It was the Saturday of the GCR’s two-day spring steam weekend. It was a little cool, showery and blustery when we assembled soon after 9.30 in the station yard at Quorn and Woodhouse. Motive power was provided by visiting engines, Battle of Britain Class No. 34072 257 Squadron, 9F No. 92134 [posing as No. 92073], Austerity tank No. 3809, Hymek Class No. D7018 from the West Somerset Railway and the Class 101 DMU from the home fleet. The BB, on loan from the Spa Valley Railway, and the 9F returning for a further stint on the GC from the North York Moors Railway, are both survivors from Dai Woodham’s Barry scrapyard in South Wales, where we saw them both in decrepit condition in the mid-1960s, now very nearly 60 years ago.
We had never had a lads’ train day on the Great Central
before and I was very grateful to my mates for making the relatively long
journey over from the Wirral that had necessitated an early start for them all.
Our two absentees this time were also in our thoughts as we took a morning
cuppa in the excellent Butler Henderson café at Quorn. These get-togethers
assume greater significance with the passage of time and we’re already very
grateful, I’m sure, for the many days like this one that we’ve enjoyed in each
other’s company. Every occasion provides a lasting memory or two that continues
to bind us together as lifelong friends. The railway always provides the
background, but it’s the people that make the day.
A traverse of the line behind the 9F took us first to
Leicester and then on to Loughborough, where we had a quick look round the
museum and station before returning to Quorn on the bug cart in time for lunch in
the bar at the Manor House, opposite the station entrance. I have to say that
we found this experience just splendid. We were made very welcome and a table for
five was provided in no time. The food was great and we received excellent
service throughout.
As the sun broke through, we took the very full train to
Leicester, due, no doubt, to the popularity of the Squadron as our motive power,
and travelling first class this time so we were assured of the seats we
required in order to sit comfortably and digest our lunch. Finally, it was back
to Butler Henderson café at Quorn for another cup of tea and a piece of cake to
round off the day.
Living apart for all these years, these days of reunion have
been priceless for me. They allow me to reaffirm friendships, get up to date
with family news from the various different quarters, as well as laugh and reminisce
about the spontaneity of our youthful past. From 60s spotters to 20s septuagenarians,
we are drawn back to our common railway heritage to mull over football,
relationships, park life and our place in the world as post-war baby boomers - and
all for the “nth time”, not that that matters at all. As Ian Dury put it, “Reasons
to be Cheerful, 1, 2, 3” [and probably many more, too].
The final twist on Saturday was that the 9F had been
renumbered as 92073. This was presumably because that loco was once employed on
the Annesley runners, also known as the fast freight wind-cutters, carrying coal
and steel on the GCR in the 1960s. However, she ended up elsewhere, and the
shed plate that she bore on Saturday was of 8H Birkenhead Mollington Street
that we used to frequent on many a Sunday morning, travelling there by bike from
our homes in Wallasey. Sure enough, when I checked out my old spotting books,
there she was on Birkenhead sheds on 3rd January 1967 and it wasn’t
even a Sunday -though it was the Tuesday of our Christmas holidays. Some things
are just meant to be.
