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The Courier
5 days ago
- The Courier
Rare photos capture the end of a 'landmark' Dundee station and the closing of a Fife rail line
These images document a historic day on the tracks which ended with the closure of Dundee West Railway Station in May 1965. The final train left Dundee West for Glasgow at 8pm. More than 200 railway enthusiasts and wistful locals gathered to wave it off. Another historic rail trip took place on the same day. It has been largely forgotten and overshadowed in the past 60 years. The journey time forgot has been brought to life again by Donald Maxwell. He still remembers the day well. Donald was 16 when he travelled on the Queen's College Railway and Transport Society Rail Tour along the Fife Coast line on May 1 1965. A large number of enthusiasts bought a ticket for the trip. Donald managed to snap away during the journey. He has shared some of his snaps which were gathering dust in a cardboard box. Vanished views were captured as the train traversed soon-to-be-closed lines. Donald travelled from Perth to Dundee West Station. 'I was born and brought up in Perth,' he said. 'The station there was about a 15-minute walk from home. 'There was a great variety of locomotives there and Perth was an open access station so the walk to the centre of the town was always through the station. 'That was how I got started on railways as an interest. 'Queen's College ran a number of excursions. 'I went on three of them when I was still at school.' Dundee West Station stood opposite where the Malmaison hotel is today, virtually sharing the site with Tay Bridge Station, which operated at the same time. Dundee used to be served by three main stations. Falling passenger use led to Dundee East being closed in January 1959. Dundee West was recommended for closure by the Beeching cuts. Tay Bridge was renamed Dundee and is the only one left. 'The May 1965 excursion marked not only the closing of Dundee West Station but also the imminent closure of the Fife Coast line round the East Neuk,' said Donald. 'I took all the black and white photos.' The train was pulled by British Railways Class J37, locomotive number 64602. It left Tay Bridge Station in brilliant sunshine on the Saturday afternoon. The journey was 94 miles. The train travelled through Leuchars, St Andrews, Kingsbarns, Crail, Anstruther, St Monans, Elie, Largo, Leven and Thornton. 'At Thornton there was a change of locomotive,' said Donald. 'Number 64618 took over for the run back. 'The train returned to Dundee, not by Cupar and the Tay Rail Bridge, but by Ladybank and Newburgh, which at that time was a freight only route. 'The excursion was filled with enthusiasts who took photos from every possible angle and swarmed over the tracks at both Elie and Newburgh. 'Health and safety wasn't an issue then!' His father Kenneth followed the train by car on its way back from Ladybank. He took some colour photographs to add to the collection. Newburgh to Bridge of Earn, Hilton Junction and Perth completed the next stage. The final leg journeyed from Perth to Dundee West Station. It gave many passengers the chance of a last goodbye before the doors closed. The train arrived back around 6.30pm. Donald went in search of one final piece of history. 'We went back home to Perth on the last train to leave Dundee West,' said Donald. 'The trains vanished after the 8pm service left for Glasgow. 'By contrast after what went before it was something of an anti-climax.' There were no bands, no flags and no ceremony. As the train moved out of Platform 3, a series of detonators exploded. They were placed on the rails by staff to add something to the final departure. Railway enthusiasts were out in force with their cameras. The first few compartments of the leading coach were packed with members of the Inter-City Railway Enthusiasts' Club in Perth. They even had a tape recorder storing all the noises on the journey. BR standard class 5, number 73145, hauled the last train. George Reid from Bishopbriggs was the driver. West Station staff had a get-together after the doors were shuttered. The line was mourned and celebrated. The Fife Coast line was swept away from September 1965. St Andrews lost its connection to the national network. The final section of the line was closed in 1969. Dundee West Station was rubble by then, anyway. Dundee firm Charles Brand started the demolition in April 1966 and the first task was to remove thousands of panes of glass from the roof over the platforms. They were smashed down onto the ripped up track and platforms. Then the steel roof beams were pulled down. The platforms below ground level were kept and incorporated into Tay Bridge Station. Donald said: 'For me and people of my vintage, it was the demolition of a fine piece of architecture and a landmark. 'Dundee East wasn't perhaps mourned so much when it went, but I always thought that Dundee West had a real bit of style, unlike Tay Bridge Station. 'Did I realise being on the final train was a moment in history? 'If you were interested in railways at that time, there were a number of moments of history as the railway landscape changed. 'The last train to Crieff, last train to St Andrews, last train to Kinross. 'Looking back now one maybe questions some of the decisions, but yes, they were memorable then, and are now important moments of local history. 'That's why I kept my ticket and photos after 60 years.' Donald is almost as well-travelled as the trains he used to take. 'I certainly kept an interest in railways as I studied geography and then taught geography in Perth in the early 1970s,' he said. 'However, since then I have been an opera singer. 'I started with Tayside Opera in the 1970s as Donald MacAlpine. 'I changed my name to Donald Maxwell when I joined Scottish Opera in 1976.' Now 76, Donald, who lives in Wales, has enjoyed a long international career. 'I have been a professional singer since then and continue to work – nowadays at the Metropolitan Opera in New York,' he said. 'La Bohème, fortunately, has two roles for an elderly baritone!'
Egypt Independent
24-05-2025
- Business
- Egypt Independent
Egyptian-American economist Mohamed al-Erian to run for University of Cambridge president
The Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz and President of Queen's College at the University of Cambridge, Egyptian-American Mohamed al-Erian, has formally announced his candidacy for the position of University President – one of the most prestigious academic honors in the UK. Erian's career has a rich history that combines academic and economic work. He served for years as Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz Insurance and Investments. He also serves as President of Queen's College, one of the most prestigious colleges affiliated with the University of Cambridge, giving his candidacy significant academic and institutional weight. The remaining potential candidates have yet to be announced, but Erian's announcement reflects a desire to strengthen the presence of figures with international backgrounds in the leadership of British educational institutions. These elections are expected to be closely watched by those interested in academic and economic affairs alike.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Top economist El-Erian says tariffs have put the era of U.S. exceptionalism ‘on pause'
Top economist Mohamed El-Erian said U.S. exceptionalism was 'on pause' and warned about the negative effects of a prolonged trade war. He said tariffs could be used as a tool for renegotiating better trade terms, but a longer trade war could harm the U.S. instead of protecting U.S. industry. Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at Allianz, said the era of U.S. exceptionalism is at a standstill, although it's still not over. El-Erian, who is also president of Queen's College at the University of Cambridge, told MarketWatch that he was not completely opposed to tariffs, but warned about the implications of a prolonged trade war on the U.S. as a whole. 'It's been put on pause,' El-Erian said of American exceptionalism. 'It's too early to say if the damage inflicted is irreversible.' El-Erian said that a strategy of elevating tariffs to work out better trade terms with other countries and then de-escalating could be beneficial, but the idea of levying tariffs to raise external revenue while also protecting U.S. industry makes little sense. 'Some of these objectives are contradictory,' he said, adding that this kind of move is 'liable to inflict collateral damage.' As a result of a prolonged trade war, other countries may put their own tariffs on China or start their own tariff escalations amongst each other, leading to higher prices worldwide. El-Erian's comments come as trade negotiations continue, with the U.K. most recently having struck a deal with the U.S. earlier this month. The U.S. maintained a 10% duty on most U.K. goods but lowered tariffs on a set number of British auto imports, and exempted U.K. steel and aluminum from tariffs. The U.K. agreed to eliminate tariffs on a quota of up to 13,000 metric tons of American beef and 1.4 billion liters of ethanol. Still, the Trump administration has been slow to reach agreements with other foreign countries, and last week the president said the government would set tariff rates for the rest of the world over the 'next couple of weeks,' adding that those rates would be higher than the 10% rate agreed to with the U.K. For years, the strong economy and exceptionalism of American industry led to 'the world outsourcing its savings to America,' El-Erian noted. Yet, it's unclear if this trend will continue in the future, as investors look to offload their American assets. On Monday, the 30-year Treasury yield hit 5%, after Moody's became the last credit agency to strip the U.S. of the highest credit rating possible. In a Monday post on X, El-Erian wrote that Moody's downgrade wasn't too consequential but was still 'enough to amplify the conversation about America's political ability to address its fiscal deficit and debt.' This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Taunton School win clean sweep in historic swimming competition
Students from Taunton School have achieved success at the historic Meade King Cup. The competition, in its 100th year, is the longest-standing school sport competition in the world involving more than two schools and includes Taunton School, King's College, Queen's College, and Wellington School. The event sees students compete in a range of swimming disciplines and styles. This year, 30 students from Taunton School's Years nine to 13 took part and won all six cups, with the senior boys beating their own record set last year in the freestyle relay. Beth Mottram, head of swimming, said: "It is an honour for our students to participate in the historic and prestigious Meade King Cup once again. "The dedication from all swimmers and staff, across all four schools, continues a one-hundred-year legacy of competitiveness and camaraderie. "I am incredibly proud of the humility, spirit, and effort displayed by the Taunton School swimmers."
Times
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
The English talent for nonsense
From The Times, May 14, 1925M Émile Cammaerts, the Belgian poet, lectured last night at Queen's College, London, on 'The Poetry of Nonsense', in aid of the extension appeal fund of the college. Prince Reginald de Croy presided.M Cammaerts said the English nonsense poetry was not only very remarkable poetry, but was of the essence of poetry, and had often been treated far too superciliously by the critics. They might take first of all that classic among nursery rhymes, 'Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle'. Here was not only a delightful pageant of absurdity and characteristic figures, but also a new kind of poetry and technique. One test to which a poem was generally submitted was as to whether the rhymes
