Station Name: DULLINGHAM
Still open but included for completeness

[Source: Nick Catford]

WW2 memories from John Woollard

Around D-Day all the Claude Hamiltons were busy with military goods trains, so we had to make do an old saddle tank engine normally employed for shuntimg duties around the Cambridge engine sheds. It would fail on the bank between Dullingham and Six Mile Bottom  without sufficient steam to operate the brakes, when it would roll gently roll back to Six Mile Bottom.to either get up max. steam for another go or sometimes wait for a relief engine from Cambridge.The track beside the catchpoints was just visible from the end of our platform and the Stationmaster and Porter/Signalman would would stand peering down the line ready to race to hold the catchpoints over and avert disaster.

In later times I became mates with a young signalman through being fellow motorcyclists and spent many happy evenings in the box. I learnt how to operate the 'block' which was switched out unless there was special traffic. The Wood Ditton crossing box was also switched out most of the time.so trains were passed directly between Newmarket and Six Mile Bottom. I also learnt how to pull off the up distant signal when a hot day had  stretched the operating wire. It was a long way away beside the Devil's Dyke gap.

During the war top brass moved about in secrecy  but the whole village knew when General Eisenhower was coming  through as the plate layers had to walk the line beforehand.




Last updated: Wednesday, 17-May-2017 10:04:54 CEST
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