Congratulations to everyone. (Wish I could be there, fer shur!)
Monday, September 27, 2010
Wisbech & Upswell #7 Out On The Line!
At last! The Wisbech & Upswell coach #7 rolled down the line for the first time after its rebuild. Hauled behind 4-6-0 #, the coach made a run from the Weybourne shops, up to Holt, back down to Sheringham, and back to the shops.
Here's Nigel leaning on the bar, looking pleased as punch! And so he should be. He did a lot of work stick-handling the restoration and organizing the lads and lassies to do the work on the car.
This Saturday, October 2nd, will be M&GN member's day. The coach will be part of a special M&GN train which will include the newly restored M&GN brake van hauled behind steam locomotive Ring Haw. Should be quite an event!
Congratulations to everyone. (Wish I could be there, fer shur!)
Congratulations to everyone. (Wish I could be there, fer shur!)
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Wisbech & Upswell #7 Rolls Out Of The C&W Shops!
Nigel has just informed everyone that the Wisbech & Upswell passenger coach #7 was rolled out of the NNR Carriage & Wagon shops. It was examined by Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate (a requirement for all non-standard wagons that are run on British rails) and successfully passed the tests.
You can see the reflection of the varnish on the side of the coach. It now can join the fleet of historic coaches that are on the roster of the M&GN Joint Railway Society.
Hard to believe that the project started only in 2002 with the coach lying on the ground at the Rutland Railway Museum (located north-west of Peterborough). A new underframe and bogies were fabricated and the body received a thorough rebuild with a fair bit of the existing wood being replaced. Lots of tlc to bring this coach up to snuff!
A job well done by a great team of lads and lassies.
Hard to believe that the project started only in 2002 with the coach lying on the ground at the Rutland Railway Museum (located north-west of Peterborough). A new underframe and bogies were fabricated and the body received a thorough rebuild with a fair bit of the existing wood being replaced. Lots of tlc to bring this coach up to snuff!
A job well done by a great team of lads and lassies.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Postscript to "Last Day At Weybourne Shops - Saturday June 19th"
I had previously mentioned in my blog of Saturday, June19th, about drilling holes with the mag drill for the buffers on the Wisbech & Upwell Carriage #7. Subsequently, Nigel managed to muscle and bolt the buffers into place (I think he had some help).
Here's the buffers at the west end of the coach
And here's the installed buffers at the east (Sheringham) end of the coach.
Ain't that the cutest passenger coach you've ever seen? Love that steel grillwork. It will soon be rolling down the tracks of the NNR!
Here's the buffers at the west end of the coach
Monday, June 28, 2010
Tuesday June 22nd - The End of A Fantastic 6-Week Trip!
As they say, all good things must come to an end and so it is with my 6 weeks in England. It has been beyond all of my expectations. I had two primary objectives - to chase my family roots and to see how steam preservation railways work in England. I achieved all of these objectives and then some! Quite a few bonuses along the way. Meeting with Dawn again, travelling to the New Forest to meet up with Ann, seeing photos of my great-grandparents for the first time. Meeting Michael Whelan and his wife Susan - in Letheringsett at the King's Head, no less! Searching the Letheringsett Parish Records in Norwich and seeing the original birth, marriage and death records of Stephen Moore, Sarah Page, and their children. Matthew Moore, Elizabeth Barber Gidney and their children. Meeting up with David Mayes and Janet Jones. Getting the photo of Robert Moore the Coachman and meeting Miss Cozens-Hardy in person. The lads on the North Norfolk Railway - Nigel, Mike, Andy, Brian, Bob, Roger, Bernie, Steve, Peter, Mike, John, Sylvia, Malcolm, Harvey, Howard, Andre, Phil, Allistair, Peter, Nigel, Ed, Bill, Trevor and a whole lot more whose names I never got to know. Their hospitality and friendship was fantastic. And I learned a lot too. Not just about the mechanical aspects of steam preservation and British railways. But how a large organization can be run efficiently and effectively by a cadre of over 400 volunteers.
But, it was time to make my way from Oxted, up to London and out to Heathrow Airport. I have this thing about getting to the airport early, so Helen drove me from their B&B down to the station with my heavy suitcase, carry bag, and laptop. I caught the 9:33 train into London Victoria station. From there, I wheeled through the station and onto the Circle Line. Only this time, I caught the District Line by mistake (they both run through some of the same stations) but managed to correct my mistake by the next station stop. It was an 8-minute wait for the next Circle underground train and then clicking through 20 station stops before getting to Paddington station. If I had taken the westbound train instead of the eastbound train, it would only have been 8 station-stops. Oh well, next time.
I struggled with my suitcase, carry-bag and laptop up the steps and into London Paddington station. Right there in front of me down 12 steps was the Heathrow Express. I had been planning to take the Heathrow Connect at half the price but I decided to treat myself to a bit of air-conditioned comfort. I climbed aboard the train after buying my ticket with the train leaving the platform 4 minutes later.
We were soon out to Heathrow. I loaded my bags onto a cart and started wheeling to Terminal 3. Heathrow has signs all over the place so it was very easy to find the Air Canada check-in counter. I taped my luggage tags to my bags, threw them on the conveyor belt while the agent checked my paperwork. I quickly went through security clearance and then checked to see what gate my flight was. Time was 11:15, my flight was 15:30. The flight was listed but no gate. So, I spent the next 4 hours sitting back, having a bite to eat, doing tons of Sudoku puzzles and cruising the shops.
The gate was announced at 14:45 and I leisurely made my way to the lounge and check-in. We took off on time and landed in Montreal at 17:45. Made it through customs by 18:45, left my luggage at the domestic check-in counter to wait for my flight to Ottawa at 21:30. Of course, there are no earlier flights so I had to cool my heels for the next 4 1/2 hours. I think this part of the trip was the longest. The flight was 20 minutes late leaving Montreal but I arrived without further incident to see Sharon waiting for me in the arrivals lounge as I came down the escalators.
It's been a fantastic trip and we'll have to do it again.
But, it was time to make my way from Oxted, up to London and out to Heathrow Airport. I have this thing about getting to the airport early, so Helen drove me from their B&B down to the station with my heavy suitcase, carry bag, and laptop. I caught the 9:33 train into London Victoria station. From there, I wheeled through the station and onto the Circle Line. Only this time, I caught the District Line by mistake (they both run through some of the same stations) but managed to correct my mistake by the next station stop. It was an 8-minute wait for the next Circle underground train and then clicking through 20 station stops before getting to Paddington station. If I had taken the westbound train instead of the eastbound train, it would only have been 8 station-stops. Oh well, next time.
I struggled with my suitcase, carry-bag and laptop up the steps and into London Paddington station. Right there in front of me down 12 steps was the Heathrow Express. I had been planning to take the Heathrow Connect at half the price but I decided to treat myself to a bit of air-conditioned comfort. I climbed aboard the train after buying my ticket with the train leaving the platform 4 minutes later.
We were soon out to Heathrow. I loaded my bags onto a cart and started wheeling to Terminal 3. Heathrow has signs all over the place so it was very easy to find the Air Canada check-in counter. I taped my luggage tags to my bags, threw them on the conveyor belt while the agent checked my paperwork. I quickly went through security clearance and then checked to see what gate my flight was. Time was 11:15, my flight was 15:30. The flight was listed but no gate. So, I spent the next 4 hours sitting back, having a bite to eat, doing tons of Sudoku puzzles and cruising the shops.
The gate was announced at 14:45 and I leisurely made my way to the lounge and check-in. We took off on time and landed in Montreal at 17:45. Made it through customs by 18:45, left my luggage at the domestic check-in counter to wait for my flight to Ottawa at 21:30. Of course, there are no earlier flights so I had to cool my heels for the next 4 1/2 hours. I think this part of the trip was the longest. The flight was 20 minutes late leaving Montreal but I arrived without further incident to see Sharon waiting for me in the arrivals lounge as I came down the escalators.
It's been a fantastic trip and we'll have to do it again.
Monday Evening, June 21st At 1 Welcome Cottage
It's a week later and I'm back home in Canada trying to recover from the jet lag and an ankle that I sprained on Wednesday evening. My ankles are not the strongest which is why I wear boots most of the time. And the one time, after 6 weeks in England, that I wear shoes, I go over on my ankle.
Anyhoo..........
I took a taxi from Oxted up to Woldingham arriving at 1 Welcome Cottage for 7pm. John Odlin had supper cooking away nicely - some beautiful venison steaks, new potatoes, and veggies. We sat outside at his large picnic table, a glass of red wine in hand while we introduced ourselves and got to know each other.
John had been a helicopter pilot for 40 years travelling to all parts of the world before retiring about 10 years ago. An avid hunter, he had many stories to tell about his trips and travels. For me, it was nostalgia time as I was only 6 years old the last time I had been in this house. The house had much changed, of course, and John had nicely landscaped the property with gardens, sculpture, and a garden shed at the back.
Just as we were sitting down to eat our supper, his friend, Rodney Fuller came in the side gate with a new friend, Peter. John and Rodney are hunting buddies who have gone on many safaris to Africa together. They were planning to do the same next October and were trying to convince Peter to come with them. Having seen the trophies John had mounted on his wall, I added my two pence worth to convince Peter to go with them.
It turns out that Rodney's family has been farming down the hill from 1 Welcome Cottage, Woldingham since 1898! So there is a good probability that either, Rodney, his father, or both of them delivered milk to my grandparents when they lived here. Small world, eh!? (Rodney on the left, John on the right.)
I have photos of my father when he was stationed in Woldingham but can't determine the location of the properties. I promised to send copies of the photos to Rodney and to enlist his aid in identifying the locations.
After some good food, good company, good cigars (I was tempted but didn't), and good conversation, it was time to head back to my B&B. John drove me back to Oxted where we said our good-byes, promising to stay in touch for the future.
It was indeed a most enjoyable evening and a superb way to finish up my 6-week stay in England!
Tomorrow we make our way to Heathrow Airport and back home to Canada.
Anyhoo..........
I took a taxi from Oxted up to Woldingham arriving at 1 Welcome Cottage for 7pm. John Odlin had supper cooking away nicely - some beautiful venison steaks, new potatoes, and veggies. We sat outside at his large picnic table, a glass of red wine in hand while we introduced ourselves and got to know each other.
Just as we were sitting down to eat our supper, his friend, Rodney Fuller came in the side gate with a new friend, Peter. John and Rodney are hunting buddies who have gone on many safaris to Africa together. They were planning to do the same next October and were trying to convince Peter to come with them. Having seen the trophies John had mounted on his wall, I added my two pence worth to convince Peter to go with them.
It turns out that Rodney's family has been farming down the hill from 1 Welcome Cottage, Woldingham since 1898! So there is a good probability that either, Rodney, his father, or both of them delivered milk to my grandparents when they lived here. Small world, eh!? (Rodney on the left, John on the right.)
I have photos of my father when he was stationed in Woldingham but can't determine the location of the properties. I promised to send copies of the photos to Rodney and to enlist his aid in identifying the locations.
After some good food, good company, good cigars (I was tempted but didn't), and good conversation, it was time to head back to my B&B. John drove me back to Oxted where we said our good-byes, promising to stay in touch for the future.
Tomorrow we make our way to Heathrow Airport and back home to Canada.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Moving Down To Oxted - Only 24 hours Left
My initial plans were to leave Sheringham tomorrow (Tuesday June 22nd) and make my way to Norwich, on to London Liverpool St station, take the Underground to Paddington station, and catch the Heathrow Connect out to Heathrow Airport. However, the trip from Sheringham to Norwich was an hour, Norwich to London Liverpool St another 2 hours. If I missed a connection, I would be arriving too close to my flight time of 15:30. So I decided a couple of weeks ago that I would make my way down to Oxted today so that I would have lots of trains (every 20 minutes) that would take me into London Victoria station and a quick trip on the Circle Line to Paddington station. This way, I wouldn't be hassled in trying to make it to the airport.
I was up and out of Camberley House which has been my base of operations by 9:00 to drag my suitcase, carry bag and baby laptop up and down the streets of Sheringham and over to the train station. As I had arrived early, I went into the news stand across the street to pick up my supply of Sudoku puzzles to do while waiting for trains.
Just as I came out of the news stand, I ran into Bob from the Weybourne shops who had just returned from the doctors for a checkup to his hand/ arm. Last Wednesday (while I was in York), Bob had been using an angle grinder with a wire wheel on it when it slipped out of his hands. The trigger on the grinder was one of those that kept the grinder spinning instead of turning off the motor when your grip was released. Needless to say, with the wire wheel still spinning, and not wearing any gloves, especially leather welder's gloves with the large cuffs, a good part of the back of his hand was instantly converted into hamburger. He immediately had an angina attack which required a trip to the hospital in Norwich.
It took 18 stitches with the possibility of skin grafts to put the back of his hand back together. I had left my own welder's gloves behind just for Bob with my pair of Home Hardware work gloves for Roger. After a short chat in which we wished each other the best of luck and the possibility that we might see each other in a couple of years, I made my way to the station platform and boarded the train to Norwich.
The train to London Liverpool St station was just pulling in as we arrived in Norwich so it was a quick scoot from Platform 4 to Platform 2. It was an uneventful trip into London, except that I was now wheeling a 30kg fully loaded suitcase, a 15 kg carry bag and a 5 kg laptop with bag which made it a bit awkward going up and down the steps of the London Underground. I made my way down the steps to the Underground at Liverpool St station (love that Oyster card!) to catch the eastbound Underground tube train to London Victoria train station. I had gotten into the habit of buying my train tickets in advance of my trip so that I didn't have to line up to buy tickets, worrying that I might miss the next train. And I also saved money when buying an advance ticket. In this case, I had bought my London Victoria to Oxted return tickets on the train from Sheringham. This cost me £10 return compared to £9 one-way during morning rush hour if I had bought the ticket in Oxted the next morning.
I caught the 14:23 train to Oxted, arriving 35 minutes later. It was a quick taxi trip up Grenville road to The Mead B&B where I immediately left my luggage and returned to the centre of the village and down to the graveyard where my great-grandparents are buried.
The ferns had really grown since my last visit of 3 weeks ago and had completely hidden the grave stones. I had brought along some "weed juice" and a watering can spout to look after these ferns. Two watering cans were sitting by the tap filled with water. A few ounces of juice in each can and we started to "water" the ferns. Unfortunately the tap in the graveyard wasn't working so this required a trip to the council graveyard next door. Given the state of the graveyard and the lack of response I've gotten from the church, I think I'll have to do a news article for the local newspaper to see if I can garner some support and action to clean up the graveyard.
I'm off to Woldingham in about an hour for dinner with John Odlin who is the current owner of 1 Welcome Cottage, the place where my grandparents and my mother lived for so long. It will be interesting to see the inside of the house and to see if I can remember what the rooms looked like. The last time I was in the house was in the summer of 1952 when I was all of 6 years old. I do remember coming down with the mumps and having to chew gum so that my jaws wouldn't freeze up. Boy, did that ever hurt.
My grandfather, Albert Bicknell, kept bees and chickens to supplement their income. I can remember all kinds of honey combs and honey equipment in the rooms where my brother, Ed, and I would sleep. There's nothing sweeter than sucking the honey out of a honey comb, complete with the bees' wax, and then spitting the ball of wax that you are making in your mouth while you're sucking the honey out of the comb. The fox used to get into the hen house from time to time which would create real havoc. My grandfather also used to keep rabbits and I can remember holding them. Which is probably why, two years later, I ended up having rabbits (along with a cat) as pets.
I was up and out of Camberley House which has been my base of operations by 9:00 to drag my suitcase, carry bag and baby laptop up and down the streets of Sheringham and over to the train station. As I had arrived early, I went into the news stand across the street to pick up my supply of Sudoku puzzles to do while waiting for trains.
Just as I came out of the news stand, I ran into Bob from the Weybourne shops who had just returned from the doctors for a checkup to his hand/ arm. Last Wednesday (while I was in York), Bob had been using an angle grinder with a wire wheel on it when it slipped out of his hands. The trigger on the grinder was one of those that kept the grinder spinning instead of turning off the motor when your grip was released. Needless to say, with the wire wheel still spinning, and not wearing any gloves, especially leather welder's gloves with the large cuffs, a good part of the back of his hand was instantly converted into hamburger. He immediately had an angina attack which required a trip to the hospital in Norwich.
It took 18 stitches with the possibility of skin grafts to put the back of his hand back together. I had left my own welder's gloves behind just for Bob with my pair of Home Hardware work gloves for Roger. After a short chat in which we wished each other the best of luck and the possibility that we might see each other in a couple of years, I made my way to the station platform and boarded the train to Norwich.
The train to London Liverpool St station was just pulling in as we arrived in Norwich so it was a quick scoot from Platform 4 to Platform 2. It was an uneventful trip into London, except that I was now wheeling a 30kg fully loaded suitcase, a 15 kg carry bag and a 5 kg laptop with bag which made it a bit awkward going up and down the steps of the London Underground. I made my way down the steps to the Underground at Liverpool St station (love that Oyster card!) to catch the eastbound Underground tube train to London Victoria train station. I had gotten into the habit of buying my train tickets in advance of my trip so that I didn't have to line up to buy tickets, worrying that I might miss the next train. And I also saved money when buying an advance ticket. In this case, I had bought my London Victoria to Oxted return tickets on the train from Sheringham. This cost me £10 return compared to £9 one-way during morning rush hour if I had bought the ticket in Oxted the next morning.
I caught the 14:23 train to Oxted, arriving 35 minutes later. It was a quick taxi trip up Grenville road to The Mead B&B where I immediately left my luggage and returned to the centre of the village and down to the graveyard where my great-grandparents are buried.
The ferns had really grown since my last visit of 3 weeks ago and had completely hidden the grave stones. I had brought along some "weed juice" and a watering can spout to look after these ferns. Two watering cans were sitting by the tap filled with water. A few ounces of juice in each can and we started to "water" the ferns. Unfortunately the tap in the graveyard wasn't working so this required a trip to the council graveyard next door. Given the state of the graveyard and the lack of response I've gotten from the church, I think I'll have to do a news article for the local newspaper to see if I can garner some support and action to clean up the graveyard.
My grandfather, Albert Bicknell, kept bees and chickens to supplement their income. I can remember all kinds of honey combs and honey equipment in the rooms where my brother, Ed, and I would sleep. There's nothing sweeter than sucking the honey out of a honey comb, complete with the bees' wax, and then spitting the ball of wax that you are making in your mouth while you're sucking the honey out of the comb. The fox used to get into the hen house from time to time which would create real havoc. My grandfather also used to keep rabbits and I can remember holding them. Which is probably why, two years later, I ended up having rabbits (along with a cat) as pets.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The North Sea "Breeze" - A Change Of Plans
I was intending to make a last pilgrimage to Letheringsett today. However, the wind had been howling all night and the sea was foaming froth as the waves broke up on the beach, roiling the stones on the beach with loud cracking sounds as if 10,000 billiard balls were bouncing into each other. And it continued this morning as I was eating breakfast with threats of rain. So I packed my suitcase for tomorrow's trip to Oxted and went back to bed for a couple of hours - the first time I had done so since my arrival in England.
My mode of transportation from Sheringham to the Weybourne, halfway point of Holt Station on the North Norfolk Railway, was operating on a reduced timetable with the last train leaving at 3:45. If I missed that trip, it could mean a 5 1/2 mile walk back to Sheringham in addition to the 3 1/2 miles from Letheringsett back to Holt Station.
Getting up around 11:30, I took a look at the weather. It was starting to blow itself out and the threat of rain seemed less possible. So decided to chance the trip to Letheringsett. If I missed the return train from Holt Station, I could always catch the coasthopper bus. I was out the door and up to the NNR station for 12 o'clock - only to hear the whistle of the steam engine as it was departing Sheringham station. I looked to see when the next train was leaving - 13:30. So much for my pilgrimage to Letheringsett.
I had some books that I wanted to drop off at the Weybourne Station bookstore so, to pass the time, I went to the news stand and picked up 3 newspapers - all with 3 Sudoku puzzles in them - returning back to the station and sitting at a picnic table to pass the time. In the Norfolk News, there was a nice writeup with photographs of the arrival of the 1899 passenger coach at Holt Station and how it was going to be incorporated into their plans of revitalizing the NNR's education centre using a series of these old coaches.
The education arm of the parent Midland & Great Northern Preservation Society had managed to get matching lottery grants of £47,000 for their £94,000 project. Imagine raising that kind of money! Having seen the number of school kids take the train from Sheringham up to Holt Station, this unique facility is certainly going to be put to good use!
Finally the train arrived - the same J15 0-6-0 that I had taken up to Weybourne shops the day before. Attached to this train were two dining-car coaches that were full of families celebrating Father's Day. Wwould this ever be a real treat for Father's Day, eh!? Travelling back-and-forth up-and-down the line while munching away on brunch and sipping tea and coffee for several hours. While the crowds poured out of the regular coaches, nobody was getting off these two coaches. They were going to enjoy their brunch!!
In due course, the steam locomotive made its run around the train and coupled onto the dining coaches. As the train was approaching Weybourne, I noticed that one of the large roll-up doors leading into the Carriage & Wagon shed, the track leading to Wisbech & Upwell Carriage #7 (the one I had worked on yesterday) was open.
So, disembarking at Weybourne Station, I made my way over to the sheds. Sure enough, Nigel S had been busy at work drilling more holes into the buffer beams for the link couplers.
As I had some spare time on my hands, I offered to help him with the drilling but he was quite fatigued from his work of the day before. The day before (Saturday), he and Andy P. had been working hard at some point west of Weybourne jacking an old 1890s cattle wagon up off the ground and rolling it out so that a lorry could transport the wagon back to Weybourne sheds for restoration. They had started at 10 am in the morning and didn't finish until after 7:30.
Now this cattle wagon was not any ordinary cattle wagon that shipped cattle off to the meat packers. This one was used to transport prize bulls around to the different country fairs and to service the farms in between. The wagon had been taken out of service in the 1920s and had been used as a shed in someone's back yard all this time.
The objective for obtaining all of these wagons was to be able to put together a representative goods (freight) train that would have travelled down the original Midland & Great Northern Railway line around the turn of the century in 1900. With all of these coaches and wagons that had been purchased and converted into cottages, sheds, and garages, they were having quite a bit of luck in achieving their objective.
Having dropped off some books at the Weybourne book shop and arranging with John G to ship over a golf shirt when it had been embroidered, I caught the 3:30 train back to Sheringham. I wandered around town a bit before returning to The Lobster for a couple of pints of Strongbow and a dinner of prawns.
Tomorrow we leave Sheringham in the morning making our way back to Oxted via London as we near the end of our journey.
My mode of transportation from Sheringham to the Weybourne, halfway point of Holt Station on the North Norfolk Railway, was operating on a reduced timetable with the last train leaving at 3:45. If I missed that trip, it could mean a 5 1/2 mile walk back to Sheringham in addition to the 3 1/2 miles from Letheringsett back to Holt Station.
Getting up around 11:30, I took a look at the weather. It was starting to blow itself out and the threat of rain seemed less possible. So decided to chance the trip to Letheringsett. If I missed the return train from Holt Station, I could always catch the coasthopper bus. I was out the door and up to the NNR station for 12 o'clock - only to hear the whistle of the steam engine as it was departing Sheringham station. I looked to see when the next train was leaving - 13:30. So much for my pilgrimage to Letheringsett.
I had some books that I wanted to drop off at the Weybourne Station bookstore so, to pass the time, I went to the news stand and picked up 3 newspapers - all with 3 Sudoku puzzles in them - returning back to the station and sitting at a picnic table to pass the time. In the Norfolk News, there was a nice writeup with photographs of the arrival of the 1899 passenger coach at Holt Station and how it was going to be incorporated into their plans of revitalizing the NNR's education centre using a series of these old coaches.
Finally the train arrived - the same J15 0-6-0 that I had taken up to Weybourne shops the day before. Attached to this train were two dining-car coaches that were full of families celebrating Father's Day. Wwould this ever be a real treat for Father's Day, eh!? Travelling back-and-forth up-and-down the line while munching away on brunch and sipping tea and coffee for several hours. While the crowds poured out of the regular coaches, nobody was getting off these two coaches. They were going to enjoy their brunch!!
As I had some spare time on my hands, I offered to help him with the drilling but he was quite fatigued from his work of the day before. The day before (Saturday), he and Andy P. had been working hard at some point west of Weybourne jacking an old 1890s cattle wagon up off the ground and rolling it out so that a lorry could transport the wagon back to Weybourne sheds for restoration. They had started at 10 am in the morning and didn't finish until after 7:30.
Now this cattle wagon was not any ordinary cattle wagon that shipped cattle off to the meat packers. This one was used to transport prize bulls around to the different country fairs and to service the farms in between. The wagon had been taken out of service in the 1920s and had been used as a shed in someone's back yard all this time.
The objective for obtaining all of these wagons was to be able to put together a representative goods (freight) train that would have travelled down the original Midland & Great Northern Railway line around the turn of the century in 1900. With all of these coaches and wagons that had been purchased and converted into cottages, sheds, and garages, they were having quite a bit of luck in achieving their objective.
Having dropped off some books at the Weybourne book shop and arranging with John G to ship over a golf shirt when it had been embroidered, I caught the 3:30 train back to Sheringham. I wandered around town a bit before returning to The Lobster for a couple of pints of Strongbow and a dinner of prawns.
Tomorrow we leave Sheringham in the morning making our way back to Oxted via London as we near the end of our journey.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Last Day At Weybourne Shops
The wind was howling all night whistling up the steep red brick-tiled roof. The shore was being battered by high waves blowing in off the North Sea. I had to hang onto my "Cat" hat as I made my way down Cliff Road and over to the library to print off some sheets for my last trip to Letheringsett tomorrow (maybe!). Notwithstanding all of this wind, the sun was trying to peek out from amongst these dark clouds.
Coming in for the 10:30 train was J15 0-6-0 #65462, ex Great Eastern Railway #564, ex London & North Eastern Railway #5462 before the days of British Rail and built before the start of World War I in 1914 at their Stratford (London) Works. This loco is the pride and joy of the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway Society which is the largest shareholder in the operating railway known as the North Norfolk Railway Plc.
Over on the siding snuggling up against the string of dining cars was the Sheringham switcher #D2063.
I hopped on board the train and got off at Weybourne. Today would be my last day in the shops. Nigel and I had started drilling some 63/64" holes in the buffer beams to attach the buffers to the Wisbech & Upwell Carriage #7 leaving 8 holes to be drilled at the "Sheringham end" of the car. I thought I would try to finish off these holes before the end of the day using the magnet drill. This is a miniature drill-press-like drill that has an electro-magnet in the base which allows the drill press to be "clamped" to any part of a flat piece of steel - vertical, horizontal, upside-down, right-side-up. The problem was the exterior part of the buffer beam was a 6"x 18"x 12' long chunk of hardwood and, as you know, won't hold a magnet. So the first step was to clamp a 1"x 6"x 3' length of plate steel to the wooden beam. That part wasn't too bad as I was able to use a step-stool to hold this 50lb chunk of steel in place as I tightened the clamps. With the steel plate in place, I was now ready to align the magnet drill.
Holes had been previously drilled through the wooden beam. I now had to drill holes through the 1" steel plate. This involved cradling the magnet drill in one arm and aligning it with the already-drilled hole. At the same time, I had to reach down to the body of the drill press to press the yellow push-button that activated the magnet. Not exactly an easy task, eh!? Again, the step stool and some blocks of wood helped with the task.
Once the drill was set up, I first had to drill a pilot hole with a 1/2" drill bit through the 1" steel plate and then ream it out to 63/64" with a second drill bit. While it took a bit of time to drill each hole, by the end of the day I had the 8 holes drilled and the wooden buffer pads nicely fitted into place. .
In between holes, I would wander out into the yard to take one last look at things. It's when you look back into the yard and take a look at the shop buildings that you get a good sense of what has been accomplished by a bunch of dedicated volunteers over the past number of years. The NNR boasts a cadre of over 400 volunteers that operate all aspects of the railway - from running the trains to overhauling the locomotives. Naturally when you're running regularly scheduled trains, you need some employees on staff. But even with 55 employees, most of whom are part-timers, the railway is mostly run by volunteers, whether it's the guards (conductors), engine drivers (engineers), and firemen, or whether it's working in the buffets, the gift shops, or the book store. The NNR earned an impressive profit of £187, 310 on revenues of £1.5 million. For a volunteer operation, that's quite impressive!!
At the end of the day, #65462 was on it's last trip down to Sheringham.
Having said my goodbyes to Andre, Phil and the rest of the lads,
I made it back up the hill to Weybourne station to talk to John G and the rest of the crew in the M&GN Society book store about my M&GN golf shirt and to await the await the 4:30 train back to Sheringham.
In the meantime 65462 came steaming back up from Sheringham and into the yard for the evening.
Arriving back at Sheringham, I climbed the 257 metres from the bottom of Cliff Road to the B&B and 36 steps up to my room on the third floor. Then back down Cliff Road to the launderette to do one last load of laundry. Back up the 257 metres from the bottom of Cliff Road to the B&B and 36 steps up to my room. By this time, I figured I deserved a break.
Tomorrow if the weather's good, we'll do one last pilgrimage to Letheringsett.
Coming in for the 10:30 train was J15 0-6-0 #65462, ex Great Eastern Railway #564, ex London & North Eastern Railway #5462 before the days of British Rail and built before the start of World War I in 1914 at their Stratford (London) Works. This loco is the pride and joy of the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway Society which is the largest shareholder in the operating railway known as the North Norfolk Railway Plc.
Holes had been previously drilled through the wooden beam. I now had to drill holes through the 1" steel plate. This involved cradling the magnet drill in one arm and aligning it with the already-drilled hole. At the same time, I had to reach down to the body of the drill press to press the yellow push-button that activated the magnet. Not exactly an easy task, eh!? Again, the step stool and some blocks of wood helped with the task.
Once the drill was set up, I first had to drill a pilot hole with a 1/2" drill bit through the 1" steel plate and then ream it out to 63/64" with a second drill bit. While it took a bit of time to drill each hole, by the end of the day I had the 8 holes drilled and the wooden buffer pads nicely fitted into place. .
In the meantime 65462 came steaming back up from Sheringham and into the yard for the evening.
Tomorrow if the weather's good, we'll do one last pilgrimage to Letheringsett.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Thursday & Friday And Winding Down
As I enter the final days of trip to England, I've been cleaning up a few loose ends on the search for my family roots and saying goodbyes to the friends I've met on the North Norfolk Railway.
Thursday was spent needle-gunning some of the rust and crud out of the Mark 1 passenger coach that is undergoing major body repairs in the Carriage & Wagon Shops. The Holt-half of the coach has been stripped down to the steel underframe and back to the bare steel walls. The rusted steel was cut out of the toilet-end of the car and new steel was cut, fitted, and welded into place. Quite a job as there are compound curves on these cars so it's more than just tacking a sheet of flat steel to the steel studs. Steve had done quite a good welding job over the last weeks while I was here - a sculptor in steel. Next the lads went to town and stripped out the interior, starting to replace the window frames with "new" ones that were salvaged from a previously scrapped car. So, there I was on Thursday helping out with the finals of scraping the rust and crud from the steel frame and the side walls. To say it was a dirty job would be an understatement. I didn't recognize who I was when I stared into the mirror before taking my shower at the shops.
I was going to leave early but André asked me if I was going to stay for "fish and chips". Actually that's code for "Nigel of Scarlett will shortly be showing up and a few of the guys are going to hang around and do some restoration work on some of the old rolling stock. Would you like to stay?" After a couple of seconds of hesitation, I said "sure, why not", just as Nigel drove into the yard. The first order of the evening was to order the fish and chips and put the kettle on for some tea.
While Nigel went for the fish and chips, I bummed around the sheds looking at the locomotives under various stages of overhaul and repair. They are quite the shops they have at the North Norfolk. Everything you would need in the way of machinery - except they now need some heavy-duty jacks to lift a 50-ton steam locomotive so that they can replace the busted axle boxes. I'm sure they'll find something as these lads are extremely resourceful.
After devouring the fish and chips it was time to get down to some work. Nigel had "borrowed" the magnet drill press to drill some horizontal holes through some 1" steel plate on the 1884 Wisbech & Upwell Composite Tramcar No. 7. Sister car #8 went on to become a movie star in the early 1950s British movie "Titfield Thunderbolt".
Now, in case you don't know what a magnet drill press is, the base of the machine is an electo-magnet. Flick the switch and the drill press sticks to steel in whatever position you want it to be in - vertical, horizontal, upside-down, right-side-up - you decide. Except that it weighs about 40 lbs and is very awkward to place, especially when you want to drill some horizontal holes - which is what we wanted to do. And we were drilling first through a wood buffer beam and then through the steel - in which case electro-magnets aren't known for their magnetism on wood.
That problem was easily solved by clamping a big steel bar to the wooden buffer beam. It was then back-and-forth to the engineering shop to find the right size of drill, then to have André sharpen it, then to find a longer drill as we had run out of travel on the drill press. Next it was to find a "smaller" drill to drill a pilot hole. At last we were all set to go. After the first hole, things went smoothly and, in between a tea break at 8:30, we soon had all four holes drilled. Except that there are 8 more holes to be drilled at the other end of the coach. Maybe tomorrow. We'll see.
Friday (today) I wanted to clear up a few things on my research into the Moore family tree. I hadn't been able to find any records on the baptism of my great-great-grandparents, Stephen Moore and Sarah Page back in 1857 and 1860 respectively. It was by chance that these two dates straddled two register books. After going through the Letheringsett Parish Records microfilm and the Archdeacon's Register microfiche and not having any luck, I was able to order the original Parish Records from the archives. Normally, the original registers are not available to the public. As the dates I was researching fell between gaps in the registers, I was able to take a look at the originals.
It's one thing to look at parish records on microfilm. But it is really something else to look at the original registers. The pages of these books are vellum - calf skin that has been scraped thin, treated, dried, and cut into pages. It is a very durable material that will last for centuries. The ink on the pages had dried to a very, very dark reddish brown and the vellum had darkened a bit. In spite of this, each entry was very legible and easy to read. In my opinion, the registers need to be recopied using modern scanning techniques to do justice to these works of art.
While I was able to browse through the pages of these works of art, I wasn't able to find any record of their baptisms. Marriages - yes. Baptisms of their children - yes. The death of Stephen Moore - yes. The death of Sarah Page -yes. But no baptisms.
The entry for the death of Stephen Moore was something else to behold! The microfilming process for this record had "translated" the brownish pigment of the vellum into illegible blotches. The actual register was extremely clear and legible. It was utterly fantastic to be viewing this record of my great-great-great grandfather.
So, not having any luck, I made my way back to the Norwich train station and caught the 4:45 train back to Sheringham. We're back at the Weybourne shops for one last trip tomorrow and back down to Letheringsett on Sunday before we move down to Oxted for Monday. Monday evening, I'm having dinner at 1 Welcome Cottage in Woldingham - the place where my mother lived as a little girl until just before she (and I) moved to Canada.
Thursday was spent needle-gunning some of the rust and crud out of the Mark 1 passenger coach that is undergoing major body repairs in the Carriage & Wagon Shops. The Holt-half of the coach has been stripped down to the steel underframe and back to the bare steel walls. The rusted steel was cut out of the toilet-end of the car and new steel was cut, fitted, and welded into place. Quite a job as there are compound curves on these cars so it's more than just tacking a sheet of flat steel to the steel studs. Steve had done quite a good welding job over the last weeks while I was here - a sculptor in steel. Next the lads went to town and stripped out the interior, starting to replace the window frames with "new" ones that were salvaged from a previously scrapped car. So, there I was on Thursday helping out with the finals of scraping the rust and crud from the steel frame and the side walls. To say it was a dirty job would be an understatement. I didn't recognize who I was when I stared into the mirror before taking my shower at the shops.
I was going to leave early but André asked me if I was going to stay for "fish and chips". Actually that's code for "Nigel of Scarlett will shortly be showing up and a few of the guys are going to hang around and do some restoration work on some of the old rolling stock. Would you like to stay?" After a couple of seconds of hesitation, I said "sure, why not", just as Nigel drove into the yard. The first order of the evening was to order the fish and chips and put the kettle on for some tea.
While Nigel went for the fish and chips, I bummed around the sheds looking at the locomotives under various stages of overhaul and repair. They are quite the shops they have at the North Norfolk. Everything you would need in the way of machinery - except they now need some heavy-duty jacks to lift a 50-ton steam locomotive so that they can replace the busted axle boxes. I'm sure they'll find something as these lads are extremely resourceful.
After devouring the fish and chips it was time to get down to some work. Nigel had "borrowed" the magnet drill press to drill some horizontal holes through some 1" steel plate on the 1884 Wisbech & Upwell Composite Tramcar No. 7. Sister car #8 went on to become a movie star in the early 1950s British movie "Titfield Thunderbolt".
Now, in case you don't know what a magnet drill press is, the base of the machine is an electo-magnet. Flick the switch and the drill press sticks to steel in whatever position you want it to be in - vertical, horizontal, upside-down, right-side-up - you decide. Except that it weighs about 40 lbs and is very awkward to place, especially when you want to drill some horizontal holes - which is what we wanted to do. And we were drilling first through a wood buffer beam and then through the steel - in which case electro-magnets aren't known for their magnetism on wood.
That problem was easily solved by clamping a big steel bar to the wooden buffer beam. It was then back-and-forth to the engineering shop to find the right size of drill, then to have André sharpen it, then to find a longer drill as we had run out of travel on the drill press. Next it was to find a "smaller" drill to drill a pilot hole. At last we were all set to go. After the first hole, things went smoothly and, in between a tea break at 8:30, we soon had all four holes drilled. Except that there are 8 more holes to be drilled at the other end of the coach. Maybe tomorrow. We'll see.
Friday (today) I wanted to clear up a few things on my research into the Moore family tree. I hadn't been able to find any records on the baptism of my great-great-grandparents, Stephen Moore and Sarah Page back in 1857 and 1860 respectively. It was by chance that these two dates straddled two register books. After going through the Letheringsett Parish Records microfilm and the Archdeacon's Register microfiche and not having any luck, I was able to order the original Parish Records from the archives. Normally, the original registers are not available to the public. As the dates I was researching fell between gaps in the registers, I was able to take a look at the originals.
It's one thing to look at parish records on microfilm. But it is really something else to look at the original registers. The pages of these books are vellum - calf skin that has been scraped thin, treated, dried, and cut into pages. It is a very durable material that will last for centuries. The ink on the pages had dried to a very, very dark reddish brown and the vellum had darkened a bit. In spite of this, each entry was very legible and easy to read. In my opinion, the registers need to be recopied using modern scanning techniques to do justice to these works of art.
While I was able to browse through the pages of these works of art, I wasn't able to find any record of their baptisms. Marriages - yes. Baptisms of their children - yes. The death of Stephen Moore - yes. The death of Sarah Page -yes. But no baptisms.
The entry for the death of Stephen Moore was something else to behold! The microfilming process for this record had "translated" the brownish pigment of the vellum into illegible blotches. The actual register was extremely clear and legible. It was utterly fantastic to be viewing this record of my great-great-great grandfather.
So, not having any luck, I made my way back to the Norwich train station and caught the 4:45 train back to Sheringham. We're back at the Weybourne shops for one last trip tomorrow and back down to Letheringsett on Sunday before we move down to Oxted for Monday. Monday evening, I'm having dinner at 1 Welcome Cottage in Woldingham - the place where my mother lived as a little girl until just before she (and I) moved to Canada.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
The Hard Life of Henry Taylor & Hannah Speight
My trip to York and Knaresborough was to learn a bit more about my great-great grandparents, Henry Taylor and Hannah Speight, and my great-grandfather Samuel Taylor. My father had done some research on the Taylor family in the 1970s. At that time, he garnered a lot of information from his sisters and an aunt. However, on his trips to England, he couldn't get his research back into the early 1800s. And he had a few gaps of his relatives who remained behind in England. You have to remember his research was in the days before the Internet when one had to visit record offices and go through pages and pages of indexes before stumbling across relevant records. So last night, I decided to do some research on census records from 1841 to 1891 on the Internet. Combining this with the information my father gleaned a few decades ago, here's the story of Henry Taylor and Hannah Speight and the tough life they had.
Census records can reveal a lot about the family tree from the names of the children and the year when they were born to what happened to them in between censuses. Combine this with other information and you can solve a few mysteries. Or create a lot more!
Henry Taylor & Hannah Speight
Henry Taylor was born in Knaresborough, Yorkshire County about 1811, although the census records indicate varying dates. He lived in the Knaresborough, Harrogate, and Leeds area throughout his life. He married Hannah Speight (born about 1813) some time around 1835-36. The actual date of their marriage is not known at this point in time although it would have been around this time as the 1841 census shows their eldest child as being 4 years old. To determine the exact date will require searching parish records.
My father, in collaboration with his sister, Dorothy Ross (nee Moore), had discovered the names of the children from various sources but without any birth dates. From census records last night I was able to determine the approximate year they were born ("born abt..."). So you see how census records are an invaluable tool when researching family roots - if you can find the census records. And therein lies the challenge as you will see.
Again, new mysteries as two of the children don't appear on any of the census records and one child only appears once. Possibly they died as infants or young children which was common in those days. Anyhow, the children of Henry and Hannah Taylor were:
Remember this was in the centuries before birth control and "The Pill" when the first child came within the first nine months of marriage and subsequent children were born within the next 18-24 months.
Wife Hannah died in 1861 at age 48, possibly from complications while giving birth to youngest daughter Amelia Louisa who was only a year old at the time of the 1861 census. This was an old age to be bearing children. Even today it can be life-threatening for a woman of that age to be pregnant.
Following Henry & Hannah On The Census Records
While the first census in England was taken in 1831, this census only listed the number of people in a village, parish or district. Names were first recorded on the 1841 census but didn't include the place of birth. The place of birth is a great help when researching the family roots. This census shows the family living on Church Lane in Knaresborough. Here's the 1841 census:
The next census, 1851, shows them living at 2 Regent Parade in
Bilton-With-Harrogate which is next door to Knaresborough. Henry's
occupation is shown as agricultural labourer.
The 1861 census next shows the family living at 5 Horner St in Hunslet which is a suburb of Leeds. Wife Hannah had died earlier that year on March 12, 1861 at the age of 48. Somehow, my father found a copy of a memoriam card which indicates her death.
Henry, then employed as an iron foundry labourer, now had the full responsibility of rearing the six children who were still living at home. Daughter Sarah Ann was not listed with the 1861 census record so she would probably have been married by this time (she would have been 23 years old). The 1861 census shows the three older boys, John 20, Samuel 16, and Alfred 14, employed as iron tool maker, foundry labourer, and cloth dresser respectively. The three younger daughters, Emma 12, Elisabeth 6, and Louisa Amelia 1, were still youngsters. Here's the 1861 census.
Trying to find Henry on the 1871 census was a bit tricky. So we searched on the two younger children, Elisabeth and Louisa Amelia. No luck with the Elisabeth search but we hit paydirt with Louisa. The 1871 census shows Henry Taylor, widower, living in lodgings as a boarder with 11-year old daughter, Louisa Amelia, at 2 Spring Street, East Leeds in the ecclesiastical district of All Saints and working as a coal loader. Presumably the three boys and daughter Emma had married and moved out. We don’t know what had happened to Elisabeth who would now be 16 years of age. Life continued to be very hard for Henry Taylor in the 10 intervening years after his wife's death.
The 1881 census shows Henry Taylor, widower, living as a boarder at 3 Balm Green as a corn comb maker. The head of the household is an Ann Stringer, widow, with her 24-year old son, John, who is occupied in the same profession as a corn table scale presser. One can only guess what this industy was. Perhaps a job in the spinning mills of Leeds. And we can only speculate as to the relationship between the widow Stringer and the Widower Taylor!!
We lose track of Henry Taylor in the 1891 census. There are several “Henry Taylors” listed but there isn’t enough evidence to conclude that he is my great-great grandfather. On one census there's a Henry Taylor, retired, who is living in the dreaded poor house. Or, he may have died in the intervening years.
Our next step will be to try and search the birth, marriage, and death records. Normally, as a start, this would be done online at the FreeReg.org.uk. website which is where I was able to do my research on the Moore family in Letheringsett. This made things easier when I visited the Norfolk Archives over the past few weeks. In the case of the Taylors, the information hasn't yet been transcribed and uploaded to the website. So, this is going to require a visit to the county records office. But that will be for another trip to England.
Census records can reveal a lot about the family tree from the names of the children and the year when they were born to what happened to them in between censuses. Combine this with other information and you can solve a few mysteries. Or create a lot more!
Henry Taylor & Hannah Speight
Henry Taylor was born in Knaresborough, Yorkshire County about 1811, although the census records indicate varying dates. He lived in the Knaresborough, Harrogate, and Leeds area throughout his life. He married Hannah Speight (born about 1813) some time around 1835-36. The actual date of their marriage is not known at this point in time although it would have been around this time as the 1841 census shows their eldest child as being 4 years old. To determine the exact date will require searching parish records.
My father, in collaboration with his sister, Dorothy Ross (nee Moore), had discovered the names of the children from various sources but without any birth dates. From census records last night I was able to determine the approximate year they were born ("born abt..."). So you see how census records are an invaluable tool when researching family roots - if you can find the census records. And therein lies the challenge as you will see.
Again, new mysteries as two of the children don't appear on any of the census records and one child only appears once. Possibly they died as infants or young children which was common in those days. Anyhow, the children of Henry and Hannah Taylor were:
- Jane (born abt 1837. Shown on 1841 census. Not shown on 1851, 1861 census. Died as a young child?)
- Sarah Ann (born abt 1839)
- John (born abt 1840)
- Samuel (born abt 1845)
- Alfred (born abt 1847)
- Emma (born abt 1849)
- Elisabeth (born abt 1855)
- Amelia Louisa (born abt 1860)
- William (died in child birth? Not shown on 1841, 1851, 1861 census)
- Rachel (died in child birth? Not shown on 1841, 1851, 1861 census)
Remember this was in the centuries before birth control and "The Pill" when the first child came within the first nine months of marriage and subsequent children were born within the next 18-24 months.
- When we examine the frequency of child birth, there are gaps between 1840-1845, 1849-1855, and 1855-1860.
- Census records don’t show William or Rachel. These children may have been born in these gaps but died at birth or as infants.
- Other children may have been born but they too may have died as infants.
- Child Jane is shown on the 1841 census but does not appear on the 1851 census. She may have died between these two time periods.
Following Henry & Hannah On The Census Records
While the first census in England was taken in 1831, this census only listed the number of people in a village, parish or district. Names were first recorded on the 1841 census but didn't include the place of birth. The place of birth is a great help when researching the family roots. This census shows the family living on Church Lane in Knaresborough. Here's the 1841 census:
The 1861 census next shows the family living at 5 Horner St in Hunslet which is a suburb of Leeds. Wife Hannah had died earlier that year on March 12, 1861 at the age of 48. Somehow, my father found a copy of a memoriam card which indicates her death.
Henry, then employed as an iron foundry labourer, now had the full responsibility of rearing the six children who were still living at home. Daughter Sarah Ann was not listed with the 1861 census record so she would probably have been married by this time (she would have been 23 years old). The 1861 census shows the three older boys, John 20, Samuel 16, and Alfred 14, employed as iron tool maker, foundry labourer, and cloth dresser respectively. The three younger daughters, Emma 12, Elisabeth 6, and Louisa Amelia 1, were still youngsters. Here's the 1861 census.
Our next step will be to try and search the birth, marriage, and death records. Normally, as a start, this would be done online at the FreeReg.org.uk. website which is where I was able to do my research on the Moore family in Letheringsett. This made things easier when I visited the Norfolk Archives over the past few weeks. In the case of the Taylors, the information hasn't yet been transcribed and uploaded to the website. So, this is going to require a visit to the county records office. But that will be for another trip to England.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Back To Sheringham From York Via Peterborough and Norwich
I was down for breakfast by 7:45, set up my baby laptop, answered my e-mail and did a bit of research on my Ancestry.co.uk website. I was out of the B&B for 9:30 and walked across the railway bridge towards the National Railway Museum for their 10 am opening. The canal boats were moored alongside the river as the occupants were just getting up.
While we think it was the railways that started the industrial revolution, it was the narrow shipping canals that criss-crossed the English countryside that spurred large-scale industrial development and propelled England into commercial prominence. While little used for commerical purposes today, the canals are dominated by pleasure craft. Unique amongst these craft are the old canal boats that have been converted into travelling cottages. One weekend you might be in Peterborough, the next weekend in York. Several weekends from now you could be in Stratford-Upon-Avon. You can travel from one end of England to the other via the canals.
Entering the NRM, it was down to the gift shops to buy a few prezzies. As the doors opened, school kids from all over were rushing into the Great Hall.
Then it was over to the train station to catch the 10:28 train to Peterborough and London Kings Cross (I got off at Peterborough). Arriving in Peterborough, I had a 45 minute wait to catch the 12:48 train to Norwich. The two-hour trip went leisurely by as I started to compose this blog, getting philosophical at times.
Between Peterborough and Ely, the land is as flat as a pancake with small knolls off in the distance populated by small villages. Drainage ditches mark the boundaries of the large farm fields. Every so often the railway line crosses large drainage canals that are 15-20’ above the fields. These canals were built centuries ago to take the land from the swamps. The thick rich black soil has been deeply tilled.
While sugar beet and barley are the dominant crops, periodically there were acres of field tomatoes and other market garden crops. Out in the field, large irrigation machines water the crops with water taken from the nearby canals. Cows, sheep, hogs and horses dot the landscape from time to time. Sugar beet dominates the fields in the same way that corn dominates back home. Whereas HFCS corn syrup is the major sweetener used in North America, the sugar beet has dominated the English sweet tooth since the 1930s. Alongside the drainage ditches and old shipping canals, anglers cast their lines into the water.
As we travlled from Ely to Thetford, the landscape changed once again. Instead of the flat-as-a-pancake fields, the countryside started to roll until we were back into the hilly country at the bottom edge of North Norfolk. The fields were lined with trees. Periodically we passed bush lots dominated by planted pine trees. In the same way that spruce dominates the building market in Canada, the knotty pine dominates the market in England.
Back in the late 1700s, the forests along the North Sea coast of Norfolk had been clear-cut to provide wood for the expansion of the Royal Navy. It was Thomas Cozens-Hardy of Letheringsett (the same person that my great-great-great grandfather worked for) who started to replant the trees on his barren estate. In 30 years he could boast that he had planted a million trees - fifty acres a year of ash, oak and other hardwoods. Today you wouldn’t know that this land had once been barren.
Throughout the trip back to Norwich and Sheringham, the shone shone brightly with only a few wisps of couds in the air.
Tomorrow we’re back at the carriage and wagon shops of the North Norfolk Railway in Weybourne.
Entering the NRM, it was down to the gift shops to buy a few prezzies. As the doors opened, school kids from all over were rushing into the Great Hall.
Between Peterborough and Ely, the land is as flat as a pancake with small knolls off in the distance populated by small villages. Drainage ditches mark the boundaries of the large farm fields. Every so often the railway line crosses large drainage canals that are 15-20’ above the fields. These canals were built centuries ago to take the land from the swamps. The thick rich black soil has been deeply tilled.
As we travlled from Ely to Thetford, the landscape changed once again. Instead of the flat-as-a-pancake fields, the countryside started to roll until we were back into the hilly country at the bottom edge of North Norfolk. The fields were lined with trees. Periodically we passed bush lots dominated by planted pine trees. In the same way that spruce dominates the building market in Canada, the knotty pine dominates the market in England.
Throughout the trip back to Norwich and Sheringham, the shone shone brightly with only a few wisps of couds in the air.
Tomorrow we’re back at the carriage and wagon shops of the North Norfolk Railway in Weybourne.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
A Trip To Knaresborough To Visit The Taylor Branch Of The Family
Bicknells, Moores, Taylors, and I haven't even gotten into the Peters, Creasys, or the real juicy story of Lydia Marden who was both a Peters AND a Bicknell.
So to put it into persepctive, my father is William Robert Moore, so that makes me a Moore - Robert Anthony Moore. His mother (my grandmother) was born Phyllis Taylor. Her father (my great grandfather) was Samuel Taylor who was born in Knaresborough which is a small town on the River Nidd about 50 miles from York
So today we took the train from York to Knaresoborough to see if we could locate the area where he was born. Trains run hourly from York to Knaresborough so there wasn't any huge rush to run down to the train station to catch a train. On arriving in Knaresborough it was a steep climb up Kingsgate Hill to the market square and the tourist information centre to orient my bearings. My father had done previous research into the Taylor end of the family in the mid 1970s and had traced the roots from Knaresborough into Leeds where he lost the scent.
Samuel Taylor was born on Park Row Knaresborough on February 10, 1843 to Henry Taylor and Hannah Speight. Not much more was known about Henry or Hannah as my father didn't have the Internet like I have at my fingertips today. His research was looking at the original parish records, some of which have been recorded on the Internet (like the Moore family in Letheringsett), or else he was looking at microfilm. It was only in the 1970s that microfilming of parish records, newspapers, and other key documents was being carried out on any scale. And, as I have found out, the quality of that micro-filming was not the best at times.
After picking up some maps of Knaresborough and orienting myself, I quickly discovered that Park Row was just around the corner. Sure enough, a 10 minute walk and I was going down the hill towards the short stretch of road called Park Row. Only one problem. It had much changed. Was he born in one of these residences?
Or these ones?
Or was he born in a residence that had been torn down long ago and was now a parking lot, a park, or a garden? They probably got their water from the well that's on the right in the photo collage below.
Hard to tell.
I really hadn't done much preparatory research before I came so I decided to find myself a coffee shop or pub with Wi-Fi Internet access and see if I could do some on-line access before I left Knaresborough.
Finding the So-Cafe, I quickly logged onto the FreeReg website and plugged in my search parameters - Yorkshire County, Knares.......... Whoa! There was no Knaresborough Parish. You see, the key to searching birth, baptismal, marriage, and death records are the Parish Records. Over the years since the beginning of the Internet, volunteers have sat down in front of microfilm and transcribed the information into their laptops which has then been uploaded onto the FreeReg website. Which makes searching these records kind of easy.
Except that nobody had gotten around to transcribing the BMD records for Knaresborough Parish. I tried a search for all of Yorkshire County but no luck.
Not to be discouraged, I then went to my Ancestry.co.uk website and did some searches on the 1841, 1851, 1861 and 1871 census records.
Bingo! Paydirt!
Only problem was that Henry and his son Samuel had long moved from Knaresborough to other parts of Yorkshire. So, me being in Knaresborough wasn't going to do me any good. Still, it was a good visit as I wandered around the rest of the town and down to the river which is at the foot of the castle (How'd you like to be Oliver Cromwell's roundheads scaling those cliffs, eh!? (I couldn't get a full shot of the cliffs but you get the idea.)
While it was an easy descent down the steps from the top of the hill to the bottom by the river, it was another story when it came to climbing back up those 177 steps to the train station. To give you an idea of the ascent, here's a photo taken at water-level towards that beautiful cut-stone railway bridge across the River Nidd. Near the top-right corner of the photo below, you can just see the upward angle of a brick wall. The steps are behind that brick wall and there's a couple more flights of steps above the wall.
So it was back to York and another tour of the National Railway Museum before supper. Tomorrow we're trekking back to Sheringham and the last part of our voyage before we return back to Canada.
So to put it into persepctive, my father is William Robert Moore, so that makes me a Moore - Robert Anthony Moore. His mother (my grandmother) was born Phyllis Taylor. Her father (my great grandfather) was Samuel Taylor who was born in Knaresborough which is a small town on the River Nidd about 50 miles from York
Samuel Taylor was born on Park Row Knaresborough on February 10, 1843 to Henry Taylor and Hannah Speight. Not much more was known about Henry or Hannah as my father didn't have the Internet like I have at my fingertips today. His research was looking at the original parish records, some of which have been recorded on the Internet (like the Moore family in Letheringsett), or else he was looking at microfilm. It was only in the 1970s that microfilming of parish records, newspapers, and other key documents was being carried out on any scale. And, as I have found out, the quality of that micro-filming was not the best at times.
After picking up some maps of Knaresborough and orienting myself, I quickly discovered that Park Row was just around the corner. Sure enough, a 10 minute walk and I was going down the hill towards the short stretch of road called Park Row. Only one problem. It had much changed. Was he born in one of these residences?
Or was he born in a residence that had been torn down long ago and was now a parking lot, a park, or a garden? They probably got their water from the well that's on the right in the photo collage below.
I really hadn't done much preparatory research before I came so I decided to find myself a coffee shop or pub with Wi-Fi Internet access and see if I could do some on-line access before I left Knaresborough.
Finding the So-Cafe, I quickly logged onto the FreeReg website and plugged in my search parameters - Yorkshire County, Knares.......... Whoa! There was no Knaresborough Parish. You see, the key to searching birth, baptismal, marriage, and death records are the Parish Records. Over the years since the beginning of the Internet, volunteers have sat down in front of microfilm and transcribed the information into their laptops which has then been uploaded onto the FreeReg website. Which makes searching these records kind of easy.
Except that nobody had gotten around to transcribing the BMD records for Knaresborough Parish. I tried a search for all of Yorkshire County but no luck.
Not to be discouraged, I then went to my Ancestry.co.uk website and did some searches on the 1841, 1851, 1861 and 1871 census records.
Bingo! Paydirt!
A Brief History Of The Moore Family In Letheringsett
The history of the Moore family in Letheringsett consists of 3 generations (and possibly more) that are known to me.
Edmund Moore - Son of Matthew Moore and Elizabeth Barber Gidney
Edmund Moore, my great grandfather, was born in Letheringsett and moved to London England in 1858. I have a copy of his baptismal certificate from the microfilmed Letheringsett Parish Records at the Norfolk Archives in Norwich. He died in London
Matthew Moore - Son of Stephen Moore & Sarah Page
His father and mother were Matthew Moore (1792 - 1852) and Elizabeth Barber Moore(nee Gidney) (1799 - ????). I have copies of Matthew Moore's baptismal, banns and marriage records - all from the Letheringsett Parish Records. His death is recorded in the Parish Records. Matthew Moore is buried in Letheringsett
Elizabeth Barber Gidney - Daughter of John Gidney & Ann Barber
Elizabeth Barber Gidney was the wife of Matthew Moore and mother of Edmund Moore. I have copies of her baptismal, banns and marriage records - all from the Letheringsett Parish Records. On the death of her husband, Matthew Moore, she moved to London to live with her son, Edmund. I don't know when or where she died or is buried.
Stephen Moore - Father of Matthew Moore; Husband of Sarah Page
Stephen Moore was born around 1758 and died 01 November 1804. I can't find any records of his baptism, including baptisms in the surrounding parishes. He married Sarah Page 23 September 1787 at St Andrew's Letheringsett. His death is recorded in the Letheringsett Parish Records. I have copies of his burial, his marriage to Sarah Page, and their bans. He is buried in St Andrew's Church grave yard.
Sarah Page - Wife of Stephen Moore, Mother of Matthew Moore
Sarah Page was born around 1758. I can't find her baptism in the Letheringsett Parish Records nor in the records of the surrounding parishes. Baptisms of Pages are recorded in the Thornage Parish Records but no mention is made of a Sarah Page. I have copies of her banns and marriage records. Her burial is recorded in the Parish Records. She died 01 June 1836 and is buried in St Andrew's Church grave yard.
Children of Matthew Moore & Elizabeth Barber Gidney Buried In St Andrew's Grave Yard
The following infant children of Matthew Moore and Elizabeth Barber Gidney were buried in St Andrew's grave yard:
Child of Stephen Moore & Sarah Page Buried In St Andrew's Grave Yard
The following child of Stephen Moore & Sarah Page were buried in St Andrew's grave yard:
When I tromped around the graveyard that surrounds St Andrew's church, I couldn't find any gravestones. Given the financial circumstances of the family, it is highly unlikely that they could afford gravestones.
Edmund Moore - Son of Matthew Moore and Elizabeth Barber Gidney
Edmund Moore, my great grandfather, was born in Letheringsett and moved to London England in 1858. I have a copy of his baptismal certificate from the microfilmed Letheringsett Parish Records at the Norfolk Archives in Norwich. He died in London
Matthew Moore - Son of Stephen Moore & Sarah Page
His father and mother were Matthew Moore (1792 - 1852) and Elizabeth Barber Moore(nee Gidney) (1799 - ????). I have copies of Matthew Moore's baptismal, banns and marriage records - all from the Letheringsett Parish Records. His death is recorded in the Parish Records. Matthew Moore is buried in Letheringsett
Elizabeth Barber Gidney - Daughter of John Gidney & Ann Barber
Elizabeth Barber Gidney was the wife of Matthew Moore and mother of Edmund Moore. I have copies of her baptismal, banns and marriage records - all from the Letheringsett Parish Records. On the death of her husband, Matthew Moore, she moved to London to live with her son, Edmund. I don't know when or where she died or is buried.
Stephen Moore - Father of Matthew Moore; Husband of Sarah Page
Stephen Moore was born around 1758 and died 01 November 1804. I can't find any records of his baptism, including baptisms in the surrounding parishes. He married Sarah Page 23 September 1787 at St Andrew's Letheringsett. His death is recorded in the Letheringsett Parish Records. I have copies of his burial, his marriage to Sarah Page, and their bans. He is buried in St Andrew's Church grave yard.
Sarah Page was born around 1758. I can't find her baptism in the Letheringsett Parish Records nor in the records of the surrounding parishes. Baptisms of Pages are recorded in the Thornage Parish Records but no mention is made of a Sarah Page. I have copies of her banns and marriage records. Her burial is recorded in the Parish Records. She died 01 June 1836 and is buried in St Andrew's Church grave yard.
The following infant children of Matthew Moore and Elizabeth Barber Gidney were buried in St Andrew's grave yard:
- Hannah Moore Born & Baptized Private 17 November 1830, Buried 21 November 1830
- Elizabeth Moore Born & Baptized 07 August 1841; Buried 27 June 1852
Child of Stephen Moore & Sarah Page Buried In St Andrew's Grave Yard
The following child of Stephen Moore & Sarah Page were buried in St Andrew's grave yard:
- Sarah Moore Born 23 May 1790; Buried 25 July 1803
When I tromped around the graveyard that surrounds St Andrew's church, I couldn't find any gravestones. Given the financial circumstances of the family, it is highly unlikely that they could afford gravestones.
Monday, June 14, 2010
The Trains Run On Time! National Railway Museum At York
I was up for 7:45, a leisurely breakfast and down to the National Express East Anglia's Sheringham train station in time to catch the 9:45 to Norwich. Off the train at 10:35 and across the platform for the 10:47 train to Peterborough via Ely. Off the train at Platform 5 in Peterborough for 12:15 with a bit of a wait for the 12:47 to York. We got behind a slower train which meant we were 12 minutes late in arriving in York at 14:07 instead of 13:55. Trains do run on time in England. The connections are timed almost to the minute.
Today we were travelling from Sheringham via Norwich and Peterborough to York. Our purpose was two-fold - to visit the National Railway Museum, the largest railway museum in the world; and to take a trip to Knaresborough to try to find the birthplace of my great-great grandfather, Samuel Taylor.
Just in case you just got lost with all of the family connections, we've been chasing our roots on my father's side of the family (the Moore side) in the Sheringham/ Letheringsett area. And we were down in Oxted and Woldingham to chase the roots on my mother's side of the family (the Bicknells and Peters). And now we're in York to chase my father's side of the family but on the Taylor side - my father's mother (my grandmother) who was born a Taylor). We'll visit Knaresborough tomorrow to see if we can find where Samuel Taylor was born.
In the meantime, on the final leg of the trip up from Peterborough, I was getting kind of peckish just as the tea trolley came through on the train. I had no sooner got a sandwich and a cup of tea when the announcement was made that we were 12 minutes from our destination of York. I quickly wolfed down the sandwich (not good) but saved my tea until I got off of the train. I managed to get off the train with my carry bag, laptop and cup of tea where I sat down at a bench on the station platform to drink the tea.
I removed the plastic lid and swung it away so that I could put the cup to my lips. Only I forgot that the teabag was attached to the lid. Swoosh!!! A cup of tea all over my shirt, pants and me. Soaked to the skin. So much for the cup of tea.
I made my way out of the York station and quickly remembered my way across the train bridge (there's a footpath alongside the bridge) and up the street to the Tree Tops B&B. Checking in and leaving my stuff in my room, I made my way back to the train station, across the pedestrian bridge to the west side of the train station and into the National Railway Museum.
The Museum is comprised of two major parts - the Station Hall and the Great Hall. Actually, the Station Hall is really the goods hall (what we would call the "freight shed), where lwl (less-than-wagon-load) parcels were received/ unloaded/ trans-shipped into goods wagons (freight cars) to be shipped to other destinations throughout the railway network. With 6 tracks right into the middle of the building, it resembles an olde-time railway station complete with the smells of stale grease, steam, coal, and 1920's music playing in the background. It's also where one of the Museum's restaurants is located - right on a station platform in the middle of the royal coaches that transported the kings and queens of England.
Except that this building was never a railway station that the public ever saw. It was a place where parcels and freight was sorted and loaded onto freight cars (goods wagons). So after a "fizzy drink" and some goodies, it was time to explore the Station Hall.
In addition to the royal coaches, the Hall has two tracks of the different goods wagons that saw service on British railways. Plus two beautiful steam locomotives that shone.
That was in addition to a number of static and audio-visual displays. I particularly liked the 1955 movie clip of the voyage of a gondola through the repair shop. Hard to believe that these kinds of wood and steel wagons were still running in large numbers on British rails.
From the Station Hall we moved through the main gift shop over to the Great Hall. The hall is built around a 24-stall turntable that still works. This allows the Museum to stack over 3 dozen locomotives into the hall. The hall was originally the shop where steam locomotives were serviced. The turntable still works. From time-to-time, the locomotives are moved around or replaced with other locos. Here's a 300-degree panormic view that I stitched together from a series of photos.
I also made a short 360-degree video which I'll upload as soon as I figure out how to do it. As you can see, the Great Hall is appropriately named.
At 4:10 there was a presentation on how a steam locomotive works. While it's old-hat to me, it never ceases to amaze me how the Museum has cut into the side of a steam locomotive to lay bare the inner workings of the machine. It's hard to believe that all of these complex parts came together to make an iron monster like this move at such speeds pulling such large tonnage.
The Museum has a separate store for those afficionados of Thomas The Train ranging all the way from the wooden railway to the books and videos, clothing, hats, shoes, and puzzles.
The rest of the time I spent browsing the different locomotives, reading the plaques and re-orienting myself to the specific items I may want to look at tomorrow.
As the Museum closes at 6:00, I then made my way through the downtown and over to The Shambles. This is a narrow street that has been unchanged in over 500 years. One could even reach out of the upper windows and jump across to the neighbour across the street. (More about The Shambles tomorrow.)
From there, the York Minster is just around the corner. By this time it was getting past 7:00 so I picked up a small pizza and made my way back to the B&B without getting lost along the way.
Tomorrow is another day as we make our way to Knaresborough and back to the National Railway Museum.
Today we were travelling from Sheringham via Norwich and Peterborough to York. Our purpose was two-fold - to visit the National Railway Museum, the largest railway museum in the world; and to take a trip to Knaresborough to try to find the birthplace of my great-great grandfather, Samuel Taylor.
Just in case you just got lost with all of the family connections, we've been chasing our roots on my father's side of the family (the Moore side) in the Sheringham/ Letheringsett area. And we were down in Oxted and Woldingham to chase the roots on my mother's side of the family (the Bicknells and Peters). And now we're in York to chase my father's side of the family but on the Taylor side - my father's mother (my grandmother) who was born a Taylor). We'll visit Knaresborough tomorrow to see if we can find where Samuel Taylor was born.
In the meantime, on the final leg of the trip up from Peterborough, I was getting kind of peckish just as the tea trolley came through on the train. I had no sooner got a sandwich and a cup of tea when the announcement was made that we were 12 minutes from our destination of York. I quickly wolfed down the sandwich (not good) but saved my tea until I got off of the train. I managed to get off the train with my carry bag, laptop and cup of tea where I sat down at a bench on the station platform to drink the tea.
I made my way out of the York station and quickly remembered my way across the train bridge (there's a footpath alongside the bridge) and up the street to the Tree Tops B&B. Checking in and leaving my stuff in my room, I made my way back to the train station, across the pedestrian bridge to the west side of the train station and into the National Railway Museum.
The Museum is comprised of two major parts - the Station Hall and the Great Hall. Actually, the Station Hall is really the goods hall (what we would call the "freight shed), where lwl (less-than-wagon-load) parcels were received/ unloaded/ trans-shipped into goods wagons (freight cars) to be shipped to other destinations throughout the railway network. With 6 tracks right into the middle of the building, it resembles an olde-time railway station complete with the smells of stale grease, steam, coal, and 1920's music playing in the background. It's also where one of the Museum's restaurants is located - right on a station platform in the middle of the royal coaches that transported the kings and queens of England.
In addition to the royal coaches, the Hall has two tracks of the different goods wagons that saw service on British railways. Plus two beautiful steam locomotives that shone.
From the Station Hall we moved through the main gift shop over to the Great Hall. The hall is built around a 24-stall turntable that still works. This allows the Museum to stack over 3 dozen locomotives into the hall. The hall was originally the shop where steam locomotives were serviced. The turntable still works. From time-to-time, the locomotives are moved around or replaced with other locos. Here's a 300-degree panormic view that I stitched together from a series of photos.
At 4:10 there was a presentation on how a steam locomotive works. While it's old-hat to me, it never ceases to amaze me how the Museum has cut into the side of a steam locomotive to lay bare the inner workings of the machine. It's hard to believe that all of these complex parts came together to make an iron monster like this move at such speeds pulling such large tonnage.
As the Museum closes at 6:00, I then made my way through the downtown and over to The Shambles. This is a narrow street that has been unchanged in over 500 years. One could even reach out of the upper windows and jump across to the neighbour across the street. (More about The Shambles tomorrow.)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Another Pilgrimage to Letheringsett & More Good Luck!
In England, old passenger coaches never die. They end up as garden sheds, garages, or cottages. As passenger coaches were being replaced, you could buy a passenger coach (without the wheels) for £10-£20, including delivery. All over England there are hundreds of these old passenger coaches which are of major interest to the steam preservation movement. The heritage part of the North Norfolk Railway had one of these old coaches delivered to Holt Station. It is to be incorporated into their new “education centre” at Holt Station. I was amazed at the excellent condition of this old 1900’s Great Eastern Railway wooden passenger coach.
Talk about stumbling onto things, eh!?
Afterwards, it was a trip around the corner to the King’s Head to write up the first part of this blog, a pint of cider and some fish and chips.
After lunch, I trekked back down Blakeney Road trying to find the small graveyard located across from the houses where my great-great-great grandmother used to live in 1822. Most of the headstones were relatively “recent”. So it was back up to the village and over to Letheringsett Hall.
Two weeks before, David Mayes had given me a circa-1890 photo of my great-great uncle, Robert Moore, the coachman, with Lady Sarah Cozens-Hardy and her grand-daughter, Ethel Colman, in the coach. I wanted to take a photo to see how much things had changed in 120 years.
Letheringsett Hall, manor of the Cozens-Hardy family, is now a seniors residence. I had asked one of the staff for permission to take my photos. “How would you like to meet the grand-daughter of the Lady Cozens Hardy who is in your photo?”, the staff person asked. So in we walked to meet Berryl Cozens-Hardy who is 98 years old. Notwithstanding that she is very deaf and quite blind, her mind is very, very sharp. We had quite the conversation, particularly when I saw that she had the same photo of Robert Moore that I had hanging up on her wall!
Tomorrow we’re off to York via Peterborough to visit the National Railway Museum and a trip to Knaresborough where my Grandmother Moore (a Taylor) came from.
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