Railway Control Centres

[Paul Francis]

Hi, I am an archaeologist carrying out a small project for English Heritage on the emergency railway control centres. I have made a study on the design, planning and construction of the pre-WWII, WWII and the Cold War buildings. You probably already know that many of these, in fact the bulk have been demolished without any proper recording. So much so in fact, that it is very likely that there are no longer one of each type extant today. The most recent removal being at Chester (only this month). I was therefore wondering does anyone have any pics of these structures? Furthermore has anyone got any pictures of the 1960s mobile control centre trains, or indeed know of any published accounts of these trains. I have a list of all the vehicle numbers (most originally date from the 1920s and early 1930s) and were re-numbered. The regional trains were initially stabled at the following stations:

• Eastern: Shenfield or Ipswich and Retford
• London Midland: Hellifield and Market Harborough
• North Eastern: Bolton Abbey and Berwick (Tweedmouth)
• Scottish: Carstairs and Stirling
• Southern Salisbury and Tonbridge and Guildford
• Western: Westbury, Hereford and Honeybourne

Thanks for reading


Chester Type A2 Control Room

 

[plarailfan]

So far as I'm aware, some of the control centre train / carriages ended up in storage at a goods shed, at Craven Arms on the Central wales line.
Around 1980, an issue of "Railway Magazine" carried a few lines stating these coaches were going into preservation.

 

[Ploughman]

This article from the LNERCA (London North Eastern Coach Association)may be of help.
http://www.lnerca.com/controltrains.html

 

[Paul Francis]

Thanks ever so much, that is really helpful.

 

[BritishRail83]

There is a concrete bunker type next to the St Albans Abbey line at Bricket wood in Hertfordshire, which i believe was built in the 1950's as an emergency control for the BR Midland Region?

 

[Paul Francis]

Yes that is correct, I went in there a couple of days ago.

 

[plarailfan]

I'm not looking to end up involved in a long discussion about strategic reserve locomotives, but I have wondered over the years, if the control trains were intended to remain at a fixed location, or if they were, actually meant to be moved around the rail network and if so, what locomotives would have been used ?
I would assume any movement of the control trains would have been a priority, so, for main line runs, I expect a 4-6-2 pacific, or similar loco, would have been borrowed from passenger services, on an "as required" basis ?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Are any of the concrete bunker / control buildings, listed and have any of them been converted to other uses, such as signal boxes, or equipment stores, etc ?
Can they just simply be demolished if they are no longer required and finally, are they all small buildings, or are there some large ones as well ?
This is quite an interesting subject for me, as a modeller, because the concrete structures still look to be very much, modern day items, rather than something from the steam age.

 

[Paul Francis]

I have found very little on the question of locos: The Railway Defence Planning Committee raised the question on 10 April 1964 about the availability of steam locomotives for use in emergency on diesel and electrified lines as the remaining steam locos were being withdrawn and scrapped (at the end of 1965 there were just 2,829 steam locomotives, reducing to 1,060 by the end of 1966 and nil by the end of 1967.

During a precautionary period it was envisaged that hired 150 hp J Fowler and Sons shunting locomotives serving at oil-fired power stations would be used to haul the mobile control centres.

The mobile controls would have been taken as near to a knocked-out fixed division control centre as possible and it would tap into the telephone cable network using the 10 or 20 miles of cable (depending on date) that it carried in order to maintain some form of control and communication to other district controls within the division. At least that is my understanding.

No WWII emergency control rooms are listed, none are converted all surviving concrete LMS / GWR controls are derelict as are the underground SR BHQs. The LNER versions (brick) where they survive have been sold and re-used. Generally WWII controls have mostly been demolished without recording.

Sizes- LMS / GWR - Type B2: 42 ft by 20 ft 9 in, A2: 50 ft 6 in by 33 ft 6 in and A1: 61 ft 4 in by 37 ft.

LNER dispersed control office: 83 ft 6 in by 39 ft 4 in

SR controls unknown

1950s Emergency controls 94 ft 6 in by 35 ft 6 in.

 

[BritishRail83]

Very Interesting Reading! I have often wondered about BR's war plans. It will be interesting what else you uncover. I can remember at Barking station there used to be a shutter doored mk1 coach in a siding for years and I used to have this idea that it was some sort of special/secret/emergency use coach! probably just and old parcels coach forgotten about for years!

 

[Paul Francis]

If it was then it would be painted black and there would be another three coaches with it.