Tuesday 30 July 2013

Class 506 remains at the Electric Railway Museum

Class 506 cab-20130525Class 506 cab at the Electric Railway Museum, 25/5/13

This rather sorry looking specimen is all that remains of the eight 3-car Class 506 1,500V DC EMUs built for local services between Manchester, Glossop and Hadfield on the legendary 'Woodhead Line' linking Manchester and Sheffield.

Ordered in 1938, built in 1950 and finally entering service in 1954 these units were withdrawn in 1984 following both closure of the Woodhead line east of Hadfield and conversion of the remaining section to the 25kV AC overhead system. One unit was saved for preservation but deteriorated severely in open storage (at Dinting Railway Museum and the Midland Railway-Butterley amongst other places) and was sent for scrap in 1995.

This driving end of DMBSO M59404M (b.1950, Metro-Cammell) recently moved from Barrow Hill Roundhouse to the Electric Railway Museum near Coventry is all that survives.

Tuesday 16 July 2013

Signalbox Safari - Dersingham

I have a liking for Signalboxes… I don't think there can be any other building that shouts 'RAILWAY!' quite as loudly as a signalbox and I try to photograph them wherever they crop up.

Dersingham signalbox-20130711Dersingham signalbox (Norfolk), 11/7/13

Dersingham was a station on the Lynn & Hunstanton Railway, half way between (funnily enough) King's Lynn and Hunstanton that opened in 1862 and although the line closed in 1969 most of the buildings have survived (relatively) intact.

The line became part of the Great Eastern Railway in 1890 and the signalbox, dating from 1891, is a GER 'type 7' now in use as a store for a builder's merchant (who kindly allowed me onto the site to take photographs).

I particularly like the way the building has been modified to suit its new role with removable panels at ground level allowing access to the former locking room.