A Quiet Turn with the Beautiful B1...

Hi everyone. Today, at 6:10am, fresh from an early breakfast at McDonalds, I pulled up at the gates of Shackerstone. Just then, Neil pulled up behind. I unlocked the gates and we drove in tandem up the lengthy driveway towards the station. After parking we made our way to the loco works through the damp morning air. Inside lay our three steamable engines; "Sir Gomer", 3803 and the beautiful B1 "Mayflower". The B1 was still red hot from her two outings over the weekend; so hot in fact that she had enough steam on to move herself outside! As the heay rain fell outside, I broke up a pallet with Fireman Mark whilst Driver Neil cleared out the firebox. With the wood broken up, the fire was lit. The loco moved forward, under her own steam, so that her chimney cleared the shed roof but the rest of her remained in the dry. Myself, Neil and Mark then cleaned the engine with the help of Jamie. The B1 came around to quickly however that, by 9am, we were in Platform 1 simmering in the pouring rain; with the first train not until 11:15am! The engine looked a treat though. Having already been cleaned, the rain didn't affect her shine too much. At 10am, having got changed, I sit in the Fireman's Seat on 1306, blissfully aware of the 200psi simmering away inside the boiler...
A look in the firebox at 10am shows a good fire blazing away on the sloping grate. The Eastern style Flap Door is also clearly visible...
"Perfection at Shackerstone": 1306 simmers away. What a beautiful machine. You would never tell that her paintwork is nearly 10 years old!...
The locomotive performed beautifully all day and enjoyed 5 relatively well-loaded trips on the 4-coach rake. It was, once again, a pleasure to be on her footplate. We had a pretty simple day, romping through the lovely Leicestershire countryside, with 1306 throwing thick white steam over her shoulder and up into the damp air. Later on, the B1 pulls into Market Bosworth with the last returning train to Shackerstone of the day. And "Yes"; its still raining!...
Back at Shackerstone, the Shed Cat spent her day dozing under the cosy cover of the Station Veranda on Platform 1. She looked nice and warm bundled up on top of a fabric Suitcase. She was there at 9am, and she was still there when we pulled in on the last train of the day!...
Below, we can see another of my brief footplate videos. Mark is Driving with Neil on the shovel. The B1 pulls away from Shenton, up the embankment towards Far Coton. She strides along easily with the 4-coach rake, shining on through the rain...

After 5 successful trips, the very damp B1 returned to the shed for a well earned warm & dry rest. We disposed of the lovely 4-6-0 before heading for home at around 5:45pm. A very nice day again with beautiful "Mayflower". Thanks very much to Neil, Mark and Jamie. Her next planned steaming is at the end of June for "Thomas" I believe when she may again change indentity to a certain Green Engine of a different name. Look out for 1306 at Shackerstone. If you haven't already seen her, you are missing out. She is probably the best kept engine in preservation; she is beautiful. The amount of time and effort that goes into keeping her in such fantastic condition is unbelievable. Her boiler ticket is up this year and her last steaming at Shackerstone is pencilled in for September. Therefore, please, if you haven't seen her already; please do. You are missing out! :). Thanks for reading folks. Good evening...