Good evening all. This weekend marked the return of Tyseley's popular Summer Open Weekend and the rather pleasant weather meant that visitor numbers would be strong. I arrived at the former 84E at around 06:30, having called into McDonalds in Sheldon to grab some breakfast on route: why break the habit of a lifetime? Five locomotives would be in steam today and when I reached the engine shed "Bahamas" was already sending a plume of smoke steadily skyward. Even now the temperature was rising and the forecast promised a very warm day ahead...
Whilst I was photographing "Bahamas", Dean appeared from the direction of the Mess Hut. Slowly but surely, as we chatted, our numbers grew as the rest of the Tyseley lads began to arrive. The team was soon put to work as Alastair arrived to give us our duties. I was instructed to join Dave in preparing 7752 for use on the Shuttle Service. The Pannier was stabled behind the visiting "Rocket" replica, courtesy of the National Railway Museum in York. More on her later...
7752: my steed for the day: has very briefly returned from her Summer holidays at the West Somerset Railway and so this would be a rare turn for me, for this year at least! Dave, armed with a long iron, set to work clearing the grate whilst I tried to find some oil bottles and a feeder. (52' was fresh off the lorry and had no kit). Down on the running shed frontage, "Clun Castle" and "Rood Ashton Hall" were sunbathing under the cloudless blue sky. Together they made for an impressive picture...
Having located some oiling equipment, I helped Dave carry some wood to the engine ready for the fire to be lit. Dave soon had a blaze going and the tank engines warm chimney provided some initial draft. One snag we did meet this morning was slack. The Welsh open cast stuff in the bunker was probably 50% dust and this is the last thing you need when starting a fresh fire. Welsh coal is soft by nature and the mechanised mining processes, coupled with transportation, further reduce the lumps to slack. I spent the next couple of hours nursing 52' into steam as she tried her best to be 'cold hearted'. The fire was very much lit but with so much slack to hand you run the risk of choking an embryo fire. Nevertheless, in between my acts of contortionism between the frames with the feeder, I managed to eventually achieve a full fire.
As the pressure gauge needle progressed lethargically clockwise, the other engines were getting ready to be shunted into their respective display positions. With just about enough steam, we took 52' across onto Platform 1 road to complete preparation prior to working some shuttle services. It was roasting as the time neared 10:00...
Once the gates opened to the public, the Warwick Road platform became almost instantly swamped with expectant passengers. With a brake test completed, 52' hissed cautiously into the platform ready to load for the first run. It wasn't long before myself & Dave were away, chugging happily back and forth with the two-coach train. The 1930-built Pannier was finally in her usual fettle, with the needle hugging the red line and water well up the glass. The mass of dust in the bunker didn't provide as much of an issue when you could work with the regulator and usual steaming rates resumed. We didn't do many runs before we were shunted back onto the middle road to allow "Rocket" to escape. 52' spent the next couple of hours sunbathing...
The "Rocket" replica meanwhile was incredibly popular and was chuffing up and down for hour after hour with a full compliment of passengers...
At around 13:30 it was decided to run the impressive cavalcade of large engines and so 52' and her coaches were moved across onto 'Five Road'. The trio of 7029, 4965 and 45596 then did the honours on the demo line...
Although beautiful "Bahamas" put on a fabulous show with her spectacular exhaust, the roar of "Clun Castle" definitely opened peoples ears. These double chimney 4-6-0s really are formidable engines and 7029 is definitely following in the "Earl"s footsteps. I can't wait for 5043's return and that much anticipated doubleheader...
For the rest of the day, whilst her crew enjoyed many ice creams, 52' simmered quietly on 'Five Road'. The popularity of the visiting "Rocket" replica proved practically limitless and the 0-2-2 worked the demo line constantly until closing time. Our final task for the green Pannier was a last minute shunt move back across to Platform 1 road for overnight stabling. By now my fire was run down to nothing and the lack of any lumps in the bunker didn't help! I'm not ashamed to say (well, that's a lie...I am ashamed) that we ended up "down the nick" on our short move but we got there in the end!...
Like the kind hearted soul that I am, having disposed 52', I opted to hand shovel plenty of large lumps of coal from the adjacent coal pile into the bunker. There's nothing worse than when you're the "next man" and you come in to an engine that has no coal at all for lighting up. With the bunker restocked for the early morning and a small wedge at the back of the box to keep her warm, I left 52' and headed for the Mess Hut. "Rocket" had been stabled not far from us and it was nice to see her up close...
This replica is of course modelled on George Stephenson's revolutionary masterpiece of 1829. The original "Rocket" won the Rainhill Trials that same year, which was a competition to see which design of locomotive was most appropriate to power the new Liverpool and Manchester Railway. "Rocket"s design features included inclined cylinders (rather than vertical), a multi-tubular boiler and an exhaust which fed to the base of the chimney to improve drafting rather than being lost to atmosphere. The water jacket around the firebox is interesting as it includes a dry throatplate and doorplate, with copper pipes circulating water to the remaining areas.
This replica was built in 1979, with the original engine surviving at the Science Museum in London. Modern fitments include a pressure gauge and a pair of gauge glasses: the original would have had a mercury manometer and test cocks respectively. Having admired "Rocket", I headed off to get washed and changed before the drive home. It had been another great day crewing at a Tyseley open weekend, although sadly I can't make it tomorrow. Cheers all, Sam...
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