Shackerstone: A Small Prairie Santa Special...

"Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the Feast of Stephen, when the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even" and so on and so forth! One thing I've never become tired of over the years are winter steam turns, particularly the festive ones like the Christmas market specials and of course the traditional Santa trains. There's just something about steam-heating season that is so much more atmospheric: the lingering clouds of steam, the paraffin lamps and the interesting complexities of night working for example. Even though I'm by no means a Shackerstone regular anymore (I was there every weekend at one time), I still like to do the odd turn with good friend David, who still drives down there on a pretty regular basis.

Long term readers will know that I passed as a driver at Shackerstone during Christmas 2014 but later decided to spend some time away from the railway from October 2015. Eventually (and rather unexpectedly), I returned for the Christmas of 2016. You can't just walk out of somewhere for a year and expect to retain your rank: we all know this - it's a safety critical role after all: so I returned as a fireman and have since only gone out with either JB or David, splitting the day as we used to. Obviously if I stuck at it again I could eventually regain the ticket but I think, in light of time constraints and reduced enthusiasm, I'll probably stick as I am. It's always nice to join David for a run out; that's good enough for me! Today we were rostered for Santa duties aboard GWR 4575-Class No5542 who, despite being resident on the South Devon Railway, seems to spend the majority of her time at Shackerstone. This morning, just before 06:00, we fell into the shed with our mounds of kit and discovered a simmering 5542...

The flicking of the light switches was met with a variety of pops and flashes, before some of the soot covered bulbs in the rafters began to illuminate. Unfortunately for us, most of the lights didn't show any life and so the rear of the engine remained enveloped in darkness. Not to worry, these things happen! After dropping our kit off in the real mess area, I changed into some prep overalls before clambering up into the cab. The gauge frame showed a healthy 1/2 a glass, with the pressure needle just about showing the strength to hold itself slightly north of the stop. Having checked the firebox and smokebox, all seemed well. There were some rather large sections of clinker which refused to break up and drop through the bars, prompting the use of the long paddle and a wheelbarrow of seemingly Victorian roots. Navigating the fairly confined cab of the 4575 with the long paddle was quite awkward, but the bed of the new fire would have suffered if I hadn't have sorted the grate out. Job done, I headed off to find some wood. Thankfully there was a small pallet just behind the engine, next to others which looked to have been recently fished from the Ashby. Dry wood broken up, I laid a bed of coal on the grate and lit some rags on the shovel...

I've always found that the open cast Welsh coal should never be watched as it seems to suffer from stage fright and refuse to burn. My motto has always been to get a good wood fire going so that you have plenty to bite on, then add a good mound of coal and build it into a wedge at the rear of the firebox. After that, I tend to close the doors and let the engine get on with it...or "sit and hope for the best", which is also partially true! As I climbed down from the cab to grab the lamps ready to fill up the vessels, the reassuring crackle from the firebox soon assured me that all was well. Dave meanwhile: headtorch affixed: was making his way around the engine with the oil cans. Just up from us, the crew of visiting Modified Hall Class "Wightwick Hall": led by Driver Jan Ford: had recently arrived and were beginning their own preparations. The Hall would be operating the Santa Deluxe service, which performs two round trips in the intervals between the three Classic Santa workings which were booked to 5542. Our first train was planned to depart at 10:00, with the engine required at least 30 minutes prior for steam heating duties. Soon enough, we were ready to go...

The Classic Santa train for this year was made up of 5 coaches: three TSOs, "Jessie" the Griddle Car and the converted BG which forms the Grotto. When right time came, 5542 had no trouble lifting the 5 coaches from their resting place and cautiously steaming out of Shackerstone towards Barton. The outward journey on any Santa trip is a sedate one, giving time for as many passengers as possible to make their way through the train to the Grotto and back. The reduced pace also allows a smoother journey for drinks and other refreshments to be served. Slowly but surely, we covered the 3 miles to Market Bosworth where there was a 10-minute break...

Green flag received, we continued towards Far Coton. The engine was steaming fairly well, despite a considerable steam heat leak at the rear of the train and the reduced draft on the fire. Light and bright was the order of the day, with the Welsh coal clinkering easily if over-fired in these circumstances. Near Shenton we came to rest in the attractive if bracing setting of the embankment near Ambion Lane, affording passengers a lovely view of the Leicestershire countryside. My tea can has had several outings of late and has proved very useful on these festive turns...

As this was quite an unusual place to come to a stand, I hopped out to grab a couple of snaps of the engine as she simmered away to herself...

The Small Prairie and its branch line-style look certainly feel at home on the metals of the former Ashby & Nuneaton Joint Railway, despite Western engines not being native to this territory in the lines working days...

When instructed, we began to move off towards Shenton...

With most passengers having now seen Santa himself, the Prairie was swiftly ran round onto the rear of the train in readiness for a swift departure. The irony of all this is that you can do the job as quickly as you like but if the Guard needs his breakfast you're staying put! The engine was feathering loudly in frosty conditions as we awaited the off from the very wintry setting of Bosworth Battlefield...

Returning to Shackerstone none-stop, the engine steamed a whole lot better, with the coal receiving plenty of air through the bed to increase combustion. Rolling into Shackerstone, the much larger Hall class was ready at the head of the soon-to-depart Deluxe train. When we came to a stand, Simon unhooked the engine to speed up our departure into the North End yard for stabling. After the staff changeover, the Hall made a steady departure on the greasy rails, leaving Shackerstone behind. 5542 meanwhile was low on coal, with the majority of our bunker being made up of just slack. Having come to rest on the slope, I managed to bring life to the JCB in preparation for coaling whilst Dave moved the fences clear of my path...

The public always seem interested in the coaling procedure which adds extra pressure to the driver! Thankfully, I managed to brim the bunker and only dropped the odd lump so I was pleased with my efforts. It took 3 buckets to fill the bunker up so was well worth coaling to give us some better lumps to work with. The Welsh coal is quite brittle, meaning that the combination of mechanical mining methods and then loading and unloading for transportation causes it to break up even further, thus increasing the slack content. If you have good lumps though, it burns very well and is fairly smokeless. Coaled, watered and attached to the 13:00 Classic service for steam heating, 5542 simmered quietly to herself whilst we enjoyed some lunch...

By now time was slipping, with the Hall taking longer to return than we thought. I think our 13:00 service actually departed around 30 minutes down...

Dave kindly suggested that we swapped roles for our second run and he would "show me how it's done" on the fireman's side. As well as my tea can, I'd also brought along my BR (W) gauge frame lamp that does little for most of the year except gather dust on the shelf. It's nice to get it out each Christmas for a worthwhile task...

Eventually the tender of the Hall sidled into view and our departure became imminent. Better late than never, we departed. The Prairie took the train easily to Market Bosworth where, unusually, we were asked to stop alongside the partly-installed passing loop so that the rear of the train would meet the foot crossing. I think this was for loading of supplies for later trips. It seemed to be a day for stopping in unusual spots!...

When instructed, off we went again towards Shenton bank. The engine cautiously rolled down to a stand on the bank, admittedly under much more pleasant skies than earlier in the day! The clouds had now parted to reveal a pretty but chilly December afternoon and even the sun made a welcome appearance...

The run back to Shackerstone was far more enjoyable than the outward, being able to run at line speed and none-stop through Bosworth. The pull up towards Hedleys crossing from Carlton is always enjoyable, particularly now that you can run through at the full 25mph. Rolling easily back into Shack, 5542 came to rest alongside the Halls second outing, now around an hour behind schedule. After another swift uncoupling, the engine simmers in the yard with the lamps now lit...

With the Hall gone again, we steamed through the station to rejoin the head of our train. With the 1300-gallon water tanks refilled, the engine was piped up to the train again and steam heating began. Our 16:00 departure was by now over an hour late but, to be honest, there isn't really anything you can do about it: these things happen. 1928-built 5542 was looking quite festive at the head of the train, with lamps shining and fairy lights lit. We even managed to receive a mince pie...

Hall driver Jan keeps her own very interesting blog and wrote an enjoyable post about today, which you can find here. In the section about today, Jan wrote: "By the time we arrived back at Shackerstone, it was dark. I didn't envy the crew on 5542 as they set off on their third and final trip to Shenton". I was enthused to read this as, we DID envy the crew on the Hall who were now clocking off as we steamed away into the darkness! The engine performed well on the final run: I fired to Shenton, David fired back. As I drove 5542 through the darkness on the run home, I felt quite at peace. Shackerstone, one way or another, has been a part of so much of mine and many of my friends lives over the years and it's funny how the memories flood back. Arriving into Shackerstone one last time, we ran the engine up to the shed via No11 ground frame, coming to rest just behind the Hall. I must thank David for a cracking day once again aboard 5542. Now it's time for a bath and a rest! Take care all, Sam...