Dai the Train (Woodhams Scrapyard) - HTV Wales -1990s

[@PeteWilding]

A lovely little film about a huge gentleman,god rest his soul

[@wookeyhole3553]

I firmly believe that Dai Woodham has not been given the full credit he deserves for being the person who single-handedly helped to create, albeit unknowingly to him at the time, the strong and vibrant steam railway preservation movement we all now enjoy in the UK. In 1987 he was awarded the MBE in 1987 in recognition of a number of business initiatives which helped to create many jobs in and round his town of Barry, and before that he had been given the British Empire Medal for bravery while serving with the Royal Artillery in Italy in World War II. But both these awards had nothing to do with steam locomotive reservation. When he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1994 and died later that year aged 75 the steam railway preservation movement was still in its infancy. Although all of the remaining 213 locomotives had been removed from Dai’s scrapyard in Barry by 1990, their restoration back to full working order by the many small groups of dedicated volunteers would take decades of fundraising and many thousands of hours of work by young and old. The result of all this effort is the healthy and vibrant steam preservation movement we have in the UK today with most of those 213 saved steam locomotives now in gleaming operational condition and providing great pleasure for many thousands of people on the main line and at railway preservation societies all around the UK, most of whom have only ever known diesel engines since the 1960’s. The pleasure that all these steam locomotives now gives to people today is the direct result of Dai Woodham’s decision to not scrap all those locomotives. For practical and economic reasons he decided to concentrate on the scrapping of the much easier smaller rolling stock of which he had very many wagons to dispose of thus making a quicker profit for the business. That decision, albeit made without locomotive preservation in mind, in no way diminishes the monumental result of that decision. Had that decision not been made by Dai Woodham all those 213 locomotives would also have been scrapped, along with all of the other 16,000 or so steam locomotives that were scrapped by other scrap dealers or railway works in the same period (1956-1968). Now most of his 213 locomotives are still in operation today giving pleasure to millions of people, young and old, as passengers through their steam-hauled railway trips, as hobbyists and trainees in railway society workshops, working in stations or on the trains themselves. All of this thanks to Dai Woodham. It is against that background that I write this comment. Today nearly all the people that enjoy their trips behind a steam locomotive in the UK are completely unaware of its amazing transformation from a discarded rusting hulk to the pristine locomotive they see today. Unfortunately Dai Woodham died before he could see the full result of his monumental decision and how it now gives pleasure to so many people in so many ways and will continue to do so long into the future. I feel that we are now starting to forget Dai Woodham and his legacy and taking it all for granted. That would be tragedy to the railway preservation movement that owes him so much and it should not be allowed to happen. I think that all the major steam railway preservation societies in the UK should come together and establish a way that Dai Woodham’s memory and his legacy is not forgotten by the people who enjoy being on a steam train hauled by one of his preserved locomotives. One possible thing that has come to my mind while I write this comment is a permanent poster in each station, or major station that sells tickets, that gives a brief description of Dai Woodham and how he is intimately connected to the steam preservation movement that he helped to nourish. Then passengers would be able read this while waiting for their train and would better appreciate the connection between Dai Woodham and the steam preservation movement. Please don’t let the memory of Dai Woodham fade away. It is because of him that you are reading this now.

[@Peranaworthal]

Thank you for for your detailed comment. Before seeing this video I had no idea of this bit of history.

[@mickymondo7463]

I think Dai, is possibly the most influencial individual of all, when it comes to the steam preservation movement, and whilst Beeching and Marples made available the routes, through their own dodgy dealings, I would love to see one the old Barry locomotives carrying Dai Woodham namepates, it would be a fitting tribute to him

[@wookeyhole3553]

@@mickymondo7463 Hello Micky, thank you for your comment to my Dai Woodham comment. It has prompted me to add another plea to get something organised. I hope it works. Bye for now. Geoff .

[@davecrokey2767]

I totally agree 👍 Thank you Dai RIP.

[@motorcollection6635]

Well said, thank you for the information. I thinkhe has to be remembered, may be all "his" preserved locomotives should carry a bronze plate remembering his name

[@peterberry5442]

Dai is a Saint and the railway preservation movement in the UK will be eternally grateful to this man. He was SO KIND and understanding to the people who came to him to buy the locos..

[@williamgeorgefraser]

I first visited the yard in 1968. The first sight brought tears to my eyes. Dai was a wonderful man who could have cut everything up straight away like all the other scrappers, but I suspect he knew he was the guardian of an important part of British history. We owe him an enormous debt of gratitude.

[@highdownmartin]

He cut the wagons before the engines because there’s more money in it. Much much easier to cut wagons.

[@daznapoleon6799]

Some group should name a loco after him, we would not have what we have now without him.

[@DaiElsan]

I wandered around Woodhams scrapyard several times as a kid. 6 or 7 years old, walking amongst sleeping giants, it was an amazingly sad place.

[@DOCTORDROTT]

Met Dai in the 1980's , what a nice guy

[@wookeyhole3553]

Since my first comment here 2 years ago regarding getting some formal recognition for Dai Woodham, there has been a number of comments added by people who share that idea, one being ‘micky mondo’ today who has prompted me to write this follow up comment. I am sure there are very many more people countrywide with similar views that have not bothered to add their comments. It bothers me that there is a great risk of Dai Woodham’s memory, and an accurate knowledge of what he did for the steam preservation movement in the UK, being lost forever if nothing positive is done to keep it alive. The general concensus amongst all those people is that Dai Woodham is the one person that had the biggest influence on starting the embryonic steam locomotive preservation movement in the UK, albeit as an unintended consequence of his easier workload in scrapping wagons rather than his stock of heavier locomotives. I agree that the early preservationists and volunteers who scrimped, saved and fund-raised to get the money together the buy the locomotives for preservation, then volunteered to spend all their time and effort in bringing these locomotive back to life again also deserve equal credit for what they did. But all of that would have come to nothing if the locomotives were not there in the first place to be saved. There was only one person responsible for that and it was of course Dai Woodham. That is why I believe his part in the steam preservation movement should not be forgotten but should, now and into the future, be venerated in very real and tangible ways. I guess that nearly every person visiting all steam preservation sites in the UK today which have ex Barry locomotives, who are aged 60 or less and who have no interest in trains, will be totally unaware of the interesting and amazing miracle that occurred to get those steam locomotives there. They will have paid good money to take their family out to enjoy the spectacle of brightly turned out locomotives, they will enjoy the ride, and they might even buy souvenirs. But they will leave totally unaware of Dai Woodham and the Barry Preservation Miracle. And why? Because nothing is being done by any of the preservation societies to keep this important memory alive. Here’s one suggestion I would like to see. A permanent poster in each station, or major stations that sells tickets, that gives a brief description of Dai Woodham and how he is intimately connected to the steam preservation movement that he helped to nourish. Then passengers would be able read this and see photographs of the locomotives in their unbelievably sorry state while waiting for their train and would be better able to appreciate and understand the connection between Dai Woodham and the steam preservation movement. Another fitting suggestion, mentioned elsewhere by other people, is to have a locomotive in preservation suitably named ‘DIA WOODHAM’. Not a locomotive that already has a name but a locomotive that never had a name is BR days. Some locomotives in preservation have gained names but they do not mean that much in the overall scheme of things. One locomotive which would to my mind be the best tribute to Dia’s memory would be David Shepherd’s 9F No, 92203 currently known as ‘BLACK PRINCE’ which was a name it never carried in BR days, so to change it would not upset the purists. Another locomotive could be one of the new constructions. Shame the new P2 has already been given the name ‘PRINCE OF WALES’. But there will be other good options I’m sure. Maybe if we all start to agitate by writing letters to our local preservation societies we might get somewhere, or better still write to the Heritage Railway Association (contact details on their website) who say one of their main functions is to “provide support across every possible aspect of heritage rail ownership, management and operation.” As they oversee all railway societies they are a good place to start the campaign. Good luck to everyone. Please don’t let the memory of Dai Woodham fade away. It is because of him that you are reading this now.

[@ericlovett9022]

A statue at least. What a wonderful man.

[@chrismccartney8668]

Daivshould have a plaque at every preserved line explaining what he did and his legacy..

[@JohnJohn83UK]

Every train that was bought from him should have a plaque somewhere "preserved and bought from dai woodham"

[@scopex2749]

Thanks to Dai we now have a thriving preservation movement! Most of the other breakers were just after money and torched them as fast as they could 😕 sadly locos like the Q1 are gone (yes it was ugly but still historical) and many others. He wasnt in it purely for money but saw the bigger picture! Why was poor Dai never knighted? For services to preservation! Bless you to is you are ‘Sir Dai’ Diolch Yn Vwr! If i had the money to build a brand new loco like Tornado thats what I would name her! Generations to come will know what a steam loco was thanks to this great man...... RIP Dai Woodham 1919-1994

[@Bahamas-rd8le]

Just to correct you the Q1 hasn’t gone. The one at York? Remember? It used to be on Bluebell in the 80s I think? 🤔

[@paulroberts9704]

What a great idea for preservation societys and railway enthusiasts to club together and build a brand new locomotive like tornado and call it the "Dia Woodham" with his date of birth or date of passing as a running number. Respect Dia god rest in peace thank you.

[@jamesbradford4550]

There still is a q1

[@samuelfarris1949]

I do find the reason underlying Dai Woodham's choice to leave engines on the wayside to be interesting; I know from having read books on the subject of disposing steam for scrap that most other scrap merchants were relatively quick to get theirs dealt with despite the time-consuming nature of the job. Most of these merchants apparently operated more than one site around the country, usually where it could be easily accessed by rail. John Cashmore Ltd. operated two large-scale scrapping sites in Newport (Wales) and Tipton (Staffordshire), and, combined, they scrapped the recorded highest number of BR steam locos cut up by an outside contractor. In Dai Woodham's case, his Firm was more of an extended family-run business concentrated primarily around their home town, so I think the benefit of close coordination between management and staff thus ensured steam locos were not cut up at Barry as the first priority. Regards, Samuel Farris.

[@trevorgibson8563]

Bless this man long live steam

[@passiton3801]

Fascinating story, he was the only one who had the forsight to save as many trains as poss.

[@brianwillson9567]

The preservation movement owes an unquantifiable debt of gratitude to Dai Woodham. RIP sir, you will be remembered as long as locos are in steam.

[@stevedoubleu99B]

Well done Mr Woodham sir.

[@paulroberts9704]

What a great idea for preservation societys and railway enthusiasts to club together and build a new locomotive like tornado and call it " Dia Woodham". And have his date of birth or date of passing as the locomotive number. May be the class built could be his favourite loco painted in his favourite colour. RIP Dia thank you

[@Airfixmodeller]

Similar to the platinum jubilee loco for the queen?

[@JohnJohn83UK]

There should be a day every year to celebrate this man and his amazing work. So no one would forget, a special day for all UK steam enthusiasts.

[@Rogue-6]

I’m to young to remember the scrap yard by like 20 years but I’ve herd the story’s and all off my local heritage Railway steam engines are from Barry I’m so thankful for him

[@stanleydomalewski8497]

Great Video, Thanks for Sharing !😊

[@densondirosa4497]

It is as many have said, ‘ A machine that is actually alive ‘ My work, my hobby for some years was & still is steam. The great engineers that built these fabulous mechanical marvels, didn’t realize, that in a way they imparted some of their soul into them. They came back because they, much like a family member or friend, they were loved & they might not have had the chance without Barry, Woodward & the scrapyard…..

[@stephencope7178]

A Black 5 was named Alderman Draper. His scrapyard was in Hull and he cut up several A3 and A1 locomotives amongst other valuable classes. A shame that Draper didn't have thousands of mineral wagons to keep his employees busy too!!

[@chrismccartney8668]

Dai should be honoured as the man who created many jobs and one of UK's greatest tourist attraction in the 20th century.

[@mikepowell9326]

,god bless dai a lovely man who saved our steam heritage so many can enjoy now should have a statue for this wonderful man in Barry if there is not one

[@Shark30006]

It was so nice to see that the railway preservation movement was able to rescue all the locomotives from the cutter’s torch.

[@vulcancreedler]

To be fair - Dai was also a business man, and he did cut up a fair few locos in 1965! Even in the middle of the preservation era, in 1980 he cut up a 9F and a Pannier 0-6-0

[@jameshardy4354]

Also drapers saved 45305

[@YolandaCarden]

I went to Woodhams around 1980 to see the locos and take the numbers. It was a last hurrah of my trainspotting career from around 58 to 67 when I visited 50 or so major sheds in London Manchester Birmingham Scotland etc. These engines made the preservation industry. Only 20 or so engines were originally officially scheduled for preservation. Some classes such as Bullied Pacifics have 20 or more representatives. Mind you, preserved trains are not the same as the excitement of mainline trainspotting, never knowing what train will come through, noise and speed.

[@smitajky]

No matter how it came about the scrapyard had invested money in buying these engines for scrap. NOT scrapping them immediately meant money lying around unused. Investment unrecouped. He COULD have increased the labour force to increase the rate of scrapping and get a better return. But luckily for the railway preservation movement that didn't happen. As in so many things good fortune played a part in what we now have. But DECISIONS are made by people. In our own country preserved engines came about by a somewhat related process. Engines were bought by councils for display. Eventually as they deteriorated there was asbestos and a change in attitude towards danger for children climbing on them. Many of those engines have been returned to be rebuilt for use. Saving the council a liability and giving a source for a range of engines that had otherwise disappeared.

[@neilewart4347]

I dont think there was much sentiment involved . Locos were spared scrapping for long enough to be preserved as Dai had so many goods wagons to deal with. These were much easier and quicker to dea with. However, it is definately thanks to him thst we can see so many lovely locos working today.

[@duncancurtis5971]

At the time of the film in 67 scrapping at Cashmores down the road was at its height, cutting up three engines a day.

[@davepayne586]

we went there as kids and played on the trains,

[@ANUMBERONE1]

Great man!

[@TheMidlandTerrier]

7819 HINTON MANOR! That’s a home loco for me

[@fredphipps9452]

A shame about the NBL diesels but Dai allowed plenty of time for both D601 AND D6122 to be saved, they weren't cut up until 1980

[@Shark30006]

If more locomotives from the LNER had went to Barry such as the Gresley A1s and A3s and the Gresley A4s, we might have had more saved.

[@Fcutdlady]

213 locos went in to woodham bros yard. 200 were preserved. The only reason a few were cut was to keep his men in work while freight wagons, that were easier to cut , were scarce

[@simonfp3339]

Was there a point in the reverse part where you put a mint out of your mouth and back into the container? 😂 Great video as always Dale. Well done!

[@MrJimbaloid]

TOP MAN.

[@Joelontugs]

The funny part was I saw a video on this scrapyard and all the save me on it was depressing someone commented the engines where saved and someone else that was lie out off all of them 5 where saved but only 3 ran agin and it warms my hart to find out that was lie

[@jameshardy4354]

Should call a steam locomotive Dai woodham

[@MrAsBBB]

A new one? It think so.

[@nickthorne1442]

🚂🚂😇👍

[@gavinerickson3277]

Don't think it was an "infamous" place, from what I remember as a kid when the locos went past on a low loader on their way out of town, everyone from the drivers to spectators was smiling

[@georgebodley8068]

You can keep your Bullet trains from the likes of Japan , There's Nothing Like A Steam Train with pedigree ,Thanks to Dai woodham ,without whom Many of the steam train preservation societies Today wouldn't exist.

[@florjanbrudar692]

1:24-1:35

[@chrismccartney8668]

Perhaps Dais Statue/Presentation should be at every preserved Railway to explain how it came about, and Industrial and Technical Heritage behind it in a time when Britain was workshop of rhe world , Not China !!..

[@blownwest1117]

Doctor Beacham killed the railways off

[@bobtudbury8505]

rubbish, learn facts. the labour party closed the lines

[@vodaredhill1704]

Beeching was just the hatchet man .The real crook was Ernest Marples.

[@bobtudbury8505]

@@vodaredhill1704 no he wasn't . he set marples on for a report. when the report was done labour were in power. in fact labour did not close all his recommendations but closed 100's of miles not on his report.when done labour , no one else,gave beeching an award.The madness only stopped under the next tory government in 1970.Labour are the real villians, even now they are clueless, look at the state of Nottingham council.

[@blownwest1117]

Sorry I've watching 100s of hours of different documentaries on the subject where they put beacham at the forefront of it all. Thank you for sharing that information with me, it's typical as they still doing it to this day, look over there while we really do this over here. I have and came from a long line of labour voters but since the party had momentum join it's become a London Labour party because there they can win the local elections ( that's how London, still has it's mayor ) I would rather vote tories just to stop the far-left Labour party winning a general election! Political correctness is totally bonkers, where or what has happened to commonn sense? Labour have been in control of councils for yrs and been cutting almost all our services and the older generation don't understand it" well most of them. Anyways a thank you for the info on Beacham.

[@bobtudbury8505]

@@blownwest1117 fake news is everywhere. Woud it shock you to know that the NHS was a liberal idea! a feasabilty study was done in 1942 and passed by churchill !!! in 1944 though reluctently ! labour then won the election in '45 / also the french stick is austrian , the boston tea party was faked, nothing to do with independance etc. and the railway steam engine inventer was a cornish man not stevenson! question everything, look at tihs kzbin.info/www/bejne/forQdoKImL2smLs

[@stephencope7178]

Whilst given credit for the locos that survived the cutter's torch, there were still 47 that did not survive Woodhams!

[@smitajky]

You cannot preserve EVERYTHING. But to have had the chance to preserve ANYTHING would have really upset Dr Beeching. In the ultimate "up yours" to him.

[@srfurley]

@@smitajky This is simply not the case. Dr. Beeching opened at least one preserved railway, and persuaded BR to give another group more time to raise the money to buy their line. Dr. Beeching wanted to see a different railway, one which concentrated on the things that it did best, moving bulk trainload freight and express passenger services, not branch line stopping trains and wagonload freight, but he was certainly not anti railway, which makes it somewhat surprising that the government of the day should have appointed him as BR chairman.

[@johnny5805]

Dai Woodham was scrapped in 1994 due to lung cancer.