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Chairman Secretary Editor John Clark Tony Wright, David Hinxman 17 Beckett Close 43 Pyotts Copse, Old Basing, 2 Dean Close Basingstoke, Basingstoke Winchester RG23 8HS RG24 8WE SO22 5LP 01256 350329 01256 331002, 01962 861233 jeclark71@hotmail.com secretary@bdrs70d.com bdrsnewsletter@yahoo.co.uk

Forthcoming meetings to be held on Wednesdays at 7.45pm at the Wote Street Club, Basingstoke:

14 JANUARY : POST WAR STEAM 1958 TO 1964 - Long term member David Cable will give us a further show of his digitised pictures, this time taken in the period 1958 through to 1964. 28 JANUARY : AGM + THE RAILWAYS OF LEWES - The first half will be our AGM. In the second half member John Hollands will give us a brief illustrated history of the railways serving Lewes and look at the impact that railways have had on the town. AGM Agenda and 2014 minutes attached. 11 FEBRUARY 2015 - THE LNWR - AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY - Peter Ellis, a member of the LNWR Society, will take us on a wander through the history of the LNWR (The Premier Line) 25 FEBRUARY 2015 - TRAIN LOADING ON BRIDGES SINCE STEPHENSON'S ROCKET - Structural engineer Alan Hayward returns to give us an illustrated talk on the huge increase in train loads which has occurred since the earliest railways and the resulting effects on the bridges.

We would be pleased to hear from anyone who could give a railway-based presentation. This Newsletter is produced by the Basingstoke and District Railway Society and is issued free of charge and for the interest of its members and of the Society’s friends

Visit us at : www.bdrs70d.com January 2015 Vol.43 No.1

Doncaster on a dreary day in February 2014 - two Class 20s with a snowplough at each end, hardware which will have come into its own in the north of England in recent days. ED.

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EDITORIAL

Mid-Hants Railway locomotive update

The cosmetic restoration of ‘Battle of Britain’ No 34051 Winston Churchill to the condition it was in on the day of Sir Winston’s funeral is substantially complete at Ropley. Various cab fittings have been fabricated along with new sections of the air-smoothed casing prior to repainting. SR luggage van S2464S which carried the coffin is being restored at Shildon. The last of John Bunch's locomotives to leave the Mid-Hants, BR ‘Standard 5’ No 73096, has gone to Southall to be restored to main line condition. Electrification Shock I read that the estimated cost of electrifying the Great Western main line from London to Swansea has increased from £1 billion to £1.7 billion and that, similarly, the cost of electrifying the line between Bedford and Sheffield is now estimated at £1.3 billion rather than a mere £650 million. This spells trouble for the much heralded electrification of the Trans-Pennine route from Leeds to Liverpool to create a northern 'powerhouse'. Slippage of between two and three years is now being predicted and it is reported that, to bridge the gap, a fleet of new diesel powered trains will be acquired to boost capacity on this important east/west route. Many travellers will no doubt relish the thought of not bouncing up and down along the Hope Valley in an aged Pacer unit. The Office of Rail Regulation has said that there are serious questions about how Network Rail will complete the electrification programme during the particular funding period but Network Rail's chief executive remains upbeat insisting that, despite the complexity of the work and rising costs, the deadline would be met. He went on to say that 'we've not invested in electrification for 20 years and inevitably...there is a big learning curve'. Now, which one is neutral and which one is the live? It is so long since I last changed a plug. New Year.....New Fares One trades union says that it is time to stop this annual persecution of passengers. Strong words indeed. He went on to point out that it is now cheaper to fly to Iceland to see Father Christmas than it is for you or me to buy an anytime walk-on fare from London to Manchester at £321. No wonder he didn't receive any presents on Christmas Day if he thought he would find Father Christmas in Iceland. The average rise for all fares has been reported at 2.2%, the lowest for five years, and regulated fares have been restricted to an increase of 2.5%. The arguments are the same every year but at least this year the normal 1% surcharge on top of inflation has been avoided. We chuckled when France built trains that were too wide but....... ....... a picture in the latest Today's Railways Europe shows that the new Eurostar trains are too long for the platforms at Paris Gare du Nord. Measured imperial but built metric perhaps? Probably not but it does make you wonder. There is also a suggestion that the e320s are not equipped with the UK TPWS safety system either. Back to the Future on the Isle of Wight? There is talk of taking up the third rail on the Island Line and replacing the former London Transport stock with diesel traction run by a social enterprise partnership rather than South West Trains. This could open the door to the reintroduction of steam on the main line on the Island. The Department for Transport propose a two year extension of the present franchise to run from 2017 to 2019 so, in five years' time, who knows what we may see running between Shanklin and Ryde Pierhead. Will it be the latest dmu design available or, if history were to repeat itself, would it be the oldest, most clapped out stock they can find, namely 'Pacers', alias 'Nodding Donkeys', relocated from the north of England bouncing up and down on their four wheeled chassis? Or might the Isle of Wight Steam Railway's O2 locomotive or the former BR 2-6-2s they now have be brought up to main line standard with a turntable installed at Shanklin? We shall have to wait and see but, on the face of it, there

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could well be an opportunity here to make more of the tourist potential of the Island whilst also creating a local ‘honeypot’ for steam enthusiasts. I’m on the train, just leaving Basingstoke….. I know. We have all heard it and wish they would speak more quietly—especially in the quiet coach. On this subject I was amused by a letter recently in the Daily Telegraph recounting how, on a journey between London and Birmingham, a particularly loud passenger in the seat in front gave her telephone number to the person with whom she was in conversation. The writer of the letter made a quick note of the number on their newspaper and, when the telephone conversation had ended, texted the number asking if she always shouted down the telephone. Needless to say the rest of the journey passed by in silence!! That shot at Scarborough again.... You will remember that at John Chalcroft’s show on 27 August there was an exchange of views about the location of one of his pictures as to whether or not it was at Scarborough Power Station. John came back to us afterwards to confirm that in his opinion it was Scarborough Power Station. Super sleuth and Society member Peter Tran, however, has been doing some homework and it is his view is that it is more than likely that the building in John’s photo is not a power station, but the Scarborough Gas Company building. This was extant from 1834 to 1952 and was beside the Scarborough to York railway line in the town. Well done Peter.

BRIENZ ROTHORN BAHN Richard Green

BDRS members who so much enjoyed their visit to the Brienz Rothorn Bahn on Friday 4 July 2014 will be saddened to learn that, only 20 days later, severe summer storms and extended rainfall resulted in a major mudslide taking place on the line, just above Planalp, the half-way station. The damage included 70 metres of track swept away from the trackbed and a layer of debris 2 metres thick being deposited onto the route. This, together with blocked storm drains, has had a detrimental impact on the railway's short summer season. Clearance work took priority over other duties and BRB staff from all disciplines were drafted in to work on re-establishing the infrastructure to enable services to resume to Rothorn Kulm. Whilst a reduced service was maintained for visitors between Brienz and Planalp, works trains and imported heavy equipment were in use to remove the debris and enable an assessment of necessary repair work to be undertaken.

The preliminary clearance operation took about a week before services could be resumed to the railway's isolated mountain hotel, situated at 2,255 metres above sea level. With improved weather following the incident, the trains resumed timetable running again and were well patronised. The estimated cost of the necessary work, plus loss of revenue, is estimated at some CHF 300,000 (approx. £200,000). It is fortunate that no injuries occurred and that there was no damage to locomotives or rolling stock.

With acknowledgement to Swiss Express, the magazine of the Swiss Railways Society.

Approaching Planalp on the Society’s return run from the summit on the Brienz Rothorn Bahn on 4 July 2014. Surrounded by mountainous terrain, the railway is clearly at risk in extreme weather as reported here by Richard. ED.

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HRVATSKI ZEJEZNICI ODMOR – OCTOBER 2014 John Clark Some of you may recall a rather brief visit to Croatia’s capital, Zagreb, during our BDRS Continental Trip to Slovenia in 2010. Well, during a search for a new holiday destination, my wife and I decided that Croatia merited consideration since it’s one of the few Mediterranean countries we’d never visited. Our location was a very nice hotel at Medulin, just south of Pula, in the northeastern part of Croatia, not too far from the border with Slovenia. During a visit to view the Roman architectural ruins of Pula, I nipped off to the nearby railway station, situated near the docks area. The station is quite grand, though the many adjacent sidings were completely empty of traffic. Just beyond the platform were two rather sorry looking two-car dmu’s, an active one suffering the usual graffiti and another parked up outside the engine shed. Outside the station, FS 0-6-0 tank loco 835040 stood plinthed. Built by either Breda or Ansaldo sometime between 1906-20, these locos weighed 45.3t and had a maximum speed of 55 km/h. A study of the timetable was not very inspiring, with a 70 mile journey scheduled to take two hours on the train, and incorporating ‘bustitution’ for a further 45 minutes. This would have made for a very short spotting period at Rijeka as the return times were not convenient to get back home for evening dinner. The weather for our 11 night holiday was very good, but when a cloudy day was forecast, I thought I’ll give it a go. An early breakfast and a taxi into Pula enabled a bus departure at 0830, which arrived at the industrial port of Rijeka at 1045. Fortunately, the bus to rail station walk was only a few minutes away, so maximising my photo opportunity. Armed with a few phrases obtained from the hotel reception staff, I vainly tried to get some local info but unfortunately not much English is spoken by the railway staff, it seems. Immediately on view in a bay stood 3 electric locos in two different red/light grey/mid blue HZ liveries of class 1141-3xx, 389 in older livery and 311 & 309 in the latest version. These were built by ASEA around 1968 and are very similar to the Rc3 versions of Sweden. However, they had undergone an internal rebuild by KONCAR in 2009, which was to become obvious a few minutes later. Loco 309 gained a driver who thankfully spoke a little English, so when I enquired about what might be on shed (about a quarter mile away), he phoned the depot and then advised me it was empty. Then, to my surprise, he offered me a short cab ride as he moved forward and then reversed onto the coaches in the adjacent platform, for which I needed no second request. Upon enquiring why there were so many ‘Smurfs’ (track workers) nearby, I was amazed to be told they were merely employed to change the points after advice by mobile radio! They didn’t seem to ‘clip the points’, they just changed them by lever, like for sidings use.

It was during this cab ride that the loco refurbishment became apparent with a modern style driver’s panel. My loco then set back onto 3 coaches (2 were partly grafittied) destined to depart as train B482 at 1155, for a 1453 arrival at Ljubljana in Slovenia. Meanwhile, a small red 3 axle diesel-hydraulic shunter, built by Croatian company Duro Dakovic, No. 2-132-328 was busying around with a few coaches for the later service to Ogulin/Karlovac (arrival at 1440). A freight version of the electric locos, 1141-003, in its grey/light blue/dark blue livery, arrived at platform 3 with some empty box wagons, possibly from the docks, a few miles away. Loco 1141-389 then ran from the bay to attach to the 4603 Ogulin/Karlovac service and departed eastwards on time at 1203. Just beyond

1141 302 awaits departure of train 4001 to Zagreb

132 328 shunting stock with new liveried 1141 311 in the bay at Rijeka

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the station area, the eastbound line disappears under the hilly town in a similar manner to the line to Edge Hill. The freight then followed in that direction at 1215. Ten minutes later, a rather quaint little Infrastructure train arrived. Numbered 9-100-326, this comprised a smart yellow 4 wheel railcar and yellow box van (seemingly containing flammable materials), hauled by means of a metal bar, rather than a normal coupling. Arriving 25 minutes late from Zagreb, the three coach train 4000 then rolled in behind 1141-302, sporting the latest HZ livery. After a snack lunch I decided to get some photos of the rather grand station buildings and concourse which, regrettably, had suffered some neglect – HZ don’t seem to invest very much in their railway system, but then they are a comparatively poor country. A bit of exercise seemed a good option, so I headed off to the loco shed which was still deserted of motive power. However, this enabled a few shots of 1141-005 and 2-132-308 shunting at the end of a small yard leading to the docks. Returning to the station, I was just taking a photo of a memorial on the wall of the platform which portrayed Ferenc Pfaff, when a lady began to tell me more about him, the designer of this 1890 construction. Pointing to her adjacent office, she told me she had various railway artefacts in her cabinet which might interest me. Although not an official collection, it held books of old photos illustrating the building of the railway, its electrification, infrastructure etc. Other items included a special Workers Pass for free rail travel, lamps and even an old-fashioned double-edged razor blade inscribed with a train marked ‘Ekspres’ which was made from ‘guaranteed Swedish steel. Some of the photos would have given modern ‘Elf n Safety’ zealots a severe case of apoplexy as the electrification team seemed to be ‘high wire walkers’, standing on what would become the power cable as they built the catenary system! A rather worn volume proved to be a copy of a ‘100 years of Jugoslavenske Zeljeznice’ (of which the Croatian Railways were once part), which I’m sure must be valuable. This proved to be an interesting interlude in an otherwise slack period of train operation. Just after that came the arrival of 1141-025 on a train of bogie side hopper and covered vans from the Ogulin direction. During my absence, 1141-302 had run round its clean 3 coach train and was ready for its return on service 4001 to Zagreb at 1345. Meanwhile, 1141-005 had pulled a train of empty flat stake wagons from the yard, and after a brief wait, departed towards Ogulin at 1355. A quick trip outside gained a photo of the vehicle used for the ‘bustitution’ service back towards Pula which turned out to be far superior to my earlier coach. Also I found a plinthed 2-6-2 tank loco JZ 51-032, whose plaque stated it had been built as MAV 375.503 in 1914, has a 10.7 axle load, maximum speed of 60km/h and was presented to the HZ Museum in 1985. It was now time to head back to the bus station, but as I left, the only disappointment of the day (apart from the dull weather) occurred when, running past light engine behind a wall, was very smart E2062-019. 64 of the locos of this 1972 EMD/GM design of diesel-electric had been built in 1972 for JZ, but 56 moved to HZ and had subsequently been rebuilt by Croatian state rolling stock company Gradelj. On arrival back at Pula, I had time to nip down to the station for a few more photos before catching the local bus back to the hotel. A lot of riding on buses, but still it had been an interesting day away from the sunny hotel pool! Note from the Editor: Google says the title of John’s article translates as Croatian Railway Holiday.

HZ Cargo liveried 1141 003 at Rijeka on a freight from the docks area

2-6-2 tank JZ 51 032, originally MAV 375.503 plinthed at Rijeka

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LOOK BACK IN TIME (NO 6) – THE FINAL FOUR MONTHS OF 1979. Howard Ray These periodic reviews look at what the old Society Newsletters reveal about our activities and the railway scene, 35 years ago. We have now reached the last four months of 1979, a period which enabled me to find plenty of interest. The period did not start well with the two page September A4 edition maintaining the recent pattern of being rather light on content. The only article was a small piece about the need for the railway preservation movement to provide value for money to attract the general public. However we can see that the new Programme Organiser, Peter Molen, had been working hard. The programme for the last four months of the year is detailed starting with what is expected to be the first of many film nights, on this occasion featuring seven of the BT films. This meeting is to be followed by a Members’ Slides evening, an illustrated talk on the West Somerset Railway, a “Quiz and Social” evening, an illustrated talk on South African railways, the first Photographic Competition in the format we still recognise and a Christmas Film Night when “Oh Mr Porter” will be shown. With regard to the “Quiz and Social” evening I was amused to read that “after the quiz, the evening will be turned over to having a drink and a natter about railway topics, in accordance with the wishes of the members who said that they enjoy coming along for a chat”. There is also an interesting comment about the South African railways evening when it is said that we have secured the speaker, Barry Austin, because we are “noted for being one of the best audiences for miles around”. I am pleased that this is still the case. The main Society trip being promoted was a minibus to various locations on the east and west coast main lines for those members interested in line-side photography. There are short reports by Peter Molen on three recent Society outings – a coach trip to the Severn Valley and two rail tours to the Welsh Valleys and to Doncaster Works. Peter reports that the highlight of the day to the Welsh Valleys was to see “the look on people’s faces when seeing a passenger train on lines which has not seen passengers for years”. He also comments on a very spirited run back into Swindon behind 50046 (Ajax) and that it was the only train he had been on “where there had been a well-deserved collection for the driver”. Of special interest at Doncaster were the withdrawn class 71 and 74 locos awaiting cutting and Deltics 55001/4/20 “in a poor condition and looking like the first to be withdrawn”. The final paragraph in this edition is the “Sad News for Bluebell Enthusiasts” that the application for the extension from Horsted Keynes to East Grinstead has been rejected by Mid-Sussex Council’s Development Services Committee. Proof indeed that patience can be a virtue!

By the time we get to October we find that Peter Molen has switched his efforts to editing the Newsletter which now appears in an eight page A5 stapled booklet format, crammed full of entertaining pieces. We read that Peter has succeeded Michael Day (at one time the Society Chairman) who is going to concentrate on Sales. In his opening “From the Editor” piece Peter makes a plea for Member’s contributions on the basis that “every single member has a story to tell or some interesting information”. After this we have the Chairman’s Message when Ken Dolton tells us that he is “chuffed” to be part of a great team and a great club. When detailing the forthcoming

The very early days at the West Somerset Railway at Bishops Lydiard. ED.

The Severn Valley in the 70s—when you could cab locos in Bridgenorth yard. ED.

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programme we read that the social part of the Quiz and Social Evening referred to above will enable the members to “bore the pants of each other, instead of your wives and families”! The rules for the Photographic Competition are detailed and include the following:

· Categories are “Black & White Prints, Colour Prints and Slides.

· There will be a special prize for the funniest picture, be it that you obtained it by accident or

on purpose, or to the biggest boob or muck up.

· This is not a serious competition, just a bit of fun. Anyone who takes it seriously will be dis-

qualified and made to stand in the corner!!

The next piece is a Collectors Corner item from Michael Day about the mystery of the Royal crest on the side of a Matchbox Liptons Tea Van. There are some pretty ambitious trips being planned including an afternoon in Southampton Signal Box, a visit to the Rovex facory in Margate where the Hornby Railway stuff is manufactured, a visit to Bulmers at Hereford to visit the works, see the cider train and taste the various ciders and finally to Didcot Power Station to see the merry-go-round coal trains in action. We then have a piece reminding members of the need for donated waste paper to help Bob Williams’ ongoing efforts to raise money from sales. This piece ends by saying that if instead members preferred to donate pieces of paper coloured green, blue or brown with pictures of the Queen on it, these should be taken straight round to the Treasurer, Howard Ray! We then have a report on the two days when the Society attended the Basingstoke Show which generated considerable interest in the Society and raised a large sum of money for club funds from the sales stand and a raffle for a Cuneo print. We then read that the Membership Secretary reports that membership has reached 60 and that we can get free rail tickets by collecting tokens from various Lever Brothers soap products.

This edition ends with two extensive reports on recent trips. The first is on “the first official club trip abroad” (some ten years earlier than recently suggested by David and Rich-ard!). The report goes on to say “we were off to the Isle of Wight”. This report is followed by one on a 24 hour depot bash to beat all depot bashes which started at midnight on the Friday and took in Worcester, Shrewsbury (where numbers were collected with the aid of a member’s torch), Bangor, Holyhead (including the breakwater line to see the 01s),

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwlliantysiliogogogoch (where our reporter was amused to tell us that whilst the lady in the gift shop could rattle off her station name she couldn’t say Basingstoke properly). It was then on to Llandudno Junction, Chester and Crewe where the party saw a class 47 being converted for push pull working between Glasgow and Edinburgh and HST power cars in various stages of construction. Finally it was on to Cockshute depot at Stoke on Trent before heading home down the M6 after a “very interesting and enjoyable day”. Phew!!! After the launch of the new style Newsletter I was sorry to see that the next edition starts with an apology for the absence of a November Newsletter due to “some early difficulties which hopefully the Committee have now ironed out”!! This, therefore, was a November/December edition. Clearly in the editor’s opinion the plea in the previous edition for copy had fallen on deaf ears because he goes on to write that “the response to my request for articles and news was pathetic”. He stresses that he is the Editor of the Newsletter, not the Author. Later Editors will know the feeling! However he seems to have been a bit harsh because this edition includes an article by Michael Day in which he reviews a John Huntley Television Programme on early transport in the south of England, a re-port by Reg Camfield on a recent “Gricers Heaven” railtour around the north west of England, some interesting railway facts contributed by Ken Dolton and a further Collectors Corner piece by Michael Day on “The Hornby Exhibition Train”.

Class 74s awaiting their fate at Eastleigh Depot in 1978. Next stop Doncaster for scrap perhaps? ED.

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REVIEW OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS 3 December, 2014: The UK Today and some overseas exploits with Ian Francis. We were treated to a feast of railway photography when Member Ian Francis showed a kaleidoscope of pictures covering his extensive pursuit of railways over the past 2 years. His travels, leading tour parties in different parts of the world, showed a variety of subjects from railways to wonderful scenic portraits of areas many of us had not seen before, plus his own personal excursions. He began with a late February/early March tour party to Norway and Sweden. It was surprising how little snow was around near the coasts in such northern climes at that time of the year. Beginning in Oslo we saw a range of locos, units and rolling stock before travelling north by train, first to Trondheim and then to Bodǿ, before crossing by ferry to the Lofoten Islands. No railways here, but wonderful scenery and modern, steeply inclined bridges crossing swirling tidal maelstroms to link the islands. Returning by ferry to the mainland and Narvik, an ice-free port year round, there were some spectacular views of the Northern Lights. Ian spoke of the relevance of Narvik as a vital port in World War 2 and, also today, for shipping iron ore around the globe. Moving inland by train they encountered more snow, as the electrified line climbs to cross the Swedish border and then runs on to Kiruna. This line has to be kept free of snow all year round to allow the heavy iron ore trains to reach Narvik. Diversions highlighted in Kiruna by Ian included dog-sledding and staying in an ice hotel. I wouldn’t fancy the latter myself! Some excellent shots here of the powerful loco sets used to haul the heavy ore trains, some of which were well caked with snow. Ian next spoke of tours to western Canada and Alaska. The train journey from Jasper saw a lucky shot of two normally reclusive black bears up a tree beside the line. In Vancouver and Seattle there were a variety of locos in operation including lengthy double-stack container trains. In Seattle they rode the city’s monorail and visited the Air Museum. From Vancouver they took the train to the BC border with Alaska, with some very impressive mountain scenery on the way. Then boarding the 3ft. gauge White Pass & Yukon railway, built in gold rush days, they travelled to the coast at Skagway. During the day they saw glaciers, bald eagles and hump-backed whales. Ian’s next tour began in Ticino in Switzerland, riding on the Glacier Express to St. Moritz and travelling up the two funicular lines there. Next the party moved on to Chur, Zermatt and the Gornergrat Railway, (to view the Matterhorn), and the BOB trains in Interlaken. A later tour to Toronto saw spectacular shots, from the top of the CN Tower, of the rail yards below, rakes of ‘GO Train’ rolling stock and work underway to finally modernise the very grotty Union Station. Home again, Ian took a personal trip to North Wales for his first rides on the Ffestiniog, Welsh Highland and Great Orme railways. Ian brought his presentation to a close with highlights of his many travels around the UK during 2013 and 2014. Too many items to list individually, but the highlights for the writer included the ‘Steam 150’ at Paddington, HST’s at Basingstoke and Eastleigh, the ex-Turkey Class 70 at Eastleigh, 6Class 73’s at Basingstoke, 73’s at ‘Kenny O’, Selby Swing Bridge, all the A4’s at York Museum, a new Nottingham tram in Southampton docks, Dawlish and a Barnetby semaphore sunset. Ian closed his excellent presentation with a picture, taken just the day before the meeting - a ‘Black 5’ at Bath. Peter Tran.

These articles were supplemented with a lengthy report on a Society railtour called the “Pennine Rose” when clearly not everything went to plan but highlights including a journey over the Woodhead route and sightings of the class 76s. Other tit-bits in this edition include the sighting of the prototype PEP unit 4002, new 508 units stored at Basingstoke, the fact that the curtains have disappeared from some of the second class VEP unit coaches and that there is a Pullman car apparently dumped at Micheldever. The reader is also informed that the Exeter/Waterloo diagram is to be worked by class 50s, that in future the picture on the front of the Newsletter will have captions as requested by the members, that the Watercress Line have successfully steamed “Bodmin” and are planning to retrieve three engines exported to Greece during the war, that some southern diesel locos are to be named and that Robert Adley MP has tabled a bill to treat the purchase of steam locomotives as part of the British Heritage. Good man! Not bad for an edition which starts with the Editor bemoaning the lack of copy.

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17 December, 2014: Christmas film and buffet

Our Christmas film this year was The Ladykillers, a 1955 British black comedy made in colour by Ealing Studios and starring Katie Johnson, Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, with a couple of appearances by 'Dixon of Dock Green' himself, Jack Warner - on this occasion being the local senior officer. Mrs. Wilberforce is a sweet, eccentric elderly widow who lives alone with her parrot in a subsiding "lopsided" house, built over a railway tunnel near Kings Cross Station. She is a frequent visitor to the local police station where she reports fanciful suspicions regarding neighbourhood activities. Having led the Police on wild-goose chases in the past, she is humoured by the officers there who have given up believing her.She is approached by the sinister 'Professor' Marcus (Alec Guinness), who wants to rent rooms in her house as the base for a sophisticated security van robbery at King's Cross Station. As a cover, the "Professor" convinces the naive Mrs. W. that the group is an amateur string quintet using the room for rehears-als. To maintain the deception, the gang members carry musical instruments and put a classical rec-ord on the old gramaphone in their room during their planning sessions. After the robbery, Mrs. W. is deceived into retrieving the swag from the railway station. This she successfully manages to do but now the real fun begins. As the gang departs her house with the loot, one catastrophe after another befalls the gang until, finally, Mrs. W. smells a rat and informs Marcus that she is going to the police. After some more toing and froing, the criminals finally decide they must kill her but none of them wants to do it so they draw lots. As the oblivious Mrs. W. dozes, the criminals cross and double-cross each other and manage to kill one another in rapid succession. Finally, with no one else left and thinking he will get away with it, Marcus himself is struck on the head by a semaphore signal at the tunnel mouth and drops, lifeless, into a wagon in a passing freight train. Mrs. W. is now left alone with the fruits of the gang's labours and she goes to the police to return it. Given her track record (excuse the pun),they do not believe a word of her story and tell her to keep the money!

A very pleasant way to end the Society's 2014 programme: a film not only with railway interest but also full of typical Ealing Studios comedy. It seemed to me that everyone went home with a smile on their face. I certainly did. ` ED.

MEETINGS OF OTHER SOCIETIES Meon Valley Locomotive Society: 8.00pm, Church Hall, Free Street, Bishop’s Waltham 13 January - Reid’s Ramblings, Day and Night Part 2 by David Reid 10 February - Ramblings of a Railwayman by Geoff Burch Newbury and District Transport Group: 7.30pm, Kennet School Library, Stoney Lane, Thatcham 19 January - 21st Anniversary of first meeting. 16 February - Howard Sprenger on The Withered Arm Railway Club of the New Forest: 7.30pm, Mclellan Hall, Lymington Community Centre, Cannon Street, Lymington 30 January - The Railways of Hayling Island, a talk and films with Peter Keat 27 February - Railway Insignia with Stephen Bigley Oxfordshire Railway Society: 7.30pm, Seacourt Day Centre, Seacourt Road, Botley, Oxford 8 January - Railway Guide Books with Mike Esbester, Oxford Brookes University

OVERSEAS VISIT 2015 – STOCKHOLM David Brace Despite previous indications, the most popular destination has proved to be Stockholm and so that will be this year’s overseas resort. The inclusive dates will be Thursday 21st May to Monday 25th May. We will be flying with British Airways and staying at the Best Western Hotel in the centre of Stockholm. We will be travelling on a variety of rail lines and tram routes as well as local ferries. We also hope to attend the 100th anniversary of the Swedish National Railway Museum at Gavle.

The cost for flight plus B&B will be around £315 per person sharing a twin room or £395 for single

occupancy. We have yet to work out other costs.

If you wish to come with us on this trip please let me know by January 15th.”

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12 February - AGM, Members' evening and annual photographic competition Reading Transport Group: 7.45pm, Church House, Church Street, Caversham, Reading 7 January - Prints and slides from the 1960's with Derek Spicer. 14 January -Trams and trolleybuses from around the world with Simon Brown. RCTS Surrey Branch: 7.00pm, United Reformed Church, White Rose Lane, Woking GU22 7HA 27 January - The Construction of Railway Bridges – Then and Now with Alan Hayward 24 February - West from Toronto and North to Churchill – a 21st Century Journey by John Day RCTS Solent Branch: 7.30pm, Eastleigh Railway Institute, Romsey Road, Eastleigh SO50 9FE 21 January - “Past travels” - Paul Gosling presents a miscellany of railway images 18 February -“Railways of the Isle of Wight” with Bruce Oliver. Southern Counties Railway Society: 6.45pm, Friends Meeting House, Ordnance Road, 17 January - Members' photographic evening Southampton 21 February - Gosling's Gallivants 2014

WHERE AM I? In the December 2014 edition I was at both the start and finish of the Cromford and High Peak Railway in Derbyshire. The water tower and guard’s vans are at High Peak Junction alongside the Cromford Canal and the former Midland main line which now terminates at nearby Matlock and, some 33 miles to the west, the footbridge by the row of houses is at Whaley Bridge close to the Peak Forest Canal . Here is the first poser for 2015. From November 2014, the missing locomotive names are highlighted: 7 Owain Glyndwr 8 Llywelyn 9 Prince of Wales 6000 King George V 6001 King Edward VII 6002 King William IV 32422 North Foreland 32424 Beachy Head 32425 Trevose Head 45552 Silver Jubilee 45553 Canada 45554 Ontario 60500 Edward Thompson 60501 Cock o’ the North 60502 Earl Marischal D8 Penyghent D9 Snowdon D10 Tryfan D600 Active D601 Ark Royal D602 Bulldog Crossword solution: Across: 1. Maryland; 3. Ely; 5. Oxford; 8 and 27. New Cross; 9. ETH; 10. GE; 11. Gorton; 13 and 16. Marks Tey; 18. Edale; 19. Deal; 21. Looe; 24. BB; 26. Romsey. Down: 1. Moorgate; 2. Denham; 4. Yate; 6. Fareham; 7. Dent; 12. WR; 14. Andover; 15. Sale; 17. Selby; 20. EE; 22. Par; 23. LMS; 25. Bus

NETWORK RAIL’S MEASUREMENT TRAIN When you have a minute or two to spare, take a look at this item about Network Rail’s measurement train sent to me recently by George Porter http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/10/network_rail_new_measurement_train_ride/

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BASINGSTOKE & DISTRICT RAILWAY SOCIETY

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 19.45hrs Wednesday 28 January 2015 at The Wote Street Club

AGENDA

1. Apologies for absence

2. Adoption of the 2014 AGM minutes

3. Matters arising from these minutes

4. Chairman’s report

5. Treasurer’s report

6. Adoption of the 2014 accounts

7. Subscription and admission charges

8. Committee reports

a. Membership

b. Trips

c. Programme

d. Publicity

e. Newsletter

f. Raffle

g. Website & Information Technology

9. Meeting room layout - discussion

10. Election of Officers

11. Election of the Committee

12. Election of Independent Examiner

13. Any other business

The composition of the 2014 Committee was as follows:

Officers

Chairman: John Clark (and UK Trips Officer)

Vice-Chairman David Hinxman

Treasurer Wally Stamper

Secretary Tony Wright

Committee Members

Membership Secretary Graham Lambert

Programme Organiser David Brace

Publicity George Porter

Newsletter Editor David Hinxman

Overseas Trip Organiser David Brace

Raffle Richard Stumpf

Information Technology Iain Henshaw

Website Co-ordinator Ian Francis

Meetings Co-ordinator Jeff Proudley

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BASINGSTOKE & DISTRICT RAILWAY SOCIETY

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD AT THE WOTE STREET CLUB, BASINGSTOKE ON WEDNESDAY 22 JANUARY 2014

ITEM 1 – APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE were received from Geoff Ballard, Alison and Malcolm Bown, David Cable, Ian Clare, Michael Fulton, Richard Green, Colin Hogbin, Chris King-Smith, Peter Tran, Jim and Judy Watkins and Dave Woodhead.

ITEM 2 - THE MINUTES OF THE 2013 AGM had been circulated with the January Newsletter. Sid Penney proposed that they be adopted as a correct record. David Brace seconded, the meeting unanimously agreed and they were signed by the Chairman.

ITEM 3 – THE MINUTES OF THE SGM held on 11 September 2013 at which Tony Wright had been elected as Secretary had been circulated with the January Newsletter. David Hinxman proposed that they be adopted as a correct record. Wally Stamper seconded, the meeting unanimously agreed and they were signed by the Chairman.

ITEM 4 - MATTERS ARISING FROM THESE MINUTES: None

ITEM 5 – CHAIRMAN'S REPORT: The Chairman, John Clark, described the main features of what he considered to be a successful year for the Society and the main issues considered by the Committee during the year. He noted that Alison Bown had resigned from her role as Secretary as she and her husband had moved to Norfolk and he thanked her for the excellent work that she had done for the Society. She would, he said, be a hard act to follow and he was grateful to Tony Wright for volunteering to take on the task.

John noted the demise of the Society's Video and DVD library resulting from the absence of any volunteer to take over from Roy Palmer as organiser and from a general decline in usage. The Committee had similarly decided to end the Society's involvement in the Inter-Society Quiz which was poorly attended when last held at Basingstoke although we had provided two members for opposing teams.

By contrast, the Chairman noted a very varied and successful series of Society meetings, successful foreign and UK trips, the strong Society Newsletter, ongoing enhancement of the website and the well-received publicity event at the Family and Local History Day at the Discovery Centre. He drew attention to the publicity leaflet produced for that event and to the copies still available for any member wishing to publicise the Society at other events.

John thanked the Committee members responsible for these activities and other members of the Society who assisted at meetings. Noting that two members, George Porter and Jeff Proudley had been co-opted to the Committee during the year, he invited anyone interested in joining the Committee to have a word with him.

ITEM 6 – TREASURER'S REPORT: The Treasurer, Wally Stamper, had circulated copies of the Financial Statement and the Income and Expenditure Account for the year ending 31 December 2013 to all those present. The Accounts had been certified correct by the Society's External Examiner and signed copies were held by the Society officers. With the aid of a presentation the Treasurer drew attention to the anticipated reduction in membership income resulting from the revised subscriptions structure agreed at the last AGM and also to the reduced admissions income and increased expenditure during the year. The latter could be attributed to the increased costs of securing the high quality speakers for the meetings during the year. Overall, he noted the small operating deficit on the year which could be accounted for by the cost of the display material for the local history event held at the Discovery Centre. He concluded by confirming that the Committee considered the Society's overall financial position remained sound with reserves standing at more than the full year's anticipated expenditure.

ITEM 7 – ADOPTION OF THE 2013 ACCOUNTS: Following the presentation by the Treasurer, Howard Ray proposed, Bob Williams seconded and the meeting unanimously agreed that the 2013 Accounts be adopted as an accurate statement of the Society's financial affairs for 2013.

ITEM 8 – SUBSCRIPTION AND ADMISSION CHARGES: Wally Stamper advised that in the light of the con-clusions of his report at Item 6, the Committee recommended no change to last year's annual membership fees of £4 for adults and £2 for juniors and the admission charges for meetings of £1.50 for Members and £2.50 for visitors and guests. Phil Noble proposed that this recommendation be adopted, Ian Francis seconded and the meeting unanimously agreed.

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ITEM 9 – COMMITTEE REPORTS

Membership: In his presentation Graham Lambert noted the net drop of one in Society membership in 2013 to 91 and the fall in average meeting attendance (from 44.67 to 42.54), which had been particularly noticeable in the second half of the year, stressing the importance to the Society of publicity and membership recruitment. Highest attendance for the year (64) was for 'An Evening with Gerald Daniels' in April and the lowest (31) for the Annual Photographic Competition. Printing and postage costs had reduced as 44 members had agreed to receive their copy of the Newsletter electronically.

Trips: The Chairman, John Clark, noted that the Red Lion at Overton had proved to be an attractive venue for the Annual Dinner in 2013, although attendance had been low. The same venue was to be used for the 2014 Dinner on 31 January. He had received many complimentary comments regarding the successful Summer Trip in 2013 to Corfe Castle and the Swanage Railway. A fine sunny day had helped but the option of a 'runabout ticket' or a simple return ticket on the railway had been particularly welcomed.

David Brace summarised the successful 2013 continental trip to Hungary, the Society's 24th foreign trip. The

members participating had enjoyed a varied 6-day trip but it had been particularly challenging to arrange.

Programme: Howard Ray described a successful meetings programme that had gone largely according to plan. A number of prestige speakers had attracted large attendances but it had been disappointing to see a fall in attendance at recent meetings despite varied subject matter. Costs had risen as speakers had been drawn from further afield and hospitality, fuel/travel and postage costs had all increased. Howard noted the changes to meeting arrangements during the year including the slightly earlier start time of 7.45pm, the reorientation of the meeting room and the introduction of a microphone for speakers, all of which appeared to have been well-received by speakers and members. He concluded by noting that after four years and 96 meetings he was now handing the organisation of the programme to David Brace.

A member asked whether Society meetings could be started at 7.30pm. The Chairman advised that the Committee had given the start time of meetings considerable thought, recognising that an earlier start might be welcomed as providing for a slightly earlier finish time, but had concluded that as some speakers and members might have difficulty in getting to earlier meetings after a day's work, 7.45pm was a reasonable compromise.

A member asked whether details of the future programme could be published earlier than the second week of December as had happened this year. David Brace explained that he had sought to establish the programme for the full year but it had proved difficult to secure firm confirmation from some speakers over 12 months in advance. It was noted that the Society meetings are generally held on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month and David Brace agreed to consider providing details of the programme to the membership earlier, even if it were not complete.

Tony Wright proposed a vote of thanks to Howard Ray for all the work that he had done to present an interesting, varied and successful programme of meetings over four years. The meeting unanimously supported the proposition.

Publicity: George Porter outlined his ongoing efforts to publicise the Society's meetings in the national railway press and in local venues including the Discovery Centre and Milestones Museum. He repeated Graham Lambert's view that publicity was the key to membership numbers and meeting attendance, noting how surprised he had been on mentioning the Society to people with an interest in railways that they were not aware of the Society's existence.

A member asked why the details of Society meetings were missing from some of the magazines recently. George Porter advised that the lead times required by the magazines in some cases were so far in advance that the programme had not been agreed.

A member suggested that the Society should arrange for some publicity at the model railway exhibition at Aldworth College in March and at the Festival Of Transport in May. The Chairman agreed to follow up the suggestions and asked for any member interested in assisting at these events to get in touch with him.

Newsletter: In David Hinxman's presentation he described the successful publication of 12 issues of the Society Newsletter over the preceding 12 months, with issues running to 8 or 10 pages. David thanked those who had contributed items to the Newsletter during the year and made a plea for more pictures, features and information items for the coming months.

Raffle: Richard Stumpf noted that raffle income remained generally steady at around £20 per meeting, varying according to the number present at meetings. The raffle remained a valuable contribution to Society funds.

Website and Information Technology: Ian Francis noted the fourth successful year of the Society website and the satisfactory operation of the web hosting during the year. He sought more pictorial contributions from

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members to add variety to the website content and to home page Picture of the Month.

Iain Henshaw noted the satisfactory introduction of the microphone for speakers at Society meetings. It had generally been welcomed by speakers and had improved the audience experience by ensuring that less-experienced speakers could be heard.

ITEM 10 – ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Chairman: David Hinxman took the Chair of the meeting. There was one nomination for the position of Society Chairman – John Clark – and no other nominations were forthcoming. Pete Weller proposed, Paul Gosling seconded and the meeting unanimously agreed that John Clark be elected Chairman. John Clark resumed chairmanship of the meeting.

Vice-Chairman: There was one nomination for the position of Society Vice-Chairman – David Hinxman – and no other nominations were forthcoming. Graham Lambert proposed, Martin Boddy seconded and the meeting unanimously agreed that David Hinxman be elected Vice-Chairman.

Secretary: There was one nomination for the position of Society Secretary – Tony Wright – and no other nominations were forthcoming. John Clark proposed, Ian Francis seconded and the meeting unanimously agreed that Tony Wright be elected Secretary.

Treasurer: There was one nomination for the position of Society Treasurer – Wally Stamper – and no other nominations were forthcoming. David Hinxman proposed, Roy Palmer seconded and the meeting unanimously agreed that Wally Stamper be elected Society Treasurer.

ITEM 11 – ELECTION OF THE COMMITTEE: The meeting was advised that Howard Ray had decided not to seek re-election to the Society Committee. All other Committee members had indicated a willingness to stand again in 2014. No other nominations were forthcoming. Wally Stamper proposed, Howard Ray seconded and the meeting unanimously agreed that David Brace, Ian Francis, Iain Henshaw, Graham Lambert, George Porter, Jeff Proudley and Richard Stumpf be elected as the Society Committee.

John Clark took the opportunity to request that any other member of the Society interested in joining the Committee should have a word with him at the end of the meeting as additional volunteers would be very welcome.

ITEM 12 – ELECTION OF THE INDEPENDENT EXAMINER: Wally Stamper advised that Dennis Shepard was willing to continue as the Society's Independent Examiner and that the Committee were satisfied that he continues to do an excellent job. David Brace proposed, Terry Foulger seconded and the meeting unanimously agreed that Dennis Shepard should be appointed as Independent Examiner for 2014.

ITEM 13 – ANY OTHER BUSINESS:

The Chairman, John Clark, advised members that the 2014 summer trip would be a visit to Adrian Shooter's Beeches Light Railway in Oxfordshire, to include lunch, probably on Saturday 9 August. A Darjeeling Himalayan loco operated on the railway. It was intended to hire the RT935 double-decker bus as a means of transport to the railway for up to 36 passengers. Alternatively, members could arrange to travel by train to Heyford station, a short walk from the railway, or by private car. The cost of the visit, subsidised by the Society as part of this year's 40

th Anniversary celebrations, would be £15 per head, plus transport, for members. More

details and booking forms would follow.

Martin Boddy expressed regret that the Committee had decided not to be involved in the Inter-Society Quiz and wondered whether this decision could be reviewed. The Chairman explained that the quiz involved a very large amount of work for those setting the quiz questions and there had been a loss of interest among Society members in taking part and in supporting the team, although the Society had seconded two members to other teams at the last quiz. He suggested that if Martin Boddy was willing to re-establish contact with other societies, the Committee would reconsider the involvement of the Society.

Martin Boddy expressed disappointment at the recent decision of Hampshire County Council not to support the reinstatement of passenger rail services on the Totton to Fawley line. It was agreed that the Chairman should write to Rail Futures to express the Society's support for their efforts to secure the reinstatement of passenger services on the line.

THE MEETING closed at 21.00 there being no further business.