hall, London Rd, Kettering, NN15 7QA

Wednesday 13 January 7.30pm RCTS Hitchin The Inter-City Story - Chris Green

at Walsworth Road Baptist Church, Hitchin, SG4 9SP

Thursday 14 January 7.30pm - LCGB St Albans

Smoke & Steam on 16mm Film - Frank Banfield at Chiswell Gn. United Reformed Church Hall, Watford Rd, St Albans

Saturday 16 Jan Harpenden Model Railway Exhibition

10.30 am - 5.30 pm at Harpenden Public Halls, Southdown Road, AL5 1PD

Sat 16 - Sun 17 Jan St Albans Model Railway Exhibition

Sat 10 to 5.30. Sun 10 to 4.30. Adult £8 inc. 2 free kids at The Alban Arena Civic Centre, St Albans, AL1 3LD

Monday 25 January 7.30pm RCTS Northampton

Swindon Works in the Goden Age - Brian Arman at Weston Favell Parish Hall, Booth Lane S, Northampton, NN3 3EP

Wed. 27 January 7.30pm - Sandy Transport Society Wheels Around Willington - Mervyn Askew

at Sandy Conservative Club, Bedford Rd, Sandy, SG19 1EL

LOCOMOTIVE CLUB of GREAT BRITAIN

BEDFORD BRANCH

Saturday 9 January LCGB Main Club Overseas Reunion at Ealing Town Hall

Tuesday 2 February 7.30 pm LCGB Bedford

Cromford & High Peak 2 - G. Sullivan & T. Tomalin

at St John’s Hall, St J’s St, B’f’d, MK42 0DL (near St Johns Stn)

THANKS to all contributors. PLEASE send some-thing – even if it’s just one photo or a few lines. We’re looking for YOUR thoughts and experiences. Material for February 2016 15D by Wednesday 27 January 2016 please. cheers, Geoff

CONTACTS:- General:- Bryan Cross tel 01525 750149 Newsletter:- Geoff Biggs tel 01582 737780

100 Richmond Hill, Luton, LU2 7JQ e-mail:- biggsluton@hotmail.com www.lcgb.org.uk - see Bedford pages

DAVID EATWELL 1931 - 2015

DAVID by Bill Davies

I was so shocked to find out that David had passed away whilst I was on holiday in Antigua made worse because I couldn't get back in time for his funeral. I could only wear black with a red flower at the time of the service then cast the flower into the Caribbean to watch it disappear.

I have been lucky enough to be friends with David for the best part of 40 years during which he was a constant supporter of my endeavors as a railway speaker even allowing me to stand in for him when he wasn't available. Whenever I was speaking in Peterborough he was always there to give me support and was kind enough to say, "I never heard any of those stories before", when I was pretty sure he had.

In 1987 we celebrated one hundred years of ASLEF in Bedford to which he provided a number of his quality pictures for our exhibition. I noted on the night that a press photographer was taking pic-tures of his pictures. I asked him not to adding that, see David if you want copies, which I was sure would be forthcoming. He took no notice, publish-ing in the Bedfordshire Times. David quite rightly sued, won , then donated the compensation to ASLEF'S orphans fund. A mark of a man of princi-ple and generosity.

Later when he was producing the first of his quality books on Railways in Bedfordshire he came

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In many ways the service was like any other, with two hymns, familiar prayers and background music on the church organ before the service began but, as those who knew David might have expected, there were some surprises. Not everyone had known that ‘David’ was not his real name: he was christened Edward Williams Eatwell but, in his inimitable way, insisted on being called David so that was that! That he had been a chorister in that very church as a boy was a surprise to some. That he used to sneak out of boarding school at dead of night to photograph trains surprised no-one. Who else would have had his coffin decorated with some of his own photographs, and who else would have been sent off to the strains of ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo’? It was then that the purpose of the screen and projector became clear: not, as was widely speculated, one final slide show but a family group with the dearly departed grinning broadly. A strag-gling procession made its way to the Embankment Hotel for the wake, where many reminiscences were exchanged. One final surprise lay in wait for those present in the form of a plate of bread pud-ding. That figures: David always went for plain and simple where food was concerned.

Those who knew David will continue to re-member him for some time yet. He was a one-off.

▲ - Cuba’s Australia Mill System on 28th March 1995. L - R:- Jeremy Harrison, Ron Davies, David Eatwell, George Shields, Peter Wilcox, Malcolm Burgoyne & Ted Burley. ▼ - A ride behind steam at Spalding Model Railway Exhibition 2014. [Bill Davies

round to our house to proof read captions. One was a picture of a Horwich Mogul, i.e. a Crab. As it was a hot day David had stripped down to his speedos. So there he sat confident that all 'Crabs' had been built at Horwich only to be told by me that I thought that this particular one had been built at Crewe. The lively exchanges that followed were overheard by our neighbour who to this day proba-bly still doesn't understand just why such a vehe-ment argument involving 'Crabs' and a man in his speedos took place.

Later when I was suffering from a medical com-plaint during which I lost a lot of confidence he was the one who came forward with practical things for me to do including judging the LCGB photographic competition, then in its pomp as a major event. What he didn't tell me was that he wasn't speaking to the other judge resulting in me convey-ing messages between the two. Happily they made up later in the evening !!!

In the early days of texts and the likes I sent him a message from a visit I had made to Stapleford Park Miniature Railway with some pictures. He needed no more. He was there to enjoy this amaz-ing railway, only open a few times a year, but enough to satisfy David. He always awarded me the accolade of introducing him to yet another as-pect of steam railways which he then enjoyed im-mensely.

Outstanding visits were going to be to Rudding-ton Model Engineers, Nottingham Tram extensions and Ted Martin's wonderful railway in Thame.

There are so many highlights of our friendship many of which hurt when I think that we will never discuss them again or add to them. My fairly fre-quent visits to Peterborough Wetherspoons in latter years always were a few hours of pleasure as we talked about everything and anything. Looking at his photographs, so many masterpieces of the photo-graphic art which he enhanced by his interpretation of all that was good. Digital just opened up more opportunities which we all looked forward to seeing more, especially as his mobility was to be returned by his last operation. Sadly although all went well with his leg and hip it was further complications that ended his life to the regret of us all who knew him.

Wherever he is now lets hope that no one is smoking, there is no gravy on the dinner and the punctuation is exemplary .

RIP one of life's railway characters who enriched the lives of those of us who were lucky enough to be his friend.

DAVID’S FUNERAL by Chris Foren

Family and friends of David Eatwell (1931–2015) gathered at St Paul’s Church in Bedford on 9th De-cember to celebrate his life. His daughters and grandchildren gave fond and affectionate tributes, at times struggling to keep emotion in check.

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▲ - Colin Smith was in Blackwood, South Australia in November 1995. 'F' Class 4-6-2 Tank on the last day of 5ft 3iin gauge trains from Adelaide. The gen-tleman is WES SAUNDERS. He came to England teaching and use to go to the Bedford LCGB meet-ings. I keep in touch with him. He obtained tickets

for both of us on this train as I was in Adelaide at the time. I have many fond memories of the times spent

▲ - From Robin Patrick. Wednesday 23rd Decem-ber was the penultimate day of manual signalling on South Humberside with a very sunny cold day and heavy freight traffic. Control of the area is being transferred to York. Here is 60059 passing Barnetby East Box in the late afternoon with 6M00 1430 Hum-ber - Kingsbury oil tanks.

▲ - Robin Patrick was at York on Monday 7 De-cember. Santa Claus 91128 makes its stop in plat-form 5 with 1N29 1819 Kings Cross - Newcastle.

▲ - Northern Ireland Railways No. 3012 stands at Belfast’s Great Vivtoria Street station. Built by Spanish company CAF in 2014. [sent by Peter Fleming

▲ - Robin Patrick saw 66762 at Brumber Hill south of York with 4N47 0824 Drax - Tyne Coal Terminal empty biomass hoppers on 16 November.

▲ - This jolly lot manned the Marston Vale Santa Train Between Bedford and Bletchley on Saturday 12 December. Among the crew is:- second from left - Stephen Sleigh - Marston Vale Community Rail Patnership Supremo, Santa, who was from Ampthill Rotary, and Twinkle Snowballs the Elf. Twinkle looks remarkably like the dinner lady who served us at our Chistmas Special. I think they must be sisters.

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ONLY ONE VENUE in YORK Stan Barnes

On Saturday 28th. November I joined a a UK

Railtours excursion to York. The train started at St Pancras and I boarded at Bedford. The down train was 1Z42, the up train being 1Z45.This was an ex-cursion via HST 125. The journey was excellent in both directions reaching speeds in 3 figures.

It was billed as a day to visit the St. Nicholas Fayre and Christmas Market. I am sorry to say I spent my time at the N R M. For quite a while I have wanted to see the Duchess of Hamilton in the once again streamlined state. Because of my specific interest, I limited my photographic activities. Apart from the Duchess my only other image worthy of note was Evening Star on the turntable. ▼

I saw the first five (I think) and the matching coaches in the blue and silver colours, and then the later batches in their red and gold. I managed to achieve this thanks to numerous trips from Bedford to Bletchley around the second world war.

SOUTH of the COUNTY found by Colin Lennard

▲ - The fireless engine of Laporte Chemicals Ltd situated on the Dunstable line out of Luton. The company made Hydrogen Peroxide. That H2O2 re-acts violently to flame plus the availability of process steam made a fireless loco the obvious choice.

▲ - The Cobbler. 44414 runs into Dunstable North Station a little after the start of South Bedfordshire Locomotive Club’s Railtour on 19 September 1964. It ran from Luton Bute St to Luton Midland Rd via a number of Northants branch lines. This border sta-tion was LNWR but the turntable on the left was in-stalled by intruders the GNR.

▲ - Luton Bute St 14-9-63. This train brought Cov-entry City fans to see them play Luton in Division Three. Coventry won 3 - 1. The Headboard reads “The Sky-Blue Express”. The engine went tender-first to Bletchley, turned and then all the way back to Luton and is seen here ready to return to Coventry.

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Alan Tunbridge writes. Quite moving to see this. [Dec. Edition] Dave & I were close friends,even after I moved to

South Africa. We kept in regular contact. We had travelled to many places together, both in the U.K. & Europe plus in S.A. According to his sister I was the last of his old comrades to see him alive on my 2002 visit to the U.K. & was pleased to be able to pay my last respects at his funeral on the day that I left.

On Monday 7 December, Robin Patrick saw 56087 operated by Colas. It had just brought in the Railhead Treatment Train form Kings Norton, Birmingham, after use in the Birmingham area and is in sidings at Thrall Europa Wagon Works, York.

► - John Morgan entered some photos in the 2015 Main Club Photographic Competition. He got 3rd prize in Group F for Digital Images - Non Steam. Majorcan vintage train at Bunyola. Tren de Soller. He also won the Dave Mills trophy for that photo as best 1st. time entry. The winning photo choice was a quite a surprise but I did get a £10 prize.

1/125 f8.7 ISO 80

[Well done John! Another of his below.]

▼ - On Saturday 19 December 1Z29 the Railway Touring Company’s “York Yuletide Express” went from Victoria to York hauled by 46233 “Duchess of Sutherland”.

1/200 f6.1 ISO 3200

On Saturday 21 November David Scudamore vis-ited the 15” gauge Evesham Vale Light Railway which opened in 2002 & is about a mile in length. 312’St Egwin’ (0-4-0T+T) built by Exmoor Steam Railway was working trains. Also on view outside the shed was ‘Cromwell’ (4D) built by Ruston & Hornsby (No 452280) which had been regauged & converted to hydraulic drive by Alan Keefe Ltd. The EVR operates every weekend & every day dur-ing the main school holidays.