What an enjoyable ramble in such beautiful countryside. I tell you what Ron it just makes you wonder how many long forgotten bits of railway artifacts lay hidden across the country waiting to be found.
Ron, The barrel in the corner at 9:15 was used to keep coal in for the fire, there was an unofficial practice for fireman but sometimes drivers to drop a piece of coal off the engine as they went past. The platelayers would then put them in there ready to make a fire in the winter when it was cold to keep the kettle warm whilst they were working, in this case, on the length between Berkeley Loop Jcn and Berkeley Road South Jcn. Where a line had a crossing keepers residence on it the same practice was often carried out. Andrew.
Hi Andrew, I thought that was the most likely use for the old barrel. I left the question open for a bit of devilment. Thanks for clearing that up. Ron
@@ParkinsonsWalks I like your sense of humour, really pleased to see your viewing figures going up and the number of thumbs up increasing. I see the number of subscribers is on the increase as well now. I am really glad for you, you put yourself through allot to do these videos and it's nice to see how many people enjoy them. Glad to see this video has been received with such positive results and you have not had to bar me for suggesting something that was a failure! Take care, Best wishes, Andrew.
Thank you Mr P, for yet another fabulous video! The bit at 20:03 made me smile, it’s happened to me whilst on old track beds often exacerbated by the fact that I shouldn’t have been there in the first place. I’m now looking forward to back tracking through your previous posts.
Hi nice to have you with us. I have a fairly good sense of direction but it is easy to get disorientated when everything looks the same. Hope you enjoy the films. Ron
Hi Ron, Thank you very much for doing a video on the line, I am glad suggested it, you excelled yourself with your detective work. There's something rather special about the triangular layout here that as far as I am aware occurs nowhere else in the country. The three sides were all owned by 3 different railway companies, the Berkley Road - Berkeley Road South Junction was Midland Railway, Berkeley Road - Berkeley Loop Junction was Severn And Wye and Severn Bridge Railway whilst Berkeley Loop Junction - Berkeley Road South Junction was Great Western Railway. The purpose of the loop was to act as a diversionary route when the Severn tunnel was closed for maintenance work, both PASSENGER and Freight trains were routed as follows - Lydney Station, Otters Pool Junction, Severn Bridge Station, over the Severn bridge , Sharpness, Berkeley, Berkeley Loop Junction, Berkeley Road South Junction, Yate South Junction, Westerleigh North Junction and Westerleigh West Junction to obtain the Great Western route to Bristol. The Great Western Loop was commissioned on 9th March 1908, the last rain to use it was in November 1960 the line closing on 27th January 1963. Berkeley Loop Junction Signal Box was closed on 24th March 1963. The signal pullies you found would almost certainly be for Berkeley Loop Junction Down Branch Home and Up Branch Starting Signals. The plate layers hut is shown on the older map at maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=20&lat=51.68801&lon=-2.41891&layers=206&right=BingHyb. The track layout at Berkeley Road South Junction was a conventional Double junction comprising of two points and a diamond crossing and remain so until it was taken out of use. The track Layout at Berkeley Loop Junction contained a trailing crossover and a run off siding from Berkeley Road South Junction these were removed on 30th July 1923. Then on the 7th August 1931 the Up and Down Lines from Berkeley Road South Junction were joined into a Single line right by Berkeley Loop Junction Signal Box. Again thank you very much for doing this video, take care, Andrew. (Amended 23rd July 2021)
@@ParkinsonsWalks The signalmen's wages and the running costs of the three signal boxes would have been a nightmare for accountants dependent on what agreements were made at the time. Without the Loop there would not have been any need for Berkeley Road South Box or Berkeley Loop Box given that Berkeley Road, Berkeley and Charfield were close enough. I suspect the GWR would have been liable for the operating and running costs of the two box's given they were at each end of there track and it was there line that made them required. Take care and enjoy the freedom I think we might be in lockdown in the autumn. Andrew.
@@jamesweekes6726 Hi James glad you liked my comments, I did send HRH OVM a message last week but I guess she has been to busy and put her computer on pause or should that be paws! I am fine thank you and hope you are too, how is HRH OVM now is she fully recovered or not quite enough that the treats have had to stop? You take care of both of you, looking forward to seeing the video of the railway line you promised (well that's my version of events) to make. Andrew.
@@andrewmerriman7133 Hah! I'd need to buy a camera. Wanting to be different, I don't even own a mobile phone (likely the last person in Toronto). OVM sometimes doesn't share with me. She's doing really well, I'm so glad I decided not to put her through an operation with a ten week recovery. I make her food each day...liver, beef, turkey, kibble, vegetables, sardines, scrambled egg, digestive supplement, and some glucosamine sulphate to keep her joints in order...spoiled indeed. I'm just worried that she's going to be in shock when I'm back teaching in person in September!
Thanks Ron, that was a great walk, long enough to enjoy a coffee with. Great find on the signal pulleys, as far as I know we didn't have anything like that method here in Canada. Now the trouble with enjoying your walks Thursday night appears to be with OVM, who is, as I type this, snoring rather loudly here next to me. We'll watch it again in the morning when she's a bit more "bright-eyed"...tail by default always bushy so we're half way there at least. Take care Ron.
Well explored old friend. What a fascinating video. The OS maps at the beginning didn't thrill me with enthusiasm. However, when on the ground, a completely different story! The end of the video was superb. So many finds and things to look at. Thanks so much for all your hard work and effort in making this video. Very much apprecaited. See you next week
Nice vlog Ron always wondered what was left of this line.Its great to find the broad gauge track and the signal pulley on there posts.A lovely day out in the shire Ron.
Hello Ron, Fantastic video, was a bit concerned for your Safety ! At 16 minutes into the video we spotted what looks like a rather large Crocodile poking its head out of the tree's... Well that's what it looked like, made us all chuckle, keep up the good work, we still sit down as a Family to watch your Fantastic walks. Claire Perry
Hi Ron very interesting video looked a beautiful day to be exploring old railways , Miss Marple would be proud of your detective work . Looking forward to part 2 . Bye Ron
Hello Ron. Interesting search for that old junction. Plenty of clues left by the dismantling teams, as there usually is. The branch to Sharpness was quite a find. Looked as if it was still used, judging by the look of the track, although I don’t know how you managed to access it without a fence in the way. Beautifully made bridges, still standing today. Apart from being a junction, triangles such as that could be used for turning a locomotive. There is one close to me to the east of Salisbury tunnel. A link joins the Salisbury/Southampton line with the Basingstoke/London line. This triangle is often used for turning steam engines which are having to reverse at Salisbury. Thanks for the video.
The Sharpness branch was accessed from the junction at Berkeley road, please watch Ron's video at ua-cam.com/video/bJenM5A00LE/v-deo.html it is well worth watching. This triangle was not used to turn locomotives there was a turntable at Sharpness, all three sides of the triangle were used for normal running.
Hi Lionel I was surprised to suddenly find myself at the railway as well, mind you it was very remote. The finds were reward for the effort, nice day out. Ron
Great detective work Ron! I had completely forgotten about that southern spur connection. Perhaps it was removed when the Sharpness Branch was solely used for nuclear traffic for Berkeley Power Station rather than docks traffic, as anything nuclear would be heading north to Sellafield for reprocessing. Thanks again!
The Berkeley Loop Junction to Berkeley Road South Junction was removed long before the British Nuclear Fuels Siding was put in on the site of Berkeley Goods yard. Following the Severn Bridge accident the line could not be used as a diversionary route when the Severn Tunnel was under engineers possession to route trains from South Wales to Bristol which was why the line was built. I have given the dates and details in my own comments which you may find of interest..
Hi Paul, glad you enjoyed the film, I see our Andrew has given you some details, makes things more interesting. Apparently I should have taken the nettles for a healthy snack, so Sharron Idol says! Ron
@@ParkinsonsWalks Thanks Ron! Yes, I heard that you can make a tasty soup from them, though I've never tried it. The Cornish wrap their cheese with them (Yarg)!
@@westcountrywanderings You're very welcome Paul, if there's any other detail or explanation you want please do not hesitate to ask, I will do my best to answer. Stay Safe. Regards, Andrew.
I'll add a little insight into reading the landscape via foliage, typically stinging nettles like to grow in areas of human habitation - they just love human "fertiliser" - both types, and the thicker/lush the growth the more used the area by humans as a "toilet" and the more recent too, and eventually the patches become less dense as the nutrients are used upp over longer periods of time. Though you'll find patches of nettles where animals are/were sheltered these tend to be grazed down and generally more free flowing patches - compared to more uniform, linear or boxy patches of nettles following the lines of an old house or signal box.
My apologies Ron, certainly not the content...it was a bit of a strenuous day yesterday with walks and ball playing. James and I enjoyed our virtual walk this morning. I'm not a big fan of nettles, but "whither thou goest"...! I reckon I could do a better job than an iron bar poking around. I wish it were easier for me to travel. Thanks for taking us. Sumac
I did look at it when I was doing the abandoned railways out of Cheltenham series, but I got the impression it was more or less all built upon. I'll have another look on Google Earth. Ron
That plate layers hut could be worth £200,000 in the current climate. Ron, you must take a bag of breadcrumbs with you so you can lay a trail to get back out again. I may have heard that story somewhere else and it didn't end well...........
You never fail to make things interesting; or in the case of railways, even more interesting. You speak long dead railways back to life. Something to bear in mind when in places with lots of nettles: The stinging nettle is probably the most nutritious vegetable in the UK, and it's free! Despite being a little difficult to gather, eating it (The leaves, not the stems. - After cooking.) is a great way to help to stay healthy. They boil down as much as or more than spinach; so quite a lot needs to be gathered. Isn't it amazing what they left behind when they destroyed railways that would probably be quite useful these days? What a shame they were so misguided.
Hi Sharron, lovely to hear from you, glad you enjoyed the film. I've told my wife about the nettles, she didn't look too keen - no sense of adventure. Take care. Ron
What appeared somewhat unpromising on the OS map, turned out much more interesting on the ground - thanks to your persistence! Well done!
It is very often the way Malcolm, the only thing to do is get out there and look most of the time. Ron
What an enjoyable ramble in such beautiful countryside. I tell you what Ron it just makes you wonder how many long forgotten bits of railway artifacts lay hidden across the country waiting to be found.
You are right Dave there must be loads of it slowly decaying in the undergrowth. I keep trying to find it. Ron
Ron, The barrel in the corner at 9:15 was used to keep coal in for the fire, there was an unofficial practice for fireman but sometimes drivers to drop a piece of coal off the engine as they went past. The platelayers would then put them in there ready to make a fire in the winter when it was cold to keep the kettle warm whilst they were working, in this case, on the length between Berkeley Loop Jcn and Berkeley Road South Jcn. Where a line had a crossing keepers residence on it the same practice was often carried out. Andrew.
Hi Andrew, I thought that was the most likely use for the old barrel. I left the question open for a bit of devilment. Thanks for clearing that up. Ron
@@ParkinsonsWalks I like your sense of humour, really pleased to see your viewing figures going up and the number of thumbs up increasing. I see the number of subscribers is on the increase as well now. I am really glad for you, you put yourself through allot to do these videos and it's nice to see how many people enjoy them. Glad to see this video has been received with such positive results and you have not had to bar me for suggesting something that was a failure! Take care, Best wishes, Andrew.
Really good to get away from the bustle of cars and hear the background sound of the birds.
Thanks Graham, glad you enjoyed it. Ron
Thank you Mr P, for yet another fabulous video! The bit at 20:03 made me smile, it’s happened to me whilst on old track beds often exacerbated by the fact that I shouldn’t have been there in the first place. I’m now looking forward to back tracking through your previous posts.
Hi nice to have you with us. I have a fairly good sense of direction but it is easy to get disorientated when everything looks the same. Hope you enjoy the films. Ron
Jolly nice hack, Ron. Very surprising the amount of old relics lying around; that old hut was especially interesting. Lovely countryside too.
Thanks for joining me on the ramble David. Ron
Hi Ron, Thank you very much for doing a video on the line, I am glad suggested it, you excelled yourself with your detective work. There's something rather special about the triangular layout here that as far as I am aware occurs nowhere else in the country. The three sides were all owned by 3 different railway companies, the Berkley Road - Berkeley Road South Junction was Midland Railway, Berkeley Road - Berkeley Loop Junction was Severn And Wye and Severn Bridge Railway whilst Berkeley Loop Junction - Berkeley Road South Junction was Great Western Railway. The purpose of the loop was to act as a diversionary route when the Severn tunnel was closed for maintenance work, both PASSENGER and Freight trains were routed as follows - Lydney Station, Otters Pool Junction, Severn Bridge Station, over the Severn bridge , Sharpness, Berkeley, Berkeley Loop Junction, Berkeley Road South Junction, Yate South Junction, Westerleigh North Junction and Westerleigh West Junction to obtain the Great Western route to Bristol. The Great Western Loop was commissioned on 9th March 1908, the last rain to use it was in November 1960 the line closing on 27th January 1963. Berkeley Loop Junction Signal Box was closed on 24th March 1963. The signal pullies you found would almost certainly be for Berkeley Loop Junction Down Branch Home and Up Branch Starting Signals. The plate layers hut is shown on the older map at maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=20&lat=51.68801&lon=-2.41891&layers=206&right=BingHyb. The track layout at Berkeley Road South Junction was a conventional Double junction comprising of two points and a diamond crossing and remain so until it was taken out of use. The track Layout at Berkeley Loop Junction contained a trailing crossover and a run off siding from Berkeley Road South Junction these were removed on 30th July 1923. Then on the 7th August 1931 the Up and Down Lines from Berkeley Road South Junction were joined into a Single line right by Berkeley Loop Junction Signal Box. Again thank you very much for doing this video, take care, Andrew. (Amended 23rd July 2021)
My pleasure Andrew. Fascinating three different companies owning a leg of the triangle - and they mad it work! Lovely detail as always. Ron
@@ParkinsonsWalks The signalmen's wages and the running costs of the three signal boxes would have been a nightmare for accountants dependent on what agreements were made at the time. Without the Loop there would not have been any need for Berkeley Road South Box or Berkeley Loop Box given that Berkeley Road, Berkeley and Charfield were close enough. I suspect the GWR would have been liable for the operating and running costs of the two box's given they were at each end of there track and it was there line that made them required. Take care and enjoy the freedom I think we might be in lockdown in the autumn. Andrew.
@@andrewmerriman7133 Fascinating detail Andrew, thank you. I hope all is well with you, the numbers there are a bit concerning, be careful!
@@jamesweekes6726 Hi James glad you liked my comments, I did send HRH OVM a message last week but I guess she has been to busy and put her computer on pause or should that be paws! I am fine thank you and hope you are too, how is HRH OVM now is she fully recovered or not quite enough that the treats have had to stop? You take care of both of you, looking forward to seeing the video of the railway line you promised (well that's my version of events) to make. Andrew.
@@andrewmerriman7133 Hah! I'd need to buy a camera. Wanting to be different, I don't even own a mobile phone (likely the last person in Toronto). OVM sometimes doesn't share with me. She's doing really well, I'm so glad I decided not to put her through an operation with a ten week recovery. I make her food each day...liver, beef, turkey, kibble, vegetables, sardines, scrambled egg, digestive supplement, and some glucosamine sulphate to keep her joints in order...spoiled indeed. I'm just worried that she's going to be in shock when I'm back teaching in person in September!
Thanks Ron, that was a great walk, long enough to enjoy a coffee with. Great find on the signal pulleys, as far as I know we didn't have anything like that method here in Canada. Now the trouble with enjoying your walks Thursday night appears to be with OVM, who is, as I type this, snoring rather loudly here next to me. We'll watch it again in the morning when she's a bit more "bright-eyed"...tail by default always bushy so we're half way there at least. Take care Ron.
Thanks James, you have started my day off with a smile as usual. Keep that Covid at bay. Ron
Well explored old friend.
What a fascinating video. The OS maps at the beginning didn't thrill me with enthusiasm. However, when on the ground, a completely different story! The end of the video was superb. So many finds and things to look at. Thanks so much for all your hard work and effort in making this video. Very much apprecaited. See you next week
Thanks Michael, always nice to hear from you. Ron
Nice vlog Ron always wondered what was left of this line.Its great to find the broad gauge track and the signal pulley on there posts.A lovely day out in the shire Ron.
Thanks Lee, it was a nice day out. Ron
Hello Ron, Fantastic video, was a bit concerned for your Safety ! At 16 minutes into the video we spotted what looks like a rather large Crocodile poking its head out of the tree's... Well that's what it looked like, made us all chuckle, keep up the good work, we still sit down as a Family to watch your Fantastic walks. Claire Perry
Thanks Clair and family, I'm glad I didn't spot the crocodile look alike, I think I would have been out of there a bit quick! Ron
Hi Ron very interesting video looked a beautiful day to be exploring old railways , Miss Marple would be proud of your detective work . Looking forward to part 2 . Bye Ron
Hi Gary, it's always nice to find something different. Sounds like Covid is making a come back in your part of the world. Stay Safe. Ron
Hello Ron. Interesting search for that old junction. Plenty of clues left by the dismantling teams, as there usually is. The branch to Sharpness was quite a find. Looked as if it was still used, judging by the look of the track, although I don’t know how you managed to access it without a fence in the way. Beautifully made bridges, still standing today. Apart from being a junction, triangles such as that could be used for turning a locomotive.
There is one close to me to the east of Salisbury tunnel. A link joins the Salisbury/Southampton line with the Basingstoke/London line. This triangle is often used for turning steam engines which are having to reverse at Salisbury. Thanks for the video.
The Sharpness branch was accessed from the junction at Berkeley road, please watch Ron's video at ua-cam.com/video/bJenM5A00LE/v-deo.html it is well worth watching. This triangle was not used to turn locomotives there was a turntable at Sharpness, all three sides of the triangle were used for normal running.
Hi Lionel I was surprised to suddenly find myself at the railway as well, mind you it was very remote. The finds were reward for the effort, nice day out. Ron
Great detective work Ron! I had completely forgotten about that southern spur connection. Perhaps it was removed when the Sharpness Branch was solely used for nuclear traffic for Berkeley Power Station rather than docks traffic, as anything nuclear would be heading north to Sellafield for reprocessing. Thanks again!
The Berkeley Loop Junction to Berkeley Road South Junction was removed long before the British Nuclear Fuels Siding was put in on the site of Berkeley Goods yard. Following the Severn Bridge accident the line could not be used as a diversionary route when the Severn Tunnel was under engineers possession to route trains from South Wales to Bristol which was why the line was built. I have given the dates and details in my own comments which you may find of interest..
Hi Paul, glad you enjoyed the film, I see our Andrew has given you some details, makes things more interesting. Apparently I should have taken the nettles for a healthy snack, so Sharron Idol says! Ron
@@andrewmerriman7133 Thanks Andrew for your clarification and explanation. I will check out your other comment. Regards, Paul.
@@ParkinsonsWalks Thanks Ron! Yes, I heard that you can make a tasty soup from them, though I've never tried it. The Cornish wrap their cheese with them (Yarg)!
@@westcountrywanderings You're very welcome Paul, if there's any other detail or explanation you want please do not hesitate to ask, I will do my best to answer. Stay Safe. Regards, Andrew.
I'll add a little insight into reading the landscape via foliage, typically stinging nettles like to grow in areas of human habitation - they just love human "fertiliser" - both types, and the thicker/lush the growth the more used the area by humans as a "toilet" and the more recent too, and eventually the patches become less dense as the nutrients are used upp over longer periods of time.
Though you'll find patches of nettles where animals are/were sheltered these tend to be grazed down and generally more free flowing patches - compared to more uniform, linear or boxy patches of nettles following the lines of an old house or signal box.
Thanks for that info, I'll never look at a patch of nettles the same way again. Ron
Abandoned rail beds, always interesting. (Jim from northern New York)
Hi Jim, nice of you to join us, glad you enjoyed the explore. Ron
My apologies Ron, certainly not the content...it was a bit of a strenuous day yesterday with walks and ball playing. James and I enjoyed our virtual walk this morning. I'm not a big fan of nettles, but "whither thou goest"...! I reckon I could do a better job than an iron bar poking around. I wish it were easier for me to travel. Thanks for taking us. Sumac
Ah yes, the Sumac nose, we could definitely have used that. I am certain there must be remains somewhere. Maybe next time. Ron
Are you planning a trip to see what remains of the old GWR Hatherley Loop?
I did look at it when I was doing the abandoned railways out of Cheltenham series, but I got the impression it was more or less all built upon. I'll have another look on Google Earth. Ron
Dogged determination there in deepest Gloucestershire Ron. Obviously you trained with a Royal Marine Commando Unit or SAS.
Hi Rodney, no I didn't, but it sometimes feels like it would have been an advantage. Keep smiling. Ron
That plate layers hut could be worth £200,000 in the current climate. Ron, you must take a bag of breadcrumbs with you so you can lay a trail to get back out again. I may have heard that story somewhere else and it didn't end well...........
I saw the plate layers hut first. Ron
Ron talk about dogged determination. Thanks for Yet another good one but no AOB on this one
Thanks Peter, it was a case of 'I've started so I might as well finish', Ron
You never fail to make things interesting; or in the case of railways, even more interesting. You speak long dead railways back to life.
Something to bear in mind when in places with lots of nettles: The stinging nettle is probably the most nutritious vegetable in the UK, and it's free! Despite being a little difficult to gather, eating it (The leaves, not the stems. - After cooking.) is a great way to help to stay healthy. They boil down as much as or more than spinach; so quite a lot needs to be gathered.
Isn't it amazing what they left behind when they destroyed railways that would probably be quite useful these days? What a shame they were so misguided.
Hi Sharron, lovely to hear from you, glad you enjoyed the film. I've told my wife about the nettles, she didn't look too keen - no sense of adventure. Take care. Ron
SB = Signal Box. What does SP mean? Next to SB on the map
Sign Post Paul? My best guess until someone more qualified comes along. Ron
Has any farmer told you to "gerroff my land"?
Hi Nicholas, yes once, I apologized profusely and he said he was sorry for being grumpy. Go figure. Ron