JOHN FORSTER, who was born near Rookhope in 1838, spent his working life on trains which puffed up and down Weardale – and now his great-great-grandson, Mark Woodhams, is a volunteer ticket collector on the same tracks. Mark is proud each time he dons his uniform, for there is a long railway tradition in his family.

John Forster was a firemen on steam locomotives before a long career as a driver. Then his son, Edward, worked on the railways for many years, fitting and repairing signalling and telegraph wires beside the tracks, often in the Teesdale area. A set of distinctive shiny buttons from Edward's uniform has been kept by the family, and Mark has transferred them to his uniform.

"I love doing this job as a volunteer on the Weardale Railway," he says, "and I feel the buttons are a nice link with the railways of the old days."

The Northern Echo: WHORLTON VILLAGE: A September 1963 photo from The Northern Echo archive. In 1890, a quarry near the village provided 600 tons of stone for road repairs
WHORLTON VILLAGE: A September 1963 photo from The Northern Echo archive. In 1890, a quarry near the village provided 600 tons of stone for road repairs

There is also a long rail connection within another branch of his family. His grandfather George J Woodhams worked in station ticket offices, starting in Barnard Castle followed by spells in other places, including Willington, Bishop Auckland and Broomielaw. His son George K Woodhams (Mark's father) spent his whole career in railway offices, including Darlington, Newcastle and various other locations, and still has a keen interest in the railways though he has retired.

Mark himself has spent all his working life dealing with railway workers' pensions at the big offices in Brinkburn Road, Darlington.

So with all this railway background, it was only natural for him to want to spend some of his free time on trains.

"I love every minute of the work," he says. "It is lovely to see people enjoying the trips and admiring the scenery. These trains give many people a great deal of pleasure."

Services run on Saturdays and Sundays at the moment, as well as Wednesdays and Thursdays in late July and August. Accompanied dads can go free for Fathers Day tomorrow. Details of all the trips are available from 07719757755. Mark's grandfather, George J Woodhams, was one of five sons of John Victor Woodhams, a long-serving Barnard Castle postman, whose family was featured in this column last August. It will be remembered that four of his sons served in the Second World War.

FRANK FENNELL was working on the stone front wall of a new bank one morning when he decided to go in and have a look round – but he must have wished he hadn't. He wandered into a strongroom and was startled to hear the door click shut behind him. He was dismayed to find that it would not open.

He was trapped inside the Yorkshire Penny Bank in Barnard Castle, and nobody knew how to unlock the door.

It transpired that there was only one key, which was in the pocket of branch manager JW Collier, who had gone off to Darlington for the day.

Frank's workmates could speak to him through narrow spaces but they couldn't get him out. They went off and found some small, narrow medicine bottles, which they filled with tea and passed in to him, along with some specially-made thin sandwiches.

Eventally Mr Collier was contacted by phone at a Darlington bank, so he got the next bus back.

He produced the key and freed the mason, who had been a prisoner for more than four hours. Asked why he was in there he admitted sheepishly: "I was just having a look."

MANY dale roads were in a dreadful state in the late 1800s, with potholes and cracks that caused danger to the horses that used them as well as damage to the gigs, carts and wagons they pulled. There were reports of drivers and passengers being thrown off and injured. But in 1890 a start was made on the biggest highway repair scheme ever known in the area. Vast quantities of stone were ordered, making it a bonanza time for quarry owners, and a high earning spell for their workers.

Cockfield quarry was asked to supply over 1,000 tons for road work around Cockfield, Cleatlam, Raby, Keverstone, Winston and Newsham. Bolam quarry got an order for over 600 tons for schemes at Headlam, Hilton, Ingleton, Langton and Morton Tinmouth. Whorlton quarry was asked for 160 tons for work on roads in and around the village.

Other quarries given big orders were Wooley Hill, Blackton and Skeers.

All this meant extra work and earnings for carters, who had the task of delivering the material to various roadside locations. Then there were to be plenty of jobs for road workers once the repairs started.

Shopkeepers must have welcomed the idea of a boost as they had gone through a stringent time. Also pleased would be the area's growing number of cyclists, who could buy bikes for around £2. Members of the Teesdale Wanderers Club, who had several bike rides each week, protested that the broken road surfaces were causing ripped tyres, buckled spokes and damaged lamps, which kept being rattled out of their brackets. The club members were given permission by the Duke of Cleveland to ride on his smooth private road between Gainford and Staindrop, and Lord Strathmore let them pedal around the well-laid roads at Streatlam Castle.

But they also wanted to use public highways without danger. Those in the Cotherstone area were said to be worst of all.

There were also cyclists visiting the dales from other parts of the region and taking away bad reports about the roads. A second local group, the Workingmen's Cycle Club, encouraged more people to take up the pastime. Delivery men were instructed by Barnard Castle Highway Board to lay the stone neatly just off the highway at certain points and told that if the material caused an accident they would be held responsible. They were warned that if they made any mistake they would forfeit £1.

PLUMBER Alfred Jefferson was working on old gas pipes in an attic above a shop when he made a gruesome discovery – the skeleton of a child. Word soon spread about the macabre find in the summer of 1933 at RR Morton's boot and shoe shop in Horsemarket, Barnard Castle. As police officers began inspecting its loft many people turned up to watch. They were all hoping to hear how long the remains had been hidden there and how the infant had died. Was it murder? Who was behind the dark deed?

There was much speculation as the bones were taken away for medical tests.

The shop had been in business for about 20 years and the building was previously the Half Moon Hotel. RR Morton, who lived in Vane Road, said he had never been into the attic in all his years at the shop.

It transpired that the skeleton had probably been there for at least 40 years. Police were unable to find anyone connected with the premises in that era. An inquest was told it was impossible to say if the child was boy or girl, how it died, whether it was stillborn or lived for a time, and how it got into the attic. The coroner said all he could do was record an open verdict.