Our thanks to Alan Dean and the Committee of the Cannock Chase Mining Historical Society for allowing the Chasewater Railway Museum to display this plaque.
Chasewater Railway is known as the Colliery Line – if there had been no coal mines there would be no railway!
Also thanks to the Chasewater Railway members who helped to put the plaque in position – it’s not the lightest of objects!
Posted in Museum Exhibits
Tagged Aldridge, Bloxwich, Brownhills, Burntwood, Cannock, Cannock & Rugeley Colliery, Cannock Wood, Chasewater Railway Museum, Cheslyn Hay, Coal Mining, Great Wyrley, Hazel Slade, Heath Hayes, Hednesford, Lichfield, Norton Canes, Pelsall, Walsall, Walsall Wood, Wolverhampton
This book of photographs, by J.B.Bucknall, includes many pictures of local interest, and it was thought it would be a good addition to our collection.
One photo is of particular interest to Chasewater Railway members as it shows a coal train leaving West Cannock 5s pit, heading for the Hednesford Yard, and in front of the engine can be seen the first headquarters of the Railway Preservation Society (West Midlands Division), where the Society stayed rent-free for 10 years Courtesy of Charles Ives, Penkridge Engineering) before moving to Chasewater, and changing its name to the Chasewater Light Railway Society and later to the Chasewater Light Railway and Museum Company.
The building (between the 2 telegraph poles), which is still standing, consisted of brick pillars and a roof, but now the spaces between the pillars have been bricked up.
Posted in Museum Exhibits
Tagged Aldridge, An Age of Kings, Bloxwich, Book, Brownhills, Burntwood, Cannock, Cannock Chase, Chasewater Railway, Chasewater Railway Museum, Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley, Hazel Slade, Heath Hayes, Hednesford, J.B.Bucknall, Lichfield, National Coal Board (NCB), Norton Canes, Pelsall, Penkridge Engineering, Staffordshire, Steam Trains, Walsall, Walsall Wood, West Cannock Fives, Wolverhampton
This first one is an unusually shaped inkwell, brown earthenware marked GER (Great Eastern Railway)
Secondly, a Hornby ‘0’ gauge Junction Signal.
Finally, a Hornby ‘0’ gauge Water Crane. ( In my youthful (!) innocence I have always thought of them as water towers, but people who know about such things tell me that they are water cranes).
Posted in Museum Exhibits
Tagged Aldridge, Bloxwich, Brownhills, Burntwood, Cannock, Chasewater Railway Museum, Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley, Hazel Slade, Heath Hayes, Hednesford, Hornby, Inkwell, Lichfield, Models, Norton Canes, Pelsall, Signals, Staffordshire, Steam Trains, Walsall, Walsall Wood, Water Crane, Wolverhampton
This padlock (broken) was originally used to lock remote trackside point levers.
Used for points on passing loops on single track section.
Keys were carried by the train crew.
The shackle is stamped ‘1951’.
Donated to the Museum by Alan G.Smith, to whom we offer our thanks.
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR) was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the “Pennsy,” the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The PRR was the largest railroad by traffic and revenue in the U.S. for the first half of the twentieth century. Over the years, it acquired, merged with or owned part of at least 800 other rail lines and companies. At the end of 1925, it operated 10,515 miles of rail line, in the 1920s, it carried nearly three times the traffic as other railroads of comparable length, such as the Union Pacific or Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroads. Its only formidable rival was the New York Central (NYC), which carried around three-quarters of PRR’s ton-miles.
At one time, the PRR was the largest publicly traded corporation in the world, with a budget larger than that of the U.S. government and a workforce of about 250,000 people. The corporation still holds the record for the longest continuous dividend history: it paid out annual dividends to shareholders for more than 100 years in a row
Posted in Museum Exhibits
Tagged Aldridge, Bloxwich, Brownhills, Burntwood, Cannock, Chasewater Railway Museum, Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley, Hazel Slade, Heath Hayes, Hednesford, Lichfield, Norton Canes, Padlock, Pelsall, Pennsylvania Railroad, PRR, USA, Walsall, Walsall Wood, Wolverhampton
Another recent addition to Chasewater Railway Museum, following the local Colliery connection with the Railway, is an old Labour Certificate, which as been framed. This certificate was donated to the Museum by Godfrey Hucker, one of the Museum volunteers. The certificate was issued to his father, also named Godfrey in November 1917, by Staffordshire County Council Education Committee, allowing him to leave school at the age of 13, and commence working at the Grove Colliery in Great Wyrley. The Grove Colliery ceased to mine coal in 1930, following an explosion which killed 14 miners. Following the disaster (a report of this can be found on Brownhills Bob’s Blog) the Grove then used their surface equipment to wash, screen & distribute coal from the adjacent colliery, Wyrley No 3 known as the Sinking. Godfrey worked at the Grove until closure in the 1960’s.
Posted in Museum Exhibits
Tagged Aldridge, Bloxwich, Brownhills, Burntwood, Cannock, Cannock Chase, Chasewater Railway Museum, Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley, Grove colliery, Hazel Slade, Heath Hayes, Hednesford, Labour Certificate, Lichfield, Norton Canes, Pelsall, Staffordshire, Walsall, Walsall Wood, Wolverhampton
Lot 385 in the Great Central Auction at Bloxham on August 8th 2015 and described there as a wagon plate is actually an overhaul plate from the former NCB Workshops, Bestwood, Notts.
Acquired on behalf of the Chasewater Railway Museum, the brass plate is oval in shape, approx. 12″x 8″ with cast in lettering No.6 A.C.W. E.M.D. Overhauled with date stamped Nov. 1962.
Research using the Industrial Railway Society Handbook for Nottinghamshire leads to three possible locos which may have carried this particular plate (on the bunker side), these being locos named Valerie, Peter or Phillip – but which??
Maybe someone can help?
j.tisdale45@yahoo.com
Posted in Museum Exhibits
Tagged Aldridge, Bestwood, Bloxwich, Burntwood, Cannock, Chasewater Railway Museum, Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley, Hazel Slade, Heath Hayes, Hednesford, Lichfield, National Coal Board (NCB), NCB, Norton Canes, Nottinghamshire, Pelsall, Steam Trains, Walsall, Walsall Wood, Wolverhampton
Perusal of some of the monthly issues of the mainstream railway enthusiasts magazines often reveals references and photographs of locomotives and items of rolling stock with Chasewater Railway connections, unusually, however, the current ‘Railway Bylines’, volume 20, issue 9 contains maybe more of interest to Chasewater Railway members than may be obvious at a quick glance.
Firstly, the front cover (above) depicts a scene in the shed yard at Littleton Colliery during October 1964. To the left of the photo is the 16 ton ex-GWR brake van which came to Chasewater three years later for the princely sum of £5.
Going through the magazine there is an article on Washington Chemicals, County Durham; the article begins on page 418 and includes photographs of some of the locos which worked there. Two of the early locos which worked there were transferred to a sister company at Trafford Park, Manchester, one being Hawthorn Leslie 0-4-0ST, 2780 of 1909. After 35 years at Trafford Park and by now named ‘Asbestos’ the loco arrived at Chasewater in 1968, a gift from her owners.
Asbestos at Trafford Park on donation day, 1968.
The pages following showing photos of locos at Chatham Dockyard include two shots of the Barclay 0-4-0ST, 2220 of 1946. Entering preservation initially on the Severn Valley Railway at Bridgnorth, a private sale saw the loco at Chasewater for many years, working regularly between 1976 and 1982.
Finally, and only a tenuous connection with Chasewater, the Peckett 0-4-0ST, 1879 of 1934 found on pages 438 and 439 in photos taken at Basford Gasworks did, on scrapping, yield its buffers to Barclay 1223, Colin McAndrew when first restored by Society members in the late 1960s. The loco’s own dumb buffers were deemed unsuitable and were replaced with these acquired Pecket buffers bolted upside down so that you couldn’t read the maker’s name quite so easily!
Colin McAndrew at Hixon in 1968.
Posted in Locomotives, News
Tagged 16 ton ex GWR brake van, Aldridge, Barclay 'Invicta', Barclay loco 'Colin McAndrew', Bloxwich, Brownhills, Burntwood, Cannock, Chasewater Railway, Chasewater Railway Museum, Cheslyn Hay, Hawthorn Leslie 'Asbestos', Hednesford, Magazine, Norton Canes, Pelsall, Railway Bylines, Walsall, Walsall Wood
Although this post has been published previously, I still found it to be interesting, and in the last four years new readers may discover this blog – hope so !!
Although I can’t imagine the first items shown will ever be seen in the museum, they do show something of the variation in size between items offered.
This photo shows two of four signal posts which have been at Chasewater for many years and have recently been removed from the undergrowth by the overflow car park.
One of them is clearly stamped with what is presumably the date, 1915.
They came from the Pinnox Junction area of Stoke-on Trent.
North Stafford Railway locomotive about to leave Pinnox Junction with coal from Whitfield Colliery around the turn of the 20th century. To the right, the Tunstall Lower Branch railway from Longport to Tunstall Junction on the Loop Line and bridge carrying the Whitfield line from Pinnox to Greenhead Wharf. Staffs pasttrack
The next item is a ‘Trains Cross Here’ sign.
This was found in the mid 1960s in the Wyrley Branch of the Wyrley & Essington Canal which is now under Vernon Way, in the New Invention, Essington area. The railway crossing of the A4124 Lichfield Road from Holly Bank Colliery to the canal basin at Short heath was about 150 yards away on the other side of the M6. It seems logical to assume that this was where the sign was originally placed.
This is how the sign would have looked when in position. Although this photo was taken on the same line, it is probably not the same sign, being a bit too far away. The sign was donated to the museum by Mr. D.Townsend.
The third item is the smallest.
This is a badge of the Walsall Locomotive Society donated by the museum’s Chairman, David Bathurst.
We have also had a number of items loaned to us, including the nameplate ‘Beatty’ and number plate ‘139’ from an ex Dorman Long Hawthorn Leslie 12″ x 20″ 0-4-0ST preserved at Telford Steam Railway.
Posted in Museum Exhibits
Tagged Aldridge, Bloxwich, Brownhills, Burntwood, Cannock, Cannock Chase, Chasewater Railway Museum, Cheslyn Hay, Essington, Great Wyrley, Heath Hayes, Hednesford, Loco Nameplate, Norton Canes, Pelsall, Pinnox Junction, Signal Post, Walsall, Walsall Wood, Warning Sign, Wolverhampton
A match – book cover to add to our small collection. This time publicising GWR hotels.
These are photos of our other 3 – if anyone has more railway connected match book covers and would like to donate them, we can find them a good home!
Posted in Museum Exhibits
Tagged Aldridge, Bloxwich, Brownhills, Burntwood, Cannock, Cannock Chase, Chasewater Railway Museum, Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley, GWR Hotels, Hazel Slade, Heath Hayes, Hednesford, Lichfield, LNER Cross-Channel Ferry, LNER Hotels, Match Book Covers, Norton Canes, Pelsall, Station Hotel Perth, Steam Trains, Walsall, Walsall Wood, Wolverhampton
The Curator has been let out again – two nice cast iron signs to be displayed.
A Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway Trespassers notice.
And this very nice Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company noticewarning cyclists to keep off the tow-path. (With the date being 1901, I don’t suppose that our well-known local cyclist would have been affected!!).
Chasewater Railway Museum 