Peak Rail Heritage Open Day

A tour round the sheds at 17C Rowsley was a first or me, never having reached here in the days of steam. The opportunity for a “behind the scenes” guided walk was provided as part of the nationwide September 2024 heritage days, whereby such sites open their doors to visitors at no cost. As the website puts it, “Heritage Open Days is England's largest community led festival of history and culture, involving thousands of local volunteers and organisations. Every year in September it brings people together to celebrate their heritage, community and history. Stories are told, traditions explored, and histories brought to life. It’s your chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – and it’s all FREE.” On duty at Rowsley South was the former Kent Electricity Board’s 0-4-0 saddle tank No. 2, Bagnall No. 2842, from the Chasewater Railway, at the head of the 4-coach train to Matlock. The sheds and yard contained a mix of steam and diesel locos in various stages of repair, in addition to the current operational fleet .

   

Totnes Riverside to Buckfastleigh

We took a trip up the valley on the South Devon Railway behind the ex-GWR 0-6-0 panier tank No. 6412. The journey is through a tranquil sylvan landscape with shafts of sunlight intermittently piercing the canopy of trees on the river bank. The peace is only broken by the steady beat and exhaust from the locomotive as it pulls its string of Mark 1 coaches up the slope at a suitably sedate pace. This is attractive rural England at its best. The branch line is so typical of its type, serving occasional country towns and connecting them to the nearest main line. When we first came here, trains ran in to the main line station, but the potential bottleneck on the up track at the rail bridge over the Dart immediately to the east meant Riverside became the necessary start point for the heritage line, so that workings did not encroach on main line operations. That’s fine, as it’s only a short walk between the two, and the replacement terminus is itself a delightfully re-constructed period piece. Near Staverton, we passed 4500 Class 2-6-2 tank No. 5526 on a freight working that included brake van experience opportunities.

    

Mayflower viewed from Dartmouth

B1 Class No. 61306 Mayflower visited Kingswear on Saturday 17^th August, heading a special train from Bournemouth. Viewed from across the Dart estuary on the promenade at Dartmouth, the aperitif was provided by Manor Class No. 7827 Cookham Manor.

Tornado

We were lucky enough to find Class A1 No. 60163 Tornado being prepared for action outside Loughborough sheds yesterday after a long time out of service. It is expected that she will be running on the GCR this weekend.

Churnet Revisited

We had a nice day out yesterday on the Churnet Valley Railway in the Staffordshire moorlands, with morning and afternoon return trips from Froghall station, before finishing off with a cup of tea in the attractively presented buffet. The nameplate of Coronation Pacific No 46254 City of Stoke on Trent, high up on the wall, was a great reminder of an engine we saw many times at Crewe in our train spotting days.

The USA Class S160 is a distinctive steam loco, but not a type that we came into contact with in our youth. She did a good job on the sustained uphill sections at the top of the line, warranting her choice as the regular go-to motive power class used by the railway.

Thanks are due to Debbie in the office, for helping us to rearrange our visit, and to Richard on the platform, who obliged by taking our group photo in the café and for providing helpful directions during the day.

Black Five to Par

On Sunday 18^th August, Stanier Class Five No. 44871, sporting Scottish style number plate and a matching 65J Stirling shed plate, headed the Railway Touring Company special over the Devon banks to Par. She is seen here blasting through Totnes station in fine style as she approaches the climb to Rattery.

Railart 2024

The Guild of Railway Artists' annual Railart exhibition is open daily from 10.00 until 4.00 until the 29th September. The location is the upstairs room above the railway museum at the Severn Valley Railway's Kidderminster station. The former grain store provides a spacious viewing space where each painting is individually lit from above by the bespoke system provided for the event. This year there are 42 paintings by 21 guild members on display, rather less than in some previous years, though the standard remains high and the subjects varied. Though photorealist paintings of the age of steam continue to predominate, led by the work of Guild fellows, John Austin, Malcolm Root and Philip D Hawkins, the more impressionist charcoal images from Emma Safe provide an interesting diversion. 

  

Yesterday at Nuneaton

 I spent a few hours on the platforms at Nuneaton yesterday and took some photos.  

The Folly at Oban

I like Oban. We stayed there for a week once, in the summer of 1978. There is a famous folly at Oban. It has a raised position above the town and is clearly visible on the skyline from many parts of the town and beyond, as was, no doubt, the intention. McCaig’s Tower, built of granite between 1897 and 1902, was based on the Colosseum in Rome, but remained unfinished after John Stuart McCaig’s death and today provides panoramic views from a public garden.

In my working life, the term urban morphology was of some significance. The shape and form of towns and how they had grown was something I had always found interesting and it still intrigues me. Like many settlements in hilly landscapes, Oban is a bit hemmed in by the surrounding high land. The result is that town planners’ options are somewhat restricted by the lie of the land, when they have to respond to pressures to expand the settlement and its facilities. Oban’s natural harbour and its proximity to many of the offshore islands makes it a hub for people in transit. Consequently, port facilities have mushroomed, its rail links to Glasgow have been retained and considerable pressure is put on its road system, especially as there is really only one way in and out of Oban for long distance travellers by car, which then inevitably takes them across the centre of the town from the northern edge of the built-up area to the ferry terminal, which is south of the centre. That means that the roads near the centre are always busy, it seems, and traffic jams are the norm, in the summer months, at least. Town planners have responded by blocking off former street access, in some cases, to keep traffic moving, and by introducing one-way systems to ease the flow. I found that the result is not always that straightforward to manoeuvre.   

There is a Tesco superstore on the south side of the port, physically quite close to the centre of town, but only approachable from one direction, which is much further out. Sat’ nav’ suggested otherwise, but the former road it indicated is no longer a junction and has a paved area with flower butts where the road used to go. We circumnavigated the site on the west side, instead. We could see the supermarket below us but there was no obvious access to it. We went over to the east side again, but there was a distinct lack of “supermarket this way” signposting. In the end, a separate petrol station provided us with the intervening opportunity that we were looking for. “Its easy, you just go further on down this road and then turn right and right again”, the guy in the shop said. Well, it may be easy if you know the place, ignore sat’ nav’ and can manage without street signs.

As a result, we ran out of time to visit the station. I had to take my pictures from the ferry terminal, instead, separated from it by tall wire fencing. I know just what a nuisance that has become when it comes to photographing the UK railway scene. We must have the most fenced in railway system in the world, so it’s hardly a folly that you could attribute to Oban alone. Mind you, they’ve got two of those already. 

 

Dumfries

Here’s a nice, solid-looking and attractive station made of red sandstone. Many Scottish stations outside of the central belt have a spacious feel to them and this former junction is a good example. Built in 1848, it soon became part of the Glasgow and South Western Railway’s route to Carlisle and the south. The branch lines to Castle Douglas and Stranraer, Lockerbie and Moniaive are no more, however, as indeed are the milk trains to London, which ended in the 1970s. Scotrail services today link Glasgow and Kilmarnock to Carlisle, via Dumfries. Historic Scotland protects both the station and the imposing railway hotel opposite as Grade Two listed.

The Churnet Valley Railway revisited

It would have been a good day for frogs at Froghall. It was wet throughout the proceedings, and the rain was sometimes torrential as we made our way home afterwards across the Peak District. No matter, we had a great day under cover at the Churnet Valley Railway. Everyone was welcoming and friendly, the whole experience was good value for money, breakfast on the dining train was plentiful, and we were well looked after by the enthusiastic and youthful staff in coach “Nicholas”.    

The USA-built wartime Class S160 performed well on the steep sections of the line, having received its delivery of coal from Uzbekistan just that morning. Froghall station is well maintained, brightly painted in 1950s BR Midland Region colours, and the waiting room, shop and airy café [with some excellent cakes for sale] are decorated with appropriate posters and photographs of visiting locos to the line.

Leicester

The current Grade II listed Leicester station dates back to 1894. It has a wide and handsome exterior, which faces onto London Road. The station was reconstructed internally in 1978, though the extensive taxi drop-off and pick-up porte cochere was retained, as was some pleasant decorative tiling in the hallway, through which pedestrians make their way to the modern inner concourse. Barriers are in operation to check tickets before access is gained down the stairs to the two island platforms. Leicester is a busy junction station and all four platform faces are well used. As you approach Leicester by train from the north, the expanding UK Rail Leasing Company depot on the left, to the east of the main line, usually holds something of interest for enthusiasts.