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March 2010

David Lawrence – “Beside the Line” – March 2nd 2010

David travelled from Grantham to join us as our March speaker.  For those of us with long memories it was a sobering thought that his last visit was more than ten years ago when, as a professional railwayman, David was then at the highest levels of the former BR Property Board.

David explained his lifelong interest in buildings and infrastructure, which had also formed a great deal of his professional career. His presentation was in two parts- firstly giving us an insight into the engineering features and structures which we often take for granted on the railway but are essential. David explained the different types of crossing and in what circumstances they were used – from fully automatic barriers to lightly used accommodation or occupation crossings. Drawing on his professional experience he explained that from the railway’s perspective each one was a potential hazard, inconvenience or maintenance cost, and should an opportunity arise to reduce the number or replace two with one then that was gladly accepted!

The way in which the railways have changed over the last fifty years was illustrated by comparing the number of signal boxes between Paddington and Plymouth over these years- these days well into single figures! Bridges, signals, signal boxes, and other lineside fixtures were also covered.

In the second half of the evening David show a very varied selection of slides taken over the last fifty years, many of which showed how changes here had been mirrored in Eire, albeit much more recently . However, some fascinating views of Irish stations showed how they had largely escaped the trend of the 1970’s -1980’s on BR of demolishing old station buildings and replacing them with inferior “bus shelters”. As a result there were still a variety of old buildings still in use long after less robust structures here had succumbed to vandals or general wear and tear.

This was a slightly different but very enjoyable presentation by David, and it was fascinating to hear his descriptions “from the inside” when working on the railway and responsible for properties and infrastructure.

Our thanks go to David for a fascinating evening.

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