Sunday 8 May 2016

Tyseley: Sun And Steam Engines...

Hi everyone. Today was another volunteer Saturday at Tyseley Loco Works and, for once, the sun was shining! There were a few gangs around the site today working on various loco's: the Duke lads were in, the Princess group were in and some of the diesel boys were in too. Our small group, volunteering on behalf of the Tyseley Collection, was continuing with work on the boiler for historic Castle Class 4-6-0 No7029 "Clun Castle". "Clun" is rather important to Western region preservation in that she was the last Castle in service (withdrawn 1965) and also hauled the last steam service out of Paddington during her withdrawal year. The pioneer of the Tyseley Collection, 7029 will hopefully steam again in the not too distant future, thanks to the Castles for the Future Appeal that was launched in 2008. Its a very moving feeling sometimes when looking around the shed here: there are engines just everywhere in various states of restoration or overhaul and you sometimes need a little moment to take it all in. Its a wonderful atmosphere, straight out of the past. Meanwhile, whilst "Clun"s overhaul continues, the girls are no doubt looking forward to their next outing...
"5043 And 4965 Think Of The Main Line"
It was another very enjoyable day at Tyseley and, as always, I can recommend the railtours hauled by this fabulous stud of Great Western engines. The website can be found by clicking here. There are day trips available to book to various destinations and of course the "Shakespeare Express": Tyseley's signature trip: which runs on summer Sunday's between Birmingham and Stratford-Upon-Avon. Many thanks for reading all, Sam...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the regular Tyseley updates - always interesting and a reminder of all the hard work which goes on behind the scenes to keep steam on the main line a reality in the 21st century.

My first visit there, and the first time I saw 7029, was for the June 1972 Open Day - my treat for my 8th birthday!

Cheers,

Mark

Sam Brandist said...

Hi Mark. Thanks for the comment. It is a great pleasure to be involved with Tyseley and lets hope you'll soon be able to come and see "Clun" in steam on an Open Day once again. I for one can't wait to see preservations only double chimney Castle's lined up in steam together outside the shed :)