Saturday at Tyseley...

Hi all. Today was a very worthwhile and pleasant day spent at Tyseley, in the company of Alastair and Will. The day began with the departure of Aveling & Porter 'F Type' roller "Louise", returning home to Statfold following last weekends Open Days. The engine could be heard whistling loudly through the Birmingham suburbs, slowly clanking off into the distance. At Tyseley, maintenance work was taking place on and around Castle Class 4-6-0 No5043 "Earl of Mount Edgcumbe", built at Swindon in March 1936. With no official trips booked for the Castle until the York outing in December, the engine is enjoying her regular rounds of loving attention. The locomotives housed at the former 84E shed are all cared for to the highest standards, in keeping with those expected of engines which operate on Network Rail metals. Todays duties for myself included helping with the work on 5043, as well as getting the chance to operate the 'Gronk' 0-6-0 Shunter 13029. I hadn't driven an 08 style type for some years and it was good to get used to their ways again. All the best, Sam...