Push-Pullmystery
BILLAlborough,who wasbehindthe railwayholidaycompanyTEFSh,asdied. Hewas78.
Addressedrespectfullyby histour guidesand interpretersas'Mr Bill; he organisedr,anand led railwaytours worldwide,enablingmanyhundreds of enthusiaststo experiencechasing 'realsteam'workingin remote,exotic andfar awaycountrieslong beforethey wereaccessibleto the usualtraveller or tourist.Billclaimedhe'dvisited 100 countrieson sixcontinents.
HiscompanyTEFS:TEouropeFor
Whatwasvery noticeablein the numerousexcellentillustrationswas, with only one exception,the locomotives had their bunkersnext to the carriages and the smokeboxpointing awayfrom the train.
The exceptionwas No.84004,heading the train about to leaveOswestrystation for Gobowen.
I clearlyrememberin the mid-1950s that the push-pulltrains betweenRock Ferryand Hooton-in-Wirral,which had beenworked by ex-GreatWestern Railway0-4-2 tanks (No.1417and, later, 1457if my memory servesme well), were replacedby three-coachLMR push-pull setshauled by either of the two lvatt 2-6-2tanksallocatedto Birkenhead- Nos.41226and 41322.
Theinterestingfact wasthese locomotives,and their subsequent replacementsin the 84000series, invariably had their smokeboxfacing the carriagessoon their journeysfrom Rock Ferryto Hootonthe locomotivetravelled with its cab leading.
I haveneverreceiveda satisfactory explanationasto why this was sowhen, asshown in Philip Horton'sarticle, almostall other other LMRpush-pull trains had their enginesfacing the other way.
Birkenhead'sMollington Streetshed stabled its engineswith the smokeboxes facing towards Hooton and Chester, exceptthat isfor the 2-6-2tanks allocatedto the push-pulltrains!
Thenone day,at Hooton station,
Steam- laterrenamedasToEverywhere ForSteam- enjoyedconsiderable successfrom the 1970sthrough to the earlyyearsof the new millennium, includingbeingthe first tour group allowedinto Chinain 1976.
TiananmenSquare
In 1989hesuccessfulleyxtricated anotherof hisgroupssafelyout of China prior to the TiananmenSquaremassacre.
Billwas born in Yorkshirebut enjoyed hischildhoodliving andtrainspottingin EastAnglia.
I askedone of the driversabout why the push-pull locomotiveswere attached in that manner his reply was:"That'sjust the way we do it!"
Cananyoneoffer an explanation? Incidentally,when Nos.84000and 84003weretransferredto Birkenhead to replace41226and 41322(which had beentransferredto Bangor)they were attachedto the carriagesin the same way astheir lvatt predecessors!
THEfeature on push-pulltrains in the July and August issueswas most interestingand informative,and brought backa few memoriesfor me.
Onerelatedto the Ditton JunctionWarringtonBankQuayLow LevelManchesterOxfordRoadservice, withdrawn in September1962.
In the past,manytrains had run through betweenLiverpoolLimeStreet and Manchesterb, ut latterly all turned round at Ditton, exceptfor the 12.05 Saturdays-onlyfrom LimeStreet,which providedthe unusualsight of a push-pull train there.
TheGobowento Oswestrybranchwas the mostfamiliar push-pullto me,and it wasan unwelcomeshockwhen I found the'14XX'-operatedtrains had been replacedby LMSsetsin 1963.
However,on the coupleof occasions when I sawit during that erathe motive power was not a Standardbut an LMS Class2 2-6-2T,No.41285,on October
26, 1963.
We'llpublisha few letterson Mr Harton's featurenextmonth- Ed.
OBITUARY:GEORGEWILLIAM (BILL)ALBOROUGH 1941-2020
Hewent on to work for various companiesi,ncludingthe Met Office, beforehisfluencyin Germanlanded him a positionasoverseas ales managerfor the pharmaceuticaal nd horticulturalcompanyFisons.
Histravelsfor Fisonsinspiredthe creationofTEFSw, hich he ranfrom his homein Loughborough.
Billissurvivedby wife Sylvia,sons Stevenand Blakea, swell astwo sons, Stephenand David,from a previous marriage.
HUBER(TLAYFIELD