Railways, Again...

                                                       Newcastle Central Station on 18th June 1894.

I've been cogitating on railways again.

Reading about railway journeys reminds me of those of mine from the past.  The thrill of entering a station with a journey planned and wished, ticket paid, hopefully at a reduced rate, and on entering the train finding a seat in a  good place with good, or hopefully no company.  Wonderful!

 

 

Early trips were from the Waverley (though railways insist on calling it 'Edinburgh' now) heading towards Fife.  

This meant dad explaining that the soot covered railway man had been 'under the train.'  In fact he was either the driver or fireman oiling all the required parts before moving off, a normal routine.  Then we would enter the train, always a compartment coach in those days, frightening those already sitting there.  I mean who wishes to have children spoiling the journey?  Many compartments had doors also, and these had windows that were lowered by a complicated system using a leather strap.  This of course attracted a spoilt brat who would attempt to manipulate the brute.  There would be a sudden bump, moving the coach slightly, which meant the engine had connected at the front.  The excitement grew, the despair of other adults also, as we awaited departure with the sound of shouting, slamming doors, and calls from porters as we got ready to leave.  In those far off days we would be started by flurry of hand signals from responsible adults, green flag waving by the guard, and the blowing of a sharp whistle, which would be followed by a responding toot by the engine driver.  Then we would glide away, often accompanied by the slithering sound caused by wheels that did not grip, Edinburgh has a decent amount of rain.      

The run immediately took us through the first tunnel.  Now normal coaches had small windows at the top for air which as soon as we entered the tunnel were slammed shut as steam filled with soot came flowing into the compartment.  We kids loved it, the old people did not!  The followed another slightly twisted tunnel that led to Haymarket station, more shouting, more doors slammed, another whistle and off once again heading west, then north.

 

 

This soon led to us crossing the Forth Bridge.  Opened in 1890 the bridge has become one of Scotland's main attractions.  Designed by Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet and Sir Benjamin Baker, the actual construction was completed by Sir William Arrol between 1883 and 1890.  Many died while working several hundred feet about the Firth of Forth, including a man in a rowing boat.  His job was to collect the fallen from the sea and one day an object landed on him, then they had to collect his body also.  The exact number who died is difficult to ascertain.

 

 

Kings Cross 1900s

 

Most of my travels have been via Kings Cross and Waverley during the 70s and 80s.  A good time to travel, if you were prepared for it.  In the 70s BR as the railways were known, were being deliberately run down to sell them off.  Travel from Waverley to London took seven or eight hours depending on which train you took and luxury was not what it has become.  Some trains were not cleaned properly, and some passengers were not very clean themselves.  However, being young, I often sat out in the corridor between coaches as I avoided the gossiping women, drunken men, and noisy kids.  The worst part of rail travel is always the other passengers.  

The 125 came into use around that time.  The 'High Speed Train' (HST) raced through some stations north of London at 125 mph.  In the early days the speed was announced by the guard, but that soon fell away.  Today these trains are considered old, and are pushed out into the far reaches, such as Scotland.  The present trains can do at least 140 mph, but drivers are not convinced the safety levels are high enough to actually put these trains into use. 

 

My greatest joy was finding the non advertised slow service arriving in Waverley at 3 am.  I tried this and found it marvellous.  A corridor train with few passengers, brilliant.  Lower the light, shut the door, and watch the night pass by slowly.  A wonderful experience eventually ended by the introduction of the much busier, night service from Euston.  Poor show chaps.  

 

A few years ago I became keen on finding lots of cash and running across the USA by Amtrak rail.  This way the whole of the US can be seen from the comfort of a decent small compartment, with added meals, and awaiting bankruptcy. Most fly across the nation but if you want to actually see it you need to be on the rails.  

Like everyone else the US owes a lot to the railways.  Crossing vast distances today within 24 or 48 hours, while in the past a horse and stagecoach could take weeks, if you survived.  Weather, bandits, travelling through Apache territory unwelcome, and accident could always occur.      

However, the US came together by rail, this played a major part in the civil war (how is any war civil?), and caused industry to expand and greedy men like Andrew Carnegie to become billionaire's before Musk.  The same in the UK.  People could now travel a thousand miles in a day, industry profited by incoming material and outgoing products, both at home and broad.  Small coastal villages suddenly became holiday spots for those enjoying their one-day off every few months, Blackpool was a mere spot on the map before the railways came, now a major tourists spot.  Many coastal areas developed quickly during the late Victorian era.  Even Victoria liked trains, but she and Albert did not trust them over 40 mph, at that time they were probably right!

 

Daily rail travellers do exceed 40 mph these days, mostly between 70-90 I suggest.  Of course signal problems, jammed doors, people jumping in front, trees on the line and pedestrians making their way home along the tracks can cause hold-ups.  However, in spite of the recent accident, rail travel remains the safest way to move around.  I just wish I was doing that now instead of sitting here.