Baldock, Hertfordshire 1960s

[bramleyman]

Hello Peter and welcome from me as well. I know Baldock from stopping at a cafe there many moons ago and before by-passes were thought of, let alone motorways, then working as a Revenue Protection Inspector on WAGN along and through there, plus a non-railway connected matter about 10 years ago.

I do hope you get to find the answers you seek.

[Benslow]

I spoke to a driver last night, one of the few remaining who passed out on steam, and he says that it was quite common to re-route through Cambridge, Ely, March and then to Peterborough. Interestingly they only used to let the Hitchin drivers go as far as March, the "Bungits" insisted on taking over there!
March in those days of course was an enormous marshalling yard, it's now a prison.

[oldtimer]

Hello Guys and girls.
I'm seventy four, so you may wonder that I'm still alive and kicking, let alone writing on the WWW. I know I am.
I worked on Baldock Station at the beginning of 1960, as a leading porter, for less than a year. But boy, do I remember it. I had to be at the station at some unearthly hour to meet the 'fish train', and sometimes I had to release pigeons from a basket. Yeah, I know. Sounds crazy, and I am; a bit. If I were lucky, the asthmatic old gaslighter would have lit the lamps. If he didn't arrive, that job, too, was mine. I can't recall his name. The stationmaster was one Bob Tanner - that's right - easy to remember. Nice man; though I remember one evening, when the shunter failed to arrive, and I had to take on his duties, having already worked my full shift, I rang Mr Tanner at his home, asking permission to go home, he made me stay on till a spare shunter arrived, by which time I had worked fourteen hours. I was never a very practical person, and I had a few humorous adventures. If there is anyone still alive who may be slightly interested, I'll add a couple of stories here. Don't ask me technical details of engines, and all that stuff. All I remember is that I shunted commercial wagons - Ellis and Everard Coal - in the Marshalling Yard. The yard was quite small, but seemed huge to me.
The leading porter from whom I took over on starting there was named Roger. Blond haired, with moustache. There was a lady porter called Eileen.
It is highly unlikely, but if there is anybody...

[pre65]

Hi Oldtimer, please will you recount more of your story's about life on the railways.
I just love hearing about how things used to be.

[boilersuit]

I second that! Nothing I like better than hearing true stories of how things used to be when this country had a real railway system.

[oldtimer]

Well, Guys, I don't think this is exactly the sort of reply you are hoping for:
I had been previously working on the buildings, and felt a bit daft standing on the platform as a passenger train drew up alongside me. Me, wearing a hat and uniform. including silver buttoned waistcoat. Self consciously, I started marching alongside the train, kicking at pebbles. My one size too large shoe flew off and over the bridge. The passengers were roaring with laughter, some of them winding down their windows to get a better view of me hopping around on one foot.
Fortunately, the shoe did not land on a passing lorry, but was found by one of the staff, who returned it to me. He too, was having a good laugh. It may add to your amusement to know that I was, and am, about five foot three.

[oldtimer]

I DID do something useful one day. A train, pulled by a steam engine, of course, was standing at the platform. The guard, probably long gone now, God bless him, had gone into the loo. The train started to pull away, dead on time. but old 'Mouthandtrousers', as I later heard was his nickname, was still in the loo. At the sound of the engine, and the startled cry of a staff member, the guard emerged from the toilet, pulling up his trousers and loudly shouting 'stop'! I could see he was never going to make it, encumbered as he was by a huge belly and with pants at half mast, so I galloped, cavalry-like to the guard's van, jumped aboard, and spun the metal wheel vigorously to apply the brake. The old chap was even more embarrassed than I was when I lost my shoe.