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Coalville Depot Open Days David J Kirk BEM, former Traffic Manager Coalville In 1977 my chief, Mr A.B Wise, Area Manager at Derby, sent a letter to his assistants stating that the Derby St Christopher's Railway Childrens Home needed to raise a large amount of money to pay off the costs of a new building which had just been opened by HM The Queen Mother. Ideas or suggestions should be sent to him for consideration. After some thought I came to the conclusion that an Open Day at Coalville Depot would attract lots of interest, not only from the staff and the people of Coalville but from hundreds or even thousands of railway enthusiasts. I got in touch with Mr Wise and set out my ideas. A few weeks later Mr Wise informed me that he was very interested in the idea and he would be seeking higher authority for this to take place. This was in August of that year so any approval given would be too late for an open day in 1977 but Mr Wise was hopeful that one could be arranged for 1978. He also asked me not to say anything until he was sure that the go-ahead had been given. In April 1978 I was invited to attend a meeting in Derby to discuss a "proposed Open Day". This meeting came as a surprise as I had heard nothing for months and I had thought that the idea had been quietly shelved. The meeting, chaired by Mr Wise and including representation from the Divisional Managers Office at Nottingham, was very positive. Mr Wise opened by saying that the proposed Open Day had been agreed and our meeting was to discuss the organisation necessary to make it a success. A Sunday in August would be the ideal time and I was remitted to form a Committee to move the scheme forward. As I left the meeting it struck me that I had a lot of work to do. Coalville Depot was to hold a major Open Day in about 16 weeks and I had no experience, just my ideas and a promise of support in high places. And of course a wonderful staff who I knew would be very enthusiastic about this once I'd told them the news. My first job was to form a committee. It so happened that on the day after the Derby meeting I was the management representative on a Health and Safety Walkout with local drivers and guards' representatives. The day was spent at locations along the line between Knighton South Junction and Burton, including the various collieries and Drakelow power station. During our lunch break I discussed this proposal with them, the men being Coalville drivers Jack Knight and Jim Robinson and Coalville Guard Cyril Blanchard. Their response was immediate and very supportive. It was agreed that to get things moving Jim Robinson and Cyril Blanchard represent the drivers and guards respectively on the committee. I then turned my attention to forming the remainder of the committee. Discussing the proposals with supervisory and clerical staff I again received massive support and was able to co-opt Mike Evans and Ian Briggs. The first meeting was held, and it was obvious that the idea had really developed, more ideas were forthcoming, a list of exhibits was drawn up, the open day was very firmly "on" Subsequent meetings looked at Open Day Organisation, Safety of the Public, Refreshments, Advertising, Police, Admission charge, Programmes, Public Address System and a thousand and one other points which cropped up and were dealt with by the committee. Mr Wise told me that we could have a Diesel Multiple Unit, apparently we couldn't have a passenger train service but we would be allowed to operate a short shuttle service along the line called "Down Goods 2 line". Staff interest intensified and when we asked for volunteers to attend as stewards or in any capacity, many put themselves forward. Mike Evans arranged a large number of trade stands and carefully measured and allocated space for all traders. Ian Briggs was the first treasurer and dealt with the collection, accountancy and payment of all bills. Jim Robinson arranged and manned the first aid point, while Cyril Blanchard assisted in the control and distribution of stewards. Many non-committee members were heavily involved, Doug Elliott was everywhere doing everything and anything, Ron Harrison and Steve Peters juggling train crew rosters to arrange collection of and return of exhibits, and also allocating stewards to sit on exhibition locomotives during the open day. Most of the depot staff and some of their wives helped out in a variety of ways to make the day a success. All were volunteers with no payment for the considerable work that they did. As far as exhibits were concerned, Coalville normally had freight classes 08,20,47 and 56 there every weekend, so their presence was no problem. To make the line-up more attractive the committee drew up a list of locos that would enhance the show. I said that I would try to obtain a varied selection. Some were easy to obtain, with a lot of co-operation from the Divisional Control office at Nottingham, classes 25 and 45 were obtained from Toton, a suggestion from Mike Evans and Steve Peters that the class 31 on the Doncaster to Cliffe Hill on the Friday before the open day be swapped with a locally-based class 47 which would work the return Cliffe Hill to Doncaster .The locomotives then working the Monday services and swapping again at Coalville to return the class 31 to Doncaster was agreed, hence the open day now had a class 31. Two Thornaby-based class 37/5s arrived at Toton on Saturday morning on the Lackenby to Corby train and were due to spend the weekend at Toton before returning north on the Monday. Agreement was quickly given for these locomotives to appear at the open day where they attracted a lot of interest. The first open day produced 37501 and 37502 (This was in blue livery) On the Friday before the open day the control advised me that one of the last class 24s (24081) was at Toton but was to work back to its depot at Stoke that same day where it was needed for weekend ballast duty. I had a quick word with Mr John Gradon the Trains Officer at Nottingham Division and after he contacted Stoke it was agreed that 24081 could attend the open day while a class 25 was sent from Toton to cover the ballast workings. This was a very welcome and unexpected guest. Toton were also happy to provide a class 44 (44008) I had also been trying to obtain a steam locomotive. Ex-LMS Crab 2-6-0 no 2700 was being repainted in Derby Works and I eventually received permission to bring it to the open day. Even though it was not in steam it proved a very popular exhibit. Cadley Hill - one of the collieries on the Coalville line - was still using steam locos for shunting and through the good offices of Mr Chris Boyle of the NCB I obtained one for the open day, this time in steam. In 1978 some of the early diesel locomotives were in preservation on various sites. Butterley had some and I was able to arrange for a class 44(D4) to be present. All in all the exhibits on show were of a high quality and all were cleaned by the Coalville staff on the Saturday morning to make them presentable to the general public. Another interesting exhibit was a large independent snowplough, normally kept at Leicester Depot. It was duly collected on the Friday. Unfortunately it did not like Coalville Yard. As it was being propelled into the yard it became derailed and for a time prevented any movements on or off the depot. It eventually was carefully stabled but we did not request it again! Another unexpected exhibit was the official British Railways cinema coach which showed a series of British Transport Films throughout the day. Finally the big day arrived and our planning and arrangements were tested to the full. As we had never done anything like it before there were some rough edges and areas that needed improvement but overall we had over 3000 visitors, many letters of congratulation and a good press. From admission charges of 20 pence and from the traders' donations and charges we were able to present a cheque of £1300 to St Christopher's much to their amazement and satisfaction. A meeting was held to discuss the open day, lessons to be learnt and the way forward. Was the event to be a "one off" or was it to be repeated? We agreed to hold another open day in 1979, take on board the lessons learned, but generally keep to the successful plan of the 1978 event. The 1979 event again proved successful, the variety of exhibits based on the 1978 formula of three types again proved to be a very big crowd-puller. The three different types of exhibits were. 1) as wide a variety of different British railway diesels; 2) as wide a variety of preserved diesel locos; 3) the working steam locomotive from Cadley Hill Colliery along with a larger preserved steam locomotive if possible. A big step forward from 1978 were the catering arrangements. There had been some complaints that the catering for the first open day were unsatisfactory, a view recognised by the committee. For 1979, and all the open days thereafter, catering was organised by Walter Tookey and his wife and their helpers. They did a magnificent and very professional job, which was greatly appreciated by the public and all of the open day staff. Again the crowds came out and the attendance was increased on the 1978 show. After the 1979 open day it was decided that the event would not take place in 1980.Therefore 1981 was selected and the formula was repeated. The Open Days then continued in 1983,1985 and then annually until the final one was held in 1991. It had long been thought that one of the problems in boosting the attendance figures was because Coalville was not an easy place to get to, particularly on Sundays. A special bus was laid on between Leicester and Coalville, but was not as well supported as expected. A train service was the obvious answer, but Coalville had no station or platform. After various meetings the construction of a temporary platform was agreed and authority given for a special passenger service to operate along the branch from Leicester and Burton. This service immediately doubled attendance figures and thereafter they increased every year. Another spin-off from the construction of the platform was that charter train operators, Pathfinder Tours and Hertfordshire Railtours, immediately requested to operate charter trains to the open day. These were very welcome and certainly put Coalville firmly on the map! These enthusiasts specials came every year including 1991 when the last open day was held. The running of a special passenger service and charter trains over a long low-speed branch line, together with a lengthy single line from Desford to Knighton and short platform constraints at Coalville, meant that any late running or incident would play havoc with any schedules - as it did on some occasions! For the 1983 open day important changes were made. First of all we had the passenger services and the charter trains. But we made a giant step forward when we got permission for a steam locomotive to haul the exhibits from the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley under its own power. This locomotive was class 4F 0-6-0 No. 4027 in LMS livery. It brought with it a Deltic diesel locomotive, a class 44 and a class 25 locomotive. This opened the door for future events and a major exhibit of subsequent open days was a large steam loco in steam and running past the assembled crowds. The presence of these steam giants doubled our attendance and we were soon reaching an attendance figure of between eight to ten thousand on each open day. The last open day in 1991 attracted 15000 people! Following the appearance of 4027 from Butterley, the following steam locomotives visited the open day. Somerset and Dorset class 7F 2-8-0 No 13809 in black LMS livery; Jubilee class 4-6-0 5593 Kolaphur in red LMS livery; Jubilee class 4-6-0 45596 Bahamas in BR green livery; Class A4 4-6-2 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley in LNER blue livery; Class A3 4-6-2 4472 Flying Scotsman in LNER green livery; Princess Royal Class 4-6-2 46203 Princess Margaret Rose in BR maroon livery; Class 4MT 2-6-4T 80080 in BR black livery. Progress and Swiftsure were provided from Cadley Hill Colliery. From the beginning of the open days the committee and the Coalville depot staff asked if a locomotive could be named there. It took several years before this came to pass. When it did, class 47/3 47348 was named at Coalville by Mr D. Taylor the chairman of St Christopher's Railway Home at Derby. A plaque was also fitted to this locomotive which stated that the naming ceremony had taken place at Coalville Open Day, in recognition of the funds raised for charity. A further two class 47 locomotives were named at Coalville in 1989 and 1990 by Mr Charles Belcher the British Rail Post Office Business Manager and were named after depots which were part of the Rail Express Systems infrastructure. These were 47634 Holbeck and 47489 Crewe Diesel Depot. For several open days the Royal Mail provided a Travelling Post Office Vehicle and staff, which was always a very popular exhibit with the general public queuing to see the interior of these comparatively rare vehicles. The major customers of the depot at Coalville were of course the National Coal Board, Bardon Hill Quarries and Cliffe Hill Quarries. These all supported the open days with practical help, Bardon Hill even delivered some "filler" to enable us to fill in potholes in the yard. The support of railway enthusiasts and the charter train operators was greatly appreciated by the Committee and local people. The open day became a big day in Coalville itself. Shops that were normally closed were opened specially. Pubs and the fish and chip restaurant (normally closed on Sundays) advertised a special "Open Day Menu" and the town became really busy. The committee always invited the Chairman of North West District Council to attend and I personally conducted him around the site. The support and encouragement received from the Council was very welcome. The local press always attended and photographs taken at the open day and a full report was always published. Between 1978 and 1991 eleven open days were held at Coalville, raising £94,000, the majority of which was presented to local and railway charities after our final bills had been cleared. The main railway charities were Derby St Christopher's Railway Home and Condover Hall, but many other charities local to Coalville also benefited. The original idea had far exceeded my wildest dreams. The Committee had several new members over the years, all of them gave freely of their own time, and as new staff came to the depot they soon became very committed to it. Colin Hadley did a superb job as Treasurer, after succeeding Ian Briggs, and took on many things in addition to his treasurer's duties. From its inception the open day received encouragement and support from senior railway officials, from the London Midland Region General Manager, down through the Divisional Manager at Nottingham and to the Area Manager at Derby and their successors. In later years this support was supplemented by the Special Trains Manager at British Railways Board HQ, and by the Area Freight Manager at East Midlands Freight. The encouragement and support of all these gentlemen were invaluable and greatly appreciated. The railway preservation movement itself also gave full support. Approaches to Butterley, the Birmingham Railway Museum and various owners for the loan of their locomotives were always received with enthusiasm. The locomotives were always turned out in an immaculate condition and were a great credit to their owners and support staff. Enthusiasts were well catered for by the numerous trade stands, all arranged by Mike Evans. Every yard of allocated space was taken and there was always a long waiting list of groups and traders who were keen to attend. The participation and enthusiasm of the staff gave them all a sense of pride in the depot, and their jobs. Although I have named certain key people, there are many others who did a large amount of work and whose contribution was equally important. This was teamwork of the highest quality. Without the staff, their wives and helpers these open days could never have been the success they were. |