34052 “Lord Dowding” (he’s really 34046 “Braunton”), in action this morning near All Stretton. He’s hauling the “Welsh Marches Express” from Crewe to Cardiff, and going well. The train left Shrewsbury 4 minutes late, but by Marshbrook, just a few miles to my south, it was on time. No diesel on the back either. Sunshine, steam on – great!
Category: Railways…
…and trams, traction engines, buses, ships, boats, canals and other transport subjects
Disappointing Duchess
Don’t get me wrong – it’s great to see 6233 “Duchess of Sutherland” in action on the main line, on the “Great Britain XII”. But today she’s coasting, and the sun’s gone in. As the long train disappears under the bridge, we can hear the exhaust as the driver opens the regulator, and when a couple of service trains pass, not many minutes later, the sun is shining.
“While we’re out here, let’s go and look at the Central Wales – there’s a train due soon”. The former station building at Hopton Heath is no longer in railway use, but still looks good beside single-car 153 327 as it pauses briefly on its long journey to Swansea.
Clun Castle
Back on the main line, after many years out of action, 7029 Clun Castle would be due through Wellington at 5.23pm. We got there in plenty of time – just as well. Having passed through Shrewsbury on time, it came through 6 minutes early – coasting, blowing off, and looking good…
An hour at Summerlee
Friday 12 April: I think it may have been longer. We’ve time to kill, and we could do with a drink – and those pineapple tarts look good… The “Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life” is well worth a longer visit than ours – the indoor exhibits are fascinating, the cottages beside the mine provide evocative snapshots of ordinary industrial-era lives – and did I mention the trams and the railway locomotives? More than 40 years ago, I saw No.9 and “Robin” when they were working for a living. Long and inactively retired (the locos, not the author), it would be great to see them restored to steam.
Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life
Cheshire Lines
We’ve been on a brief (and fairly limited) exploration of railways in Cheshire, focusing on the town of Northwich, whose railway station still looks like a railway station, complete with canopies (on ornate iron columns) and a Joyce (of Whitchurch) clock, which has stopped. Almost exactly 40 years ago – April 1979 – I was on a railtour which also stopped (briefly) at Northwich station. Standing beside the old loco shed was a line of tank wagons, which I guessed were used for storing fuel for diesel locomotives. Look at the middle two – how old are those frames? What were they originally used for? There’s an estate of modern houses where the loco shed stood. I wonder what happened to the wagons?
More photos on Geoff’s Rail Diaries: “More Cheshire Lines”
On test
Steam on the main line – Black 5 45231 is on test, prior to working passenger-carrying specials. There aren’t too many other people around, and the winter sunlight is doing its best…
For more photos, visit “Testing Times” on Geoff’s Rail Diaries
The scenic route to New Brighton
Scenic? I exaggerate… Monday 4 February: a day out, using a “Cheshire Day Ranger”. There were one or two stretches of track we wanted to travel along, and somewhere for lunch would be good. We began our travels just inside Cheshire on a Carmarthen to Manchester (aka “Manceinion” – it’s a Transport for Wales service) Piccadilly train. A northbound train from Piccadilly took us to Victoria, using the (almost) brand new “rusty bridge” Ordsall chord. At Victoria, we switched to a Liverpool-bound train, and from the low-level station at Lime Street we caught a New Brighton service …
… for a brief stroll beside the sea, and lunch (at the Floral Pavilion – wow!) …
…and now we’re heading for Chester, where our train of choice is the loco-hauled (propelled…) service to Piccadilly. Things are getting busy now – our train back to Crewe is packed (the two-coach – crazy! – 16.31 to Milford Haven). Lastly, the short hop home is on the “stopper”. I’ve lost count of all the different – very different – trains we’ve been on, but it’s been a great day out!
Britannia – main line steam
We saw no 70000 “Britannia” on test in October. Today (a gloomy and intermittently wet one) she was in revenue-earning service – on the “Welsh Borders Explorer”, the circular route from Crewe, via Chester, Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton. We’re at Preston Boats, not far out of Shrewsbury, and she’s going well – we could hear the exhaust when the train was leaving Shrewsbury, more than a mile away and out of sight.
Britannia – on test
A test train for no. 70000 “Britannia” ran yesterday – I forgot about it! Another was scheduled for today, and I didn’t forget. I was on the platform at Oakengates station in plenty of time. Just as well – it passed through 12 minutes early. One presumes the test was successful…
Kirkham Abbey
Saturday 20 October: we’re in Yorkshire, exploring after lunch. The ruinous remains of Kirkham Priory stand beside the river Derwent, between York and Malton, and are worth exploring. The York – Scarborough railway passes through the valley on the other side of the river, crossing the minor road by means of a level crossing. It’s controlled by a mechanical signal box, “Kirkham Abbey”: the crossing gates swing out across the road when a train is coming. Kirkham Abbey is a now-rare survivor of a once-common scene.
Photo note: today’s outing wasn’t expected to have photographic opportunities. I took the photos using the smartphone – not the best tool for the job, especially considering the railway is in deep shade, mid-afternoon in late October. We’ll have to revisit…
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=473260&Y=465760&A=Y&Z=120
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