Category: Railways…

…and trams, traction engines, buses, ships, boats, canals and other transport subjects

New toys and visitors

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Statfold and Chasewater: a great way to start the season. This year’s first open day at Staffordshire’s narrow gauge heaven was yesterday, 29th March; it was also the weekend of the Chasewater Industrial Gala

Graham's new toyWhat will be new at Statfold (there’s always something)? Mr Lee has been busy with the track – there’s a new loop on the 2′ gauge line at Oak Tree, doubling its capacity, and it now connects to the balloon loop at the far end, so that trains on both lines can run the full length of the layout, round the loop and back along their respective lines. And there’s a new loco, in the splendid shape of Hudswell Clarke 972 of 1912, an 0-6-0 tender engine.

Gervase and ColinThey’ve been busy with the layout at Chasewater too, tidying up the track at the entrance to Brownhills West. Unfortunately the work wasn’t completed in time – no “bay to bay” trains for Colin McAndrew. But he’s got a new companion for the weekend, in the (unusual) shape of visitor Gervase. Gervase is a Sentinel – an early one, dating from 1928, a conversion of a 1900 Manning Wardle, with side rods rather than the chain drive of later machines. We’d better go and have a look – perhaps Sunday’s weather will be good too? It was…

“Rail Diaries” pages will appear in due course. In the meantime, the above tasters will have to do…

Statfold Barn Railway
Chasewater Railway

It was 45 years ago today…

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Last day at Hawick…that I travelled on a railtour from Leeds, to run from Carlisle to Edinburgh on the last day of the Waverley Route via Hawick and Galashiels. The illustrated story of that trip is on the Rail Diaries pages – “Last Day of the Waverley Route“. Today, the northern part of the line, from Waverley to Tweedbank, is being reconstructed, with opening scheduled for summer 2015. In the late 1960s, no-one thought we’d need railways in the 21st century…

Borders Railway Project website

Was it something we said?

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OllieThe conditions were, for the last day of November, near perfect for a photo of 70013 “Oliver Cromwell”, following in the steps of last week’s run of “Britannia”. The air was cold, the sunshine bright and directional, ready to light the steam nicely from behind.  The train was about an hour late (not its fault), but it was going well as it approached in the distance. Then, in prime position for our photos, the driver closed the regulator (on a 1 in 112 uphill stretch – one of the steeper parts of the long climb to Church Stretton). Once behind the trees, the regulator was opened again, and stayed open away into to the distance, including the short downhill stretch to Craven Arms. We could hear it as well as see it. So what went wrong? (I well remember the driver of 46229 closing the regulator briefly on the last 1/4 mile of so of the southbound climb to Ais Gill, 67001 WAG train Stokesayjust to spite the gallery of photographers… Surely not?)

The WAG train was a minor bonus – made a change from the usual endless procession of class 175 units.

70000

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Cathedrals ExpressThat’s Britannia – first of the class, and first of 999 BR standard steam locomotives. Today it was hauling the “Cathedrals Express” from Waterloo to Shrewsbury, via the Severn tunnel and the “North and West” route through Hereford. Unfortunately, a preceding freight train broke down, causing substantial delays to services – and to the special. It was around 70 minutes late when it passed Stokesay – the light was going rapidly. So was Britannia…

Yorkshire contrasts

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The visitors30 Oct: Firstly, the trip into York – the local bus goes to the railway station, from where it’s a short walk to the NRM. I stayed long enough to record the gathering photographically, then walked back into York (via the Minster and the Shambles) to collect the household authorities at the agreed time. See Six A4s on Geoff’s Rail Diaries for more…

It wasn’t just the railway museum that was busy – so were the streets of York. It’s half-term week up here – perhaps that’s the reason. For the afternoon’s entertainment we chose a much quieter option – a walk to the deserted village of Wharram Percy, in the Wolds to the east of York. Other than some earthworks in the fields, little remains of the village, apart from the ruins of St Martin’s church. The English Heritage sign warned of the dangers of the site – somewhat over the top, I thought, before hitting my head on the “Wolds Way” guide post after taking the picture… In fact the afternoon was a chapter of minor accidents – I’d left the map behind (successfully relying on memory). The light had gone as we walked up beside Deep Dale – so had the camera battery. The spare was in the car…

English Heritage: Wharram Percy

Galloping Galatea!

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Galloping Galatea thumbIt looked like its galloping days were well and truly over when I saw it in Barry scrapyard in 1968 – but like so many other former residents, LMS Jubilee 45699 “Galatea” is back in action on the main lines. It was certainly galloping along when it passed through on its way from Shrewsbury to Crewe this afternoon.