Driving Through The Dead of Night At RPMR...
Hello everyone! Well, this was really something. Something mad, something unusual and definately something to remember for a very long time! My 5" gauge concern, the Ryton Pool Miniature Railway, has often toyed with the idea of a Night Run at it's Country Park site. In the earlier years of the society, a Night Run was held at the society's previous home at Stoneleigh Abbey and was a great success. However, the society has seemed pretty apprehensive towards doing another one in recent years. Therefore, as the club celebrates its 75th Birthday in 2010, what better excuse could there be?! After a suggestion at this years AGM, the event was born and took place this weekend (July 24th/25th). The event was named; "24 Hour Track Occupation". To put it simply, the railway would run from 12 Midday on Saturday right through until 12 Midday on Sunday with at least 1 locomotive operating on the track at any one time. Slots of "30 minutes" at a time were offered over the 24-hour Period and members could then sign their names in their desired slots, daytime or night. I, being very enthusiastic for this event, decided to pick 12 Midnight on Saturday until 3am Sunday Morning, driving the society's stalwart 0-4-0 Sweet Pea No499 "John H Owen". Meanwhile, various members with their various steeds picked through the other slots and eventually there was a very mixed roster running throughout the entire period. I, having tried to sleep a little on the Saturday daytime, arrived at the RPMR at about 6:30pm on the Saturday night. After finding my steed for the night (see above pic) on the Steaming Bays, I set about fitting my full size BR Tail Lamp to a wagon which would then be coupled to the rear of my train. Later, as a bit of fun, "JHO" was lit up using a Tealight candle, but to little avail!... 
As the night drew in, many locomotives continued to run on the track. These ranged from battery electrics to petrol hydaulics and of course the steam engines. The event was not just for members either, we were raising money too! A special wagon, fitted with a Milometre, was running around the track behind various trains for the entire 24-hour Period. The wagon carried 5 Teddy Bears and, for £1 a guess, the public could guess how far the Bear's would travel during the 24 hours, taking into account speeds, track length and of course "stoppage time" for water, coal etc. At the end of the 24 hours, the mileage would be noted and then the 5 closest guesses would WIN one of the Teddy Bears AND a voucher entitling them to FREE rides on the miniature railway until the end of September 2011! Not bad ay'?! I, during the running, did a good few laps hauling the Bears; they did keep quiet I must admit, not a very chatty lot but who would be after 24 hours continuous riding, especially with no cushions! Anyway, back to me. As the evening drew on, I oiled the loco up whilst there was still some light left. However, the Commitee was quick to provide Flood Lighting for the Steaming Bays (safety first!). On top of this, Heating (a Brazier) was provided and of course the Tea & Coffee in the Clubhouse. Many loco's were even still on the track by 11pm when I began to prepare 'my' loco for the night. In fact, the most popular time seemed to be from 10pm until 1am as there were just so many people about! At 11:05pm, I decided it was time to light up the loco. Below, myself and "JHO" get ready for the night ahead... 
Now that darkness had fallen the track, naturally, was completely black. Out on the line, the loco's were carrying tail-lamps and the electric loco's were also carrying headlights! "Ooo Er!". On her steaming bay, "JHO" was warming up nicely and was ready by 11:25pm! Not bad really! (Certainly makes a real difference from the 4 or 5 hours that Standard Gauge normally takes to warm up!). At 11:30pm, half an hour early, I was given permission to take my train of 2 cars plus the "Lamp Wagon" out onto the track. The loco hissed and wheezed as she reversed off the "Run Up Rail" and onto the main line. Once safely on the track, protected by the red signal behind, I put "JHO" into Forward Gear and we set off into the night. The loco performed beautifully and the little 'Push-Light' which I had installed under the Cab Roof was very effective. The darkness was however very imposing and the wind blew the steam across the field nearby. By now, "JHO" was the only steam locomotive on the track, followed by 3 or 4 battery electrics. Below, I can be watering up at a very dark Ryton Halt at 11:40pm...that must be a first for the station!...
By 1pm I was in need of a bit of a break as 90 minutes of continuous 'pitch black driving' had taken its toll. (I was still getting used to the not sleeping!). Therefore, my colleague Dave, a very experienced Driver and one that has taught me alot during my time at CMES, took over until just before 2am. In the meantime, I took the time to get a Coffee and, fantastically, fellow Driver Paul had brought along his Gas Cooker and ended up cooking us all a Bacon Sandwich each at 2am!! Well done Paul; This was one of the highlights! Below, Emma waits in anticipation as Paul works his magic on the Bacon during the small hours of Sunday morning...
I then, sandwich in hand, re-took over "JHO"s regulator and set off again into the night, with the Tail-Lamp burning brightly on the back. Dave had now gone off to have a break before steaming his own engine; 3.5" gauge 2-6-2 Southern Mongoliper "Betty". In the meantime, the Teddy's were going round behind 0-4-0 Shunter "Benella". Out on the line, myself and "John Owen" were enjoying ourselves immensely. The small number of trains, due to the fact that there were only six members present by now, allowed for good non-stop running. In fact, I managed something that I'd never done before; three continuous laps with "JHO" without watering up. After the 3rd continuous lap I decided that it was time to stop and, on inspection within the water tank, found that there was still more than enough water for another lap at least! However, I did of course fill-up whilst we had stopped! On a normal passenger hauling day, it is sometimes necessary to fill-up after each lap, due to the amount of water consumed when hauling heavier trains. However, on this occasion, with only myself and a few empty trucks behind the drawbar, "JHO" was very economical on both water and coal, leaving lots of room for longer running times! By 3am, I was again beginning to tire but enjoyment kept me going. Below, we were trying out the potential of an overnight "RPMR Sleeper Train" and "Yes" the train was moving and the regulator on the loco was set "just so". (Please bare in mind also that I have driven this engine many, many times over a good few years and so am more than aware of what is safe and what is not ^_^ )...
Even though I was due to "come off" at 3am, the track was empty enough to allow me to keep running. In the end, I ran until 4:30am! By then, dawn had just broken and I decided that it was time to grab a Coffee and, even more so, to give "JHO" a rest; she had done very well throughout the night and had been no trouble at all. After filling her up at the water tower one last time, I gave Emma a lift back from "Ryton Halt" to the steaming bays as 'first light' beckoned. With the Bendy Beam now set, "JHO" hissed quietly off the track with her train in tow. Once on the Traverser, I uncoupled the loco from the cars before pushing her across to the Steaming Bay which we had began on 5 hours before (No3). Myself and Paul then proceeded to "blow down" the loco and clean her off in case someone wanted to use her during the rest of the day. I then headed off for a Coffee. Soon, Emma took her loco back out onto the track with my rake of coaches (+ Tail Lamp) and proceeded to run alongside Peter's "Benella". Soon after, Dave came back off the track on his loco "Betty" before coming down for a Coffee as well. By now the light was improving more and more every minute and the Pool's were under the cover of darkness no more. At 6am, Pannier Tank "Victoria" steamed out onto the track and gave 2 hours of great performance whilst myself (on the Petrol loco) and Emma (on her loco) tried to keep up with her! (No chance!). The most welcome surprise came around 7:30am when the "Night Shift Team" were all given a Cooked Breakfast; Great Stuff! Thanks Eric! Soon after, Dave was back with his engine, "Betty", for another stint on the track, beginning at 8:30am...
In the end, "Betty" ended up running right up until gone 12:30pm in the afternoon, seeing out the 24-stint in style. Thanks to owner Dave, I was allowed to drive the engine for a good period of time during the day. Surprisingly, I didn't feel tired at all; must have been some kind of "second wind"! The lovely "Betty" is a 3.5" gauge model of the 2-6-2 Southern Monogoliper class. Along the same lines of the Gresley V2, the Monogoliper was designed by the Southern Railway but never actually made it into production. Shame really, it's a great machine; simple, robust, powerful and fast! "Betty" in particular is a lovely model and runs very well. She is, indeed, a pleasure to drive. Thank you very much to owner Dave for the privilege, and the lift home; much appreciated! At 1:30pm, with "Betty" safely back in the car and everything packed away, including my Tail Lamp (which was also heading for home), myself and Dave left the site. I must admit, by now, having been up for about 27 hours, I was really starting to feel it! Thank you very much to CMES for organising such a fantastic event and, to all the members who turned up and did their share of the running, whether on a club loco or with their own. I must have done about 7 hours or more driving in total, on one thing or another, plus a few odd jobs here and there. It was, honestly, really great. Thank you everybody. After about 4-hours kip this afternoon I feel a bit better but still need lots of sleep tonight! For your interest, the Bear's covered just over 131KM over the night; I hate to think how many we did collectively, must have been well over 400KM easy! Finally, thank you to Peter for all but two of the photographs; much appreciated. Good Evening...
Hello everyone! Well, this was really something. Something mad, something unusual and definately something to remember for a very long time! My 5" gauge concern, the Ryton Pool Miniature Railway, has often toyed with the idea of a Night Run at it's Country Park site. In the earlier years of the society, a Night Run was held at the society's previous home at Stoneleigh Abbey and was a great success. However, the society has seemed pretty apprehensive towards doing another one in recent years. Therefore, as the club celebrates its 75th Birthday in 2010, what better excuse could there be?! After a suggestion at this years AGM, the event was born and took place this weekend (July 24th/25th). The event was named; "24 Hour Track Occupation". To put it simply, the railway would run from 12 Midday on Saturday right through until 12 Midday on Sunday with at least 1 locomotive operating on the track at any one time. Slots of "30 minutes" at a time were offered over the 24-hour Period and members could then sign their names in their desired slots, daytime or night. I, being very enthusiastic for this event, decided to pick 12 Midnight on Saturday until 3am Sunday Morning, driving the society's stalwart 0-4-0 Sweet Pea No499 "John H Owen". Meanwhile, various members with their various steeds picked through the other slots and eventually there was a very mixed roster running throughout the entire period. I, having tried to sleep a little on the Saturday daytime, arrived at the RPMR at about 6:30pm on the Saturday night. After finding my steed for the night (see above pic) on the Steaming Bays, I set about fitting my full size BR Tail Lamp to a wagon which would then be coupled to the rear of my train. Later, as a bit of fun, "JHO" was lit up using a Tealight candle, but to little avail!... 
As the night drew in, many locomotives continued to run on the track. These ranged from battery electrics to petrol hydaulics and of course the steam engines. The event was not just for members either, we were raising money too! A special wagon, fitted with a Milometre, was running around the track behind various trains for the entire 24-hour Period. The wagon carried 5 Teddy Bears and, for £1 a guess, the public could guess how far the Bear's would travel during the 24 hours, taking into account speeds, track length and of course "stoppage time" for water, coal etc. At the end of the 24 hours, the mileage would be noted and then the 5 closest guesses would WIN one of the Teddy Bears AND a voucher entitling them to FREE rides on the miniature railway until the end of September 2011! Not bad ay'?! I, during the running, did a good few laps hauling the Bears; they did keep quiet I must admit, not a very chatty lot but who would be after 24 hours continuous riding, especially with no cushions! Anyway, back to me. As the evening drew on, I oiled the loco up whilst there was still some light left. However, the Commitee was quick to provide Flood Lighting for the Steaming Bays (safety first!). On top of this, Heating (a Brazier) was provided and of course the Tea & Coffee in the Clubhouse. Many loco's were even still on the track by 11pm when I began to prepare 'my' loco for the night. In fact, the most popular time seemed to be from 10pm until 1am as there were just so many people about! At 11:05pm, I decided it was time to light up the loco. Below, myself and "JHO" get ready for the night ahead... 
Now that darkness had fallen the track, naturally, was completely black. Out on the line, the loco's were carrying tail-lamps and the electric loco's were also carrying headlights! "Ooo Er!". On her steaming bay, "JHO" was warming up nicely and was ready by 11:25pm! Not bad really! (Certainly makes a real difference from the 4 or 5 hours that Standard Gauge normally takes to warm up!). At 11:30pm, half an hour early, I was given permission to take my train of 2 cars plus the "Lamp Wagon" out onto the track. The loco hissed and wheezed as she reversed off the "Run Up Rail" and onto the main line. Once safely on the track, protected by the red signal behind, I put "JHO" into Forward Gear and we set off into the night. The loco performed beautifully and the little 'Push-Light' which I had installed under the Cab Roof was very effective. The darkness was however very imposing and the wind blew the steam across the field nearby. By now, "JHO" was the only steam locomotive on the track, followed by 3 or 4 battery electrics. Below, I can be watering up at a very dark Ryton Halt at 11:40pm...that must be a first for the station!...
By 1pm I was in need of a bit of a break as 90 minutes of continuous 'pitch black driving' had taken its toll. (I was still getting used to the not sleeping!). Therefore, my colleague Dave, a very experienced Driver and one that has taught me alot during my time at CMES, took over until just before 2am. In the meantime, I took the time to get a Coffee and, fantastically, fellow Driver Paul had brought along his Gas Cooker and ended up cooking us all a Bacon Sandwich each at 2am!! Well done Paul; This was one of the highlights! Below, Emma waits in anticipation as Paul works his magic on the Bacon during the small hours of Sunday morning...
I then, sandwich in hand, re-took over "JHO"s regulator and set off again into the night, with the Tail-Lamp burning brightly on the back. Dave had now gone off to have a break before steaming his own engine; 3.5" gauge 2-6-2 Southern Mongoliper "Betty". In the meantime, the Teddy's were going round behind 0-4-0 Shunter "Benella". Out on the line, myself and "John Owen" were enjoying ourselves immensely. The small number of trains, due to the fact that there were only six members present by now, allowed for good non-stop running. In fact, I managed something that I'd never done before; three continuous laps with "JHO" without watering up. After the 3rd continuous lap I decided that it was time to stop and, on inspection within the water tank, found that there was still more than enough water for another lap at least! However, I did of course fill-up whilst we had stopped! On a normal passenger hauling day, it is sometimes necessary to fill-up after each lap, due to the amount of water consumed when hauling heavier trains. However, on this occasion, with only myself and a few empty trucks behind the drawbar, "JHO" was very economical on both water and coal, leaving lots of room for longer running times! By 3am, I was again beginning to tire but enjoyment kept me going. Below, we were trying out the potential of an overnight "RPMR Sleeper Train" and "Yes" the train was moving and the regulator on the loco was set "just so". (Please bare in mind also that I have driven this engine many, many times over a good few years and so am more than aware of what is safe and what is not ^_^ )... 
Even though I was due to "come off" at 3am, the track was empty enough to allow me to keep running. In the end, I ran until 4:30am! By then, dawn had just broken and I decided that it was time to grab a Coffee and, even more so, to give "JHO" a rest; she had done very well throughout the night and had been no trouble at all. After filling her up at the water tower one last time, I gave Emma a lift back from "Ryton Halt" to the steaming bays as 'first light' beckoned. With the Bendy Beam now set, "JHO" hissed quietly off the track with her train in tow. Once on the Traverser, I uncoupled the loco from the cars before pushing her across to the Steaming Bay which we had began on 5 hours before (No3). Myself and Paul then proceeded to "blow down" the loco and clean her off in case someone wanted to use her during the rest of the day. I then headed off for a Coffee. Soon, Emma took her loco back out onto the track with my rake of coaches (+ Tail Lamp) and proceeded to run alongside Peter's "Benella". Soon after, Dave came back off the track on his loco "Betty" before coming down for a Coffee as well. By now the light was improving more and more every minute and the Pool's were under the cover of darkness no more. At 6am, Pannier Tank "Victoria" steamed out onto the track and gave 2 hours of great performance whilst myself (on the Petrol loco) and Emma (on her loco) tried to keep up with her! (No chance!). The most welcome surprise came around 7:30am when the "Night Shift Team" were all given a Cooked Breakfast; Great Stuff! Thanks Eric! Soon after, Dave was back with his engine, "Betty", for another stint on the track, beginning at 8:30am...
In the end, "Betty" ended up running right up until gone 12:30pm in the afternoon, seeing out the 24-stint in style. Thanks to owner Dave, I was allowed to drive the engine for a good period of time during the day. Surprisingly, I didn't feel tired at all; must have been some kind of "second wind"! The lovely "Betty" is a 3.5" gauge model of the 2-6-2 Southern Monogoliper class. Along the same lines of the Gresley V2, the Monogoliper was designed by the Southern Railway but never actually made it into production. Shame really, it's a great machine; simple, robust, powerful and fast! "Betty" in particular is a lovely model and runs very well. She is, indeed, a pleasure to drive. Thank you very much to owner Dave for the privilege, and the lift home; much appreciated! At 1:30pm, with "Betty" safely back in the car and everything packed away, including my Tail Lamp (which was also heading for home), myself and Dave left the site. I must admit, by now, having been up for about 27 hours, I was really starting to feel it! Thank you very much to CMES for organising such a fantastic event and, to all the members who turned up and did their share of the running, whether on a club loco or with their own. I must have done about 7 hours or more driving in total, on one thing or another, plus a few odd jobs here and there. It was, honestly, really great. Thank you everybody. After about 4-hours kip this afternoon I feel a bit better but still need lots of sleep tonight! For your interest, the Bear's covered just over 131KM over the night; I hate to think how many we did collectively, must have been well over 400KM easy! Finally, thank you to Peter for all but two of the photographs; much appreciated. Good Evening... 
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