Tony Jenkins' Gloucestershire Railway Memories

This article was first published in the Dowty RPS newsletter 'Footplate' in 1968. There is particular reference to 7808 'Cookham Manor' which became Tony's favourite engine.

Walk along the Gloucester Road* in Cheltenham towards Lansdown Station and you will pass the closed Malvern Road locomotive sheds now occupied by local firm Messrs. Sharpe & Fisher.

Many times I have done this walk when catching a train in the early hours to go to work at Horton Road loco depot, hardly any traffic at that time of day, no-one about and I find myself stopping by the shed and looking through the railings. Suddenly I see steam engines and one by one I think of some of the many locos that once were housed there. I see the 4.10am Cheltenham to Southampton freight engine ready to leave, a 53XX or 'Manor'. Then I see 45XX and 41XX classes. I hear coal falling into empty bunkers and tenders echoing so vividly, and the sight of pillars of red hot clinkers falling to the ground from the firedropper's shovel.

I started on the railway at Malvern Road on 15 February 1947 and my first job was to sweep up the shed. No engine cleaning could be done as the shed had run out of cotton waste. When it eventually arrived, the first engine I cleaned was 7818 'Granville Manor'. This was one of two 'Manors' at the shed for working MSWJ passenger and fast freight turns – the other was 7815 'Fritwell Manor'. Other engines based here were GW 'Mogul' 2-6-0s and the 41XX and 45XX tanks. The 41XX hadn't been around long though, the first being 4141 in 1946 when it was brand new. Then there was the GWR diesel rail car employed on the Ledbury branch and of course a little 0-4-2T, 1402, for the Honeybourne service, the popular 'push and pull' train.

It was on 1402 that I had my first experience of coming off the road – and that was within a month of joining the railway. We were shunting the coal stage with 1402, I was firing while the Shed Foreman was driving and, although we only had on two wagons of coal, the rail was greasy and, approaching the shed signal at danger, the Foreman put the steam brake on and we merrily skidded right off the road through the catch points.

My first firing turn off shed was light engine to Gloucester with 'Granville Manor' which was due for a boiler washout. My first firing turn on freight was over the MSW to Swindon Old Town with 'Mogul' 5398. My word, how strange it seemed and rest assured, I felt rather nervous that first time.

In 1948 both 'Manors' left Cheltenham for the West of England on loan to assist in banking trains in the height of the summer services^. They were replaced on the Southampton turns by GW 'Moguls'.

In 1949 I was made a Fireman and transferred to Horton Road, Gloucester where I stayed until 1953. Here I was very lucky. At a big depot a fireman could be on the shunters for a very long time, years even, but I started at the age of 15 and my seniority put me ahead of many Gloucester firemen, so I only spent six weeks in the shunting link. I jumped over the local freight link and went straight onto main line work. Before I was 18, I had fired the midday London from Gloucester when the booked fireman went sick – I was spare and dropped in the job. Luckily the top link driver I was with was quite a lad and not grumpy like many were and this helped calm my nervousness in firing an express. And we had a good engine – 5042 'Winchester Castle'.

I returned to Malvern Road in 1953 and soon afterwards the shed again had two 'Manors' for the Southampton services – 7810 'Draycott Manor' which was in good nick and 7808 'Cookham Manor'. Little did I know then that 7808 was to become my pet engine.

I was again senior to many Cheltenham firemen because of my early start and, returning to Malvern Road, I went into the goods link. I was promoted to the rail car link within six weeks, but only stayed there one week, moving into the passenger link, where I remained until becoming a driver.

The two new arrivals were soon roaring along the MSW, but 7808 was a poor tool and wasn't the best of steamers. Many firemen shuddered if they knew they had her on a job. She went to Swindon Factory for a 'general' and was fitted with improved draughting. Many firemen reckoned she was still 'gutsy' on coal, but I was ready to argue on this point.

A regular Cheltenham engine for MSWJ trains was 7808 'Cookham Manor' seen here crossing Lansdown Junction on 30 June 1956 having just left Lansdown station with the 10am to Southampton. The loco appears to be in black unlined livery and there has been an attempt to clean it.

We had two passenger jobs to Andover, the 10.10am and 1.56pm Lansdown – Southampton trains. We returned off the 10.10am on the 11.30am Bevois Park – Cheltenham High Street freight, which, if running late, spoilt a day turn. I preferred the 1.56pm, though we usually had a rough riding Southern 'U' or 'N' class 2-6-0. On the other hand they were real good steamers if the fire was right. They were called 'Woolworths' or Woolies' by Southern men+. As I said they were terribly rough riders, some were even worse than others – many times we travelled on the tender in places. One day we had a real 'swine' even at slow speed she was rough and when we descended the incline between Foss Cross and Cirencester on concrete sleepers we rode on the tender as the engine tossed and danced, rocked and rolled all over the place – in fact it did everything except turn upside down and play 'God Save The Queen!' Even the GW 53XX 'Moguls' hit the many bad patches over that line with a bang, whereas a 4-6-0 rolled easily over the rough bits.

The return of the 1.56pm job was the 4.36pm Southampton – Lansdown passenger. We had an hour for food at Andover before returning. The engine on the 4.36pm was the one that had worked the 10.10am, usually a 'Manor'.

7808 was put to the test in the last year of the full service over the MSW. I always liked 7808 perhaps more than any other fireman and there was one particular day I was firing her when she really was put through her paces and, after that experience, I dared anyone to run the engine down – and this is why.

It was an August Bank Holiday Monday(). We left Lansdown with the 1.56pm and, instead of the usual three coaches, the train was strengthened to five. We did not have a 'U' class, but a B R Standard 2-6-0 76029 of 71A Eastleigh. At Andover Junction we got relieved as usual and had our tea in the passenger guard's cabin on the station. We knew we had 7808 back on the 4.36pm Southampton and we also knew the Southern driver who was bringing the train in from Andover Town was a 'hard hitter'. 7808 always had a 'bark' on her and we could hear her leaving Andover Town and being thrashed up the incline to Andover Junction. Goodness, what a noise, talk about the atom bomb! It was one gigantic roar as she came up from Town while we waited on the platform. We realised there would be extra coaches, about six or seven instead of the usual four or five. But what we saw shook us – it was a twelve coach train.

'Cookham' had also had extra coaches on going to Southampton and the tender was getting low. Straight away as we boarded the engine I got up in the tender to shovel the coal forward. I noticed that, though the Southern crew had thrashed 'Cookham', as soon as the driver shut the regulator 7808 blew off violently. At Ludgershall I again got up in the tender and the coal I shovelled forward was a lot of small stuff with some lumps here and there. Then came the test. We left Savernake with a good head of steam and, up the incline to Marlborough, 'Cookham' performed and steamed really well. At Cirencester we had the climb to Chedworth ahead and the state of the coal was pretty grim. I got the last bit forward, just about enough for Cheltenham, though it was rubbish and must have been in the tender for years. I had shovelled right round the tender, back down under the fire iron rack and to the air vent by the tool box. All there was in the tender was the pile of rubbish at the front and the rest of the tender was skint right out.

So the steep incline began with a nice box full of fire. Occasionally I sprinkled some of the duff on which brought just one blast of black smoke out of the stack. Rubbishy stuff though it was, 'Cookham' boiled well on it. We arrived at Cheltenham with exactly seven shovelfuls of duff left. I know this because I put it on the fire. We certainly had been dangerously low on coal but we made it, with a now completely empty tender. I swilled it down with the slacking pipe and it dried the tender out with a light film of yellow rust. I had never seen a tender so empty except on one coming out of the tender shop at Swindon.

Putting 'Cookham' under the coal stage at Malvern Road, the face of the coalman peered over the tip and when he saw the empty tender an expression of horror overtook his smiling face.

With this trip done I was sure that 'Cookham' must be the best of this class, certainly the best I had ever been on.

A big disappointment for me was the very last train from Cheltenham over the MSWJ. This was an enthusiast tour from Birmingham Snow Hill on Sunday 10 September 1961 with 'Cookham', by now shedded at 84E Tyseley. My mate in the passenger link was Bill Dix of Cheltenham, the senior ex MSWJ man left on active service, who was just about to retire. He was assigned to work the train from Cheltenham and told me I would be with him, but I had a feeling I wouldn't. He asked the Foreman who said we would be together, but it never happened, for Tyseley men, who had never seen the sky over the MSW worked the job throughout with Bill Dix piloting them. Seeing as I should soon be laying down my shovel to become a driver and my mate retiring, I thought what a grand finale for both of us to have this job over the line I simply adored. But it was never to be for me.

I soon transferred to Southall shed to get my promotion to Driver. While I was there, 'Cookham' moved to the nearby Reading shed, and it was often station pilot at Reading. One day, I worked a freight from Acton to Reading with 'Modified Hall' 7900 'St Peter's Hall', then took the loco to Reading shed. But myself, my fireman and 7900 were hastily turned round to take over an express at Reading station after a 'Warship' diesel failed. We took the 14 coach train, which turned out to be the 'Cornish Riviera Express' and the crippled diesel to Paddington. After dashing past our home depot of Southall at 80mph, we drew slowly into Paddington and when we stopped, alongside us having brought in another express after a diesel failed was 'Cookham'!

After three years at Southall, I returned to Gloucester – imagine my surprise when 'Cookham' was transferred at the same time from Reading to Gloucester". I was on duty very early one morning on a parcels train from Gloucester to Birmingham Moor Street and we had 7808. I had never been on her as a driver and now I was, which seemed strange after all my years of firing her. She had lost none of her vitality.

After arrival at Moor Street on a murky day with a very severe frost, we were to go light engine to Tyseley shed. There was a dummy signal off to take us out main line, we had to go over the up main onto the down. To my horror, although we were still on the loop line, I saw a passenger train coming on the up main, although we had the dummy. I slammed on the brake. The dummy had frozen in the off position and the catch points were open. After getting down from the footplate, I saw our tender wheels were just inches from dropping off the road.

My next memory of something outstanding with 7808 was when we had her on the only surviving steam hauled passenger train in this area – the 5pm Gloucester Central to Cheltenham St James. As a driver I decided to put her to the test. I helped my fireman, Rodger Sumner of Gloucester, make up the fire as I really was going to let her go. We departed dead on time but then had a two minute check at Tramway Junction. After that we went like a rocket with our six coaches. Though she rattled and banged a bit, she was still virile and hearty. After stopping at Malvern Road, we arrived at St James at 5.11pm (due at 5.15pm). Many passengers remarked on the fast run and one said he had never experienced such a quick journey even into Lansdown with a diesel hauled train. So 7808 had done it again.

The end of steam came at Gloucester and 7808, with classmate 7829 'Ramsbury Manor', was put on a siding exposed to all winds and weathers. 7808 stood condemned and going rusty. Then I heard that 'Cookham' was going to be preserved after being privately purchased. She was moved under cover inside the shed. A working party of volunteers came down from the Dowty Society at Ashchurch and Mr Knowles, the Shedmaster, knowing of my feelings for the engine, asked if I would look after them, which I did. I even found myself cleaning the side rods.

She was scheduled to go on a Society special from Gloucester to Stourbridge and Tyseley. Mr Knowles told me she had to be tested in steam first and thoroughly oiled and a week or thereabouts would have to be spent on tests etc. He told me I could have the job if I was interested, which I was. When the trials came, we had her on the shed pilot for two days, then two days later we took her on a test run to Honeybourne. Then came the second biggest disappointment of my career when the special was cancelled owing to lack of support.

However when she steamed from the shed to the Dowty site at Ashchurch on 13 August 1966, I was the driver and my fireman was Derek Smith.

All these memories flash by as at 3am I look through the railings into the closed Malvern Road shed.I see the gas lights burning, I see the footplatemen that I have known over the years, only a few left working on the railway, many having retired or died. My last thoughts go back to 1947 when I joined the GWR and did two years cleaning, one under the GWR and one under B R following Nationalisation.

I remember the small canteen where us cleaners used to pay frequent visits, but it eventually closed and became a relief cabin, and is now a deserted shell. I remember Christmas Day 1948, when still a cleaner aged 16 I had to book on at 2pm and be in attendance in the office to take any telephone calls should there be any. In the event of an emergency, I was to call up the Foreman who lived in nearby Alston Avenue. With me until 6pm that night was a shedman who had only been on the railway three weeks. There were two engines to come in – 1402 and 5515. The shedman cleaned the fires and coaled them after which I put them away in the shed. From 6pm until 10pm I was completely alone on Christmas night with a shed full of engines.

But as these memories come back so vividly, I suddenly remember I have to get to Lansdown to go to Gloucester to work on a miserable diesel.

It's time I was going, it's time I was gone.

Tony Jenkins on the footplate of 'Cookham Manor'

Footnotes

* The wide pavement still in existence in 2016 alongside the GWR railings is due to it having been the trackbed back in the nineteenth century of the Gloucester & Cheltenham Tramroad.

^ Both 'Manors' came back and were at 85B until July 1952.

+ Some of the 'N' class - though not the 'U' class - were assembled from kits of parts made at Royal Woolwich Arsenal, hence the nickname. An 'N' class would have been quite rare over the MSW until the 1960/61 period when a few appeared on the route.

() The date was 5 August 1957.Withington Signal Box train register shows the 4.36pm was just a few minutes late passing through the section that day.

" 7808 'Cookham Manor' was allocated as follows during B R days: 1948 89A Oswestry;12/1953 82B St Philips Marsh;1/1954 85B Gloucester;6/54 sub-shedded at Cheltenham;6/1959 83A Newton Abbot;9/1960 85B Gloucester;1/1961 84E Tyseley;9/1962 81D Reading;8/1964 82C Swindon;11/1964 85B Gloucester ;12/1965 withdrawn.