The LNER Encyclopedia

Although it's only 4½ miles away from where I live I haven't been to Roydon for over 5 years myself, but the current local phone books list a Franco's Italian Restaurant at the old station so it still seems to be open.

My memories of Roydon are ones of damage to cars: the "level" crossing there isn't level by any means because of the cant applied to the tracks, and going into the village it's immediately followed by a cobbled hump back bridge over the Stort Navigation. Even experienced locals have "grounded" the front of their cars there, often causing considerable damage

There's an excellent diagram of St Margarets on John Hinson's website 'The Home Signal':
http://www.signalbox.org/diagrams.php?id=433
By the time I got around to working it, the yard had gone (it was the first signalbox I ever passed out for in 1979!!)

Thanks for that. A very interesting link indeed.

A sobering thought is that the first box I was ever passed out to work (Hythe, RH&DR in about 1987) had more operational levers (15 plus 1 spare) than St Margaret's did at that time (only 11 - plus 45 spares!) and the next box I passed at (New Romney, RH&DR, 24 levers none spare) had more than Ware's 1960 box did in total - yet people still dismiss the Romney as a "toy train", much to my annoyance.

Not so! I recently watched a TV programme about the railways in wartime and it revealed quite a lot about RH&DR and it's importance to the defense of the realm.
It may be a small gauge line but still very interesting (though obviously not LNER so that's probably enough about on here!!!)

I see we share a common interest in the Hertford & Buntingford lines. I grew up in Rye House and worked all over the area until I moved away in the late 80's. My only regret is that I only saw it after it had been ravaged by Beeching. Now, there's little to it other than a passenger line serving the 'Smoke'. I've actually been trying to research the history of the line but there seems to be quite a hole in the records from just before WW2 until the 60's. There was still quite a lot of freight traffic until the late 50's but it's hard to find out which of the many sidings were in use and which companies used them.

Brian

What a strange co-incidence! I grew up in the opposite end of Hoddesdon to you at around the same time (in a house right next to the line just north of Broxbourne station - confound my parents for buying it because it turned me, as an inquisitive little three-year old, into a "train spotter"!) and then later lived in Cheshunt before I moved to Kent in 1986 - although I'm now back on "home turf" in Ware.

One of my early railway memories is seeing the unique Brush Type 2 in yellow livery - I believe BR called it "sand yellow", but it looked a rather muddy brown to me - passing over the level crossing next to our house in Admiral's Walk one day. Another is the window frames rattling there as a heavy steam hauled Down freight train - which I could hear coming from miles away - went past one night, obviously in the hands of a driver who wanted to take a good "run up" for Elsenham Bank with full regulator and 95% cut-off for 15 miles or so before he got there

I'd be happy to help with any queries you may have about the Hertford East or Buntingford lines and their history. If I don't have the info myself I probably know someone who does. Just PM me.

? No doubt those specially interested in the branch to Bunt. are aware of a certain VHS video of some years ago, about the line ??

I'm sorry its title, publisher and other identifying details escape me at the moment - [I have a copy 'somewhere'; purchased, probably about 8 years ago, from a now defunct record/music shop ("Tracks"?) in Ware's main street] - but it was quite long for a comparatively minor line : As I recall, contents include a fair few clips of silent cine footage from trains (some of pretty poor quality; but I always subscribe to the view that 'better some bad imagery than none at all'), and several video'd chats with former staff/relatives about their reminiscences.

It's now been put onto DVD; my sister lent me a copy of it a couple of years ago. It's available from the the Buntingford Railway & Local History Soc (http://www.thebunt.co.uk/)

The DVD is on the sales page. I enjoyed seeing the interviews with old drivers. I knew quite a few such as Pete Nolan; I used to cadge a cab-ride with them when I travelled anywhere on the train!
One of the advantages of smaller signalboxes in an area was that things remained personal. I'm at Doncaster now and you can't actually see a train whilst standing at the panel. I speak to many drivers yet it's rare to exchange more than a few words, let alone have a conversation.

Brian

All I saw worthy of mention (just) at Rye House when there for an official site visit, pre-WARM resignalling about nine years ago, was a ground-frame operated trailing connection from the Up line into an up siding(s?) about a couple of hundred yards from the platform towards Brox.Jn., looking hardly used for some time (note the greenery on the left), though probably still officially operational, and hopefully just discernible in the attached photo from that visit.

Brian,
Is Alan Butterfield still about at Donc., there? I could imagine not, by now.

That was the connection to Costains who, for many years, cast concrete sleepers for the railway industry. They finally closed just as I left the area in the late 80's.
There was also a second connection in there to Nissen's, the manufacturer of the wartime 'Nissen Huts'. They closed in the early 50's.

Costains kept us quite busy for a while. At one point they had a contract for sleepers for the southern and up to two trains went out daily. They kept changing the timings but eventually decided on night services as it often caused delays to passenger services whilst we tried to run it round either at St Margarets or Hertford.

All now long gone!!!

Brian

Thanks for the background info. Brian.

Here's another possibly better one taken this afternoon from the same viewpoint - which would have been impossible about 18 months ago when the derelict 1960 signalbox was still there, so more or less gives what would have been the signalman's view - of a 317/6 departing (2 minutes early ) for Hertford East with the 13:42 off Liverpool Street. Obviously the computer at Liverpool Street gave the driver a green light because the section ahead was clear and the barriers were down, so he left without looking at his watch.

The building on the right might be rather close, but the trains do fit through the gap

Nice shot, very much as I recall.
The building on the right looks much tidier than it did. If memory serves, wasn't it an indian restaurant?
Also the motor sales on the left; used to be Colliers. I bought a car from him once; nice motor.

The building on the right was indeed once an Indian - Neelakash - they're now down at the other end of Amwell End right by the Town Bridge. They were driven out of their premises beside the level crossing by a racially inspired arson attack almost 10 years ago, after which the building looked awful for a while - I think there was another battle with the local council over that, because like the station and former goods depot it's also Grade II listed.

The used car place on the left is still run by David Collier - I bought a 1989 Mini Metro off him in about 1995 and was impressed by how straight he was compared with what you'd expect most used car dealers to be like. Sadly it was one of the last ones built to run on leaded petrol, so I had to get rid of it when my local fuel supplies dried up. You could still get leaded in Hampshire then though, so I flogged it for a pittance to my nephew who lives down there and had just passed his test.

[Sits back and waits for irate PM from moderators criticising me for going seriously OT]

BHornsey, i take it that you use to work Ware s/box?. That was a nice little job i always liked working s/boxes myself with the lever frame in the 'back of the box' rather than facing the running lines like most boxes seem layed out to be inside, i always thought that was a better way to work a lever frame with one's back to the running lines outside. I presume the bunch of spare levers in the middle of Ware's lever frame use to be for the connection to the sidings at the south end of Ware station that gave access to the good depot?. All in all that was a nice box along with Hertford East box as well to work i would have thought. Micky