The Tamworth Field |
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| I
am proud to have been a "Tamworth Field Boy". Was there
anything more enjoyable in life than to wait for the "Clangers"
to signify the
imminent passing of a down express. All eyes strained towards Polesworth,
hoping for a Coronation class pacific. Then perhaps a hundred lads
simultaneously shouting "Semi". To me it was the ultimate
experience.
My first visit to Tamworth station was early in 1951. I was recovering from an operation, and my father decided to take me trainspotting to cheer me up. We travelled by train from Birmingham New Street and by the time we had passed Saltley shed and Water Orton yards, my notebook already had over fifty numbers in it. Then a bacon sandwich in the Cafe' in the station driveway. Then on to the station, where we were given special permission to remain. The next four or five hours were heaven. Semis, Prinny Royals, Scots, Jubes, Mickeys (the then nickname for a Blackie/Black 5). Duck sixes and Duck eights, and even a few Garratts up top on the high level. So for the next few years Tamworth was the number one trainspotting location. Spotters were provided with their own field from which they could view the goings on of both the low level and high level lines. Often the fireman on the high level freights would taunt us by hanging out of the cabs and covering the cabside numbers with their hands. On the low level lines, a problem frequently arose with the early morning 6.40am Euston to Workington service. It was scheduled to stop at Tamworth, where it was overtaken by a Euston to Manchester. But the Workington train always had a string of vans at the rear, which blocked the view of the main lines. When this happened, we would walk down the footpath towards the River Anker, and continue under the bridge to the other side of the railway, where there was a tall water tower. The only problem was that, unless you had binoculars, you could not read the numbers on the high level. Two particular incidents stand out in my memory. The first was seeing newly built Britannia no 70007 on an up Euston express. Presumably it was en route for the Great Eastern line. The second incident also involved a Euston bound express. From the field the West Coast main line to the north was visible through the Low Level station for approximately half a mile. The line was curved, but not sufficiently to restrict speed, and Tamworth was at the foot of a slight gradient down from Lichfield. Around the curve came a Euston bound express. "Scot" shouted fifty or sixty lads. But the locomotive got into a violent swinging motion. We instinctively backed away. How that locomotive stayed on the rails I do not know. It must have been a near thing. Oh!, and it was 46149 The Middlesex Regiment. The Tamworth visits continued until 1954, though in 1952, I discovered Rugby, where, from the embankment south of the station, it was possible to view both the West Coast Main line and the ex LNER line. So I alternated between Tamworth and Rugby. In 1954, I started Train timing, with a reduced emphasis on Spotting. And so my Tamworth visits finished. I had a Summer Saturday afternoon in 1960 in the field, but with the Engish Electric type 4's well in evidence, the magic had gone. |
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