Give us a sign if you want to help!
After hanging on a garage wall in Lytham St Annes for around 40 years, ex-Richmond Station employee, Roger Spencer, has returned an old platform sign that he received when the station closed. The photo, taken in the Kings Head just recently, shows Roger handing over 'a special bit of Richmond history' to Trustee, Jim Jack.
"I'm really pleased that Richmond Station is going to become an active part of the community once again…" commented Roger, "and that this old sign has finally made its return journey home."
Beside the distinctive sign, Roger also has given us lots of other memorabilia from his collection, including timetables, posters, tickets and the like. All of these precious artefacts will become part of the station's permanent heritage collection, when we reopen the building.
RICHMOND STATION in 1943 - A Personal Recollection by Roger Spencer
I started work at Catterick Bridge Station in December 1942 and was moved to Richmond early in 1943. At that time Richmond Station was still lit by gas lamps both in the offices and on the platform. I suppose Richmond was modern compared with Catterick Bridge because the office had a tilley lamp and the platform lights were oil lamps with old fashioned glass chimneys.
The first task for the late shift porter was to fill the oil lamps and to clean the glasses. However the gas pipes at Richmond were so old and corroded that the pressure would fall and the lights go dim regularly. I have even sold tickets at the booking office using a porter's hand lamp. We sometimes climbed a ladder to the office loft to hit the gas pipes with a hammer to try to dislodge the corrosion and improve the lighting.
At that time the offices had a Post Office telephone and a railway phone connecting all the offices and signal boxes, but the two railway level crossings, between Richmond and Catterick Bridge, Broken Brea and Parkgate Lane, had no means of communication. During this stage of the war there was a special troop train, X5, that ran at 0730 hours from Richmond, before the normal service. It did not run every day, which meant that all stations had to be notified on the day before it ran to make necessary staffing arrangements, but there was no normal method of advising the level crossing keepers.
When I was at Catterick Bridge and I received advice that it was running the next day I wrote details on a piece of paper, tied the paper to a piece of wood, and on the way home on the train, threw the wood with the message attached to the level crossing keeper as the train passed by! Despite this antiquated method the system worked. I never heard of the special train being held up because the level crossing gates were not open.
ROGER REMEMBERS - Richmond passenger station and the army.
Catterick Camp was built and occupied by the army during the 1914/18 war and the Catterick Camp railway line and Station were built to provide transport for the units stationed there. During the first world war a large number of special trains were provided on the Catterick Camp railway to convey personnel, their vehicles, horses and stores. Once motor vehicle traffic became popular the line had problems. The military line crossed the Catterick Road in two places and both roads to Brompton. The only level crossing gates were at the Farmers Arms crossing and troops were used to man the other road crossings when trains were running. It was not a satisfactory system and during the second world war, although the line was used extensively for goods traffic, there was limited passenger use.
Richmond station was very busy during the war with military traffic but the station did not see any monetary credit for all these passengers. Most used government railway warrants which they exchanged for tickets at the station. These vouchers were sent to Railway Headquarters to raise charges against the Government and the station had no knowledge of the amount raised.
After the war the station was in prime position to cater for the National Service recruits. Several hundred young men arrived at the station on alternate Thursdays and they were taken to the camp in army transport. After about six weeks they were allowed home on leave.
A number of "weekend specials" were introduced as the traffic was so heavy on Fridays and Saturdays. The 4pm train on Friday was strengthened (additional coaches were added) and extended to Birmingham and the 5.15pm train was extended to Edinburgh and Glasgow. A special service was introduced from Catterick Camp station to London, Kings Cross, and two booking clerks from Richmond carried a portable ticket rack by taxi to the camp to issue tickets for this train. Similarly, on a Saturday there was a special train to Darlington from the Camp Centre station and clerks went to the camp to issue the tickets. At one time the train was routed from the camp via Richmond to Darlington.
The revenue obtained at weekends was considerable and changed the system of accounting at the station. Before these large amounts were generated Richmond receipts were sent to Darlington by train. A heavy mobile cash box, shaped like a truncated pyramid, was loaded on to a morning train from Richmond. Richmond takings were sealed in a leather cash bag and put into a drawer at the top of the box. When the drawer was closed the bag fell into the bottom of the box. Catterick Bridge, Scorton, Moulton and Croft Spa stations all sent their takings in the same box. At Darlington the bags were removed and the money taken to the bank with the Darlington Booking Office receipts.
When Richmond started collecting these large sums of money at weekends it was decided to reverse the movement of the Cash Box and takings from the branch stations were sent to Richmond and accounted for there and taken to the bank. Because of the large sums of money involved a night safe bag was provided and, at the weekends, the takings were taken to Richmond Barclays Bank Night Safe.
As the numbers of passengers from the camp increased so did the competition. Coach firms started to run weekend services to the main centres and it became necessary for the railway to take action. Special forces weekend fares were introduced, two I can remember are London, Kings Cross £1.16.5 (£1.82p) and Bristol £2. These were available from Friday to Sunday night/Monday morning.
At the four main Bank Holidays, Easter, Whitsuntide, August and Christmas, special arrangements were required for the large numbers travelling. I saw both sides of these arrangements as, originally I worked at the station, and later I became the Railway Camp Representative (the army called me the British Railways Liaison Officer) and coordinated arrangements at Catterick Camp Headquarters at Camp Centre.
About six weeks before the bank holiday the Military Headquarters asked each Regiment for an estimate of the numbers travelling on leave and a summary of their destinations. I consolidated the resultant information and advised British Rail Headquarters at Middlesbrough the number of passengers travelling to the main towns. The B.R. office then arranged special trains to carry the passengers from Richmond. At one time there were as many as eight special trains in one day. Three to London, probably one Bristol, one Birmingham, one Leeds and Liverpool and one each to Glasgow and Edinburgh. When the programme was agreed and train times issued I worked with the Military H.Q. to allocate the troops to the trains. This information was passed to the United Bus Company to arrange feeder bus services from the Regiments to the station.
Meanwhile the military units were providing the station with lists of the number of tickets required to each destination. The tickets were issued and debited before being collected by an officer from the unit who was authorised to sign for them. When the tickets had been sold to the soldiers the money was brought to the station and accounted for and a receipt given. On only one occasion did an officer abscond with the money. The regiment paid the amount owed, I did not hear what happened to the officer!
On these bank holidays the station gathered large sums of money and the night safe was used regularly. We found we could get £700 in one night safe bag and one clerical unit, male or female would walk up Station Road to the bank with this bag. £700 would today, with inflation, be worth about £14,000 !!! Fortunately no one knew the amounts we carried up Station Road!
However, Barclays Bank were not very keen on this arrangement. Firstly the night safe deposited the cash bag on the floor of the Manager`s office and not in a secure place, secondly, although we could get £700 in one bag it was so tightly packed it was difficult to get out. The system was changed so that we had two bags and we telephoned the Bank Manager, who lived above the bank, before we left the station and he opened the bank door and took the bags from us. Miss Ethel Hunter, who worked with me, regularly put one or two night safe bags in her shopping bag and delivered them to the bank on her way home!! Similarly, the staff on the other shift had to do the same thing.
Can you imagine walking up Station Road at 7pm on a dark night, on your own, carrying £14,000 in your shopping bag!!
On the day of departure the troops were brought to the station by the United Bus Company and there were often a few thousand in the station yard awaiting the trains.
Because Richmond was a terminal station, most trains came right into the station and, after unloading the passengers, had to set back from the end of the station to release the engine to run round the train, so that it could be attached to the other end. The train was then shunted into the station to load with passengers. A very time consuming operation.
For the special trains a sophisticated train working system, different from the normal method, was developed, and detailed engine working was provided to reduce delays both at Richmond and on the main line at Eryholme Junction.
- A light engine (one without carriages) was sent from Darlington to Richmond
- A second engine, drawing the carriages for the first London train, would arrive at Richmond and draw right into the station.
- The first engine would then be attached to the outward end of this train and, when it was loaded, take it north to Eryholme Junction and on to the main line.
- Because the train would then need to travel south another engine would have been sent to Eryholme to attach to the train to send it on its way.
- The first engine would then wait for the next train from Richmond to take it to London.
- Meanwhile, the second engine at Richmond, would have been attached to the next London train to take it to Eryholme.
Train loading usually went without a hitch, because of the army organisation and the discipline of the troops. Similarly the return working after the holiday brought the troops back on special trains with very few problems.
One day there was a problem. In January 1953 there were serious floods on the East Coast of England. A warning was issued that there may be a repeat of the floods during Easter weekend. The station yard was full of troops and some had already departed when the order came that troops could be needed for flood relief on the East coast. They were told the reason and ordered to "about turn" and board the buses back to there units. As far as I am aware there was not a voice raised in anger, all went back in good order. Fortunately, later the order was received to stand down and the trains were rearranged and everyone went on leave in the end.
At the end of National Service there was a run down in the facilities available and this gradually led to the closure of the line.