Achilles Report No11: A Fantastic Day...

Hi everyone. Another outing for "Achilles" today at Ryton Pool Miniature Railway. It was one of the monthly 'Members Running Days' and the engine was duly turned out in her usual pristine condition. Having loaded the loco into the Saxo we made our way up the M6 under threatening skies. On arrival at Ryton, it wasn't raining but it wasn't sunny either, and it was a tad cold. Nevertheless, we got into our warm gear and unloaded the loco. Already on site was "William"; an 0-4-0 Ajax. The Ajax is the smaller sister engine of the Achilles with the main difference being the lack of a third axle. "William" is another older engine, having been built in the 1950s as one of CMES' first locomotives. Below, "Achilles" and "William" prepare for action on No1 & No2 Roads...
Myself and Ben steamed the loco in good time, closely watched by some cheerful onlookers from the nearby path. Below, "Achilles" simmers on the bay before we head off: "William" meanwhile was having a Steam Test...
Fitted with a 40 or so degree deflector pipe in the chimney in an attempt to keep my face clean, the engine steamed surprisingly well. She was coupled to her own riding truck and a normal CMES car too, giving her the chance to carry up to 3 passengers at once, as well as myself & Ben on the riding truck if necessary. Joining us today was Dave Hanks: a friend of mine from Shackerstone: and his family. Dave kindly sent in 5 of the images in this post: Thank You, Dave. Below, "Achilles" simmers near the Bendy Beam; note the deflector in the chimney...
The loco pulled well throughout her 2.5 hour or so running session and gave many rides, both to my family and Dave's. Its always a pleasure to have the loco out when she is performing well and can give rides. Below, the loco gets away for another circuit of the 2000ft-long track...
Myself and my engine (lovingly built by Ken Hall of Coventry)...
Below, the locomotive digs in as she reaches the 1 in 70 section of the bank, pulling well (you can see by the drifting steam that it was a tad chilly)...
The locomotive ran until around 4:20pm but was a little tired by then so we came off to dispose. During the afternoon the loco had steamed and pulled very well indeed with not only myself but also Ben, my grandad and Dave trying their hands on the regulator. We also had the chance to try "Achilles" double-heading with "John Owen" (the Sweet Pea), with pleasing results. The blue 0-6-0T will be double-heading the main train on April 22nd with the Pea (or thats the plan!): look out for a post on that as it happens. Thanks for reading folks. The loco had had another pleasing day and, as I say, will hopefully be running again on April 22nd. Evening all...Sam...