British Section Newsletter
Vol.16 No.2 Winter 2011/2012
European Association of Railway PersonnelAssociation Européenne des Cheminots (AISBL)
International Association (A.R. 4.2.1985)
International Non-governmental Organisation with advisory status to the Council of Europe (6.4.1977)
International Non-governmental Organisation with consultative status to the UN (decision E/ 2002/ of 22.07.2002) and member of the
United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
Registered address: A.E.C (AISBL). - 25 Square de Meeus 1000 Brussels, Belgium.
AEC EUROPEAN BUREAU.President: Horst-Gerd Vanselow (D).
Vice-President: Philip Worsfold B.Sc., C.Eng., M.I.C.E. (GB)
E-mail: wors@8bwhi.eclipse.co.uk
General Secretary: Nicolae Dutu (ROM). Asst Secretary Ettore Movilia (I).
Treasurer: Pierre Laberny (F). Asst Treasurer Luc van Mele (B).
AEC BRITISH SECTION COMMITTEE
The committee, elected at the Annual General Meeting of 5th May 2011 is as follows:Honorary President:
Theo Steel (formerly Project Director ONE Railway)Past Honorary President:
Malcolm Southgate OBE (formerly Deputy Director, Eurostar)Honorary Vice-president:
Colin Charman,
Operations Compliance Manager, Eurostar International Ltd,
E-mail: colin.charman@eurostar.com (NEW)President:
Bob Clark,
E-mail: bobclark_aec@yahoo.ieVice-president:
Patrick Rigby,
E-mail: patrickrigby@orange.netSecretary:
Gerry Atkin, M.C.I.L.T.,
E-mail: gandeatkin@aol.comAssistant Secretary:
Peter Davies,
E-mail: 24foxglove@tiscali.co.ukVisits Secretary:
John Woods, C Eng. M.I.C.E.
E-mail: jauwoods@gmail.comTreasurer and Membership Secretary:
Bill Andrews, 32 Greet Road, LANCING, Sussex. BN15 9NS
Tel: +44(0)1903 521 850; E-mail: fam.Andrews@ntlworld.comRecruitment Officer:
Nigel Hyde
E-mail: hyde.nigel@sky.comAuditor:
Mike Hill
Contents
Editorial
A Message from the President
Report by retiring European President, Mimmo
Persico
Recruitment
Transport News
- Isle of Man Steam Packet Services
- Good News about HS2
- Europa – European Commission press
release.
European Days and Other European Events
European Days in Sorrento, Italy, June 2012
European Days in France & Belgium, Sept. 2012
European Days in Austria, September 2013
What if?
Tunnelling back to Priscilla
Recent Events …
… and Things to Come
Early notice of A.G.M on Thurs. 19th April 2012
Association Ties and Badges Page 19 Timetables
Young Buffers and Railway Study Association Page 19 And for the future???
FEANDC Weekend in Cambridge. September 2012
Summary of DatesThere is no membership application form included with the printed version of this edition. Please remember that the annual subscription is now £10.
EditorialAEC has accorded a great honour to the British section (and to me) in electing its new European Bureau for the next three years. At the General Assembly in Sibiu (Romania) in September the new bureau elected there included for the first time a British member as Vice-president. O.K., my arm was twisted a bit and no-one else had their name put forward; but nevertheless, members were given the opportunity to express their approval or otherwise and the vote was conclusive. Now that I have been appointed to the Vice presidential post, it means that I must relinquish my position on the British section committee, to adopt values which are not specific to any one national section but for the general good of A.E.C. I hope to be able to do what I have always tried to do because, as you are aware, I am fully committed to Europe – a principal reason for my being in A.E.C. in the first place. As Vice-president, I hope that I may be in a better position to influence the overall management of A.E.C. However, the editorship of the newsletter is not necessarily a committee post and I have been asked to continue to undertake this task. The names and nationalities of the members of the European Bureau are now listed on page 2 of the newsletter.
I had intended to let you know about an FEANDC event to be held in Cambridge next September. Unfortunately it does clash with the dates for European Days in Belgium but some of us at the last European Days in Sibiu were able to sort out how there could be representation at both events. I shall attend as the official representative of A.E.C. in Europe. Details are given later in this newsletter.Philip Worsfold and the production team.
A message from the President – Bob Clark.
Doomed, doomed we're a' doomed!!!
As the end of the year approaches and the financial sector seems not to care what happens around the world, the euro is still looking unstable and the right wing politicians gleefully predict the end of the "European nightmare". I wonder if these same persons realise that the reasoning behind Europe is that, as in the USA, a feeling of United we stand.....divided...well that doesn't bear thinking about. We just have to look to the past. As I first started to write this on 11/11/11, I thought about my own attitudes to this day in previous years and didn't really like (now) what these thoughts were. Now older and probably wiser I feel we are lucky that those who fell gave us the freedom to be who we are; and the world we live in today is as a direct consequence of historical mistrust of one another throughout the past century and since time immemorial. I am reminded according to one of my history teachers that most of the world's problems were caused by our (British) interference in the affairs of the rest of the world. I cannot recall what prompted this accusation but it has moulded my opinions over the years and made me determined to be less "British" and more "European" in outlook. To be seen as European was to be open and modern in ideology and to be British seemed to be old fashioned and inward looking – nothing seems to have changed there then! Progress is a thing which none of us
can halt and it has been progress that shaped the modern world; something certain people in this country forget. We need a high speed rail link going north; that is a fact and those who choose to protest are guilty of condemning this country to being nothing more than the next Disneyland theme park. Britain was the first country in the world to have Railways and postage stamps amongst other things. We just seem to sit back and let other people improve our ideas and we lose our best brains to overseas. All of us need to take stock of what we want our country to be. I want a modern country that is fit for all to live in and be proud to be citizens of. This country would be at the forefront of modern thinking and an example of democracy for others to envy. However in the real world we must endeavour to do what we can to keep things going. Life goes on and, as we look to the future, the past must be remembered in the hope that we can learn from the mistakes of those past times. Before beginning to write this on 11/11/11, I noticed the following piece (below) on the Royal Mail intranet, including an extract from the Manchester Guardian of 12/11/1919 on the 1st Armistice day. Freedom is indeed a hard won right and it is right we should respect those who gave their life in the past to enable us to express ourselves today. Are we doomed; a' doomed? I don't know; only time will tell.
Meanwhile I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and all your family, friends, etc ...... A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.JUST ONE MORE THING... 2012 is an important year and a very busy year, don't worry just ......
KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON!!!
Remembering the past:
On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, the First World War officially ended with the signing of the Armistice. The 11th November has been remembered as Armistice Day, when this nation [and others – Ed] pauses to reflect on the events of the past. It was renamed Remembrance Day after World War II.
Significance of this year's date:
At 11.11.11 on 11.11.11, the time and date will be a perfect same-numbered palindrome, reading the same backwards as forwards, an event which can only happen on one day every 100 years. The reason the date is so unusual is that 11.11.11 is the only double-figure palindromic date, since there is no 22nd month.
The First Two Minute Silence in London in 1919.
The first two minute silence was reported the following day in the Manchester Guardian on 12 November 1919:'The first stroke of eleven produced a magical effect.
'The tram cars glided into stillness, motors ceased to cough and fume, and stopped dead, and the mighty-limbed dray horses hunched back upon their loads and stopped also, seeming to do it of their own volition.
Someone took off his hat, and with a nervous hesitancy the rest of the men bowed their heads also. Here and there an old soldier could be detected slipping unconsciously into the posture of 'attention'. An elderly woman, not far away, wiped her eyes, and the man beside her looked white and stern. Everyone stood very still ... The hush deepened. It had spread over the whole city and become so pronounced as to impress one with a sense of audibility. It was a silence which was almost pain ... And the spirit of memory brooded over it all.'
REPORT BY RETIRING EUROPEAN PRESIDENT, DOMENICO PERSICO, TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN SIBIU, ROMANIA 19th September 2011.
We have almost achieved the objective of these three years of management of A.E.C. My task as president and that of all the members of the bureau certainly hasn’t been easy in view of the great problems we have had to confront. The conclusion of the amendments to the statutes and their consequent registration in Brussels has occupied much of our time and has eroded our current finances. But now at last we can consider ourselves a truly European association, in accord with the current Belgian law. Thanks to the registration of the Statutes, we have also been able to send the report to the United Nations for our permanent place in the register of Non Governmental Organisations. If today, in 2011 we can happily celebrate our 50th anniversary it is thanks to these results that we, all together have sought and achieved. At this moment we are engaged in modifying the Internal Regulations (standing orders) and I thank my friend Horst Vanselow, who has taken up a lot of his time to achieve this objective.
The whole bureau has worked thoroughly and has always collaborated with me to achieve each objective. The General Secretary has carried out his difficult task punctually and has always had a cordial and collaborative rapport with me. The Treasurer and Asst Treasurer have endeavoured to maintain the balance within the forecast limits in a difficult economic situation.
My friend, Vice-president Kämmerer has always supported my decisions and on each occasion, he has always contributed to my choice with his important comments. Perhaps because I have always been present at all our events I have not left him the necessary visibility and opportunity to show his value. However, I am sure that whatever the occasion he would show his value far better than me.
I have been gratified to see a sincere and loyal collaboration among all the sections, during these three years. We have lived in a calm atmosphere and the European days, which have been organised in exemplary manner, have seen a sincere and harmonious participation on the part of the members.
All of us, who have had the task of directing A.E.C., have welcomed this sense of reinforcement of the values of friendship and brotherhood, which are the basis of our existence. We have always acted with the respect of all the sections and recognise the same dignities. We can say with certainty to have always proceeded without distinctions or partisan privileges in total loyal self government. We have been faithful to what is expected by our Statutes, which requires that we are the representatives of the whole of the A.E.C., without partiality.
Also we, who are perhaps unfairly the managers of the Association, surely fulfilled our task in a professional manner. We put our time and our passion at the disposal of A.E.C., without any financial gain or other benefits. We are not exempt from making some mistakes – like anyone else. We are conscious that we can do more and better in bringing together the suggestions coming from all quarters.
During these last years, the whole world is living in difficult times because of significant international tensions, which affect the whole economy, especially in the Arab world. At this moment, there are great social tensions and unfortunately, in many parts of the world we must live and breathe in an atmosphere of war.
In this prospect, surely not acceptable to any of us, we can and we must be very happy to be able to be here together today to renew the celebration of the 50th anniversary of our glorious Association. Only a few associations have achieved such an objective. An A.E.C livelier than ever, which, unfairly I have been enjoined to represent, must at this moment stress its spirit of brotherhood and European cooperation, to develop European sentiments, which are the only reason for its existence.
Special thanks must be given to all those railway friends who, 50 years ago were the idealistic precursors of a United Europe; and who gave life to the association which is “A.E.C.”, which is still today living and present with its ideals and which is always ready with initiatives to reinforce these sentiments.
The Italian section, which, with France, was the founder of our well loved A.E.C, had the honour to organise last May the celebration of the 50th anniversary. The spirit of friendship and brotherhood present among the members of A.E.C. was demonstrated by the fact that, despite the huge economic difficulties, which affect us all, we had a significant representation from all the European sections, who wanted to live this great event. The President of the Italian Republic has sent our Association a medal of merit for this achievement. This medal was presented to the President of the Italian section, who will be responsible for it. Today our group of friends, the Romanian section, has organised European Days, which are the continuation of these celebrations and which also conclude of our A.E.C. mandate. The new directorate, which will be elected at the European General Assembly, will surely be able to do more and better than I have done in the past three years. I have been greatly honoured and happy to have the honour of representing our A.E.C. For sure, for me, my predecessors have been a guide and beacon to inspire me. I don’t know if I did my best but I do know that I made every effort to act unconditionally and with respect for the equality of all the sections. I hope the sense of friendship and cordiality that I have tried to pass on will stay among you in all the things you do.
I thank you and wish A.E.C a long life and a prosperous one.
In wanting and having to assume all the responsibilities which presented themselves, even in the name of the European Bureau, which I represent, I ask you to express with one simple vote your contentment or disapproval with regard to what I have done up to now.
If your vote is one of disapproval, then I alone am responsible. Thank you all.[After the elections of the new European Bureau, the meeting made Mimmo Persico an Honorary President of A.E.C.]
Recruitment
With Bob Clark having been elected as President, Nigel Hyde has offered his services as Recruitment Officer. Any ideas you have should now be channelled through him.
We have available Philip Penaluna’s ‘PowerPoint’ presentation to aid recruitment. This can be multilingual, within limits, for use by any national section, if required. Should members wish to use it as an aid to recruiting new members, please let the Editor, Philip Worsfold, know and it can be forwarded as an e-mail attachment.
Enquiries about membership should be addressed to Bill Andrews.
Their E-mail addresses are given on page 2.
TRANSPORT NEWS.ISLE OF MAN STEAM PACKET SERVICES. Some advice from John Woods.
John advises us that the procedures for obtaining concessionary tickets for Isle of Man Steam Packet services are extremely convoluted and intending travellers should allow ample time to apply, even just for privilege tickets.
GOOD NEWS ABOUT HS2.Early in November the British House of Commons Select Committee on Transport published its report on its inquiry into High Speed Rail in Britain. After several months of hearing evidence, it has come out in favour of the full £32bn (37bn euros) package for the second British high speed line. All the key criticisms were rejected and it accepts that the full Y-shaped proposal to access Leeds and Manchester is necessary to realise its full economic potential, not just a route terminating at Birmingham – although there would still be an economic case for this smaller option. The report mentions the possibility of extensions into Scotland and Wales. A decision in December 2011 by the transport secretary on the outcome of the consultations is now awaited. Thereafter outline engineering designs, Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental assessment can be prepared, ready to present a bill before Parliament in October 2013.
EUROPA - Press Releases - Rail transport: Commission launches infringement proceedings against France and the UK over Channel Tunnel
Brussels, 29 September 2011 - The European Commission has launched infringement proceedings against France and the United Kingdom over their failure to implement legislation to open the market for rail services in the Channel Fixed Link. Compliance with EU legislation will contribute to more competition, which will lead to better services and prices for passengers and freight traffic.
The EU rules
The first railway package seeks to create the basis for market opening and competition in rail services. It aims in particular to ensure the independence of the infrastructure manager, non-discriminatory track access charging and the setting up of an independent regulator to remedy competition problems in the rail sector. Member States were required to implement these directives by 15 March 2003. Failure to remedy the current situation in the UK and France within 2 months will result in further measures against these two countries.The reason for taking this action
The infringements raised with France and the United Kingdom concern the lack of independence of the rail infrastructure manager of the Channel Fixed Link and the insufficient implementation of provisions in the first railway package concerning rail access charging, the independent regulatory body and capacity allocation as regards the Channel Fixed Link. Letters of formal notice raising similar infringements were sent in 2008 to 24 Member States, including France and the United Kingdom for failure to properly implement the first railway package; however those letters did not address the implementation of the legislation in relation to the Channel Fixed Link. These two letters complete the package.The practical effect of non-transposition
If the first railway package is not fully implemented, it could prevent the creation of an internal market for rail services in Europe. Having an internal market is important because competition between different rail operators would encourage them to become more efficient and would result in more choice, better services and lower prices for passengers and for freight traffic.
Next steps
Member States have two months to respond to the letters of formal notice. If they fail to react satisfactorily, then the next step in the infringement procedure would be a reasoned opinion from the Commission requesting the Member States in question to fully implement the first railway package.MEMO/11/646
Contacts:
Helen Kearns (+32 2 298 76 38)
Dale Kidd (+32 2 295 74 61)
EUROPEAN DAYS AND OTHER EVENTS.European Days currently planned are:
04.06.-09.06.2012 Italy; (Sorrento). This event replaces the proposed Danube cruise, which proved to be too expensive. Note changed dates. This event is provisional, subject to approval by the European Bureau. Details are to follow.
17.09. -22.09.2012 Joint European Days in Lille (France) and Charleroi (Belgium). Note dates.
Spring 2013 The Bratislava proposal has had to be abandoned. (Details of a replacement programme on the Polish Baltic coast are awaited)
Autumn 2013 European Days in Salzburg (Austria) on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Austrian Section.
Items from the German section’s calendar are:AKTUELLE VERANSTALTUNGSTERMINE
11.-16.10.2011 RVHagen: Fahrt nach Bozen und Verona
19.11.2011 RVFrankfurt: Alljährliches, traditionelles Gänseessen
26.11.2011 RVHamburg: Weihnachtsklönschnack
26.+27.11.2011 RVHagen: Besuch der „WaldWeihnacht“ im Spessart
27.11.2011 RVWittenberge:Weihnachtsfeier
01.-04.12.2011 RVDresden: Weihnachtstreffen im Erzgebirge mit
Freunden des RVFrankfurt
03.12.2011 OVBerlin: Weihnachtsfeier mit Vorstandswahl
10.12.2011 RVFrankfurt: Besuch des Weihnachtsmarktes
Gelnhausen
28.01.2012 RVHamburg: Regionalverbandstag (Vorstandswahl)
Vorschau 2012 RVHagen: 4Tagesreise nach Wien
EUROPÄISCHE TREFFEN
Frühjahr 2012 Geplant: Europ. Tage in Sorent
Neapel/Capri, Italien
17.09. - 22.09. 2012 gemeinsame Europäische Tage
in der “Grenzregion” Belgien/Frankreich
23.09. - 28.09.2013 Europäische Tage in Salzburg
aus Anlass des 50-jährigen Jubiläums
der Sektion Österreich
EUROPEAN DAYS IN ITALY JUNE 2012
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMMESorrento, Capri, Amalfi Coast, Naples, Pompeii
From Monday 4th June to Saturday 9th June 2012Day 1 Monday – Arrival
Arrival in Sorrento. Accommodation of the group in a 4 ****CONCA PARK HOTEL in Sorrento city centre, welcome drink with music and dinner. Overnight accommodation. Meeting of the Administrative Council.Day 2 Tuesday – Excursion Sorrento
Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure for the walking guided tour of Sorrento.
Stop for the visit of the “Museo Correale di Terranova”, important Museum of Sorrento with its porcelains, inlaid wood furniture, paintings etc….
Visit to the historical centre, the famous Piazza Tasso dedicated to the writer Torquato Tasso, who was born in Sorrento.
Walk through the small streets full of inlaid wood workshops, coral shops, limoncello…
Stop at the Villa Comunale (Public Gardens) to admire the beautiful panorama of the Gulf of Naples and the Vesuvius. Visit to the Cloister of San Francis, the Cathedral and the Basilica of Sant’Antonino, patron Saint of the city, and to the millstones valley.
Lunch in a restaurant with a sea view and free time in the afternoon. Dinner at the hotel and overnight accommodation.Day 3 Wednesday – Full day excursion – Capri
Breakfast at the hotel.
Meeting with the guide and walk or descent by lift to the pier. Boarding and departure to CAPRI. Guided tour of the island on private minibuses. Anacapri: visit to the Villa San Michele. Visit to Capri centre, Augustus’ Gardens. Lunch at a restaurant. Free time for shopping or a boat tour around the island; return to Sorrento. Dinner and overnight accommodation.Day 4 Thursday – Excursion Amalfi Coast
Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure by bus with private guide.
Stop at the Belvedere of POSITANO to enjoy the unforgetable panorama, pearl of the Amalfi Coast,(che da sempre ha suscitato interesse ad una classe cosmopolita di attori, registi, cantanti etc. .) AMALFI, a distance of 34 km from Sorrento – an important Maritime Republic and the city of Flavio Gioia, who was according to tradition was the inventor of the compass. Visit to the Cathedral with the cloister and the museum.
Departure to RAVELLO. Lunch in Scala. Visit to the Duomo of Ravello, dedicated to San Pantaleone and to Villa Ruffolo, which inspired Wagner for the second act of his masterpiece “Parsifal” and where every year a very famous music festival takes place.
Return to Sorrento. Dinner and overnight accommodation.Day 5 Friday – Full day excursion - Naples and Pompeii
Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure by bus with private guide to NAPLES. City panoramic tour and stop in the city centre for a walking tour: Piazza Plebiscito, Umberto I Gallery, Piazza Trieste e Trento and the Royal Palace. Transfer to Pompeii and lunch.
2 hour visit to the ruins. POMPEII, the largest archaeological site in Italy. Ancient important port city, Pompeii was built next to Vesuvius; its growth was very rapid, thanks its geographic position, and its commerce in the Mediterranean Sea. During the eruption of the Vesuvius in AD 79, the city was buried.
Return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight accommodation.Day 6 - Departure
Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure.PRICES.
04 – 09 June 2012
(Group of ca 200 people)
PRICE FOR PERSON IN A DOUBLE STANDARD ROOM 615.00 €
€ 315 before 05/01/2012; the balance of € 300 on arrival at the Hotel
PANORAMIC SEA VIEW SUPPLEMENT PER PERSON IN DOUBLE 100.00 €
SINGLE ROOM EXTRA CHARGE 190.00 €
PRICE PER PERSON INCLUDES:
Accommodation in 70 (150 people), rooms in Hotel Conca Park**** City Centre with:
4 evening meals including ¼ wine + ½ mineral water (Dinner 1st day, welcome drink with music, Starters)
Gala dinner on the last day on the swimming-pool with music.
Dinner in hotel 8.30 pm.
- Accommodation in 30 standard rooms (60 people)Grand Hotel Flora**** in Sorrento City centre B&B, Shuttle bus Hotel Flora/Hotel Conca Park /Hotel Flora for the 5 Dinner
(The 5 dinners will be served for all the group at the Hotel Conca Park**** )
- Full Day excursion to Capri including Lift transfer, Guide Service + boat trips, tour of the island by private minibuses.
- Lunch in Capri with double service of “primi piatti” “main course with vegetables” and dessert, ¼ wine + ½ mineral water
- Guide service on the Amalfi Coast:
- Bus service for the Amalfi Coast tour including parking service 2 hours in Ravello
+ 2 hour bus-pass for Amalfi.
- Lunch in Scala with double service of “primi piatti” “main course with vegetables” and dessert, ¼ wine + ½ mineral water.
- Guide service Pompei/Naples
- Lunch in Pompei with double service of “primi piatti” “main course with vegetables” and dessert, ¼ wine + ½ mineral water.
- Guide service Half Day tour of Sorrento
- Dinner in a restaurant with panoramic sea-view terrace in Sorrento, double service of “primi piatti” “main course with vegetables” and dessert, ¼ wine + ½ mineral water.
- Entrances: Pompei, Augustus’ gardens, Villa San Michele, Villa Ruffolo, Duomo in Amalfi
- Meeting room for 35 people on 4th June
- 3 persons for the translation on the 4th June (1 German – 1 French – 1 English)
EXTRA CHARGES
Transfers Naples Airport – Station/ Hotel in Sorrento
Bus 53 seats : 280,00 euro per trip (€6 for person)
INFORMATION – Reservations:- + 393683214792 mail: aecvisconti@tin.it
Private car 3 seats : 70,00 euro per trip
Mini-van 6 seats : 100,00 euro per trip
Note that there is also a train service from Naples to Sorrento operated by Circumvesuviana Ferrovia (not FIP)1 Full Board service 95.00 euro per person in a double standard room
for people arriving on the 3rd June
1 Full board service 133.00 euro per person in double/single use standard room.
Price per person does not include tips, extras or anything not mentioned above.
Organising agency: www.Concapark.com Hotel Flora: www.grandhotelflora.com
Booking through the British section.
Note that there is a (non FIP) train service from Naples to Sorrento.
Centralised booking makes reservations easier for the host section and also saves money on currency exchanges when payment is made. Philip Worsfold can again organise the payment of the deposit, which has to be in Italy before 5th January 2012. If you wish to use this facility, please send your sterling cheque for £300 to him (address on page 2) before Christmas 2011. That is only just over three weeks away.
AEC EUROPEAN DAYS: (Franco-Belgian) EUROREGIO – France-Belgium-Zeeland
In Lille (F-59). 17th – 22nd September 2012
Hotel address: Hôtel Ibis Lille Centre-Gares, 29 Avenue Charles St Venant F.59000 LILLE.Project Programme (09.2011)
Sunday 16th September 2012
Arrival of members of the Administrative Council
- Dinner in Hotel Ibis Lille Centre-Gares.
Monday 17th September 2012 www.lille.guide.com
Arrival of members of participants in the European Days- Breakfast
- 09h00. Meeting of the Administrative Council.
- 12h30. Lunch.
- 15h00. Continue Meeting.
20h00. Dinner (in Lille)
Tuesday 18th September 2012 www.leboisducazier.be
- 07h00. Breakfast
- 08h00. Day in memory of all European miners who have worked (and died) in mines in Belgium 1956 Marcinelle “Bois du Cazier” mining museum.
- 13h00. Lunch in NamurMarcinelle: Castle “Château Beau Regard”.
- Visit Namur, citadels and city.
- 20h00. Dinner.
Wednesday 19th September 2012 www.neeltjejans.nl
- 06h00. Breakfast
- 07h00. Depart for visit to the Dutch island Zeeuws Vlaanderen Neeltje Jans: 65 locks, Storm surge barrier; (coffee + cake + admission + guide + introduction.
- Lunch (typical Zeeland style) + boat trip (through 65 locks) to the sea; Aquarium visit (as arranged)
- 16h00. Return to Lille.
- 20h00. Dinner
Thursday 20th September 2012 www.ville-roubaix.fr
- 08h00. Breakfast
- 09h30. Departure for rehabilitated industrial heritage walk (Roubaix)
- 12h30. Lunch
- 14h30. Pool Museum and Factory visit “Manufactures des Flandres”
- 20h00. Dinner in Lille
Friday 21st September 2012 www.vieuxlille.fr
- Breakfast
- 10h00. Guided tour of old Lille
- 12h30. Lunch in Lille
- 20h00. Closing Dinner
Saturday 22nd September 2012
- Breakfast
- Departure of participantsApproximate cost:
Sunday night 16.09.2012 to Monday: 99euro.
Monday evening 17.09.2012 to Saturday morning: 620euro (estimate). Final price to be confirmed early 2012.
Single room supplement: to be advised later.
Booking arrangements: Registration by 20th June 2012. Other details will follow later.Booking through the British section.
Centralised booking makes reservations easier for the host section and also saves money on currency exchanges when payment is made. Details of the arrangements will be given in the newsletter at a later date, once the programme and price have been finalised.
EUROPEAN DAYS IN SALZBURG (A) 22ND – 28TH SEPTEMBER 2013.
Project programme (05. 2011)Sunday 22nd September 2013
Arrival in Salzburg of members of the Administrative Council.Monday 23rd September2013
Arrival of delegates in Salzburg
- Salzburg; Meeting of the Administrative Council
- Opening of European DaysTuesday 24th September 2013
A day in the mountains
- Trip to the Großglockner (Austria’s highest mountain (3798 metres)
- Visit to the Flachau region
Wednesday 25th September 2013
Salzburg; City of Culture
- Guided visit to the townThursday 26th September 2013
A day on the Wolfgangsee
- Boat trip on the Wolfgangsee
- Trip on the Shafberg Rack Railway.Friday 27th September 2013
A day in Salzburg
- A visit to Hellbrun castle (Fountains and gardens)
- Closing of European DaysSaturday 28th September 2013
Departure of delegatesPrice: (as at 01.09.11) 650 euros
Includes: Overnight accommodation including full pension; all transfers; the boat trip; Schafberg railway trip; entry to castle and museums.
Registration for European days in Salzburg 2013 is open until 31st January 2013 so that the necessary reservations can be made.
Contact address:
A1040 Wien, Gußhausstraße 19/18.
Booking through the British section.
Centralised booking makes reservations easier for the host section and also saves money on currency exchanges when payment is made. Details of the arrangements will be given in the newsletter at a later date, once the programme and price have been finalised.
WHAT IF?The British Royal family has announced recently that it is to abandon the procedure whereby the eldest son of the monarch succeeds to the throne, in favour of the eldest child of whichever gender. This has prompted some parts of the British newspaper press to ponder what would have been the result if this new procedure had been adopted in the times of Queen Victoria. It would have meant that her eldest child would have ascended the throne as Queen Victoria II, whilst after 1871 becoming the Kaiserin, as the wife of the King of Prussia who that year was declared Emperor Wilhelm I of a united Germany. Her reign would have been brief indeed for she died later in the same year as her mother. Upon Victoria II’s death her son, now Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, would have become also King William V of Great Britain. So no First World War... and a very different world history.
Of course, there would have been no King Edward VII and probably no ‘Entente Cordiale’ so we could still have had unfriendly relations with France!Philip Worsfold
Tunnelling back to Priscilla – Nicholas Shakespeare.[An article from the Sunday Telegraph, 6th November 2011. I was particularly interested, since I was born in March 1937; first travelled to France on the Newhaven – Dieppe route; and in my travels have visited, albeit briefly in some instances, all the locations mentioned in the article! – Philip Worsfold ]
One March day in 1937, "feeling very ill and alone in the world", my aunt Priscilla caught the Paris train from Victoria station with £5 in her pocket. She was 20, unmarried and pregnant, and had decided to go to France, where she had grown up, to have an abortion.
When the train pulled into Newhaven she noticed a tall man looking at her. His face was lined and he must have been about 40. Speaking in French, he introduced himself. Her heart sank: she disliked talking to people on trains, a trait she inherited from her father, the broadcaster and prolific author S P B Mais. "In the train and across the Channel," he observed in I return to Switzerland, "the Englishman regards his fellow traveller as Cain regarded Abel, and only looks for a chance to eliminate him." Priscilla wondered how anyone could find her attractive in her present state, but was beyond caring.
Soon they were caught up in a conversation that lasted to Paris and beyond. "For train travel," as Ludovic Kennedy put it, "being constricted both in time and space, magnifies character, intensifies relationships, unites the disparate. Ordinary people become extra-ordinary, larger than life; and in the knowledge that they will not meet again, expansive, confiding, intimate. Let us talk now, you and I: later will be too late."
By the time they reached the Gard du Nord, the tall French stranger – Vicomte Robert Doynel de la Sausserie – had fallen in love. He married Priscilla the following December. Shortly afterwards, the Germans invaded France, and for the next four years, my aunt, the young Vicomtesse, disappeared from sight.
Seventy years on, I board a Eurostar carriage at St Pancras with the aim of finding out, if I can, what happened. I have little to go on – Priscilla was adamantine in her refusal to talk about this period of her life; but by visiting places mentioned in her letters, I hope to shade in my aunt's story during the Occupation. I travel mindful of Paul Theroux's mantra: "Almost anything is possible in a train."
I last took the train to Paris a decade ago and cannot reconcile the two experiences. The service has improved beyond recognition. Gleaming waiting rooms; a minimum of bureaucracy and queues; and efficient. The young woman beside me booked her ticket a mere couple of hours earlier. A student at the Royal College of Music, Evelyne Berezovky received an urgent summons from her father, the Russian concert pianist Boris, who wanted her to page-turn for him. She will appear on stage at the Salle Pleyel, where Chopin performed, in the clothes she is wearing.
"Is Evelyne a Russian name?" I ask as she vets her face in a small mirror. "I was named after Evelyn Waugh." When I reveal that I made a documentary on Waugh, she invites me to the concert, but I am leaving next morning for Caen.
I have a photograph of Priscilla's marriage at St Honoré d'Eylau in ‘place Victor Hugo’. Her father refused to come over to join the cortege. The faces belong to her husband's aristocratic family, who owned a chateau in Normandy where my aunt and Robert spent their weekends; leaving from the Gare St Lazare and following the same route as the train that carried her English friends to safety in June 1940. Why she remained in France after Germany invaded is a mystery.
Aside from your fellow passengers, one of the blissful things about train travel is the counterpoint between life within the train and life without, touched on in William Stafford's poem "Vacation":
There is dust on everything in Nevada.
I pour the cream.
The two-hour journey to Caen takes me through a flat landscape, the furrowed fields of late September and hedgerows known as bocages: mounds of greenery in which trees, bushes, brambles all patchily intertwine – like Priscilla's life.
My first stop: the archives at Caen, where ardent genealogists have untangled the lineage of Robert's family back to 1066. I search for Priscilla's name in vain, eventually finding this: "Robert/married an Englishwoman (no children)/divorced." It's as though a bocage has grown over her name.
Bombed to flatness, the gaiety of Caen is soon exhausted. I make a detour to the coastal resort of Houlgate, one of Priscilla's favourite destinations. It lies 45 minutes away, reached by a bus that leaves from the railway station.
On the beach, a solitary pillar commemorates a conquest more ancient than the upstart German one: the departure of Duke William of Normandy for England. The archives revealed that among William's closest companions on board was Robert Doynel's ancestor. An old retainer will later recall how Robert, during the Occupation, clung to this belief: "William of Normandy left with his fleet from Normandy. A fleet will return from England to liberate Normandy."
Nothing is stiller than a French beach town in late September. Houlgate's ornately tiled villas are shuttered and the only figures are cockle-pickers stooped over the tide-pools. But along this selfsame coastline the Allies landed, as Max Hastings next day reminds me.
I chance upon my former editor seated alone at the Auberge Normande in Carentan, tucking into a plate of lobster tails and ordering another glass of white wine. I have interrupted him rereading Trollope's autobiography on an iPad. He caught the ferry over this morning and has come to Carentan to embrace his French chef, to ensure that he returns to cater for a weekend in Hungerford next year ("He said the least awful place to have lunch was here"); and at 4pm is leading a group of US generals on a tour of Omaha Beach. Alas, I cannot join him for dessert because I have arranged to visit the chateau where Priscilla spent much of her short married life. As well as for Max's chef, Carentan was my aunt's local railway station.
Like Max, the person driving me to the chateau, 10 kilometres away, is an expert on the Normandy landings. A former shipping agent, Michael Yannaghas retired to the nearby provincial capital of Saint-Lô, christened by Samuel Beckett, after the RAF destroyed it, as "the capital of ruins". Michael lives, he tells me, "in the middle of a battlefield". He has dug up in his garden: a grenade, a fighting dagger, an entrenching tool – "and thousands of bits of shrapnel, oh yes". But he comes from a family accustomed to digging up things in fields. The Venus de Milo was found in his great-great uncle's field on the isle of Milos. "He sold it to the French consul who gave it to Louis XVIII" – the armless effigy being ferried back to France by a sailor from Normandy.
Priscilla's chateau at Boisgrimot, outside the hamlet of Sainteny, was the scene of the fiercest fighting in Normandy and a symbol of the difficulty encountered in bocage country. ("The casualty figures were extraordinary," reads a history of D-Day: at Sainteny, 7,000 GIs died within five kilometres.) Michael points out mounds of earth used since time immemorial to partition off land. "Everyone thought 'nice little hedges in Bodmin' – where they had all trained. In the month of June the foliage is thickest. Effectively, you can't see anything. A US colonel said the bocage was far worse than anything he had found in the Guadalcanal."
The chateau stands milk-white and vacant at the end of a long gravel drive. Destroyed by bombs in July 1944, and sold with panic-stricken haste by the Doynels, it has recently endured a sterile renovation. Visible through a window among builder's ladders is the sole remaining family relic: a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace engraved with three ducks – the Doynel crest.
We call on the son of the former butler. At mention of Priscilla's name, 80-year-old Joseph Carer claps his head: "Priscilla Mais!" His face reddening, he takes off his spectacles. His father used to collect her by horse and carriage from Carentan railway station… He remembers how beautiful she was, her blonde hair, her green eyes, fur coat. His eyes are watering.
So what went wrong? Why, immediately after the Liberation, did she divorce Robert and return to England? I go back to Paris and take a train south-east to the Doubs to find out.
On the platform at the Gare de Lyon, I am conscious of the TGV's hum and the grating of my suitcase rollers. Priscilla, clutching her rapidly packed valise, would have heard different noises: dog barks and the shouts of German soldiers.
One freezing December morning in 1940 the Gestapo arrested all Englishwomen still in France. The women, including Priscilla, were packed into third-class carriages and transported by rail to Besançon. What happened to them there is a little known story, even in Besançon.
At the Hôtel de Paris in the old centre, a businesswoman is seething to change her room. She has a double bed and a shower, but no bath – as, specifically, she had booked. The receptionist shakes her head. There are no rooms left.
"My colleague – does she have a double?" The receptionist nods. "And bath?" "Yes."
The woman storms off, and I tell the receptionist that my aunt was four months in Besançon without a bath.
The Caserne Vauban has been closed since 2006, but the Brigadier in command of the 19th Regiment – which is stationed in Besançon and formerly occupied these barracks – unlocks the gates for me. I spend an afternoon wandering through the empty corridors and courtyards, trying to picture the 2,500 internees: jockeys' wives, governesses, dancers, Priscilla. She shared her third-floor room in Bâtiment C with 48 fellow British passport-holders. The toilets were ditches in the snow, and that Christmas several inmates froze to death. Priscilla, surviving on soup that was little more than warm water with grass floating in it, invited her room-mates to fictitious banquets.
At Le Coucou restaurant in rue Luc Breton, the patron's eyes widen when he learns of Besançon's English internees. "No one ever told me – and I arrived here in 1960." In 1972, as a 19-year-old parachutist, Patrick Langlade spent four weeks' military service at the Caserne Vauban. "Perhaps I slept in her bed!" But he doesn't altogether believe what I say. I have almost finished eating when there's an excited shout. "Come over here!" He has Googled it. "Look! Margaret Kelly. She was at Besançon. The Bluebell Girls were prisoners!"
Priscilla escaped after four months, this time by pretending she was pregnant. (In March 1941, mothers with children under 16 were released.) Either believing that Robert had not lifted a finger to help, or weary of a stifling existence, she left her husband and fell in and out of love, including with a Frenchman called Eugene who owned a factory in Annemasse making stockings.
Annemasse is reached by train via Lyon, from where I take a two-hour bus journey. It is tantalisingly close to the Swiss border. By day, you have a splendid view of Mont Blanc tossing off its cloud wrap; at night, you look down on the clear lights of Geneva. It's a town of pharmaceuticals and chocolate-makers and women with absurdly small dogs. Why Priscilla should have sought a fleeting happiness here under another name is no less mystifying than her failure to escape into Switzerland. Was there nothing for her in England? Did she feel Germany would win? Was she so in love with Eugene that she felt her future was in France? Or did she simply submit, like a roulette ball, to roll wherever she was tossed?
In Annemasse, I visit the casino and watch a young woman lean her haughty body over the baize and smother it with blue chips. There's no alteration in her
expression, whether she wins, whether she loses. The croupier flicks a white ball. In memory of my aunt, who liked a flutter, I place a single tentative chip. The ball spins back around the lacquered rim, before rattling into slot 25. I've won €2. "You always win in Annemasse," says the woman next to me, smiling.
RECENT EVENTS…
We have continued to meet at the ‘Lord Moon of the Mall’ once a month on the second Thursday.
On 31st August several members enjoyed a visit to the Swanage railway. We congregated at Bournemouth via various routes where we were met by our newly elected President, Bob Clark. The handy (and relatively unusual for Britain) interchange between train and bus the opportunity of boarding the open-top bus to Swanage. This offered the rare phenomenon of crossing to the Isle of Purbeck via the Sanbanks chain ferry. Swanage Station was again convenient when alighting from the bus. Snacks, available at the station, were taken on to the train by most of us, as time was short and the train buffet non-operational on that service. There then unfolded an uncanny re-enactment of SR days when a pleasant steam hauled train ride took us to Norden (where a useful shop is situated on the platform) and then back to Swanage. We rode an 'ordinary' double decker bus back, including the ferry crossing with priority boarding over other traffic, to some welcome refreshments in Bournemouth before dispersing on a very pleasant evening.
There was no visit on 28th September due to the absence of many on European Days in Romania the previous week and their roundabout journeys home. On 26th October, after a bit of a ‘Whitehall’ farce at Reading station, all bar one (your editor, who somehow failed to make the rendezvous) of the half dozen or so who arrived there, continued by train to Twyford and thence on the branch line to Henley (since the river boat service was found to have ended for the season). There a pleasant riverside walk observing the post-regatta craft brought us to the ‘Catherine Wheel’ where we enjoyed a hearty lunch and a jar or two. It was a pleasure to have Patrick Rigby’s daughter, Sarah, with us. Retracing our steps to Twyford, we pondered the effects of future electrification on the scene there before going our separate ways.
Despite a further contact, our proposal for a visit to the train simulator on 30th November again failed to materialise. We shall keep on trying – see below. Instead the intention was to go to Maidstone to meet up with our Hon past President, Malcolm Southgate, for lunch. Since this was written before the event, you’ll have to wait to hear what really happened.
…AND THINGS TO COME
Reunions in London continue to take place at the ‘Lord Moon of the Mall’ in Whitehall on the second Thursday of each month, so the dates from now on are 8th December 2011; 12th January, 9th February, 8th March (Leap Year, remember), 12th April, 10th May 2012 etc.
Please remember that, generally, the last Wednesday of the month is earmarked for possible lunchtime talks or visits. For full details of these and any other events you should contact John Woods by e-mail to jauwoods@gmail.com .
To keep abreast of developments it is advisable to contact John regularly, since sometimes events are arranged or changed at short notice and it is not always possible to announce them in these pages.
There will be no December 2011 visit. The reserved dates continue re-commencing after Christmas on 25th January 2012. For this meeting, at the Royal Oak, 44, Tabard Street London SE1, John Batts has again offered to present one of his ‘off the beaten track’ film shows. I wonder what we can expect this time!!!
Then, with possible events which at this stage are only suggestions; 29th February (Train simulator or Shepherd Neame Brewery, Faversham), 28th March (Harvey’s Brewery, Lewes or Sheppy’s Cider, Wellington, Somerset or Bulmer’s, Hereford), 25th April (River trip to Henley from Reading – assuming the boats have restarted, or Harvey’s of Lewes), 30th May (return visit to the ‘Blue Cow’ at South Witham, Lincs.) etc.
The Easter weekend is from Good Friday 6th April to Easter Monday 9th April.IMPORTANT
The Annual General Meeting will take place on Thursday 19th April. The time, venue and agenda will be announced in the next edition of the Newsletter. The minutes of the 2011 Annual General Meeting will be found in the June 2011 edition of the Newsletter.
ASSOCIATION TIES AND BADGES.
In common with other sections, the British section of the Association has a necktie and a badge. Our particular items are common to both the British and Belgian sections. We have produced the ties and the Belgian section, the badges. I am sorry that we do not have a specific item for ladies.
Ties are available, at £4.50 plus postage, and badges are in stock in small numbers, at £1.50 each, including postage. These items are available from Philip Worsfold. Please contact him first by phone to check availability.
GREAT BRITAIN ALL LINE TIMETABLE THOMAS COOK EUROPEAN TIMETABLE
Philip Worsfold holds an up to date copy of The Stationery Office Great Britain All Line Timetable and also Cooks European Rail and Shipping Services timetable (monthly edition, which continues to be published. This timetable contains the majority of British services in a succinct, abbreviated form. Train operators produce their own pocket timetables.
YOUNG BUFFERS ASSOCIATION. RAILWAY STUDY ASSOCIATION.
We recommend the support of these two organisations, membership of which is open to members of AEC.Young Buffers Association: There is no subscription provided that you have an e-mail address; and no obligation to attend their events. If you would like further details, the Secretary is Larry Fullwood,
e-mail larry.fullwood@virgin.net .Railway Study Association: The full subscription, including subscription to ‘Modern Railways’, is £60. The new session of lectures, held on Wednesday evenings, began in October with the President’s Address. Full details can be found at www.railwaystudyassociation.org .
AND FOR THE FUTURE???
We shall endeavour to continue the production of these three-monthly newsletters to get information to you. They will still be mostly information with just the occasional article. So please, put pen to paper. We need to build up a library of articles. Please keep in touch and let us have your information, your views and your ideas. Next copy deadline is 17th February 2012.
FEANDC 2012: Thursday 13th to Monday 17th September 2012.
European Meeting and Weekend.Hotel:
Express by Holiday Inn
Norman Way,
Off Coldham Lane,
Cambridge. CB1 3LH
Tel: +44(0)1223 866800Expected price of accommodation inc. continental breakfast and hot dish is £72 per room (double, twin or single).
The package of individually priced events will include a guided walking tour of Cambridge; Gala banquet; Newmarket Races; Sandringham House and Gardens (The Queen’s residence); Bury St Edmunds; Duxford Air Museum; North Norfolk.
The attractively priced hotel is not located centrally but provides clean, basic accommodation. Taxi vouchers for arrival from/departure to Cambridge railway station will be included as part of the package.The secretary of FEANDC in Britain is:
Peter Davies,
E-mail: 24foxglove@tiscali.co.ukThere will also be an FEANDC event in Davos, Switzerland, 13th – 19th June 2013.
SUMMARY OF DATES
London Reunions on the second Thursday of the month at the “Lord Moon of the Mall”, Whitehall, London:
8th December 2011
12th January 2012
9th February
8th March
12th April
10th May etc.Note that the Easter weekend is from Friday 6th to Monday 9th April.
The Annual General Meeting will be held in London on Thursday 19th April.
Details will be in the Spring (March) 2012 Newsletter.Dates reserved for talks or visits on the last Wednesday of the month:
There will be no December event due to Christmas.
25th January 2012 John Batts has again offered to present a film show at this meeting. Thereafter, (with suggested venues):
29th February (leap year) (Train simulator or Shepherd Neame.)
28th March (Harvey’s Brewery or Sheppy’s or Bulmers cider)
25th April (Henley or Harvey’s)
30th May (‘Blue Cow’, South Witham) etc
A.E.C. MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION (This form is valid from 01.07.2011 until further notice)Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms/Other*. Surname:……………………………Initials:…………..
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(*delete as applicable)Membership of the A.E.C. costs only £10.00 per annum and is open to anyone in the railway industry without qualification. However, if you would like to complete the following statement, please do so. It would be helpful for us to know.
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E-mail: fam.andrews@ntlworld.comThe European web page is at: http://www.A-E-C.net (now updated)
AEC France is at www.aecfrance.eu/)
AEC Italy is at www.aecitalia.org
AEC Latvia is at www.ldz.lv/biedriba/
AEC Spain is at http://www.aec-es.net/
Poland is at www.aecpl.republika.pl (Private site, not officially recognised.)
AEC Austria is at www.aec-oesterreich.at.tf
AEC Romania is at www.aecaferom.xhost.roThe British Section Website is at http://www.aec-europe.org.uk. You can also find the British Section Newsletter on line at the French and European websites by clicking on to the labelled link.
Some of the above websites are in course of updating.
The British Section Newsletter is produced by a small team headed by Philip Worsfold, who fulfils the role of Editor and Translator. Since he is now a member of the European Bureau, he cannot at the same time be a member of the British section committee.
We take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year.