Journal 18 — Winter 2001

Miners' Strikes and their Effect on the Midland Railway / By Glynn Waite
A New Midland Route to Manchester and Liverpool : the Centenary of the New Mills and Heaton Mersey Line / By Roger Brettle
Locomotive Aesthetics / By Jack Braithwaite
Comments on Items in Previous Journals
- The Peckwash Mill Disaster
- Worcester
- Beyond the Boundaries
Query Corner
- Query 25 : Early 0-4-2 locomotives
- Query 29 (new query) : Sharland

Front cover

Something a little different this time! Jos. De Poorter was an agent for the Midland Railway in Rotterdam and dealt with traffic moved between that port and Kings Lynn. This postcard would have been used for advertising people about the movement of their goods. Interestingly, much of the text is written in German. It tells us that there was a regular steam line from Rotterdam to Kings Lynn and vice versa, and that it was the quickest connection with Central England. However, the term regular appears to have been stretching a point as boats only sailed from Rotterdam on Saturdays and Kings Lynn on Tuesdays. L. Sommerfield appears to have been the agent at the Kings Lynn end. Can anyone provide further information about services to the Continent via Kings Lynn please? This was presumably a service for goods traffic rather than passengers.

[G. Waite collection]
Rear cover

From 21st January to 1st February 1892 trains could not run via the Worcester Loop between Stoke Works and Abbott’s Wood Junction, due to an obstruction in Worcester Tunnel. Notices were published which showed trains being diverted via Spetchley and Dunhampstead, with some services serving Worcester from Abbott’s Wood worked by pilot locomotives. Illustrated here is part of a circular which regularised the arrangements from 24th January. More information about the arrangements can be found under “Comment”.

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