|
|
37: Dark Clouds Gather... On Friday 18th May I worked 6V76 from Stud Farm to Bedford, accompanied by two new trainmen. After completing our journey we caught a passenger train back to Leicester, then hopped in a taxi to Coalville. We walked into the cabin expecting the usual boisterous atmosphere - instead found a group of worried looking men. 'What's up with you lot?' I asked. 'There's rumours going about that the depot's shutting,' one of them said. 'Don't talk wet,' I said, but I quickly sensed by the mood of the other men that he might not be joking. 'There's a paper out there that says we're an A depot.' 'Maybe there is. But that don't mean anything. If they want to close us then they will do.' My diary entry for that day was 'Heard that Coalville is down for closure. Could be just rumours, but it looks bad.' My twelve years service wasn't that long compared to some, but even in that short time I'd experienced so much. I'd just turned seventeen when I started at Coalville - happy and impressionable - and pleased that the job entailed passing childhood haunts like Drakelow, Cadley Hill and Stapenhill. All that would be gone now, if the rumours turned out true. We all put on a brave face and tried to carry on as normal, but a gloom of uncertainty had descended over our once happy depot. A week later Nigel Wilkins and myself took away Coalville's last shunter. 08623, an ex-Burton loco, was required at Burton MGR until it could be ferried to Toton. Standing at Leicester Junction for nearly an hour we chatted about our future. Although the rumours had yet to be confirmed Coalville's men were already making contingency plans. Nigel had opted to go to Nottingham, but I'd decided to do something different: instead of following the others to Toton, Leicester or Nottingham I was planning to go to Bescot for three years and then go on to Derby. I had distant memories of Bescot whilst bunking the shed alone on Bonfire Night 1973 and walking along those long lines of locos in the dark. My only other visit was in the early 1980s when we failed with an ex-Rugeley job at Walsall and were dragged to the depot for attention. On Thursday 31st May I had worked a Willington job with 56008. After being relieved at Moira I was just about to order a taxi back to Coalville when the signalman told me I could get a lift off a train due on the up line. To my surprise the train was a cavalcade bound for Coalville open day. It consisted of 31507, D5054, Deltic D9016 and Hymek D7076 - all in green livery! The open day was planned for Saturday 2nd June and as usual I had volunteered to work the weekend, Saturday to fetch the exhibits in and Sunday to man the engines, answer visitors' queries - and stop souvenir hunters. On the Saturday the trainman and myself made our way to Derby to fetch another cavalcade. Ours was made up of blue Generator D1500 (47401), the first Brush ever built at Loughborough in 1963, ex-class 46 97403 Ixion, Class 45 D100 and Class 25 D7672. This last one, now named Tamworth Castle, was in splendid ex-works condition and fitted with brightly-painted snowploughs. As the Derby trainman gave us the tip to set back off the vans (road) a steam special arrived in the station. The platforms were packed with enthusiasts. Some of them didn't know what to photograph first, but most gave priority to the steam loco before turning their cameras on us. A hundred flashes went off with what seemed like one accord. We stopped behind the signal then blasted away in the direction of Burton. Photographers crowded every bridge and embankment, raising their cameras to capture us from every angle. Soon we got onto the branch and things began to calm down a little. Then we ran onto a 20-mph slack at Swadlincote Junction. With both windows down we chatted happily as the warm sun shone on the green fields. All at once we heard a loud scraping sound and looked back to see ballast flying in every direction. It looked like a mini meteor shower! Stopping to investigate we quickly found the cause: Tamworth Castle's snowploughs had hit raised ballast, scattering it everywhere and really spoiling the loco's ex-works appearance. Departing at caution we crept slowly clear of the obstruction and carried on to Coalville. As soon as our engines were detached we went back light engine to Etches Park for a train of assorted coaching stock which we left on Goods Road 2. Back at Coalville our Class 47 was taken across to Mantle Lane sidings and disposed of. Sunday saw another successful and well-attended open day. I arrived at 12.30 for a stint on the engines, then booked on duty at 16.57. By this time the crowds were thinning out and the stallholders were packing away their goods after another profitable day. We got together five of the former exhibits and prepared to take them back to Derby. Behind leading loco 47971 (ex-47480 Robin Hood) were 97403, D100, D5054 and D7076. The engines were left on the wall side at Derby loco and we rode back to Coalville on 47971. Thus ended another pleasant day, a tribute to all the organisers and volunteers who made it possible. By this time Toton men had gained a foothold on our branch. Few signed it throughout, as yet, so on Thursday 21st June I had to take 56021 to Leicester and leave it for an A-exam. The second part of this job was to await Toton men and conduct them across the branch to Coalville, from where another conductor would take them to Drakelow. While I waited I sat in Beal Street cabin watching a world cup match. I've never been into football but watched it just because it was England playing. The night was inky black with torrential rain as I walked out to meet the Toton drivers with their Class 20s and loaded MGR train. The two old-hand drivers looked me up and down. 'Are y'all rate son?' they asked in their East Midlands accent. We ran round at Knighton Junction and proceeded across the branch. Once the ice was broken we were chatting away like old friends. With the wet rails and the weight of the train I said that Desford Bank might cause us a problem. They said they'd heard it was heavy going across the branch. As we struggled onwards the weight of the train seemed to hang on to us all the more. We slowed for the 15-mph junction at Desford and never regained any kind of speed after that. After slipping badly we experienced fluctuating amps and the locos began to overload. We had just got out of the dip at Bagworth when the engines gave up the ghost and no amount of coaxing would get them any further. Time to get assistance from Coalville! I used the signalpost telephone at Bagworth to contact Bardon Hill box. After a long and soaking wait at the detonator protection help finally arrived in the shape of another Class 56, which only just got us moving enough to get restarted. Wednesday July 4th - American Independence Day - also marked the cup final between England and West Germany. I arrived at work at 18.00 for the ferry. I'd told the TCS not to find me a job, as I wanted the chance to cheer for my country. The atmosphere in the cabin was tense and exciting, but just before the game started our TCS came in. 'Sorry, Tony, but there's a couple of engines to take to Leicester for fuel and water.' We grumbled a bit, but it was our job and so we set off with 56025 and Stanlow Tanks engine 47195. We managed to watch some of the match there, but just after half time the fitter's mate came in and told us the engines were ready to go back. I asked the other driver if he wanted to try and get back to the depot in time for the second half. He agreed. We left Beal Street and ran to Knighton. Changing ends we hurried down the Leicester line, changed ends over the dolly at Coalville, then proceeded onto the shedside as instructed. The three throw points lay for the dock, so my conscientious mate got off, changed them, checked them each with a brake stick and called me on. As we negotiated the points and headed onto shedside our world suddenly turned upside down. Bang! Bang! Bang! The 56 seemed to bounce along the sleepers like a giant metal kangaroo. A sickly scraping of metal followed by a huge bang that seemed to propel us forward further. The only thing I recall in those few seconds was zeroing the proportional brake and glancing across to my mate as he tried to remain on his feet. Then suddenly silence reigned. Brown summer dust circulated the scene and the smell of creosote from the broken sleepers filled the cab. I shook my head in an attempt to clear it. A group of men came running from the office. We opened the cab door and went to climb down the bogie steps - but they weren't there! The bogie was crosswise across the tracks, so I had to jump down onto the dusty ballast. 'Are you alright lads?' the men asked when they reached us. I looked at one of them and as my legs buckled due to the shock I asked them who had won the football match. They looked at me gone out. 'Who won?' I repeated. 'West Germany,' came the reply. Dismayed I set about assessing the damage. It seemed as if our 56 had smoothly continued down shedside when for some reason the points altered and the heavy 47 had gone down the shed road, pulling the 56 off. Then the cabs crunched. As you stood in the 47 you could practically look down onto the 56. We were taken to the cabin and given sweet tea to ease the shock. Our TCS spoke to us gently. After asking us if we were okay he said that amongst the many other unexpected guests we were to receive that night was inspector Don Tennant from Toton, whose pager had gone off while he and his wife were dining out. He looked sympathetic but his wife was far from impressed! After submitting a verbal and a written report we were told to go home - but not before photographs had been taken at the scene. We heard nothing else and it was decided not to put the dock and the shedroad back. They would have to cut off the coupling to part the engines and 56025 stood there for a week before leaving for attention. |