Re: Lifford East/West Junctions

On 13 Feb, 10:58, "Peter Masson" <peter.mass...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"Andy Sutton" <andysut...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:BG1ll.41867$jz5.33734@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> I belive the 18:19 Birmingham new st to worcester ran that way about 6
months ago ?

No - the route between the east end of New Street and Kings Norton via Camp
Hill is frequently used, but does not use the curve between the Lifford East
and West Junctions, which would only have taken the train back to New
Street.

The curve was used a few years back during the Proof House Junction
blockade - I travelled on it from New Street to Nuneaton at that time,
heading out through Five Ways, round the curve, along the Camp Hill line,
then via St Andrews Junction to gain the Derby line.

An outrageous use of it occurred in about 1967, when for a time the Poole to
York train was routed via Solihull, Bordesley Junction, St Andrew's
Junction, New Street, the Lifford Curve, Camp Hill, St Andrew's Junction
(again) and the Derby line, so it didn't have to reverse and re-engine in
New Street. It traversed the same section of track in the same direction
twice, about half an hour apart.

Peter

It was used after that - in the late 70s or early 80s when Class 31s
were hauling the Birmingham to somewhere east (Cambridge?) services -
my memory really is failing fast - and the trains ran into New Street
via the Lifford curve to save running the loco round at New Street. I
am pretty sure one train actually ran into New Street and then went
out and round the loop to free up the platform during the middle of
the day - sitting waiting for time on the curve. (The same idea was
occasionally used by electric trains which were sent out round the
Soho loop and back into New Street once the platform was available
again. I'd be almost certain both of these happened during the same
time frame - when I was an enthusiastic schoolboy I managed to get a
private visit to New Street signal box and was allowed to press the
entry/exit buttons to set the route for at least one of these
"circular" operations - and possibly both.)

The time taken to run via the Lifford Curve is quite an add-on to a
run into New Street from the Derby line - during the first big Proof
House bridge rebuilding work, in the mid 80s, I photographed a Class
31-hauled train passing under the WCML near Proof House, where the
work was underway, and then photographed it again just north of
University Station still en-route to New Street - and I didn't do any
mad high speed driving either as I was in a company vehicle with my
employer's name on the side!

Tony
.

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