What was going on on the 13-11-11?

A friend at work said he saw loads of people with cameras standing on a railway bridge and on Farnborough station yesterday. He didn't have time to stop and ask until a bit later on but everybody had gone by that time. He asked me today what went through Farnborough yesterday but I had no knowledge of what was going through. Were there any special ML operations in that direction yesterday?

 

Wow, your friend went through a wormhole and back exactly 45 years to 13-11-66

Obvious what there were doing there. Sorting out light readings and getting ready etc for the main event due a day later on 14th November 1966.

That was the wonderful Gordon Porter and Tom Moult team who were on the 18.33 Bournemouth to Waterloo, (they took charge at Southampton). 35007 with 12 cars for 405 tons loaded. Circa 70 minutes net from Southampton to Waterloo, (that was to be the emu schedule), 71 over Roundwood after a sig check near Winchester Junction to 21. Sigs stop near Basingstoke, 93 near Winchfield, 89 past all the photters at Farnborough and 94 max near Brookwood before more checks.

 

My notes for that last run say, 150 psi up Roundwood, 180 psi afterwards, (Winchfield), 27% to Winchfield 32% after. Gordon was trying for a 100 but just didn't have the steam that week. Typical for those days with poor coal and irregular boiler wash outs. He did do the ton when he had the "other half" of that roster in December. 103/(104) below Winchfield with 35028. A run I missed!

By "the other half", I mean that the roster was split so that the crews got the Southampton mileage shared over two different weeks. So the first week I think he worked Mon, Wed, Fri. And the second week Tue and Thur. I think Eastleigh crews had the up Saturday working at that time.

One of the great parts of those runs with Gordon and Tom that November week were the rapid accelerations from Worting Junction in the low 60s, to passing Basingstoke close to the mid 80s! Dramatic noises indeed.

By the way Al, do you have the distance for the stop near Brookwood. I have 12.65 as the stop near Surbiton so it looks not far outside even time from the re start near Brookwood. Or was it closer to Woking we stopped?

On that Friday, by the way I had my only 100 minute plus time to Basingstoke on the 21.20 after arrival at Waterloo behind 35007. That was with a Bournemouth gnome! Can't remember if Gordon Porter was on "the cushions" coming back to Basingstoke with us, (he lived there), as I am sure he would have had a few ripe things to say about Bournemouth crews. He was a great character who very sadly left this world much, much too early. As did Tommy Moult.

The loco on the 21.20 was Yeo-vile as we used to call 34004. Stopped for a blow up at Woking and then Farnborough. That was the Bournemouth gnome reaction to a bad steaming loco. A Nine Elms number 4 link man would use full regulator and 40% plus a couple of prayers. Amazing how often that worked. It didn't always get full pressure back, but it could liven up a poor fire and clear a bit of muck out of the tubes. I've been on the footplate with them and seen it done. Poor damn fireman had to work rather hard to get a fire back in the firebox afterwards. LOL! And there was the occasional lineside mishap as well from that approach, like burning down the wood yard at Eastleigh, (34089 I think, in May 1965). Brother Don may shed more light on that. He was both on the train and working in the SR HQ Claims office at the time. LOL!

That 21.20 run, by the way was the only time I had to alight at Southampton to be sure of catching the up mail train, (04.11 into Waterloo and the train we used to sleep on during our overnight trips). It was possible to get to New Milton to make the change over, but mostly with Bournemouth men working the 21.20, (most of the good ones from that depot had retired by 1966), it meant changing at Brockenhurst.

Wow! That wormhole is still there. Al and I have been taken back to November 1966 as well!

 

Will a BSW get me a ticket to go into the wormhole Bryan?

 

Not sure WHAT would happen if you went into a wormhole with a BSW! LOL!