Wickham Railbus
Operations
The first delivered (around 9/58) under went trials on the Buntingford branch of the Eastern Region, a section near the manufacturer's works at Ware which formed an excellent test line, with its undulating single track, gradients as steep as 1 in 56 and many curves as sharp as 7 chains. On this section, as on the straight, level track between Ware and St. Margarets, the junction for Buntingford, the vehicle rode well, with freedom from vertical shocks and side oscillations at all speeds up to a maximum of 54 mph, an aim difficult to achieve with a self-propelled two-axle vehicle.
On the 3rd April 1959 SC79966 was noted following the 14:15 Buchanan Street - Aberdeen through Bonnybridge. SC79968 was noted outside Cambridge Coldham Lane depot circa early 1959.
Devon Valley
On 4th May 1959 two vehicles were introduced on the Devon Valley line, which passed through stations such as Dollar, Rumbling Bridge, Crook of Devon and Balado. Their was one through journey in each direction between Perth and Stirling which enabled the vehicles to be stabled overnight one at each of these points. Frame trouble saw then replaced on the line by by Park Royal railbuses.
In May 1959 79965 was at Crieff, two were on the Devon Valley line, and two were spare.
Below are the first two timetables for the Stirling - Alloa - Dollar services, featuring a line drawing of a Wickham railbus. The first (courtesy of John Paton) lasted just six weeks, from 4 May to 14 June 1959, the second lasted three months from 15 June to 12 September 1959.
Crieff - Gleneagles
Another line they were introduced to in May 1959 was the Crieff - Gleneagles line, started by 79965, 79968 was on the line in summer 1959, and 79967 was the last of the type on line in the summer of 1963. The services ended on the 7th July 1964.
The image shows one of the vehicles in Crieff station, probably 79965, date unknown. Walter Burt Collection.
On 10 September 1959 Sc79968 would fail between Muthill and Tullibardine while working the 9.53am Crieff-Gleneagles service. This was caused by a broken auxiliary drive shaft coupling, and the vehicle would be towed to Gleneagles by a 2F 0-6-0. It was then hauled north to Perth for repair by City of Truro.[1]
Speyside
79966 was sent north to Aviemore in August 1959 to operate the Great North of Scotland Speyside Line between Craigellachie and Aviemore. It was the third railbus type to operate on this line. Bristol 79959 lasted just six months before being replaced by Park Royal 79970, which returned with a broken frame after 4 months. On the 3rd November 1959, 79966 hit a lorry at a level crossing near Cromdale on the Speyside line, apparently carried for a quarter of a mile. Again steam came to the rescue, with 2Ps 40622/48 and 2MT 78052 using one BSK. A mention in Railway Observer stated that the vehicle had put in a very consistent performance since arriving there. Not unnaturally it was laid off during periods of heavy snow, and substituted by an engine and carriage. It had a further break on the 20th, 21st & 23rd May 1960 when steam engine "Gordon Highlander" and two LMS corridors took over the 10:27 Craigellachie to Aviemore and the 12:18 return in connection with filming for the BBC.
At 2:24 on the embedded video a vehicle can be seen arriving into the GNSR station at Elgin. The last part of the video, from 2:50, is taken aboard a railbus.
The image shows Sc79966 entering the south end of Aviemore station. With both the driver and tail lamp at this end, the vehicle is probably changing platforms after arriving from Craigellachie. Date unknown. Hamish Stevenson.
79966 finally succumbed after a successful year on the line due to a fractured frame. Trouble was experienced with 79972 which had been sent as a replacement, and by the end of September 79970 had taken over. This is interesting as it had broken its frame on the line in 1959!
Services on this line ended on the 18/10/65.
Exhibition
In September 1959 there was an exhibition of rolling stock etc. in Glasgow Central station during the period of the Scottish Industries Exhibition, and 79969 was on display.
Craigendoran - Arrochar
A Wickham railbus took over the Craigendoran - Arrochar shuttle service on the West Highland line on Monday 2nd November 1959, although steam did not disappear until the following April. 79969 went to Arrochar on the afternoon of the 31st October and sat in the goods yard ready to start in the Monday. It made three trips in each direction on weekdays, and four on Saturdays. There were connections at Craigendoran to and from Dumbarton and Glasgow. The stations serviced were - Craigendoran, Helensburgh Upper, Rhu (re-opened as an unstaffed halt for these services), Shandon, Garelochhead, Whistlefield and Arrochar & Tarbet. All did not seem well with 79969 on these services though, it retired to Helensburgh shed in mid-Jan 1960 where it stayed for some time. Soon after Park Royal was noted on trial on the line, no doubt with a view to taking over from 79969.
The image is a publicity shot of 79969 at Glen Douglas.
The West Highland services were revised when the Airdrie - Helensburgh line was electrified to provide better connections at Craigendoran. The 10.05am from Arrochar would now leave at 9.55am, arriving at Craigendoran at 11.35am. The 1.00pm SO was retimed to 12:55 from Arrochar, arriving Craigendoran 1.42pm, the connection arriving into Glasgow Queen Street at 2.35pm. The 6.14pm weekday service from Craigendoran was now at 6.06pm, arriving Arrochar 7.00pm, and required getting the 5.32pm electric from Queen Street. Park Royal railbuses and 2-car sets were also used on the line before the services were withdrawn on the 15th June 1964.
Withdrawal
It was Wickham vehicle 79969 that was the first of the 22 railbuses to be withdrawn in December 1963, only four years after delivery. Its last depot was Aviemore. Two (79965/6) were withdrawn from Stirling (65A) in June 1964.
79968 was noted damaged (buckled frame) at Ayr in March 1966; it had been hit by a reversing DMU in Ayr station. It was not repaired and was withdrawn from Ayr in October 1966. The image shows it with panels missing at Ayr on July 30, 1966, with Sc79974 behind. David Mant.
Also withdrawn the same month was the final operational car 79967 from Aviemore.
References
- ⋏ "Motive Power Miscellany" p623 December 1959 Trains Illustrated (Ian Allan)