High temperature effects

I REFER to your editorial in the August issue regarding the problems being experienced on the railways due to the high summer temperatures, and I was reminded of the following from when I was a very young boy.

It was either in the summer of 1945 or 1946 that we were on a holiday visit to our relations in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. The high spot of the holiday was the day visit by train from Aldeburgh to Great Yarmouth, which was in the days of the direct main line via Haddiscoe to South Town station.

We were on our return journey and had reached St Olaves when we came to a halt, which was not usually a scheduled stop for through trains.

After standing in the station for a while, word reached the somewhat overcrowded carriages that we would be delayed for some considerable time.

St Olaves swing bridge over the River Waveney had been opened to allow the passage of a vessel, but it was found impossible to close the bridge again. This was due to excessive thermal expansion over the length of the steel bridge, caused by the heat of the day.

They did eventually get the bridge shut to enable our train to proceed, but I cannot remember what problems it caused my parents with getting our connecting train at Saxmundham for Aldeburgh.

Edward Lawrence Woolwell, Devon