Evesham Vale: A "Monty" In The Rain...

Hi all. Today involved a moist driving turn at the 15" gauge Evesham Vale Light Railway in Worcestershire. After a pleasant few weeks of glorious sunshine, my typical luck meant that the August Bank Holiday was pelted with rain and wind. I arrived at the Twyford base of the EVLR around 08:10 and duly met up with owners Adrian & Sandra. Having signed in and caught up on the goss, I walked through the engine shed to find the rostered locomotive: "Monty". Adrian commented; "We thought you'd like the one with the lid". He was quite right too! The Met Men had forecast horrible weather as the day wore on and even now the dark clouds were gathering in the skies above the railway. As is usual practise on mornings like this, the engine was lit up with only the chimney poking out of the door. Sure enough, as soon as the handbrake was applied in her fresh position, it started to spit. I was then left to my preparation tasks and it wasn't long before the embryo fire was lit...

By now the rain was growing more persistent and "Monty" was no doubt glad of the cosy shelter of her shed as the fire began to take hold. The covering of the shed makes preparation a whole lot more pleasant in conditions like this and also allows the brass work and the paint to be buffed up...

With the engine slowly raising steam on the open cast Welsh coal, I wandered into the Mess Room after the call of "Tea Up!" rang down through the shed. Tea supped, all I had to do was complete the greasing and oiling before charging the air reservoir. "Monty": with headlamp burning brightly: was then ready to leave shed. After hissing slowly out into the rain, the engine came to rest at the mouth of the yard in readiness for blowing down. The violent expulsion of water and steam soon followed...

With the injector running, "Monty" steamed slowly backwards onto the waiting 10:30 train. This set was made up of three of the closed coaches...

Here is "Monty" waiting at a very damp Evesham Vale with the 11:00 trip...

As you can guess due to the weather conditions, trade was a little slow today. A few hardy visitors did appear and inspect the engine from time to time but on the whole it was just me, "Monty" and Guard "Yam Yam" (Graham). In fact, the 11:30 train didn't leave at all as there were no passengers to carry and none had alighted (quite rightly) at Evesham Vale. With a calm fire, "Monty" simmered under the cosy covering of the station roof whilst awaiting the next planned departure at 12:00...

On the whole it was an easy day. "Monty" steamed and pulled beautifully as usual, although you'd expect nothing less with such a light train behind this strong engine. The 12:30 trip saw "Monty" feathering at a desolate Evesham Vale...

Looking through the wet spectacle glass towards Twyford...

After a lightly loaded 13:00 train, the engine was watered at the column...

As "right time" was still a good 10 minutes away I decided to back "Monty" under the station roof once again for a few minutes. In the end it turned out to be the right decision as nobody turned up for the 13:30 trip either. To be fair I couldn't blame them: it was a foul day. However, the covering of "Monty"s cab roof provided great cover for me and the warmth of the fire against my knees made the conditions on board quite bearable. It must have been an easy day for the ex-"Markeaton Lady"...

The 14:00 train did go and we hauled that with ease. Later on, for the 15:00 trip, the now traditional Evesham Tea & Cake was delivered to the cosy footplate...

After looping the fields, the engine is pictured at Evesham Vale again...

Slowly but surely I was running "Monty"s fire down. It's always a gamble at Evesham as you're off the regulator more than you're on it. The fire is quiet until the banks where it gets pulled apart on heavier trips before you ask it to quieten down again and the safety's start to sizzle. Therefore, with the water level rising you're always trying to resist the urge to add more coal and return to shed with greater pressure. Here, the red Exmoor waits with the 15:30 working: our penultimate trip...

A steady fire in the firebox ready for the 16:00 working...

The diesel "Cromwell" was awoken from its slumbers to haul the final train at 16:30 and so "Monty" was returned to the shed. The rain had relented briefly but the clouds were already starting to regroup as I ashed the engine out. Having dried her off with the towels I decided to retreat into the shed before the rain came again, which it duly did! By now "Monty" was simmering quietly inside with the chimney capped...

Despite the awful weather, today had been a very pleasant day aboard the Exmoor 0-4-2. My thanks as usual must go to Adrian & Sandra as well as, on this occasion, fellow ex-Shackerstone man "Yam Yam" for his comical company. Thank you all for reading folks, I'm off to dry myself off! Cheers, Sam...

Tyseley: A Date With The Earl...

Hi all. Today was a typical Saturday volunteer day at the centre of Great Western steam excellence of Tyseley Locomotive Works in Birmingham. I spent a very pleasant 7 hours or so working on the beautiful Castle Class 4-6-0 No5043 "Earl of Mount Edgcumbe". It's always a pleasure to work on and around such a fine engine and have a laugh with the lads. Cheers all, Sam...

A Stafford & A Steam Launch...

Hi all. After a 'train free day' yesterday I nipped out for a couple of hours this afternoon to the private 7.25" gauge railway at Pailton. Norfolk's one and only "I didn't know there was a 6 o'clock in the morning" man 'Eddie the Late' was over there running his chunky Stafford saddle tank so I couldn't resist being there to provide some light hearted encouragement from the lineside! The Fairfield railway has featured on this blog a couple of times and I've completed a few driving turns in years past at today's annual car rally with enjoyable memories of those occasions. I arrived at around 13:30 and wandered steadily across the lawn towards the station, passing a few trains on route. Ed was brewing up on the second road in readiness for another lap of the track. He looked disappointed to see me and the lazy needle on his pressure gauge soon revealed why! I was then kindly invited to drive a couple of laps on the big Stafford, much to my delight.

I hadn't driven the engine for a few years and so it took a good half a lap to get used to all the extra goings on when you're driving a miniature loco. Leaving the station, the railway hugs the lakeside before reaching a set of facing points where the driver can set the direction via the flick of a switch. Road set, I dropped down the steep gradient towards Pailton's answer to the Newark flat crossing before pulling up at the water tower. The pressure was still fairly unresponsive - a sure sign of a clinkered fire atop the shallow marine grate. Whilst the engine brewed up, I took on some water...

Returning to the station after skirting the back field, I arrived with the job in a slightly better state of affairs. Ed did say that the engine had been running for a few hours and these days with the arguably poor quality of most steam coals a clinkered fire is inevitable. After another lap on the handle I pulled into the headshunt to allow other trains to pass by whilst I cleaned the fire. Having pulled out some fairly sizeable lumps of clinker and set a fresh fire bed with some good lumps of coal, the Stafford quickly came back to life. The telltale roar from behind the firehole door was joined by some energetic needle movement towards the red line. Soon enough, working pressure was reached and Ed steamed off to haul more passengers...

Ed has gone through three 7.25" engines during his exploration of the gauge but this one - "Archie Mk III" - definitely seems to be the keeper. Station Road Steam's popular saddle tank offers a strong, stable and arguably fast engine capable of most club running situations. I really like the engine; it's very pleasant and responsive to drive with all the adhesive weight you could ever need. SRS even offer larger versions for estate railway applications and these must be monstrous as the 'standard' Stafford alone is a large loco. Cheers Ed for the drive, always a pleasure... 

With Ed continuing to lap the fields amongst the colourful abundance of other steamers and electrics on the track, I wandered over for a ride on the steam launch. I hadn't had a ride on the boat for some years so felt it was time to refresh my memory. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce "Roundtuit"...

The Pailton 'pond' is basically a small lake and the steam launch offers trips of two laps per time from the small pontoon. She is an absolutely wonderful thing. I believe she is built from a mix of components that the builder sought from various locations. He, like many engineers, is a man of many projects - hence the name "Roundtuit". Boarding the launch, I took a seat alongside the boiler and compound engine...

The short sailing was ably skippered by Emma who it was nice to chat to again after a few years. She explained that the launch is wood fired but goes better on coal, the former fuel being used simply because of the large amount on site. I love a nice steam boat, there's something wonderfully relaxing about the whole experience. The typical Windermere Kettle can be seen bolted to the boiler...

After my pleasant boat ride I went back to Eddie who was just coming off the track ready to dispose. The Stafford had put in a good few more hard working miles...

Following a final chat with my old pal Ed I decided it was time for home at around 15:30. My thanks to the owners of the Fairfield railway for their hospitality and to Ed for allowing me to drive his lovely engine again. Next weekend I have Tyseley and Evesham booked. Roll on. Cheers all, Sam...

Tyseley: Castle Class Engines At Rest...

When people argue about who had the most beautiful steam engines, I'm afraid that for me there is little contest for the Great Western Railway. Their Castle class locomotives in particular are a striking, muscular breed of express passenger engine that would struggle to be rivalled by much else. Today I was at the former 84E at Tyseley Locomotive Works in Birmingham for another volunteer Saturday spent amongst their fine fleet. It was a quieter day today, with only a few of the team in attendance. I was put to work helping with a few little jobs amongst the fine trio of Castle Class 4-6-0s. After spending a little time on 5043, I was moved onto doing a few tasks for 7029 "Clun Castle". Upstairs in the coal stage lives the only single chimney Castle of the trio: No5080 "Defiant". Having last steamed in the 1990s, 5080 is subject to a restoration appeal which I believe interested parties can still donate to. For now she rests upstairs alongside "Kolhapur". Can you help "Defiant" steam again?...

Built at Swindon as "Ogmore Castle" in 1939, 5080 was renamed "Defiant" in 1941. Bought by Tyseley from Barry Scrapyard in 1974 as the 62nd engine to leave, 5080 was originally planned to be a spares donor for 7029. A reprieve came in 1988 when the engine was restored and she had a brief main line return before undertaking a tour of a few preserved railways. I'd love to see this single chimney beauty return to steam. It would be interesting to see just how good a 'normal' Castle could be if work to the standard of 5043 & 7029 was put in. For now though, like so many things steam related, "perchance it is not dead but sleepeth"...

I spent my afternoon on and around 7029 before heading for home just after 16:00. I hope to be back at 84E the weekend after next. Next weekend is going to be a 'train-free' one I believe. Despite thoughts to the contrary, it is possible to get "all train-ed out"! If you wish to see Tyseley's beautiful trio of Great Western thoroughbred's together, I recommend the September open weekend where we'll be celebrating 50 years of Tyseley. The three will no doubt be posed together at that do. Don't miss it - it's going to be a whopper. Until next time, Sam...