Page 967 - Reading Mercury

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Fri 4 Jan (WT)
TRAINS STAND AS BIG FREEZE CREATES CHAOS
Two trains carrying hundreds of passengers to work were stranded between Ascot
and Wokingham yesterday morning as ice brought electric trains to a complete
standstill.
The big freeze brought chaos everywhere—but particularly to the railways.
Thousands of commuters were affected. Many waited for trains that just didn’t
arrive—by yesterday afternoon only four trains had passed through Wokingham to or
from Ascot all day— and others were as much as three or four hours late for work
after being stranded.
Trouble started when the second trains started out from Reading and Waterloo. The
first out had got through all right, simply pushing the covering of snow off the
conductor rail. Then t froze...and the trouble started. Ice—at least a quarter-inch
thick—on the live rail meant that the next train through could not get power.
A special de-icing train was sent to clear the line between Ascot and Reading last
night and stuck at Earley. It had struggled to Reading on low power, but had to be
pushed back by steam locomotive, the special spray used not having affected the ice
over the conductor rail.
The 6.43 and 7.19 trains out of Reading were coupled to make a more powerful
eight-coach unit. But it took 47 minutes from Earley to Wokingham...and an hour to
crawl to the Waterloo Road crossing half-mile away. Passengers were forced to sit for
nearly an hour before a steam locomotive from Reading pushed them into Bracknell
just before 10 o’clock.
The next Waterloo-bound train from Reading arrived at Wokingham at 8.58—and
was promptly turned round because of the conditions and because so many people
were waiting to get to Reading. It was no better for trains coming down. The second
out of Waterloo hit the ice...and crawled to a stop.

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Sat 19 Jan
WARNING SIREN TESTED
A police patrol toured Wokingham early on Monday warning people to take no
notice of the Broadmoor warning siren, which started experimental tests at 11. a.m. At
10-minute intervals, the siren sent its two-tone warning wailing over the town. It was
installed on a vehicle from the Reading Borough Council’s surveyor’s department.

DISABLED AT PANTOMIME
A party from Wokingham Disabled Club went to see “Dick Whittington” at the
Wokingham Players’ new theatre on Friday last week. Ten children from the Murray
Homes were included in the party.

CHILDREN’S PARTY
About 60 children of employees of Radyne, at Wokingham, enjoyed their annual
Christmas party on Saturday. All the children were under seven years old. Mr. Larry
Smith, from Newbury, put on a Punch and Judy show and then organised games for
the rest of the afternoon. Before they went home, all the children were given a present
by Father Christmas.

CIRCUS OUTING
A party of 31 children of employees of Metalair, Wokingham, went by coach to see
Bertram Mills Circus at Olympia on Saturday.

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