Colwall Tunnel - Admiralty Narrow Gauge Railway

This update comes courtesy of Colin Allbright, who has uncovered some interesting research regarding the wartime use of the Malvern-Colwall railway tunnel.

Two of the pictures previously uploaded to this site (shown again below) have already depicted the buildings used by the Admiralty at the eastern end of the tunnel, but Colin has helpfully annotated what these installations were actually for. Both ends of the old tunnel were in use by the Admiralty, with an armaments factory in Hereford and the main storage depot in Shropshire utilising it for overflow storage. Injured personnel were used to move munitions by hand from the standard gauge wagons to a narrow gauge railway that also ran around Colwall, with two locomotives being allocated to the tunnel work.

In the above pictures, we see a trackside and an overhead view of the Malvern end of the tunnel. The blue line on the overhead photo shows the alignment of the old Admiralty siding which was removed after the war. The red line shows the alignment of the narrow gauge railway, leading up to the area where armaments were exchanged between the two systems.

From the Colwall end, the two maps below show how the town's rail yard was developed by the Admiralty for wartime use. The above picture from 1903 shows the railway as it was pre-war, while the lower map from 1954 shows the remains of some interesting buildings. Just before the tunnel portal on the right side of the 1954 map, two grey buildings, one long and one shorter, are visible. The long building was the Guard and Admiralty hut, while the smaller building to the right was a narrow-gauge engine shed. The line running north of these two buildings is an extended existing siding, while a second siding (not pictured), was built to run up to the Guard hut.

1903: Note the shortened siding north of the line running to the tunnel.

1954: Note the two buildings by the tunnel mouth, and the extended siding north of them.

Peachfield Bridge - Broome Hall

This week's post comes courtesy of Alan Hodges, who has provided this fantastic shot of 4908 'Broome Hall' crossing Malvern Common on its way to Ledbury in 1955. The picture is even more interesting because it shows a rare angle of the northern side of the old LMS bridge under Peachfield Road. Broome Hall was built in 1929 and sadly dismantled at a scrapyard in South Wales in 1964, but it had already outlived the Tewkesbury branch line in the background by the time this picture was taken.

Great Malvern Signal Box

This week's post comes courtesy of Alan Hodges, who has sent me a batch of pictures featuring Great Malvern signal box. The picture is something of a rarity as it shows a double-header in Malvern, but I also find the sheer number of tracks interesting - Great Malvern station was much busier back then! Alan is also the first to respond to the Request List I set up to try and fill some gaps in my coverage of Malvern's historical railways. There are still plenty of missing pieces, however, so if anybody has any shots (particularly of the section north of Hanley Road!!) I'd be very grateful to see them.

6916 'Misterton Hall' at Great Malvern, date unknown.

Three Counties Horse Boxes in Malvern - June 1961

A new post this week, thanks to a contributor who captured an unusual occurence at Great Malvern station over 55 years ago.

Richard Moreton writes:

'These were taken on 16th June 1961, when a train of Southern region horseboxes, coach and well wagon with a carriage were unloaded at Great Malvern, all in connection with the Three Counties Show. This was the only occasion when I saw the end-loading dock on the down side in use (although I believe that in the mid-1950s when Sanger's Circus came to town the elephants got off there). At that time, it was possible to walk from the down-side exit along an unsurfaced extension of Thorngrove Road, turning left by Imperial Garage and coming out in Manby Road. There was a gate for vehicles unloaded from the loading dock to exit via this unsurfaced road. I suppose in the days of the water-cure this could have been a regular occurence.

The bay platform, after the closure of the Ashchurch line, was used for a variety of trains... the pigeon train, the school baggage train, and from 1959-61, a local Worcester-Ledbury train recessed there in the afternoon for an hour or so. I used to catch it to get home from school, as the Paddington train ran non-stop from Great Malvern to Hereford, and I needed to retrieve my bike from Malvern Wells station.'

Southern Region horseboxes in the Midland bay platform, June 1961.

Southern Region horseboxes on the up line at Great Malvern, June 1961.

Southern Region horseboxes departing southwards, June 1961.

The next shot is of a 'pigeon train' waiting in the Midland Bay at Great Malvern.

Jon Pratty recalls:

'The pigeon train was usually a diesel multiple unit or a loco with parcel vans carrying hundreds of pigeons in baskets. These were racing pigeons from all over the Midlands, sent by their owners by rail, to be released a distance away. The pigeons would then fly back home, getting valuable racing practice. It's amazing, but this was a regular weekly event. I don't know if the pigeon fanciers sent their racing pigeons elsewhere - they must have done - but Malvern was a regular destination. British Rail charged to carry the baskets with ten or fifteen pigeons in each one. The baskets were gathered together in groups by region then sent here on one train. When the train pulled in, station staff and us trainspotters would unload the baskets onto luggage trolleys, then line the trolleys up on the platform edge. Then we'd unbuckle the baskets and let out the racing birds in one big feathery cloud. Great fun! I have no idea when this stopped.'

3738 on the Wolverhampton - Great Malvern pigeons trains, recessing while the birds were released.

More Pictures of Dutch Soldiers at Wood Farm Camp

This week I was contacted by another historian who has kindly provided me with some more pictures of the Dutch soldiers based at Wood Farm Camp during World War Two. On seeing the shots, I remembered that I had also received a picture of a commerorative plate which was presented to the Welcome Club on Church Street by members of the Dutch brigade resident in Malvern. I'll add these new pictures to the main article on the Dutch soldiers in Malvern Wells during the war. Enjoy!

Soldiers on parade.

Dutch flag at the base.

Looking towards the hills.

Blurred shot of the camp with Wyche Cutting in the background.

Commemorative plate, front.

Commemorative plate, rear.

1501 at Arley, 25 October 2017

1501 steams into Arley from the south, 25/10/17, 1/2...

1501 steams into Arley from the south, 25/10/17, 2/2.

Kidderminster Town Station

Kidderminster Town is the southern terminus of the Severn Valley Railway. Lying barely 200 yards across a car park from the current Kidderminster stop, the Severn Valley station is probably the most convenient way to access the heritage line.

The station itself is not an original piece of GWR architecture, having been built in 1984 as part of the SVR's expansion southwards from Bewdley. Constructed on disused sidings formerly owned by British Rail, the station is therefore much younger than its cousin at Bridgnorth (opened 1862). Nevertheless, the station maintains a bygone style with Edwardian glass roofs and wooden awnings.

Photographs

2857 at a dull Kidderminster Town, 07/09/17

43106 waiting for a tender-first morning departure to Bridgnorth, 25/10/17

50031 'Hood' sits at Kidderminster Town. Note that this shot was taken at the same time as the picture above, but this time with the sun behind the camera (much less editing)!

43106 Approaching Arley

Borle Viaduct - Borle Brook

Borle Viaduct is a 42-yard bridge which carries the Severn Valley Railway over a small stream known as the Borle Brook. The Brook itself flows into the Severn immediately east of the viaduct's four arches.

Located north of Arley, the bridge offers some spectacular photo opportunities both from the near side and from the numerous public footpaths on the higher ground above the opposite river bank. The view is particularly colourful in autumn due to the many trees which grow behind the bridge.

Photographs

7714 approaches Borle Brook from the south...

...before crossing the viaduct itself amid the autumn colours.

1501 pulling its 10.50 Bridgnorth-Kidderminster service tender first over the viaduct.

Borle Viaduct

I was able this week to get down to the Severn Valley Railway again to try out a new walk I had planned near Arley. I'd set out to get some shots of Borle Viaduct from the eastern bank of the river and was very happy with my first attempt, despite the somewhat grey conditions. The forecast had actually predicted clear skies all day, but predictably these only materialised once I'd snapped the two trains I'd planned to see at Borle and had returned to the village. Luckily, however, this did mean that I was able to get some great snaps of Arley station washed in autumn sunshine, which I'll save for a future post. Anyway, here are three from Borle on a slightly grey October morning - definitely one to try again in clearer light!

Freight on the Malverns: 22nd October 2017

There's been a few freight diversions on the hills these last few weeks, so I was able to catch the 1313 Gloucester Horton Road to Worcester Shrub Hill as it left Great Malvern on its westward leg this afternoon. Obviously, the heavens opened with an autumn squall just as I was about to take the picture - a shower which ended just as soon as the train had escaped onto Malvern Common. So here is the final, rain-affected result:

And to prove how valuable I find my new editing software, here is the all-but-unusable original shot:

9th October 2017: The Lickey Incliner II

Thanks to a tip-off from a helpful contact I was able to catch the return leg of this railtour last weekend as it passed through Malvern. Unfortunately, the light was fading fast around half past four as the train moved across the hills, and to top it all off I didn't have my regular camera to hand either, resulting in this slightly underwhelming effort. I did my best to blur out the worst of the ISO grain and to perk the image up using a combination of Adobe Lightroom and GIMP editing software, but couldn't avoid a slightly over-contrasted and over-saturated product. Never mind, anyway - here's 47848 pulling the 'Lickey Incliner II' on a dull October evening!

2857 at Kidderminster

43106 at Northwood, 07/07/17

Arley Station

43106 approaching Arley from the north on 25 October 2017.

Another picture from my visit to the Severn Valley Railway on 7 September 2017. This time it's 2857 (at 99 years of age!) departing Arley on the northbound morning service to Bridgnorth. The shot was taken from the bridge overhanging the station.

Looking south, here's 1501 at Arley in October 2017:

1501 steams into Arley from the south, 25/10/17, 1/2...

1501 steams into Arley from the south, 25/10/17, 2/2.

43106 on Victoria Bridge, Arley - 07/09/17

I had a spare day's holiday to use last week, so I took a trip on the Severn Valley Railway from Kidderminster up to Arley, with the intention of then walking the Severn Trail back down the river to Bewdley. The walking part of the day proved to be a mixed bag - I managed the lovely walk past Trimpley Reservoir but got lost at the holiday cabin site in Northwood, causing me to lose the public footpath and walk down a narrow country lane into Bewdley instead. The weather was also grey and overcast, which was less than ideal for photography. Luckily, I now have Adobe Lightroom (see previous post!) to help me iron out the blanched and featureless skies you invariably get when taking pictures in conditions like this. I've also invested in a petal hood for the camera, but I doubt it made much difference in such poor light. Anyway, the net result of all this was one of my best shots, a really well-composed shot of 43106 'The Flying Pig' crossing the Severn by means of the scenic Victoria Bridge just south of Arley.

Quick Update

Hello, sorry for the long break in posting. Real life has caught up with me and I'm also trying to get a book published at the moment, so updates to this blog have been put on hold for the time being. I have however recently purchased Adobe Lightroom, which is a really great piece of editing software for amateur photographers. I've only had it a couple of days but I have managed to greatly improve a picture I took last year of the two Black 5s as they came through Malvern on a November steam tour. The original shot was somewhat ruined by dreadful overcast weather on the day, but with a bit of tweaking I have managed to enhance the colours and remove the rainy haze. Hope you like it!

Colwall Station

Hello! Life has got a bit busy for me in the last few weeks and so I've not been able to post much. However, I've been sent this wonderful picture by Les Freeman, which shows his grandfather standing on the platform of the old Colwall station in the 1930s/40s. I'll be looking to build up a Colwall page soon, but in the meantime I hope you enjoy this snap.

100,000 Views

Hello again! I'm on holiday in Germany for the next two weekends, so there won't be any new posts during that time. However, there is something that I feel is worth mentioning in my absence; last week's update on Wood Farm Camp managed to push my viewing figures for this blog over the 100,000 mark! If I'm honest, I think a few (hundred) of these are probably from me checking and updating the site (Blogspot as a platform is notoriously bad at separating admin views from regular views) but nonetheless it is a really great achievement. Thanks for all the support and do keep sending in any material!

More Pictures of Wood Farm Camp

This week's blog post takes us back to Wood Farm Camp near Malvern. I've managed to source some pictures of the Dutch soldiers who stayed here during 1945, to add to the information sent to me by an anonymous researcher a couple of weeks ago (for the full blog entry on this topic, click here). I hope you like the pictures: as usual, if you have any memories or recollections of your own to add, please don't hesitate to get in touch via the comments below!

'Barrack No. 10'

'Cleaning on Saturday'

'Camp Entrance with British and Dutch Flag'

'Camp Hospital'

'View from Camp to Malvern Hills'