After this triumph we looked round to see how we could further improve the service, never wishing to rest on our laurels. One area where improvements could he made was access to the emergency services. The facilities were sadly lacking at some stations or, to put it more basically, non-existent in parts.
Firstly an outside line was installed at Alton; in the old days, in an emergency it would have meant someone going to the coin boxes outside on the station forecourt or ringing Alresford to pass a message on. The new line is connected to a small electronic switch (the modern name for a telephone exchange) allowing eight extensions and located in the existing exchange building. As well as providing a 999 only service at the signal box, information office and accommodation coach, the line enables the shop to use a credit card swipe machine and the station staff, not wanting to be left out, had a coin box telephone installed in their office.
We next moved to Medstead, where the nearest phone box was a considerable trek away. A smaller, four extension, switch was provided connected to another new line, phones being fitted in the station inspector’s office, signal box, booking office and S & T manager’s office.
Because the installation of the new line was somewhat protracted experience’, the initial testing was via the Railway’s own Strowger exchange. Everything was fine, no problems, and we waited for the station forecourt to be dug up for a new cable to be provided.
Come the big day and the new system was connected to the outside world. It was immediately apparent that something was amiss. All calls were noisy. One simple solution to the problem was, if one extension was making a call, to physically disconnect the other three and the noise went. As the system is supposed to be automatic it was thought a better answer was needed. We could not find the reason for the noise despite a thorough investigation and the small switch was replaced after only being in service for two weeks by an eight line system.

The final part

The final part of the master plan involved Ropley. Two existing external lines were connected to another eight line switch. All the usual locations have been covered, SI’s office, signal box, shop (with provision for a swipe machine), booking office; also included are the loco shed, safety office and loco group office which also has a fax connected. Again some of the phones are 999 only access. With these new arrangements for access to external lines, those who need to use them daily or those in the unfortunate event of an emergency should now find the service greatly improved. There are plans afoot for changes at Alresford but that is a story for another day. The existing Strowger exchanges still remain in service for internal Railway calls.
And finally, a face from the very distant past who has rejoined the fold. Bernie Salter, a volunteer from the Railway’s early days, brings with him considerable knowledge of telecomm matters but what really endears him as a team member is that for the most feeble of excuses he will stop for a cup of tea. Welcome back, Bernie.


Issue 97 Summer 1998 Curse of the Mid-Hants News

It has happened again, mention something in this illustrious publication and one can be certain that shortly disaster will strike. The last issue mentioned the new switch installed for the external phone lines at Ropley; soon after the publication dropped through members’ letter boxes a thunder storm at Ropley station severely damaged it, one should have learnt from previous experience.

Ropley changes

While on the subject of Ropley, no previous mention has been made of the alterations this department made in conjunction with the improvements of the old signal box last year. Quite a few years ago various pieces of equipment were fitted in the signal box and, as one had been led to believe the new Netley box opening was imminent, they were of a temporary nature as it was expected their life span would be very limited. These included the platform bell, signal post phones (SPT), train arrived indication (TAC) and treadles.
With the opening of the new box put off for a number of years and refurbishment of the exist log structure it was a good chance to replace the short term temporary items with longer term temporary items. In the past it was noted that in times of crisis if a person rang Ropley box and the line was busy they would clear down and try again five seconds later. If still busy this would continue until either the line became free or the exchange equipment wore out. Accordingly a second line was fitted. A ten line key and lamp unit plus one phone replaced the existing phones; at the same time three new cables in duct replaced the existing numerous cables, where they ran from and to and purpose served being long forgotten in the mists of time. The SPTs were altered to bring into line with the existing arrangements at Alresford and Medstead, namely the person at the signal gets an audible indication if the box is manned and the circuit working.
The cable to the down home signal is often set on fire or strimmed and being out of sight of the station the user could have no idea if the circuit was faulty or the signal box unmanned. Also arrangements were made to give the signal person an audible indication if a key was left operated or the handset left off. New TAC and treadle indicators completed the job. Work completed, “good, that means I will not have to do any more work here for the next few years. However this was not to be as, soon after, an extension was fitted from the switch to provide access to the external lines. All the box equipment is now fixed to a small backboard and the end result is far more organised although I say it myself.

Headsets and phones, please.

One day a lady who was dealing with telephone bookings said that when things get busy, and it does get busy, it was difficult to hold the telephone handset/fill in a booking form/drink a cup of coffee/smoke a pipe/eat a meal at the same time and it would be nice to have a headset. “Yes it would be nice but we do not have any headsets” was the reply. By one of those strange quirks of fate, within a week a kind soul donated several headsets to the railway. The only problem was that a special phone is needed to plug the headset into and we only had two on the entire system suitable, one was in store and the other in use in the CEs office; this was quietly commandeered. One phone has been fitted in the information office and reservations have the other; the headsets have proved very popular with the users. If we had additional phones we could further improve matters for those dealing with bookings. The type of phone we are using suitable for a headset is a Converse 300, there are no doubt others. If anyone has one they wish to donate to a good cause I know the office staff at Alresford will be very grateful.
Any phones in working order are always welcome, preferably plug in push button types. Some we have acquired in the past are of doubtful background despite testing when installed. After being in use for a short period of time it becomes apparent why they were previously discarded; they do not work properly.
Recently there was a fine example of inter- department co-operation. Part of a job to improve the phone service at Alresford required three cables to be run via a conduit outside the buffet. It started with the C and W department giving telecoms a hand; as the struggle continued unabated Watercress Belle staff and the building group became involved and for good measure “useful” advice from a member of the traffic staff and washing up liquid, used as a lubricant, supplied by catering was forthcoming.

And finally, in the last issue Mark gave details of how the building department cost jobs, I thought readers might be interested how our budgetary arrangements apply.
When someone requests a phone or whatever a simple three step procedure is used. First contact Acme Supplies, do they have what is required? If no, do we know of anyone who has one to give away? If again no, has one been seen recently in a tidy bin? If the answer to this final question is again negative the next step is to keep a low profile for several weeks and hopefully after that time the requester will no doubt have forgotten what they asked for in the first place. Simple.

Issue 98 Autumn 1998 Railway Ramblings

This article was penned while sitting in the new executive office suite in Telecomm Towers now occupied by the telecomm department at Medstead, situated nearly 600 feet above sea level. Looking from the window one has a commanding view over the undulating Hampshire countryside, mostly featuring the construction works for the new building group workshop — nice.
For the first time we now have proper telephone workshop facilities and also means of storing all the paperwork and diagrams collected over the years. Instead of being scattered at numerous different locations in Hampshire they are now all under one roof, carefully filed, indexed and easy to find; however, it will only be a matter of time before the index is lost.
All the usual necessities for any good workshop have been included — kettle, radio, fairly comfy chair. Thanks to British Telecomm for donating the building that we are already putting to good use.
In all the excitement of setting up the office/workshop it was forgotten to mention the result of last year’s competition to find the best communications system on a preserved standard gauge railway; in the Hampshire section we came second - which was nice.

Ancient and modern

After this triumph we looked round to see how we could further improve the service, never wishing to rest on our laurels. One area where improvements could be made was access to the emergency services. The facilities were sadly lacking at some stations or, to put it more basically, non-existent in parts.
Firstly an outside line was installed at Alton; in the old days, in an emergency it would have meant someone going to the coin boxes outside on the station forecourt or ringing Alresford to pass a message on. The new line is connected to a small electronic switch (the modern name for a telephone exchange) allowing eight extensions and located in the existing exchange building. As well as providing a 999 only service at the signal box, information office and accommodation coach, the line enables the shop to use a credit card swipe machine and the station staff, not wanting to be left out, had a coin box telephone installed in their office.
We next moved to Medstead, where the nearest phone box was a considerable trek away. A smaller, four extension, switch was provided connected to another new line, phones being fitted in the station inspector’s office, signal box, booking office and S & T manager’s office. Because the installation of 20 the new line was a somewhat protracted experience, the initial testing was via the Railway’s own Strowger exchange. Everything was fine, no problems, and we waited for the station forecourt to be dug up for a new cable to be provided.
Come the big day and the new system was connected to the outside world. It was immediately apparent that something was amiss. All calls were noisy. One simple solution to the problem was, if one extension was making a call, to physically disconnect the other three and the noise went. As the system is supposed to be automatic it was thought a better answer was needed. We could not find the reason for the noise despite a thorough investigation and the small switch was replaced after only being in service for two weeks by an eight line system.

The final part

The final part of the master plan involved Ropley. Two existing external lines were connected to another eight line switch. All the usual locations have been covered, SI’s office, signal box, shop (with provision for a swipe machine), booking office; also included are the loco shed, safety office and loco group office which also has a fax connected. Again some of the phones are 999 only access. With these new arrangements for access to external lines, those who need to use them daily or those in the unfortunate event of an emergency should now find the service greatly improved. There are plans afoot for changes at Alresford but that is a story for another day. The existing Strowger exchanges still remain in service for internal Railway calls.

And finally, a face from the very distant past who has rejoined the fold. Bernie Salter, a volunteer from the Railway’s early days, brings with him considerable knowledge of telecomm matters but what really endears him as a team member is that for the most feeble of excuses he will stop for a cup often. Welcome back, Bernie.

Issue 99 Winter 1998/9 Money, money, money

If past issues of the Mid Hants News were to become a subject of the Radio 4 comedy quiz programme Just a Minute, then I am afraid the poor contestant trying to talk for 60 seconds on this theme would soon fall at the hurdle of undue repetition. Page after page, edition after edition of articles on one subject. If, like me, one is becoming bored and getting a feeling of deja vu every time the magazine is opened, here is a short piece showing that you can supply a service to the railway without incurring amounts of money similar to a King’s ransom or the gross national product of some third world country.
The chance discovery of the quotation recently with the costs of the cable installed in the early 1980s prompted some calculations. Twenty miles of cable were purchased for around £3000. Half is used by the S & T for their token machines between Alresford and Medstead: the other half of the cable links the four stations to provide the telephone service. Therefore, for the past 15 years inter-station calls have cost £100 per year. In those years there have been 400,000 calls between stations; this means that for every 1000 calls it has cost the railway less than 4 pence. To this must be added the cost of electricity, not a large sum, plus the cost of materials over the years, again a small amount, so it can be seen that the telephone service is being provided at little cost.
The cable is chewed from time to time by rabbits and this causes problems, as it is more difficult to find time for the necessary repairs. However, given the resources, sadly lacking at the moment, it should give further years of service and additional savings.

The railway was approached last year by Rural Radio, a company based in Alton; they are marketing a telephone system developed by the Universities of Southampton and Warwick. Comprising of a small unit supporting two telephones, it is linked to other units by a digital radio link, needing no exchanges. It is intended for developing countries not having an extensive telecommunications system; one example where exports are at present being sent is Nigeria. Rural Radio wanted to set up a demonstration network handling calls in this country and we will be installing a two-line unit at each station. At the time of writing the system has not been placed in service but will provide a useful back up in the event of the rabbits finally winning the war with the cables.

Mention has been made in the previous two issues of the changes taking place to the phones at Alresford. This, what at first was intended to be a simple straight forward job, draws to its conclusion at long last, One part completed is the placing in the same location of our recorded information services. Along with the talking timetable we now have facilities to give train timings for the Daylight Railtours and also to give a message out of hours to those sad souls who ring up at the most strange times expecting someone to be at the railway. A message either directs the caller to the talking timetable or advises them of the normal office hours.

What has become known as the special shelf has been provided by the building department in the accounts office to accommodate the three tape machines and eight phone sockets this job required.

In 1998 there were nearly 52,000 calls to the railway at Alresford from the outside world and around 25,000 calls on the internal network between stations.

Issue 100 Spring 1999  Win Some, Lose Some

It was while thinking of something worthy to write for the centennial issue that I realised that these jotting on the activities of the Telecoms Department had appeared without fail in every edition since number 75. Knowing those mischievous editors, this is where the winning run ends. Therefore, if your copy does not contain this article it should be them you blame.

First the good news, the changes to the Alresford phone system that have kept your scribe amused for the past nine months are finally complete (well, almost): the bad news is that what occurred during this mammoth task will produce enough articles in future magazines to keep me going well into the next millennium. You have been warned.
Most of our other recent activities seem to have been repairing faulty cables.
At Alton one weekend, during work on the new signalling installation, a mechanical digger dug through the duct containing the services to the signal box and exchange. The mains cable was physically pulled out of the consumer unit and the exchange was now running on its standby batteries. In the event of a mains failure the equipment was designed to give an audible and visual alarm in the station office. This it did, the alarm was heard but no action was taken. Never mind, after several days it stopped. This didn’t mean everything was now all right, it was just that the batteries had finally gone flat. The small switch serving the external phone line should have worked in a “mains fail” mode but the cable with its exchange line was also severed. Later that day, to ensure that Alton was totally isolated, a large hole, near Butts Junction, was dug for a signal post. During this activity the cables to Medstead were cut. After about five days we were finally informed of what had happened and it was to be a further week before time was found to repair the damage. It is fortunate this mayhem occurred during the closed season. Shortly after all this excitement two further cables were cut at Medstead; one was spare and the other was a signalling cable so nothing to worry about. At Ropley, the cable for the up treadle has been replaced as well as the line for the signal box to water tower phone, again due to faults. This is now a regular occurrence.

Just so that Alresford does not feel left out, the C &W phone had a cable fault, while at that station the opportunity was taken to remove redundant cables in the information office during the recent refurbishment work. These had accumulated over the last 20 years, their exact purposes long forgotten.

We have finally admitted defeat in the war with the rabbits. A section of cable at Northside Lane between Alresford and Ropley was so badly damaged that we have had to bypass several hundred yards of existing cable with new. This is the first time this has been necessary. The several hours spent trackside undertaking these repairs is the longest Bernie has been away from a tea pot; another first.
The cause of permanent ringing on the code phones was traced to this corrosion in Alton signal box locking room.

Issue 101 Summer 1999 And Here’s One I Made Earlier


First, I would like to welcome three new members to our small team, Howard Vyvyan, an Griggs and Brian Moore. It is believed that the main appeal of this department was the tea drinking activities to which they already have shown great enthusiasm and skill; the West Country Buffet is almost a second home to them. They bring with them considerable knowledge and experience of telephone matters.
Next, it is this piece that the rather witty title refers to; it was originally intended for this to be the first item before it became the second bit but the title was far too good to waste.
Early in 1998 it was decided to make some improvements to the phone system used in the offices at Alresford station. Although based on key and lamp units (KLUs), which is stone age technology these days, it is simple to use, very little to go wrong and has proved reliable since it was first installed many moons ago. Famous last words.

Dim

Stage One of the master plan was to improve the lamp lighting arrangements. As the number of KLUs increased over the years to twelve, scattered all over the main station building, the lamps have grown dimmer. These were powered from a 240 volt AC transformer rectified to 6 volt DC, with standby batteries, the idea being if the mains failed the lamps would continue to work. In practice, on the few occasions it was needed the back up usually failed. There were other weaknesses with this arrangement and, coupled with the fact there was only one fuse supplying all the units, it was not very satisfactory. Time for some changes.

With the proposal to move the shop eventually to the redeveloped goods shed, there are plans to then extend the buffet into the present shop area. Between the two is the shop store and in there lurks all manner of various telephone items, including the key and lamp power unit, so when building work takes place in the future these items would need to be moved. Therefore, on installation of the new power unit it would need to be relocated to a new home.
The idea was to run the lamps from the exchange 50 volt DC supply. Some time ago, a feed from the exchange had been provided to the signal box; this was now extended into the main Station building. A new power unit was built; two DC/DC converters were provided, one being sufficient for the task, the other is a backup. These convert the 50 volts into 5 volts to power the lamps. Again, as at other locations on the railway, the lamps are being run on a lower voltage to increase their life. Each group of KLUs is individually fused. On the power unit, visual indication is given for correct operation, or if a fault develops, plus a connection to the exchange alarms. Testing took place at Medstead and the unit passed with flying colours; although I say it myself it is a splendid piece of equipment.

Dimmer

Later it was moved to Alresford, fitted in its new location and connected, replacing the mains powered unit. It was noticeable the lamps were even dimmer. After some investigation which did not improve matters it was decided that stage I would now become stage something else and be completed when other changes had taken place. Work continued on the other planned improvements and over a year later when that work had been completed, it was decided to retry the new power unit, it being considered too good to abandon, again with the same dismal results. After some further investigation the problem was discovered — with hindsight it should have been noted earlier. Basically, the equipment running the KLUs was too far from the units themselves. The solution was quite straightforward but would not have been practical until all the other changes had taken place. Since being placed into service the only trouble has been a loose wire, which only affected one KLU.

A Medstead box

Another job that has finally been completed is the installation of the permanent signal post telephone concentrator in Medstead signal box. The one that existed was only ever intended as temporary until something better turned up. Some time later a nice wooden box complete with lamps and keys was discovered somewhere in England; after it fell off the wall and was deemed a safety hazard it was removed to the railway. Last year the unit was modified becoming a SPT concentrator and fitted in the signal box, mainly to get it out of the way as it was cluttering up the workshop. Work then stopped for some time for two reasons; firstly there were mutterings of rearranging the layout of the box and it might have to be moved, but mainly because the paper work detailing the wiring had been mislaid. After some gentle reminders from the station staff work restarted and it took one weekend in May to connect and finally place it in service. We must thank our friends in the North for donating the old style Bakelite phone that has beer used with the concentrator, as there had been a request for old style equipment. The other phones and wiring were tidied up, two wooden phones with modern insides; one is a dial phone, the other the code phone, a modern push button one for external calls, hidden from view, completes the requirements of the signalman.

Money

Finally to return to a favourite subject of this magazine money or lack of it. In many companies these days the vogue is team-building events. If our department decided on one of these and took just three members (the reason for this small number will be explained soon) to the local fish and chip shop and purchased a small portion of cod and chips each, that would be the Telecoms department budget blown for the month. Not a lot of people know that.

Issue 102 Autumn 1999 The Bells, the Bells, What Bells?


Alresford station was somewhat quieter during the August bank holiday; the merry tinkling of the bell associated with the token machine had fallen silent. Why had the merry tinkling of the bell associated with the token machine fallen silent, you may ask? The answer was simple; the rabbits had finally won their war of attrition with the underground cables. Severe damage had been done resulting in the tablet machines being withdrawn from service and only one telephone junction remained working between Alresford and the rest of the line. We had fewer circuits in use than when the line opened in 1977.

We are all doomed

During July I was tasked with writing a report on the state of the Railway’s underground cables for the PLC board meeting at the end of August. This cheery script prophesied impending doom
a par with the arrival of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and a return to the dark ages or worse, and suggested possible solutions
overcome the difficulties,
of which meant spending money or obtaining some second hand carrier pigeons. Duly prepared, I took this mighty tome to the Railway early one Friday in mid- August, paying first a visit to the Alresford exchange to undertake a small modification to a piece of equipment. After a short time it became apparent something was amiss with
circuits from Ropley; every now and again the selectors would leap up and down. A quick check revealed only one circuit working, the rest being faulty; these were removed from service.

Later it was revealed the token machines had been causing problems for several days but no one had passed the information on. Pilotman working was instigated and the token machines were withdrawn from service. It was very fortunate the failure did not occur during the Thomas event a few weeks previously. Some problems had earlier been identified with a section of cable between Ropley station and Northside Lane and thought was being given to replacing it when time permitted. Now we had no choice.

Problems overcome and an improvement

Suitable drums of cable were identified from the stock that had been reserved for the Medstead to Alton signalling scheme and arrangements made to lay
cable between the two points. Unfortunately, this could not be undertaken until daily running finished after the first week in September and it was hoped
remaining circuit would remain in service for a little longer. With only a single circuit in use severe congestion was experienced at times to and from Alresford. While the new cable was being installed the opportunity was taken at Ropley to replace the main
distribution frame. This is a flexibility point to allow cross connection between the equipment and the external cables. The original had been in place since the exchange opened in 1983, well past its best, and had no space for any additional terminations should any be required in the future. Using the latest type connectors the new box connection has capacity for 50% more connections and is a far tidier arrangement.
Some frantic solo jointing during monsoon-like showers resulted in the change over from the old frame and cables to the new being completed before the end of September and the normal telephone service restored. Thanks go to members of the various departments involved with running the new cables and the building department for finding and installing a suitable sized hole at Ropley in which the majority of the jointing work was undertaken.

Our friends in the North

Recently I was asked where we obtain the old style Bakelite phones that have been fitted at Medstead in the signal box and station inspector’s office — the answer is that little known but old established company of Frodsham Fones. This emporium of telephone paraphernalia contains all manner of items ancient and modern. Rummaging through numerous cardboard boxes, stacked floor to ceiling, one is amazed at what you can find and people think worthy of hoarding. Carefully select your chosen items and hope for the best. The only guarantee you will get with these relics is that there is no guarantee, but they are a bargain and come complete with a plastic carrier bag to take them home in. On returning to Telecom Towers at Medstead after a recent visit it was decided to check these newly acquired treasures first before installing them. Phone number one had a novel way of indicating the handset was off; smoke emanated from its innards. However, by using bits of phone number two, taken on the assumption number one would not work, a working phone was made and it is still working. A different phone obtained on another occasion would produce a very bright flash if there was an incoming call. This visual indication was only any use if the phone’s case was off; again two phones made one good one.

And finally...

I nearly forgot to thank Bob Smyth for his interesting and somewhat radical solution to our rabbit problems
— get a fox. Serious thought has been given to his revolutionary idea but, after considerable investigation, it has not been possible to obtain a rabbit sized fox. The thought of trying to stuff a full size fox down a rabbit hole seems somewhat cruel.

Issue 103 Winter 1999/2000 Some You Lose, Some You Don’t

Writing this during the first few days of a new century, one casts one’s mind back and reflects on the lows and highs of the previous year. One of the big disappointments has been the failure of Rural Radio to complete the radio system that they offered to the railway 18 months ago. When they first approached, the railway we were told in glowing terms how their system would be the answer to all our cable problems.
After some initial work they disappeared into the ether leaving an incomplete non-working system. I now feel that this could be a blessing; if we had relied on the radio system and abandoned our cables we could now be having serious problems as the backup has proved non-existent and if they cannot maintain a site a few miles from their offices I am left wondering how they manage with their export locations.

Cable options

This now takes us on nicely to the cables. Last July I was asked to prepare a report for the board on the state of the cables between stations, which are becoming unreliable. Five options were given and are listed in order of preference:
I. Lay new cable in duct;
2. Lay new cable on the surface;
3. Dig up existing cable to identify damaged areas cud repair;
4. Replace known faulty sections of cable; 5 Abandon cables and use an external agency.

Also ideas were given of different organizations that could be approached to try and obtain the items needed at reduced cost.
However, wise council decided the best idea was In buy cable duct, which on its own was not one of above suggestions. It was uncertain how one was to use this duct as an efficient means of communication.
Several ideas sprang to mind. One could shout down it; however, this would have I resulted in a very limited call handling capability, only one call at a time. The other method could be to employ small rodents to carry written messages along the duct and the problems of how to switch the Alresford to Ropley duct to the Medstead to Ropley duct could give one sleepless nights. However, it was all academic as no duct has been ordered and no one approached about materials, all in all a fruitless exercise.
The only time there is any concern about the cables is when they go faultyas soon as the problem is resolved, interest is rapidly lost, until the next time.

The old cables remain in service; we were down to one circuit between Alresford and Ropley at one point in 1999 and we await the next major failure. Unfortunately, we are nearly in the same position as the early I 980s when the overhead wires were on their last legs. Then faults were developing faster than they could be repaired. It is difficult to motivate individuals to continually keep going out and try to keep systems in service.

Successes!

One of the successes last year was the replacement of the main distribution frame at Ropley. This was one of those jobs that could give one nightmares to think about and, although updating would have been nice, in the past it had been put off for years for the aforesaid reason. During the provision of some temporary cable towards Alresford the opportunity was taken. Not a lot remained working, so if everything went wrong it didn’t matter too much. In the event, everything went smoothly.
The advantages of the new set up were demonstrated when there was a sudden request for a phone in the present storage caravan during the Santa operations. Using the new exchange records, which were up to date, it only took a couple of minutes to connect the new line in the exchange. Unfortunately, it then took a further couple of hours trying to find the cable in the car park. I could clearly remember its location, or so I thought.
The other beneficial job was the completion of the rewiring of the office phones at Alresford, another job that didn’t bear thinking about before it was started but has proved worthwhile during recent office moves as the phone alterations have been simplified. It was good enough for the last century so will be continued in this one. In 1999 the telephone number that the general public call received over 50,000 calls; in the last 10 years there have been over a third of a million calls to this number. On the internal system there were over 30,000 calls between Stations. For a change, the busiest route was between Alresford and Ropley, over 10,000 calls. This is no doubt due to the cable fault putting the token machines out of order resulting in lots of calls between the two signal boxes. The two locations with fewest calls between them were Ropley and Alton, approximately 1200 calls. Another worthless statistic is that there are nearly three times more calls from Alton to Alresford than in the other direction.

Issue 104 Spring 2000 Telephone Cable Replacement Action Plan

Recorded elsewhere is the excellent news that we have had donated a substantial amount of armoured cable, 3km of 30 pair and 2km of 20 pair.
This isn’t due to a sudden feeling of largesse by the powers that be who have finally realised it may be beneficial to have reliable cable connections for signalling and phones between stations. Credit must go solely to Rod Wicks who followed up a contact, pursued it over a number of months with the end result the Railway had the cable donated. Mind you, he did have a vested interest; when we have a token machine failure due to chewed cables, he ends up having to roster the pilot men.
Thanks to those worthless bureaucrats abroad it is now almost a criminal offence to think, let alone mention, non-metric measurements.
Therefore, the rest of this piece will continue in good old imperial terms to explain the improvements the new cable will make. In those fine days pre Common Market, cables and conductors used to be measured in pounds per mile. Our existing cables are 6 1/2 lb per mile; the replacement cable is 20 lb per mile and the loop resistance is a third less. Instead of the token machines needing eight pairs between signal boxes in the old cable, with the new one only three pairs would be required, although five pairs will be used when work is complete. If all the new cable was laid in one length it could replace the existing cables between Alresford to Ropley, or Ropley to Medstead; however, the 30 pair could not be used to its full advantage. Hence my cunning plan which is now being implemented.

The Plan

For some time there has been stored at Medstead various drums of un-armoured cable from 10 pair to 100 pair. Unfortunately, there was not enough of one type to replace a complete section of line so apart for some emergency repairs, it has been a wasted asset, until now.
The new armoured 30 pair cable runs from Alresford and reaches almost to the Ropley Up distant signal; from there to the station 30 pair un-armoured cable is to run in cable duct. Previous experiences meant that the new cable was not going to be buried direct in the ground or left on the surface unprotected. From Ropley station the new 20 pair armoured cable runs to a point near Wanders Crossing; then the rest of the way to Medstead 20 pair un-armoured cable is to run in duct.
With the new cable, sufficient un-armoured cable was in store to allow replacement of the rabbit-chewed cable between Alresford and Medstead. However, we had no cable duct.

I was invited to the March Plc board meeting to explain the problems with the existing cables. Digressing, if one gets the chance to attend one of these meetings it is well worth going as I did around lunchtime. That’s when the sandwiches are dished out; unfortunately, I had just eaten. After giving a tale of woe about the cables, the money was forthcoming to purchase the duct. By the end of March the armoured cable had been laid out and jointing commenced. The duct is to be ordered shortly; we are trying to find the best price. Hopefully, it should be possible to have the six miles of new cable in service during the summer. All that is needed then is for someone to bury it; over to you, Frank!

An extra line

During March it was decided by those dealing with bookings that an extra phone line was needed on the main railway number, 733810. To save time expense of getting a new line, an existing ex-directory line was renumbered. What was startling was the number of incoming calls on this new line, over 50 in the first day alone. These were callers who would have previously received busy tone. It gives a good indication of the number of calls we have been losing in the past. One problem now is more people are needed to answer the extra telephone traffic. If you feel you can spare some time, I know the office staff will welcome you. It mostly involves telling customers about Thomas events, taking a booking and going through it all again for the next call, great fun.

At times there is only a single person in the information office trying to answer all the calls that the public are throwing at them. It is very distracting, while answering one call, for the buzzer of other calls awaiting answer to be sounding in one’s ear. To try and ease the working environment, a little circuit has been provided that allows the buzzer to be cancelled by operating a key. At the end of the call the buzzer circuit is automatically reset, for the next call. Should someone decide to permanently hold the key operated for a quiet day the circuitry detects this condition and will not disconnect the buzzer. The circuit started as an idea as a scribble on a piece of paper one Saturday , designed, built and placed in service by following Tuesday.
Thanks to Robin Higgs raiding someone’s piggy bank we now have a nice new UPS to run the small exchange used by the external lines at Alresford.

Hopefully, the mains blips causing problems will be a thing of the past.
I end with a part of an article written by Geoff Marsh in issue 42 of the Mid-Hants News (Spring 1984) entitled “Goodbye to the telegraph poles”. To quote, “having bought the cable the next problem was what to do with it. The only safe way of installing it was for it to be buried alongside of the track where it is out of reach of fires and pests both two and four legged.” Hindsight is a wonderful thing!
P.S. Rod, any chance of getting some cable to go between Medstead and Alton?

Issue 85-94
Issue 105-114