Sunny Joy with "James"...
Hi everybody. Well, after doing some jobs this morning, I had been invited over to the GEC Railway to drive my friend James' engine; "James". The 0-4-0 Romulus; which I have mentioned many times before on this blog; has just returned to service following a Superheater repair. Today was the GEC's last normal 7.25" gauge public running day of 2011, seeing three steam locomotives and two electrics operating the service at various intervals throughout the afternoon. I arrived at 12:45pm in order to help set up and steam up before passenger services began at 2:30pm. The steamers; "James", "Luna" and "Tom"; were soon on site and began steaming up. "Luna" is spotted on shed, being fired up by Ian, her owner...
Behind "Luna" was "Tom" the 'Tich'. 'Tich' is of course a 3.5" gauge design but "Tom" & "Jerry" were built as 7.25" gauge versions before being parted due to their individual sales. Barry, of the GEC, now owns "Tom" and his green brother "Jerry" lives elsewhere. Lovely little machine. "Tom" ran for some of the afternoon, giving a ride to the odd lucky passenger on his driving truck...
Whilst the other engines made their preparations, myself and James got the Romulus ready. I cleaned the paint and shared the oiling, as well as keeping the fire fed. Soon enough, "James" was in steam and I was gently opening her regulator to warm the cylinders. After moving back and forth along the shed road to clear any water from the steam circuit, I took "James" down onto the turntable. My friend Eddie then arrived and we had a jaunt out on a test run with "James" and the train. I must admit, it was weird riding in the coaches for once! After arriving back safely, James took the first public trip with his engine. I then took over for the next run. Below, "Luna" has arrived back with the red set whilst "James" gets ready to back down off shed to take over...
Later in the day, James drives "James" along what I call the 'fast section', up the bank and towards the Car Park on the return run. The track on this section is very good and the engine rides it well. The problem is, she does try to get away from you along here because she really wants to 'GO'!...
Back at the sheds, "James" basks in the warm October sun...
I had a lovely afternoon on "James". She steamed well, pulled well and rode the track beautifully. If anything, she ran even better than normal, making me wonder how long that superheater had been leaking! Myself and James shared the driving throughout the afternoon, and passenger numbers were strong to boot. Lovely! At 5pm on the dot, I drove "James" down onto the turntable and then up onto the shed road again before disposing with James. At 5:15pm, after a very quick blow-down, "James" waits to go home on the loading ramp...
After helping to load "James", I collected my things, washed my hands and soon left. It had been another great, if unexpected, afternoon at the GEC. I next plan to be up there with "James" on October 29th for the infamous 'Night Run' during which we do five continuous hours running (3pm - 8pm) and drive through the darkness of the tree-lined route. The 5" gauge track will also be running and the model railway and tea room will be in full swing. Best of all, all rides are FREE (donations welcome)! Why not come along? Honestly, you will love it! Mind you, it is very busy! There will be a post on that of course; as it happens! Thanks for reading folks. Next weekend?: Well, the inevitable..."Thomas" at Shackerstone!...
Hi everybody. Well, after doing some jobs this morning, I had been invited over to the GEC Railway to drive my friend James' engine; "James". The 0-4-0 Romulus; which I have mentioned many times before on this blog; has just returned to service following a Superheater repair. Today was the GEC's last normal 7.25" gauge public running day of 2011, seeing three steam locomotives and two electrics operating the service at various intervals throughout the afternoon. I arrived at 12:45pm in order to help set up and steam up before passenger services began at 2:30pm. The steamers; "James", "Luna" and "Tom"; were soon on site and began steaming up. "Luna" is spotted on shed, being fired up by Ian, her owner...
Behind "Luna" was "Tom" the 'Tich'. 'Tich' is of course a 3.5" gauge design but "Tom" & "Jerry" were built as 7.25" gauge versions before being parted due to their individual sales. Barry, of the GEC, now owns "Tom" and his green brother "Jerry" lives elsewhere. Lovely little machine. "Tom" ran for some of the afternoon, giving a ride to the odd lucky passenger on his driving truck...
Whilst the other engines made their preparations, myself and James got the Romulus ready. I cleaned the paint and shared the oiling, as well as keeping the fire fed. Soon enough, "James" was in steam and I was gently opening her regulator to warm the cylinders. After moving back and forth along the shed road to clear any water from the steam circuit, I took "James" down onto the turntable. My friend Eddie then arrived and we had a jaunt out on a test run with "James" and the train. I must admit, it was weird riding in the coaches for once! After arriving back safely, James took the first public trip with his engine. I then took over for the next run. Below, "Luna" has arrived back with the red set whilst "James" gets ready to back down off shed to take over...
Later in the day, James drives "James" along what I call the 'fast section', up the bank and towards the Car Park on the return run. The track on this section is very good and the engine rides it well. The problem is, she does try to get away from you along here because she really wants to 'GO'!...
Back at the sheds, "James" basks in the warm October sun...
I had a lovely afternoon on "James". She steamed well, pulled well and rode the track beautifully. If anything, she ran even better than normal, making me wonder how long that superheater had been leaking! Myself and James shared the driving throughout the afternoon, and passenger numbers were strong to boot. Lovely! At 5pm on the dot, I drove "James" down onto the turntable and then up onto the shed road again before disposing with James. At 5:15pm, after a very quick blow-down, "James" waits to go home on the loading ramp...
After helping to load "James", I collected my things, washed my hands and soon left. It had been another great, if unexpected, afternoon at the GEC. I next plan to be up there with "James" on October 29th for the infamous 'Night Run' during which we do five continuous hours running (3pm - 8pm) and drive through the darkness of the tree-lined route. The 5" gauge track will also be running and the model railway and tea room will be in full swing. Best of all, all rides are FREE (donations welcome)! Why not come along? Honestly, you will love it! Mind you, it is very busy! There will be a post on that of course; as it happens! Thanks for reading folks. Next weekend?: Well, the inevitable..."Thomas" at Shackerstone!...
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