Statfold: In An English Country Garden...

"How many kinds of sweet flowers grow in an English country garden". How apt the lyrics to this folk tune are for describing todays outing. This morning, after a great day on the K1 Garratt yesterday, I arrived at Statfold again a little before 06:30 ready for another day on the footplate. When the roster came out last week, it was clear that Saturday would see me on the largest engine at Statfold and then Sunday on one of the smallest! Today my name was penned to Kerr Stuart "Roger", stalwart of the popular and very tranquil garden railway. The garden railway was, I believe, the first railway to be laid at Statfold and circles the beautifully manicured gardens and lake opposite the main house. Due to the tight curves, "Roger" is one of the few Statfold engines that will comfortably make it around these days and has definitely found a useful job for itself. Having donned my prep coat again, I scraped together a box of wood and a few old rags and headed off in search of "Roger". The Wren was still nice and hot following yesterdays efforts, and stood silent alongside the garden railway shed...

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, I took in the peaceful atmosphere of the garden. There were birds in the trees and ducks on the lake, all in all creating an absolute oasis of pure calm. It is a beautiful garden with a lot of wildlife...

Having checked the Wren over in both the smokebox and firebox, I decided to ash the engine out. This is a pig of a job on "Roger" as, although the cab floor lifts up to allow access, you can't get a fire iron in to rake out the pan due to the low buffer beam at the back. Therefore the easiest way is to get your arm in the firebox, lift out a bar or two and push the ash out of the damper door by hand. It creates a mess (and a very dusty arm) but it seems to be the best way to do it. Ashpan cleared, I checked the firebox over a final time before lighting up with my assortment of wood...

With the wood crackling away nicely on the grate, a few lumps of coal were scattered around the firebox by hand. As usual, I filled up the box, closed the door and let the Wren get on with it. This would be my third turn on "Roger" but the first of them at Statfold: the other two were at Welland Steam Rally. This morning, in its natural habitat of the garden, the Wren looked quite at home as smoke climbed steadily skyward from the tall chimney. So far so good as the birds sang above...

The Wren was built by Kerr Stuart in 1918 and I've taken the rest of the history from a former Welland post I wrote in 2018: "Roger", works number 3128, worked at the Imperial Smelting Company in Avonmouth, Bristol. In preservation it has travelled to Canada, returned for overhaul at Statfold, gone back to Canada a second time and then been bought by Statfold. "Roger" now lives a quiet existence on the Garden Railway, working alongside "Howard". The Kerr Stuart Wrens were a popular 0-4-0 contractors locomotive, eventually numbering 163 examples and employing the simple Hackworth valve gear. A punchy and capable little engine, the Wrens were used in various applications. With the fire burning well, it was time to oil up. The simplistic nature of the Hackworth valve gear makes life fairly easy, with most components readily accessible. The engine was singing nicely as I finished the oiling process...

A nice little shot of "Roger" brewing up, framed by the garden gate...

The old saying "a watched pot never boils" is forever apt with steam engines. However, in todays case: with the engine oiled, ashed out and cleaned: there was little else to do! The engine sat quietly, smoking away to herself as the temperatures rose...

Yesterday, with temperatures around 24 degrees, was quite hot enough for piloting the K1. Today, the Met Office had promised 27/28 degrees and so "Roger" and the tree-lined garden railway seemed much more appropriate. Having wandered up to the lawn near the main shed for the 08:30 safety briefing, I enjoyed the morning bacon cob before heading to my car to change. Returning to "Roger", the pressure needle was rising but with a total absence of haste. The coal we use, though it has several merits, does create a lot of smoke and this, particularly on a small engine, can fur up the tube ends creating poorer steaming until you get going. By 10:30 we had steam up and were awaiting passengers. The timetable on the garden railway is GWR: go when ready! However, with no passengers, I decided to do a lap or two myself and check out the road. I hadn't even rode around the garden for many years and so it was worth checking out the little route and to grab a snap or two...

After a couple of laps, I returned to the stop area alongside the shed and took water from the hosepipe. At around 11:00 we took our first couple of passengers and from then on it didn't really stop! Even though the trains were not always full, we did many laps. I did begin counting them but stopped at a dozen or so when I just lost count! On this job you're the driver, fireman and the guard so, despite the so called easy life in the garden, you are quite busy! "Roger" was in for a busy afternoon...

It's a different life in the garden compared to being out on the field railways. People do come and chat to you here, even from the first coach as you go around. The garden is mainly open on the enthusiasts days and therefore some people (even some volunteers) had yet to see it in action. The railway is so beautifully set into the maturing landscape that it just looks like the perfect garden railway and I can definitely see why people love it. I myself had a very pleasant day piloting "Roger" around the tight curves and along the lakeside, giving the occasional wave to passers by. As usual I saw plenty of people I knew: it's amazing what a small world steam preservation is when everybody from everywhere seems to appear at once! Towards the end of the day, "Roger" was steaming more poorly due to the furred up tubes. I did call for a tube brush but there wasn't time to get one so we did soldier on. Apart from the steaming the little engine was going very well and was really master of the job. At around 15:30, with no passengers in sight, I quickly shunted the coaches away...

After a quick light engine spin of the garden, I returned to take some final water...

Alex had asked for the engine to be left near the trailing points so that a diesel could pop in the following day to retrieve her. Therefore, I took the Wren for a final 9/10 of a lap, coming to rest just before the points. The engine was then raked through a final time and the boiler filled. With everything isolated, a sweep of the footplate and a good wipe down would complete the disposal process...

Having disposed of "Roger" the Wren, I was kindly invited onto the footplate of recent arrival "Isaac" (Bagnall 3023 of 1953) by Will. "Isaac" was completing some shunt release duties but would then go off light engine to Cogan Halt to join the rear of the last train home for token purposes. Will kindly offered me the regulator for the trip, which I gratefully accepted. The Bagnall is lovely: everything feels like new on her. We took her swiftly down the line, joining the rear of the Lynton set at the balloon loop before trailing back to Oak Tree to collect "Fiji". The ensemble of "Alpha", No19, the Lynton set, "Isaac" and "Fiji" then returned to Statfold where more shunt releasing took place. I grabbed a quick snap of "Isaac" after "Fiji" had set back. Thank you Will for the drive. What a lovely thing. I hope I get a day on this at some point...

Well, that's it folks: another weekend at the Statfold Barn Railway is complete. Thank you to Alex for rostering me and to Eddie again for yesterdays firing efforts. All in all, a fantastic time was had. Cheers all, Sam...