Verney Junction diversion
"subterraneo" wrote in message
. uk...
Had an email from a Geoff Cole about a Verney Junction diversion in the
70s. Perhaps someone knows the date of this and could help (him) out?

Cheers (posted to uk.railway & uk.transport.london)
--------

Many years ago (in the early 1970s - I do wish I had noted the date) the
overhead catenary wires came down around Hemel Hempstead early one morning
and services through Hemel were cancelled.

Someone had a great idea and had a diesel loco fitted in lieu of the
electric one off the train went, over the Bletchley Oxford branch which was
then still used for freight and then down the Great Central into
Marylebone.

I guess the train used Verney junction. I remember turning south on to
disused tracks (I think only single track) with weeds all between the rails
and at very slow speed. Then on to proper used tracks and down through
Aylesbury, Amersham, Harrow etc.

It would not have been via Verney Junction, as not only had the line from
Verney Junction to Quainton Road been long since lifted by then, to have
done this trip even before closure would have required a reversal.

The route this must have taken was the more "main line" way of through
Verney Junction and on to Claydon LNE Junction. From here, the train would
have turned south onto what was once a double track spur from the
Bletchley-Oxford line onto the Great Central main line, joining the latter
at Calvert Junction. Obviously, by the time of this trip, the GC was no
more, Calvert Junction being the northern most point that the GC still
existed out from Marylebone*, and had been singled throughout from Aylesbury
to Calvert. Calvert was the southern most GC-built station on the London
Extension excepting Marylebone, the line forming a junction with the
Metropolitan main line at Quainton Road.

A map showing the approximate layout of the region before rationalization:
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvertmap.jpg
(Note for pedants, whilst lines are colour coded by original builders, the
spur between Claydon LNE and Calvert Junctions was a WWII innovation, and
not built by any of the original companies!)

These photos, taken on May 14th 2005, show the area of Calvert as it is in
recent times:
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvert1.jpg
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvert2.jpg
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvert3.jpg

In calvert1.jpg, the main running line on the right (formerly the "up" GC
line) is shown heading away north-west from Calvert station's over-bridge
(ie, towards Sheffield in old money). You'll note that in the far distance,
it suddenly veers to the right, snaking out of sight. This was the site of
Calvert Junction, the GC line previously carrying straight on to cross the
Bletchley-Oxford line. The ground-frame in the mid-ground allows the
bin-liner trains to crossover to what remains of the former "down" line,
which is now basically the refuse depot.

Calvert2.jpg shows the remaining platform at Calvert, and the overbridge
from which passenger access was gained. The track show is the "up" line.

Calvert3.jpg is another view from the bridge, looking south-east towards
London, with the remains of the station platform in the foreground. The
refuse depot can clearly be seen, and there is a train in at the time. Note
how a second track on the "down" side has appeared, forming a rather long
run-round loop.

I know none of this really answers the question of precisely when this train
was diverted or why and what the train was formed of, but there's been some
mild discussion of this area recently (including in another active thread),
so I thought I may as well post the pictures and map for information
purposes.

*Until the line was severed between Bletchley and Claydon LNE Junction in
recent years, you could still (via a circuitous route) reach Ruddington
station, all the way up in South Nottinghamshire, from London Marylebone.
This was by taking the route Marylebone, Calvert, Claydon, Bletchley,
Bedford, Loughborough, East Leake, Ruddington. Ruddington station no longer
has any track, the current GCR(N) bufferstops being about 440yds short of
the platform. This makes my very own Rushcliffe Halt the only open station
on the whole GC London extension that is theoretically still accessible from
London Marylebone (minus a few hundred yards in the home counties)... I'll
organise a special :P

--
Ronnie
(Caution - this post written whilst suffering from extreme sleep
deprivation... Please handle with care)
--
Have a great day...
....Have a Great Central day.
www.greatcentralrailway.com

On 21/1/06 16:02, "Ronnie Clark" wrote:

A map showing the approximate layout of the region before rationalization:
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvertmap.jpg
(Note for pedants, whilst lines are colour coded by original builders, the
spur between Claydon LNE and Calvert Junctions was a WWII innovation, and
not built by any of the original companies!)

These photos, taken on May 14th 2005, show the area of Calvert as it is in
recent times:
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvert1.jpg
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvert2.jpg
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvert3.jpg

Nice one!! For the first time, the modern layout at Calvert makes sense to
me. Thanks ;-)

Stimpy wrote:
On 21/1/06 16:02, "Ronnie Clark" wrote:

A map showing the approximate layout of the region before rationalization:
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvertmap.jpg
(Note for pedants, whilst lines are colour coded by original builders, the
spur between Claydon LNE and Calvert Junctions was a WWII innovation, and
not built by any of the original companies!)

These photos, taken on May 14th 2005, show the area of Calvert as it is in
recent times:
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvert1.jpg
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvert2.jpg
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvert3.jpg

Nice one!! For the first time, the modern layout at Calvert makes sense to
me. Thanks ;-)

AOL!

I'd always wondered where the Calvert refuse depot was on the GCML -
and now I do!

I presume then that the spur to Claydon LN&E Junction is nominally
intact to allow the refuse trains to be propelled into the down siding
and thence to the pits, correct? I had heard that some of the rails on
the mothballed line between Bicester and Bletchley had been stolen.

"TheOneKEA" wrote

I presume then that the spur to Claydon LN&E Junction is nominally
intact to allow the refuse trains to be propelled into the down siding
and thence to the pits, correct? I had heard that some of the rails on
the mothballed line between Bicester and Bletchley had been stolen.

The line from Oxford is open for passenger trains as far as Bicester Town,
and for freight as far as Claydon LNE junction. The Avon binliner normally
comes this way, and reverses down the spur to Calvert. The line from Claydon
to Bletchley isn't currently in a fit state for trains, and ISTR that I had
heard the suggestion that some rails had been stolen.

Peter

"Peter Masson" wrote:

The line from Claydon
to Bletchley isn't currently in a fit state for trains, and ISTR that I had
heard the suggestion that some rails had been stolen.


Unfortunately, that is true.

Peter Masson wrote in
:

"TheOneKEA" wrote

I presume then that the spur to Claydon LN&E Junction is nominally
intact to allow the refuse trains to be propelled into the down
siding and thence to the pits, correct? I had heard that some of the
rails on the mothballed line between Bicester and Bletchley had been
stolen.

The line from Oxford is open for passenger trains as far as Bicester
Town, and for freight as far as Claydon LNE junction. The Avon
binliner normally comes this way, and reverses down the spur to
Calvert. The line from Claydon to Bletchley isn't currently in a fit
state for trains, and ISTR that I had heard the suggestion that some
rails had been stolen.

It's always intrigued me that the Avon binliner dumps its rubbish at Calvert
rather than at the landfill site near Appleford just north of Didcot, given
the Avon trains would go past it on the way to Calvert. Not that I'm
complaining since I live near the Appleford landfill site and there's a big
enough problem already in summer with the smell and the flies.

In article . com,
TheOneKEA wrote:
I presume then that the spur to Claydon LN&E Junction is nominally
intact to allow the refuse trains to be propelled into the down siding
and thence to the pits, correct? I had heard that some of the rails on
the mothballed line between Bicester and Bletchley had been stolen.

The line which is closed is that from Claydon to Bletchley; as far as I
know the line from Bicester to Claydon is still usable.

--
David Wild using RISC OS on broadband

TheOneKEA wrote:

I presume then that the spur to Claydon LN&E Junction is nominally
intact to allow the refuse trains to be propelled into the down siding
and thence to the pits, correct?

The containers are removed by way of an overhead gantry crane (and the
empties replaced) which spans one of the reception roads. I'm not sure how
the Freightliner trains (the Cricklewood and the Dagenham Dock) are
processed but in the days when I used to go up there on the Northolt trains
the procedure was firstly to deposit the shunter, who would sling the points
to give access to the terminal, the train would then pull forward onto the
reception siding, the previous day's train empties would be stabled ahead of
it on the headshunt. The loco would uncouple from the arriving train, pull
forward over the crossover into the headshunt and couple to the empties. The
empties would then be taken out past the delivered train and back out onto
the 'main' line, leaving the shunter on site. The shunter would then reset
the road to bypass the terminal. The empty train would then propel back, to
collect the shunter from alongside the points, then proceeding forwards to
Aylesbury and Northolt.

"TheOneKEA" wrote in message
ups.com...
Stimpy wrote:
On 21/1/06 16:02, "Ronnie Clark" wrote:

A map showing the approximate layout of the region before
rationalization:
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvertmap.jpg

These photos, taken on May 14th 2005:
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvert1.jpg
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvert2.jpg
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvert3.jpg

Nice one!! For the first time, the modern layout at Calvert makes sense
to
me. Thanks ;-)

I presume then that the spur to Claydon LN&E Junction is nominally
intact to allow the refuse trains to be propelled into the down siding
and thence to the pits, correct? I had heard that some of the rails on
the mothballed line between Bicester and Bletchley had been stolen.

Theoretically, Bicester to Bletchley is "open" (in the same way that
Loughborough to Ruddington was "open". The fact that in the Bletchley area
some lengths of rail were stolen, and then another section was relayed to a
different alignment (both actions therefore rendering the line
discontinuous) is neither here nor there

Certainly Bicester to Claydon is open in a more proper sense as trains still
pass that way to and from Calvert.

I just posted these links elsewhere, but what the hell, I'm feeling
dangerous... I got very bored and went "Google Earth"ing. I probably
shouldn't post this and if GE complain I'll take them down:

http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/grn-ash.jpg (120k)
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvertarea.jpg (600k)


The first is Grendon Underwood to Ashendon Junctions, the second is more
generally the area around Calvert / Quainton Road / Verney Junction,
including the Ashendon line as far as Akeman Street.


--
Ronnie
--
Have a great day...
....Have a Great Central day.
www.greatcentralrailway.com

In article ,
Ronnie Clark rve.co.uk wrote:

I just posted these links elsewhere, but what the hell, I'm feeling
dangerous... I got very bored and went "Google Earth"ing. I probably
shouldn't post this and if GE complain I'll take them down:

http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/grn-ash.jpg (120k)
http://www.blugman.freeserve.co.uk/calvertarea.jpg (600k)


The first is Grendon Underwood to Ashendon Junctions, the second is more
generally the area around Calvert / Quainton Road / Verney Junction,
including the Ashendon line as far as Akeman Street.

What a great set of pictures Ronnie, thanks very much for taking that
time! This is a powerful new tool to find the course of long closed
railways :-)

Nick
--
So when is Tony Blair going to start treating *us* with respect ?