“Like a swift sweeping black plague, the darkness became intensified and Penhill disappeared,” wrote the Wensleydale correspondent of the Darlington & Stockton Times who was stationed on top of Zebra Hill, near Bellerby, on June 29, 1927.
“Deeper and deeper yet the darkness grew, and a moment later it was completely dark. It became very cold. The transition had taken 20 or so seconds.”
There has been huge excitement in America this week as tens of millions of people found themselves under a total eclipse of the sun on Monday but, of course, this excitement is nothing new. As we mentioned last week, North Yorkshire and south Durham experienced the same thrill back in 1927 – only they ended up “drenched in disappointment” as clouds blocked out their early morning view.
Just as all America has been on the move this week to get a glimpse, so it was in 1927 with what is believed to be the largest ever movement of people by railway: trains brought three million people into the North East and the North West to see the scenes.
The “band of totality” stretched from Llandudno on the Welsh coast, through Blackpool and Lancaster before crossing the Pennines. In the North-East, Muker, Bowes, Barnard Castle, West Auckland, Murton and Ryhope were on its northern edges, and Pateley Bridge, Northallerton, Stokesley and Saltburn on its southern fringes. Leyburn and Darlington were pretty central; Richmond was smack bang in the middle – and to this day, a large yellow AA sign marks its centrality.
Following last week’s article, Richard Barber, of the JW Armstrong Trust, has kindly sent in more information about the railway operation, much of which was researched by Sam Woods, of Hurworth, a member of several rail heritage organisations, who sadly died earlier this year (Memories 673)
The London North Eastern Railway sent about 20 “eclipse specials” into the Yorkshire Dales carrying about 10,000 excursionists. They arrived from midnight so that people could be in place for when the eclipse began at 5.26am.
“It is of the utmost importance that the trains should be run punctually in both directions and every effort should be made to secure this before the eclipse,” say the LNER instructions. “The special trains are to be given precedence over all other trains.”
The specials were preceded by trains of buffet cars to treat the visitors to breakfast and by trains of gas and water tankers to keep the engines running. Everything was thought of…
“The district engineer will provide 60 flat fish boxes without lids to Richmond,” say the LNER’s instructions. “One of these must be placed in the four-foot way under each lavatory outlet of the three trains stabled at Richmond. The station master must put chloride of lime in the boxes. The district engineer will arrange the disposal of these immediately after the departure of the trains.”
The only thing the instructions don’t say is how the district engineer should dispose of 60 flat fish boxes full of human waste.
In total, there were eight trains parked along the line into Richmond station so that their 3,152 passengers could be taken by motorbus up to the racecourse where there were 35,000 spectators.
Another four trains were stopped at Leyburn and four more at Wensley so that their 4,370 passengers could head onto the moors – there were 20,000 people above Leyburn and another 20,000 around Bedale.
A further nine “eclipse special” trains with 4,696 passengers on board were stopped at Aycliffe, Darlington and Croft Spa. And there were private excursions as well – at 3.55am, a special arrived at Croft Spa bearing 600 public school boys from Oundle who then took a motor bus to Richmond.
There were another 10,000 spectators gathered on the bank above Stapleton, near Darlington, and another 10,000 from Bishop Auckland collected around Leg’s Cross near Bolam. On Hartlepool’s beaches, there were an estimated 200,000 eclipse watchers.
In Wensleydale, every tourist bed had been booked since February, and thousands of people were under canvas. “The slopes on each side of the valley are reminiscent of military bivouacing for the night,” said The Northern Echo. “Fires glow and lights twinkle from the bell tents by the score erected by visitors who are camping out.
“From the way in which the different amusements of the town were patronised, it was obvious that a fair proportion of the populace did not go to bed at all.”
Cinemas and theatres stayed open all night, as did many shops – nearly all of them promising that their prices “could not be eclipsed” by their rivals.
In Leyburn, Middleham and Richmond castle there were eclipse balls, with people dancing through the night until the sun came up, when the dancers headed for the highest vantage point, armed with their “eclipse-viewers” (smoked pieces of glass).
“Totality”, when the moon completely obscured the sun, lasted for 23 seconds at 6.20am, but “a caprice of clouds” contrived to obscure the obscuration from those below.
Ten years ago, Sam Woods tracked down the family of eclipse-goer Henry Casserley, in Hertfordshire. Henry, a railway enthusiast, had left King’s Cross at 7.45pm, changed at Doncaster and Leeds to arrive at Leyburn in the early hours – with his camera. As well as taking pictures of the engines involved in this extraordinary exercise, Mr Casserley took a picture of Leyburn’s slight view of the eclipse.
The reporter on Zebra Hill at Bellerby, who wrote for the Echo’s weekly sister paper, could just about make out a similar dark shape in the clouds as the sun went out leaving him cold for a few seconds.
Then... “Like a swift drawing of an immense curtain by a magic hand, the blackness was swept away to the south and in a few seconds all was restored to light, the cold decreased and the crowd breathed a huge sigh of wonderment,” he concluded.
Thousands of people teemed back towards their trains, the first leaving Richmond at 7.55am while Mr Casserley’s was the seventh to depart Wensleydale at 11.17am.
Mr G Davidson, divisional general manager of North Eastern Area of LNER, later wrote: “I have much pleasure in letting staff know that all the arrangements for which we were responsible in connection with the eclipse were carried out with complete satisfaction to the management and the public, and with great credit to those more immediately concerned who planned the scheme of trains and saw to its execution in every detail. Immense forethought was shown in studying the comfort and convenience of the excursionists, and the fatigue of long nights was borne with perfect good humour.
“The Chief General Manager informs me that he has received a very large number of appreciative letters from the public expressing hearty thanks for the excellence of the company’s arrangements and the courtesy and helpfulness and good humour of the staff.”
Unfortunately, although the railways could transport millions of people punctually and comfortably, not even the great god of the timetable could control the vagaries of the great British weather.
- With many thanks to Richard Barber and Sam Woods
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