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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted -  12/09/2004  :  18:29
Posted by Stanlery for 'Handlamp'. (Ted Harrison, a member from Newark)

BARNOLDSWICK LMS RAILWAY STATION AND ITS WORKING IN THE EARLY FORTIES

Having entered the service of the LMS Railway at Skipton on 24th February 1941, where I trained as a Booking and Parcels Clerk, I was transferred to Barnoldswick as a Junior Clerk on 30th June of that year. The duties of my post, which was remunerated at the princely sum of £35 per annum, were split between the Passenger and Goods Offices which were situated adjacent to each other on the sole platform.

Barnoldswick was the only station on a single line, located 1mile 1342 yards from Barnoldswick Junction at Kelbrook, which in turn was 1166 yards west of Earby Station Box on the Skipton to Colne line. The line had originally started life as the Barnoldswick Railway in 1871 but, in March 1898 the local company had approached the Midland Railway to see if it would purchase the line outright. As the line had always paid out a `regular and reasonable’ dividend the Midland agreed to do so and powers were secured in 1899. For many years it appears that the Barlick folk had to make do with hot water bottles as a source of heat until authorisation was given to fit steam heating to the two locos and nine carriages allocated to the Branch on 16th November 1922, some 20 years after the Midland had fitted their main line coaches. The Branch finally closed on 27th September 1965.

Barlick was the place that gave me my first taste for the `thrills’ of railway operating. The single line was worked by the `Only one engine in steam or two or more coupled together’ system, section V1 of the Rule Book. All points on the single line were locked by the train staff which the driver held as his authority for being on the single line. The staff was round and black with the person responsible to receive and deliver it to the driver being the Signalman at Barnoldswick Junction. The only signal at the station was an old Midland `Stop Board’ which protected the level crossing on Wellhouse Road and the Coal Yard beyond. The oblong Board fully presented to approaching trains gave a danger aspect (with red bullseye lamp above), a clear indication being given when it was turned 90 degrees to a side on position, i.e. parallel to the line facing Wellhouse Road.

Every lunch time found me hurriedly partaking of my sandwiches in the Porters Room before going out to `help’ with the shunting of the Goods Yard. This took the form of pinning down or releasing wagon brakes or `knobbing up’ points, only rarely was I allowed to handle a shunting pole. Most evenings I returned to spend more time with the leading porter and the engine crews until the last train at 9:35pm when I usually had the treat of driving the engine. A push and pull train was allocated to the Branch, being propelled towards Earby. When propelling the driver was located in the cab at the front end of the leading coach (normally two on the train) with the staff where he operated the vacuum brake whilst the fireman operated the regulator on the locomotive. It was the practice of most crews, prior to shutting off power, to open the regulator momentarily to the full, then close it at the bridge over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The train then `coasted’ to the Junction which was traversed slowly until the driver had surrendered the staff to the signalman. On receipt of the bell code to indicate that the staff had safely been delivered the regulator was opened with some gusto for the run into Earby. Mr. Dawes, the Station Master, must have been aware of my activities as his house and garden overlooked the all station area but he turned a Nelsonian eye and never restricted my enthusiasm in any way.

The Booking and Parcels Clerk was, and had been for many years, Louis Barwick, a much respected member of the community and a leading light in the town’s glee union. He had a good baritone voice and would frequently burst into snatches of anything from the Mikado to the Messiah. Cotton manufacturers travelled to the Manchester Market each Tuesday and Friday and two of their number would sometimes come into the office and join him in song. Exceptionally Louis retained his entitlement to uniform dating from the Midland Railway days when his duties included the examination and collection of tickets. An avid pipe smoker he was often blamed for the destruction of the gas mantles with his practice of lighting paper spills from them. Although then in his early sixties, he had a good head of wiry hair. Tommy Corkill, a Goods Guard from Skipton, regularly cut the hair of most of the staff on his visits but did his best to avoid Louis on the alleged grounds that his hair ruined the scissors.

The parcels were delivered by horse van, the van man being another stalwart, Charlie Moore. Nowadays one is inclined to forget that horses had to be fed and watered twice daily and Charlie, or a substitute, had to attend the stables for this duty at weekends and on bank holidays. Charlie thought a lot about his horses and I recall his sadness at loosing one of his favourites when he loaded it into a horse box for transfer to another station. When a telegram was received advising the timings for a horsebox with a replacement horse for him from the Stables at Oakham he had extreme difficulty containing his excitement until the train conveying it arrived and he had viewed his future workmate.

Another long standing member of the team was Tommy Westmoreland, one of the two Leading Porters. Tommy was a big genial chap who seemed equally happy diving under the buffers to perform coupling on the passenger trains, wielding a shunting pole out in the yard, or dealing with the public in the office or on the platform. I suppose his trade mark was his tobacco tin, pipe and pen knife which he seemed to be perpetually using to cut up his twist. When I first started at Barlick the other leading porter was Joe Creasey who was soon transferred on promotion to Leeds as a shunter and he was replaced by Dick Dawson. Dick had come from Clitheroe and had recently taken up residence on, or near to, Wellhouse Road. The one other member of the platform staff was Walter Scales who resided at Skipton.

One regular daily visitor to the Booking Office was Henry Carter, a local newsagent, who usually arrived around 4:15pm to collect his evening newspapers. Henry was renowned for his hobby of the manufacture of cigarette lighters and he kept the staff well supplied with these, particularly at that time, very useful items.

The Goods Department was very busy as most of the commodities for shops and industry were being conveyed by rail. Large quantities of explosives were also received from, and forwarded to, Gledstone Hall which was being used as a military storage depot. The town cartage work was performed by a horse and dray, industry and out lying areas being served by one or more Scammell units loaned from Skipton. The Goods Office was manned by Mr. Reynolds, the Senior Clerk, and Miss Mary Wensley with myself halftime. In 1941 the system which had prevailed from the days when the railways took over from the stage coach still prevailed and every consignment required an invoice, raised at the sending station and sent to the receiving station, with full details including weight and charges shown thereon. Apart from assisting with the invoicing, as was to be expected with the junior post, I was allocated the more menial tasks. One of these was `abstracting' details from invoices station by station and `summarising’ the financial information thus obtained for each railway.

The Branch was normally serviced by a Class 1 0-4-4 tank engine and two coaches fitted with push and pull equipment which did not require the presence of a guard on the train. However in my time there, so far as I can recall, until around 1:00pm, a Class 2,3 or 4F 0-6-0 covered the passenger service on top of its freight work which, of course, involved `running round’ the coaches at both stations and a guard being employed. Barlick trains connected into and out of all trains at Earby between 7:00am and 9:48pmSX, 10:27pm SO. Even at that time the branch trains were usually lightly loaded. One glaring exception was the 11:10pm from Barlick which conveyed around 200 `late night revellers’ fresh from the regular Saturday evening dance at the Majestic Ballroom. There was no booked Sunday service but the Branch occasionally opened for special trains. In the winters of 41/42 and 42/43 traffic had built up to such a degree that I can recall at least three or four freight specials running on the Sabbath. The booked freight service on weekdays arrived from Skipton around 6.10am when traffic was `set’ in the Goods and Coal yards and departed around 1/30pm. `Mixed’ trains (i.e. conveying passengers and freight) on which the freight wagons were not required to have continuous brakes, were scheduled to run on the Branch. A train departing Barlick around 5/30pm was booked as a mixed train and regularly conveyed the maximum of 20 wagons with a brake van and quite frequently included wagons of explosives

Early in 1943 Rodney Hampson entered the service and commenced training for my duties and it was apparent that my days at Barnoldswick were numbered. As anticipated `the call’ came on 16th March 1943 when I was transferred to Colne, still a Junior Clerk (but this time filling a senior position as Booking Clerk) , my rate of pay having risen by then to £55 per annum.

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handlamp
Senior Member


1100 Posts
Posted - 14/11/2006 : 14:41
Robert, I can remember the baker's shop but thats about all I'm afraid.


TedGo to Top of Page
Invernahaille
Regular Member


669 Posts
Posted - 14/11/2006 : 17:29
I just thought that clipping gave so much information, not particularly about Mrs Cowling, but about the lifestyle of the village. Whit walks, the kids in Milnrow today dont know now, what they are/were. Mrs Makin wearing a shawl and clogs. The wakes holidays. All that and not too long ago. Cowlings did make beautiful bread and confectionary, but if my memory serves me well, they also knew how to charge for it.


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handlamp
Senior Member


1100 Posts
Posted - 16/11/2006 : 16:01

To continue:-

During my time at Milnrow it was necessary to undertake two `excess fare checks'. Where a member of the platform staff was suspected of fraud it was the practice to arrange such a check. A passenger found without a ticket was charged what was, and I think still is, called an excess fare which, when collected, should be paid into the receipts. The favourite way of conducting these checks was for a plain clothes policeman, probably accompanied by a policewoman, to travel, usually on the last train of the day, and pay their fares to the person collecting the tickets. A check would then be made the following day to see if an excess fare ticket had been made out and the money paid in. Sad to say, both instances confirmed dishonesty and  the men were dismissed the service after first being suspended from duty and eventually found guilty in a court of law.

Most of the wooden cases from Holroyd's weighed far in excess of two hundredweights and were not conducive to expeditious handling by one, or at the most, two men. Quite apart from the risk of injury to the staff, there was also the problem of trains incurring overtime whilst this valuable traffic was being loaded. Eventually, at one of the rare times when BR funds must have been plentiful, it was decided to allocate a hydraulic lifting trolley to Milnrow. Unfortunately, due to the length of time occupied in operating the hydraulic apparatus, and the trolley's small wheels which made movement difficult over uneven platform surfaces, its use never became popular with staff.

Early in 1957 we had a few cases of signal lamp failures. This was a few months after our long standing lampman had been transferred to a clerical position. Since his departure the job had been done by a few different porters and it was fairly quickly decided that the cause was due to an accumalation of water in the vessels due to condensation caused by them not being rinsed out regularly each month as required by the instructions. Since their inception the safe and efficient running  of the railway had been dependant on oil signal lamps. In December 1947 the LMSR had published a booklet `INSTRUCTIONS respecting the CLEANING, TRIMMING and LIGHTING of oil SIGNAL LAMPS' which was issued to all signal lampmen and signal boxes. This prohibited the trimming and cleaning in the open and impressed the paramount need for cleanliness in the Lamp Rooms. The instructions stipulated that ` the lamps must be lighted and the flame turned to about one half the full light and be allowed to burn ten minutes, so that the parts can become throughly warm and enable the light to settle, after which the flame should be regulated to a well shaped one to avoid unevenness and smoking and allowed to burn five more minutes, when the lamps, if burning properly, can be carried to the signals. The men must be careful when placing the lamps in the lamp cases or on the brackets not to jerk the lights out, and before leaving, satisfy themselves that the lamps are burning properly.' The lamps were brought in to be cleaned and trimmed on the same day each week. Any lamp failing was replaced by a spare one. The lamp taken out of service was to be retained by the SM who reported the matter to the District Office. Eventually the failed lamp was examined by the District Signalling Inspector who then arranged for its disposal. Spare lamps were to be kept as follows:- 1 in 4 in use, 1; 5-10, 2; 11-15, 3; more than 15, according to requirements. On each visit to a signal the lampman was required to clean the glasses and the coloured spectacle glasses. A frequent, and worthwhile unauthoried use of the `spare' lamps was to place them beneath the cisterns of the toilets during severe frosts.

On coming to Milnrow I continued my membership of the railway St. John Ambulance movement by joining the Rochdale class. Like the National Coal Board, British Railways strongly supported their St. John Ambulance movement and encouraged their staff to become proficient in first aid. Examinations in proficiency were held annually, successful candidates being rewarded with an extra all line free pass for their family. In addition, competitions were held each year on a district basis, leading to regional finals. I captained the Rochdale first team in the competitions held at Bolton and i think there was only one occasion when we came away without a prize. These were normally in the form of a presentation to each member of the team (four plus reserve). The second competition I attended was marked by us having to treat the Regional Ambulance Secretary who had fallen down the Town Hall steps. Some unkind contestants alleged that he had imbibed rather too freely over lunch but the icy steps would certainly not have helped. My first aid knowledge was put to still more practical use on 12th December 1957 when the Vicar of Milnrow, the Rev. G.W. Wilson, tripped and fell heavily in the Station Approach. I still have a copy of his letter to the Divisional Manager expressing ` my heartfelt thanks for the first aid attention I received and the prompt attendance of Doctor Berriman prior to my despatch to hospital by ambulance'. This exemplifies the difference between those days and the present time as the first action in today's climate would be to sue for damages due to the worn and uneven condition of the surface of the approach.       




TedGo to Top of Page
Invernahaille
Regular Member


669 Posts
Posted - 16/11/2006 : 16:21

Ted. Thats interesting. St John's ambulance started a corps in Milnrow about 1961. I joined with Verner (Harry Cash' stepson) in about 1965, remained a member until 19070 when I went to sea.

Another interesting point. My last ship was called the Hebridean Princess, she saile around the Scottish Islands and Highlands. The average age of the passengers was about 75 years.

We had an incident were one of them fell whilst disembarking the ship to go ashore for some sightseeing, and broke her arm. The ship radioed for a helicopter to transport her to the nearest hospital, and basically did what first aid was available. She was flown back to the ship several hours later to continue her cruise. She couldnt thank the ship's crew and officers enough, saying how greatful she was, and the fact of how the crew had assisted her and it was her fault that the accident occurred. Two weeks after she left the ship she sued the company for thousands of pounds for negligence. The outcome was that the courts found negligence on both sides. She basically got a free cruise, worth about 3500 pounds plus a couple of thousand pounds for pain and suffering.




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TOM PHILLIPS
Steeplejerk


4164 Posts
Posted - 16/11/2006 : 18:57

Ted,iam shocked,dishonesty within BR,I will be asking for character references next time i board a train.love the lamp under the cistern bit.

these days Iam going to sue you must be easier to say than "thank you"..




"Work,the curse of the drinking class" Go to Top of Page
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 17/11/2006 : 07:40
The paraffin lamp in the outside toilet was standard practice.  You used to be able to get sump heaters of cars, you lit them and shoved them under the engine overnight in the garage to keep the engine frost free.  Incubator lamps from the hen hut were also a favourite.  In an emergency a hirricane lamp did equally well.  The lavatory always smelt of paraffin.....  happy days.......  PS. The paper used to get damp as well......


Stanley Challenger Graham




Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk Go to Top of Page
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 17/11/2006 : 16:07

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apologies for the quality, this appeared in the BET today.  Earby station March 2 1930. L to R; back - A Walton, L Ganon, W Reynolds. Front - H Hodgson and T Mylott.




Stanley Challenger Graham




Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk Go to Top of Page
handlamp
Senior Member


1100 Posts
Posted - 19/11/2006 : 19:20

When I started in February 1941the only one on the picture still at Earby was Hubert Hodgson, then signalman in Earby Station Box. Hubert was a friend who first introduced me to the Railway St. John's Ambulance organisation - he was the Earby Ambulance Class Secretary and his enthusiasm for the voluntary work made a great impression on me as a youngster at the time.   




TedGo to Top of Page
Invernahaille
Regular Member


669 Posts
Posted - 20/11/2006 : 15:15

Ted. I have recalled some names from the Milnrow S.J.A.B. I think some of these transferred from Rochdale or were part of division.

Harry Woolfendon, George Starkey, ??? Clegg, (I cant remember his first name he was high ranking) Dr Harrington (corps medical officer) Dr Berriman, (retired and moved away) Luke Simmonds, Jack Taylor. There are a few more I just cant recall them now.




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handlamp
Senior Member


1100 Posts
Posted - 20/11/2006 : 16:40

Robert, ??Clegg rings a bell, and Dr. Berriman, of course, who  was our family doctor. I didn't have much to do with the local St. John's as the railway organisation was self contained. 

Just got a book on the railways around Rochdale and an article therein reminded me of the allegedly true tale where a stranger went into the Bird in the Hand during the 1930 depression. He made it known that he had secured the contract to paint New Hey Station and that he was looking for painters. He wanted 6d from each recruit to register them and each man had to bring their own brush for 8am sharp on the following Monday ready to go into action. Needless to say the lad and the cash were never seen again. In an effort to help the victims a comic artist  produced a postcard on which each of the cartoon figures were said to represent a duped cotton worker. There were at least 50 figures depicted on the card so the fraudster had made away with 25 bob.



Edited by - handlamp on 20 November 2006 16:46:04


TedGo to Top of Page
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 21/11/2006 : 08:41
Sounds as though it came right out of 'Ragged Trousered Philanthropists'!


Stanley Challenger Graham




Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk Go to Top of Page
Invernahaille
Regular Member


669 Posts
Posted - 21/11/2006 : 12:32
Ted. Do you know. The indigenous Newhey-ites still spoke about that in the fifties and sixties.  I thought it was just a local legend. Like big Jake wer a worm a bloody gret worm kind of thing.


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handlamp
Senior Member


1100 Posts
Posted - 05/12/2006 : 16:14

To continue:-

Early in 1958 I started to be called for promotion interviews, including SM/GA positions at Codnor Park and Huyton, and it became clear that, with any luck, I would soon be on my way another step up the ladder. This was confirmed when I was selected to fill the vacancy for Assistant Yard Master/ Goods Agent, Class 2, at Hasland, with an allocation date of 28.5.58.

Some lasting memories of Milnrow and Rochdale are:-

The excellent timekeeping of the Oldham Branch loco hauled services, steam trains only being replaced by diesel multiple units in early 1958. At that time the importance of getting people to their work on time was a priority and, unlike today's haphazard performance, cancellation of an early morning service, or for that matter any service, was rare indeed.

Lying in bed with the comforting sounds of wagon buffers clanking accompanied by the shunting engine blasting and/or slipping as it pulled out a full siding in the Rochdale yards. Not forgetting the hoots of the engine whistles accompanied by a few detonator explosions to celebrate the arrival of the new year.  

A hen hut accompanied by two or three bushes bowling along Moss Street in a gale force wind.

The look of utter disbelief on an inebriate's face as he saw out cat, Tommy, miaowing at the top of a telegraph ploe at the end of the street.

Joan and I, and our two children, dashing up Rochdale Station Approach on many summer Sundays to catch a half day excursion to Southport. On those trains our daughter, Lesley, would be fervidly watching for the first sight of the headgear of that I had told her were treacle mines in the Wigan area (This, of course, was well before Nolic and the Barrowford lads had broken into the rich seams of traycle, although we at Earby had heard rumours in the early 1930,s that over in Sabden they were distilling moonshine to make the much sought after black stuff). Our experience of coal mining had yet to come.

The visit of HM The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to the Oldham area and their return by road to Rochdale Station to board the Royal Train. There, on seeing a red light moved vertically up and down as the hand signal for the driver to create vacuum for the brake system, the Duke was alleged to have asked Joe Tipping, the SM, whether he was running a brothel.

Dealing with an extremely inebriate old gentleman complete with a bull terrier dog (a`la Bill Sykes) who had alighted from a down train asking for direction to the `Smuggler'. After practically undressing him to find his ticket, it eventually transpired that he should have alighted at Hollinwood. He was, in fact, seeking the pub run by Albert Pierrepoint, the hangman, which I think was called `Pity the Poor Struggler'

We will continue with my experiences among the Derbyshire tups (published in LMS Journal No. 12) in due course.   




TedGo to Top of Page
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 05/12/2006 : 16:50
Ted, you brought back happy memories of drifting off to sleep as a lad listening to the clanking of buffers and couplings in the marshalling yard just across the back.  I loved listening to them.  The detonators and whistles at New Year as well complemented by the spinning mill hooters.  I seem to remember this happened during the war as well.


Stanley Challenger Graham




Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk Go to Top of Page
TOM PHILLIPS
Steeplejerk


4164 Posts
Posted - 05/12/2006 : 18:41

"Help the poor struggler",Manchester rd ,Oldham(he alighted at the right stop),Pierpoint was hangman from 1931 to 1946,he took the pub then,he died in residence on the 11th July 1992, he was 87...

Love to think the Duke of Edinburgh said that Ted,he never changes.




"Work,the curse of the drinking class" Go to Top of Page
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