The London and North Western Railway Society and the Signalling Record Society
Archives and Study Centre

The LNWR Society and Signalling Record Society's joint premises at 35 Vine Street, Coventry.

We are delighted to offer our congratulations to our friends and colleagues in these fine Societies as they mark the official opening of their new joint Archive and Study Centre in Coventry. Having had the move forced upon them through no fault of their own, to have it behind them and the new place up and running is a great cause for celebration and the Midland Railway Society were very pleased to be represented at the event.

The formal opening was performed by Lucy Fletcher, Deputy CEO of The National Archives, who spoke about the importance of what societies like ours all do in the wider sphere of history research and “the Archive Sector” generally.

By way of a thank you for the invitation (and a fine buffet!), the least we can do is plug one of the LNWR Society's upcoming events at their new digs. On Wednesday 17th June at 19:00, Reg Instone will be leading An Introduction to Railway Staff History. As the LNWRS Staff History Officer and active member of the SRS (and, notably the Midland Railway Society as well!), this is sure to be a very good talk for anyone with an interest in learning how to find more about railway ancestors. Find out more by contacting the LNWR Society at lnwrs.org.uk. We hope you all have a great evening.

Lucy Fletcher unveiled the commemorative plaque, watched by the LNWR Society's Secretary, Mike Hollick.

MR Johnson 0-6-0 Goods Engines.

88-2015-0723-02 No. 3626 stands with its crew proudly posing at Wellingborough shed in 1922.

The Study Centre recently received a request from a modeller for a drawing of “a Midland Railway Johnson 0-6-0 M Class loco”. Not an unreasonable request, at least not to anyone who is passingly familiar with the intricacies of “Six-Coupled Goods Engines”, as Samuel Johnson and his contemporaries referred to them. The Study Centre Coordinator is not one of those people, regrettably. From the works of the late Bertram Baxter ⁽¹⁾, it was established that “M Class” is a sub-set of what later came to be known as 1873 Class. Beyond that all was lost as it was evident that 1873 Class covered quite a wide range of variants. Reinforcements were therefore called-in, and Adrian Tester came to the rescue. We feel sure others will benefit from his wisdom here.

“Unlike many of the pre-Grouping companies the Midland didn't have a consistent method of differentiating between its classes. As a rule of thumb (but there were exceptions) during the Johnson era contractor-built engines were usually identified by a class letter whereas Derby-built engines were commonly identified by either their order number (O.xxx etc) or by the running number of (usually) the first example. However, they had the habit of also using 'convenient' numbers, so the 890 Class of 2-4-0 was also referred to as the 900 class! Unfortunately the designation '1873 class' is not very helpful at all - despite Stephen Summerson and David Tee using it - not least because in includes engines having 7ft and 7ft - 2ins boiler pitches. Summerson treated all the engines from Derby Order Number 713 of 1888 as a single 1798 Class, other authors, notably Essery & Jenkinson, treat them by the subdivisions of their order letters etc.: O/N 713, Neilson Goods, J, J2, M, since there are visual differences between them.

“Rather than me waxing lyrical about the delights of SWJ's 0-6-0s and the differences between the different batches I suggest you dig out Item No. RFB30609 from the Study Centre. This is a photocopy of Derby Works Drg. No.97-4402, which came to us from the late Bob Essery's collection. It is a General Arrangement drawing for the later examples of the Class M 0-6-0 which were originally numbered 2284-2358, 2391-2420, 2461-2490, 2491-2500, 2544-2550, 2551-2570, 2641-2660, 2661-2680, & 2681-2735. However, this drawing is a what Derby originally asked the contractors to build for it. In practice, what left the works of Messrs Neilsons, Kitsons, Sharps and Vulcan would differ from the Derby drawing. Partly this was because Derby would change its mind and ask for changes to be incorporated between the batches but also it was because the builders might introduce their own changes. Most of these changes at this date were quite minor but careful study of photos is very good practice!”

We are all always learning.

1 - “British Locomotive Catalogue 1825-1923: Volume 3A Midland Railway & its constituent companies”. Baxter, B. Moorland Publishing. 1982.

Soar Lane Wharf Lifting Bridge

On a beautiful day in late April, the Midland Railway Society was honoured to be present at the opening ceremony for the Soar Lane Wharf Lifting Bridge at the Mountsorrel Railway. This structure dating from 1835 carried a siding of the Leicester & Swannington Railway over the Leicester Canal at West Bridge. Later absorbed into the Midland Railway, it is natural we were able to assist the project to restore it with photographs and drawings.

You can read all about the history of the bridge, the reopening day and even download for yourself some of the resources we were able to provide. Meanwhile, this news page on the Midland Railway Society's website provides more of the story of the day a link to a Youtube video of the event.

One For the Modellers ...of all periods

From 77-11824, a “paste book” of assorted Engineers Department drawings embossed on the cover with the name J. Briggs esq. This was effectively a scrap book of drawings which Mr. Briggs, the Company's Engineer, wished to keep to hand for quick reference.

Click on the image to open a full resolution (11Mb) scan.

Satire — 1884 Style

This clipping of a contemporary cartoon has found its way into Derby Museums's archive of paperwork at some point in time.

Station Master. — NO, WE CAN'T LET THE EXCURSIONISTS ON TO THE PLATFORM UNTIL WE'VE SYRINGED THE PLANTS IN THE HOT-HOUSE!
The caption also helpfully informs us that “The Midland Railway Company have offered prizes for the best-kept station gardens throughout their system”. There is a handwritten credit to “Funny Folks” of August 9th 1884.

Feeling Hungry?

A recent acquisition...

RFB34078

Hawes Junction 1911 Signal Box Diagram

This year is the 150th anniversary of the opening of what was undoubtedly the jewel in the Midland Railway's crown — the Settle and Carlisle Line. The anniversary is set to be marked in some style by the Friends of the Settle & Carlisle Line and we will be supporting them in their celebrations. To that end, the story of a recent acquisition and in particular, what it represents, is worth relating here.

Famed for its stunning scenery and incredible civil engineering features, the Settle & Carlisle is also renowned for its harsh weather. The line has also seen more than its fair share of tragedy over those 150 years — including into relatively modern times — often with the terrain and the weather playing a significant part in the terrible accidents the line has witnessed.

Perhaps none more so than in the early hours of Christmas Eve in 1910 at Hawes Junction, or what is today called Garsdale. To set the scene it should be be borne in mind that we at the summit of the Long Drag, 50 miles south of Carlisle, marked by punishing gradients averaging around 1 in 100 and even steeper in places. This required most trains to be "banked", or assisted, by one or more other engines pushing from behind. Having done their job on reaching the summit, these banking engines then needed to be turned and head back north to repeat the process.

This plan was prepared for the Inspecting Officer, Maj. Pringle R.E., and was published with his report into the accident [RFB01523]. You can download a copy by clicking on the image./p>

By 5 a.m., Signalman Alfred Sutton was nine hours into his very busy 10 hour night shift. He was a 25 year veteran signalman, and had been at Hawes Junction for 20 of those years. Fair to suppose he'd seen it all, and took it in his stride. It is probably not a superlative to say that he had trains coming at him from everywhere in that dark and very windy pre-dawn morning. Successive sleeping car expresses, with fitted goods trains one after the other, and crucially, no less than five banking engines needing to get back to either side the Long Drag to perform their next duties. Even aside from the ferociously howling wind, we can barely imagine the activity in the signal box, with levers being pulled and put back, a cacophony of block bell signals and engine whistles and — crucially — all this being dutifully recorded in the Train Register Book.

That register, and the entries it contained, was all Signalman Sutton had to rely on, other than his memory, to keep track of what train was where at any given time. He had, perfectly in accordances with the Rules, allowed two engines coupled together to proceed — out of his sight — to his Down Advanced Starting Signal to await acceptance into the block section to Ais Gill and begin their descent back to Carlisle, while he went on to deal with the others. To read his subsequent detailed description of how he handled the complex arrangements to get all these engines on the turntable and then where they needed to be, all in between the passing trains, it is barely any wonder he massaged to forget the two waiting at his starting signal. He made the classic signalman's error and having accepted a Down express from Dent, it was this train he offered on to Ais Gill once the section cleared, then fatally pulled off his signal for. The two engines set off and, well, the inevitable happened with consequences we cannot begin to imagine.

One of the most poignant elements of the whole sad story is that Sutton almost immediately realised his mistake… once it was too late to do anything about it. He described seeing a red glow in the north sky and is famously said to have told his mate who at that moment arrived to start his day shift; “Go and tell Station Master Bunce that I am afraid I have wrecked the Scotch Express” .

Was it all his fault? Clearly he made the fatal error, but it was a trap the Midland Railway had laid for him. The MR refused to supply their signalmen with lever collars (reminder appliances in modern terminology), partly because the Company were notoriously parsimonious when it came to spending money on their signalling, but also because of a fanciful idea at senior level that such aids made their signalmen lazy. Sutton told the Inspecting Officer he had in a the past used the signal box poker to wedge the lever catch-handles in such circumstances to stop him wrongly clearing a signal. The other crucial aid which would have undoubtedly prevented the disaster was the electrical Track Circuit which would have told Sutton that there were engines waiting at the signal out of his sight.

It is the clanging of that proverbial stable door which is in evidence in the acquisition that has prompted this piece. It is a signal box diagram for Hawes Junction which shows Track Circuit Nos. 114 and 115 (i.e. the 114th and 115th such installation by the MR since they started installing Track Circuits, the first being at Mansfield five years earlier). We have Track Circuit records in the Study Centre (77-12004) which show T.C.115 installed as 458yds in rear of the Down Advanced Starting Signal on 9th September 1911, with T.C.114 as an equivalent installation on the Up line. The records also show that T.C.114 was shortened to 100yds on 27 May 1914 when a further Track Circuit was installed closer to the signal box. In other words, that dates this particular diagram to less than nine months after the accident.

This is the diagram concerned [RFB34069]. You can download a copy by clicking on the image.

The diagram is evidently an “office copy”, meaning it has never hung in the signal box, but it is nevertheless a notable memorial to that terrible stormy night. There is already a copy of this diagram in the area of the S&C as photocopy of it hangs in the cafe on Hellifield staton. This one came to us through the magic of eBay, being sold by someone from the Skipton area, so those two clues may one day allow us to piece together some of its more recent history.

Meanwhile, the Trustees of the Midland Railway Society have agreed that all things considered, this piece of Settle and Carlisle history should be returned to its spiritual home. The FoSCL have agreed to receive it and have it framed to be displayed in the excellent Ribblehead Station visitor centre. We could not be more pleased.

Derby Station History Panels

Just in time for the huge influx of visitors to The Greatest Gathering, passengers at Derby station will notice that the subway linking Platforms 1 to 5 has had a lick of paint. More importantly from the Midland Railway Study Centre's point of view, the wall of the subway is now lined with a series of panels outlining the history of Derby Station. Using the resources of the Midland Railway Study Centre, these panels were authored by the Midland Railway Society, commissioned by East Midlands Railway as part of their contribution to Railway200.

While not used nearly as much as the overbridge, largely as the subway doesn't directly connect to either of the station gate lines, hopefully these panels will serve as an attraction for passengers to linger a while and take in the wealth of information contained within. We don't accept responsibility for missed trains though!

Do you come here often?

If you do, you are obviously interested in some aspect of the Midland Railway and are getting some benefit from what we have to offer here — or so we sincerely hope! None of this would be possible without the Midland Railway Society and the Midland Railway Society cannot survive without members ...who are people just like you. As well as supporting the Midland Railway Study Centre (and gaining access to some really useful exclusive resources for MRS Members), membership connects you with a wide ranging community of knowledgable, friendly and helpful like-minded souls. All for the incredibly reasonable annual subscription of just £30. This also includes; the Journal (three per year), Newsletter (quarterly) and now our newly introduced twice-yearly publication Modelling The Midland. Then there are the informative and convivial meetings, visits to places of historical Midland Railway interest and access to our well stocked bookstall.

With all that, what are you waiting for?
You can either: Download a membership form and send it back to us.
Or visit the Midland Railway Society's Shop to do it all online. It really is easy.

No Such Thing as Bad Publicity...?

From the Derby Mercury of 6th February 1867, page 8

The Original Sheffield Station Layout

As a precursor to the important announcement regarding our extensive collection of Midland Railway Estate Plans, here is an extract from one of them. This plan illustrates how Sheffield station was laid-out from when it was opened on 1st February 1870 until the newly enlarged station as we know it today opened on 10th September 1893. (Open the image in a new tab or window to see more detail.)

The Midland Railway Two Chains to the Inch Land Plans

We are delighted to make our collection of Midland Railway two-chains-to-the-inch land plans downloadable directly from the site. This treasure-trove of information is made available free-of-charge, subject only to a non-commercial usage Creative Commons Licence as detailed on the linked-page, where you will also find an explanation of their historical context.

Visit the Two Chain Plans download page

“Fills one with amazement...”

Many thousands of articles of the most varied description find their way to the Midland Railway Company's depot at the City Road Wharf, Derby, either as lost, unclaimed, damaged, or salvage property and a glance through the catalogue of the three days sale by the Derby auctioneers, Messrs. J. and W. Heathcote, at their mart, fills one with amazement, for the stock would do credit to any "Universal Provider". The disposal of the goods commenced on Tuesday, and the following list will give an idea of the variety of articles which are to be obtained: Calico, curtains, towels, cutlery, dustbins, stall, timber, nails, screws, rivets, bolts, sauce, Quaker Oats, ironmongery, hardware, waste, flocks, trunks, dress baskets, bags, furniture, linoleum, oilcloth, carpets, rugs, crockery, ornaments, an electric dynamo, yarn, woollen cloths, baths, galvanised, cisterns, tanks, bicycles and accessories, and numerous other items. At Thursday's sale there were offered for auction no fewer than ninety lots of umbrellas in dozens and two dozens, twenty lots of twelve walking sticks each, and seventeen lots of two dozen walking sticks. There were also sixteen lots of six gents' overcoats and any number of mackintoshes, capes &c. An interesting lot was a mahogany four-post bedstead upon which the late Queen Victoria slept at the Midland Hotel, Derby, on the occasion of her visit, on 28th September, 1849. It may be added that Queen Victoria's bedstead caused some spirited bidding, and was eventually knocked down to a buyer who tendered as his name and address, “J- B-, Model Lodging House”.

— The Railway News. May 7th, 1910.

Waste Not, Want Not

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

“The total number of employees of the Midland Railway Company who went out to take their part in the great fight against aggression was twenty-two thousand nine hundred and forty-one. Of this number, two thousand eight hundred and thirty-three made the supreme sacrifice, and those of us who are living under the freedom purchased at the cost of these lives cannot allow the memory of their devotion to die.”

— Frank Tatlow, General Manager of the Midland Railway
in his letter to the families of those listed on the Company War Memorial.
November 1921.

Wellingborough Accident of 1898

For no other reason than we had occasion to scan this document recently and thought it deserved sharing, here is the detailed plan that accompanied the report by Board of Trade inspector, Lt. Col. Yorke, into the terrible accident at Wellingborough on 2nd October 1898. The original is in our collection, but we're happy to plug the fantastic The Railways Archive website as a source of the report if you wish to read it.

Very briefly, a heavy barrow somehow ran off the platform into the path of an oncoming Down Express. Despite a heroic attempt to move it off the line, the engine of the Express was derailed on contact with the barrow, resulting in the loss of seven lives including both men on the footplate of the Express. The tragedy led to a change in the way station platforms are configured which remains the case today.

Ref: RFB01380

Midland Railway System Map

To see which parts of the country were served by the Midland Railway, please click this thumbnail to view a system map from 1914.

Researching Your Local Railway Station

Looking for a new project?

We are commonly asked how someone might begin to find out more about their local railway station - whether for personal interest or as part of more structured research. This led to the creation of our Researching Your Local Railway Station page, with some suggestions about what points might be addressed and where to turn for answers. The list is far from exhaustive and some suggestions may not apply to all stations (it doesn't actually have to be your "local" station of course!). If nothing else we hope it inspires and we look forward to helping you.

The Midland Railway Assemblage Trails

Everything in The Assemblage of the Museum of Making has a story to tell. Some objects perhaps have more to say than others and so we have developed these self-guided trails to help you discover more about some of what we consider to be the most interesting Midland Railway objects.

Needless to say, you don't actually have to be at the Museum of Making to enjoy them, but we do think the best way to appreciate what you're looking at is to visit in person, so we have tried to make these trails smartphone friendly.

There are currently two trails; one intended to be a little more light hearted and may be more suited to family groups. The other is pitched more toward those who might be looking for something a little deeper.

Are you researching a Midland Railway related subject?

Are you looking for an outlet for your work? The Midland Railway Society's Journal is always on the lookout for new material and would be delighted to publish your work. You don't have to be a Midland Railway Society member (though we'd really like it if you became one!)

Of course there is always that feeling that "it's not quite finished" or otherwise not ready for public show. That's a natural worry, and even if it is true, think of the benefits of publishing an excerpt of your work or showcasing a particular aspect of your research. The benefit of exposure to a wide audience of knowledgeable Midland Railway Society members can be very significant in terms of new information or material you receive by way of feedback. That said, it is important not to feel intimidated — MRS members are without fail a friendly bunch!

If you have anything which you would like us to consider for publication in the Journal, please contact the Study Centre Coordinator at the details at the bottom of the page.

Going Up or Down?

Find out for any given Midland Railway line using this list of Up and Down lines extracted from Appendix No. 20 of 1899 of the Midland Railway.

The Midland Railway was about much more than trains

This drawing was prepared by the Midland Railway's Carriage & Wagon Department just before the First World War to illustrate the myriad types of hand-drawn barrows and trollies they were manufacturing. The uses to which these vehicles were put were many & varied, perfectly illustrating the wide variety of functions which a railway company undertook.

Clicking the above image will download a 4.2Mb scanned Jpeg of the drawing which we hope you will find fascinating. It is one of more than 1,200 items which can now be downloaded from our on-line catalogue. If you haven't looked at it lately, we hope you will find the catalogue worthwhile browsing and that you'll find plenty of interest.