Statfold: It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

"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! Good evening all and welcome to my first Christmas post of 2021. Today involved a very pleasant morning shift at the regulator of 1912-built Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 "Fiji", hauling Statfold Barns 'Santa Express'. I believe a lot of us engine crews missed out on Santa Specials throughout the UK in 2020 thanks to the awful Covid-19 pandemic and so it felt wonderfully refreshing to be back on festive workings again. I've always liked volunteering on Christmas trains at all of the different places I've been involved with over the years: I love the festive atmosphere they bring. This morning I was rostered on the AM shift with Fireman Joey and Trainee John. In cold but clear conditions, I arrived a little before 06:30 at the Statfold roundhouse which has become the base of operations for the 2021 Santa workings. Having signed in and read the notices, it was time to head out to my steed for the morning: "Fiji". John had already made a start clearing the ashes from the grate ready to light up. A little while later, with all checks made, we had a fresh blaze going and the Hudswell began singing almost immediately...

Here, John adds more wooden blocks to the embryo fire he has just lit...

With the engine already singing away it wouldn't take long before the pressure needle nudged itself encouragingly clockwise from the stop. Behind us, Batesy and Caroline had lit up our tail engine for the shift: Peckett No2050 of 1944 "Harrogate"...

This years Santa workings again involve all trains being top and tailed. As all locomotives involved are dressed in Christmas lights (as are the coaches) it makes sense to keep them coupled to save splitting the cables. New for 2021 is a revised running arrangement which sees all passenger departures leaving from the Strawberry Park Station on the Statfold side of Oak Tree. With trains leaving at half hourly intervals between 10:00 and 17:30, it makes for quite an intensive timetable. Passengers ride the train from Strawberry Park to the balloon loop before being returned to Oak Tree to continue their experience. Having set down their passengers, trains then return ECS to Strawberry Park to allow the next passengers to see their train arrive into the platform. The whole system works very well, as we would find out this morning. As the sun began to rise, it was still extremely cold out on the prep road...

It was a strange morning this one: it wasn't frosty, it wasn't wet but my lord was it cold! Removing my hands from the warm exterior of a hot tea mug and replacing it with cold oil bottles certainly wasn't an enticing prospect! A silver lining though was "Fiji"s positioning over the roundhouse pit. This is a deeper pit than I'm used to but very welcome it was. Usually you're on your knees oiling the Walschaerts valve gear on "Fiji" but today I was on a small set of steps with easy access to pretty much everything. Top marks must go to last nights driver for that one...

With the engine oiled I could return to my tea whilst we waited for Batesy to move the Peckett from behind us to let us out. I must have collectively lost years of my life waiting for Batesy for one reason or another! Soon enough, with a pip on his whistle, Phil took the green saddle tank out of the way and set back behind the prep road points to clear the road. We were then treated to some early morning mileage due to one of the Plymouth diesels failing to cold start on this chilly morning. Once clear of the prep road I let "Fiji" run a little bit with her valve taps open to clear the bulk of the condensate. Stopping a few panels later, we hopped off to close the taps before setting off again for Statfold in a cloud of steam. 

We had to collect the fifth coach for the set, which had been on charge outside Statfold signalbox overnight. Once back at Oak Tree, the train was marshalled before "Fiji" was run clear of the prep road points so that Phil could come back out once he'd emptied his ash pan. "Fiji" looked quite a picture in the morning sun, despite my shadow...

Whilst we waited for Phil (again) there was time to get a wash and change into our smart overalls. "Harrogate" was sitting with her ashpan over the pit with Phil flailing around energetically beneath her with the irons. In the picture below you'll notice steam being emitted from the left side. This isn't the injector steam valve passing, it's the lubricator warming cock exhausting. As "Harrogate" carries a large Wakefield which uses the thicker cylinder oil for most of its lubrication, a cold morning like this requires use of the warmer to make the oil less viscous. Cylinder oil will be like treacle on cold mornings without it and won't flow easily...

Despite our Phil related delay minutes, we made it to our respective places on either end of the train by a little after 09:30. There was then little to do but wait for our first passengers (and grab another photo of course)...

With a train load of happy passengers, we departed Strawberry Park on our first trip right on time at 10:00. With five coaches, the Peckett and greasy morning rails, a frustrated "Fiji" was not eager to start without assistance from the tail engine. She's a strong engine but this train is heavy, particularly with "Harrogate" on the back. The downward trip is quite steady, with only a quick pull out of Oak Tree and around the corner before shutting off steam to descend the bank. There is then a bit of a pull through Cogan Halt and around the balloon loop before the final little jog back to the foot of the stiff bank into Oak Tree. Phil was of course holding his own weight on the rear and rightly so: as would we later on. Here, "Fiji" drops off our first passengers at Oak Tree ready to work ECS back to Strawberry Park...

The 10:30 trip involved us being the tail engine. We swapped the train staff to the rearmost locomotive (as per the rules) and the leading engine carried the air brake. Here, "Fiji" sits at Strawberry Park having led the 11:00 working...

It was a very pleasant morning and pretty much stress free. There seemed to be plenty of happy passengers around and we were visited at the engine by quite a few of them during the shift. "Fiji" tailed the 11:30 working before leading the 12:00 trip which Joey drove whilst John fired. I meanwhile rode on the tender drinking my tea and thinking how cold it was away from my warm seat beside the firebox cladding! Although it was a clear morning, the chill breeze when running tender first was enough to bring tears to your eyes! Our final trip on the front was the 13:00 which I drove. Here, we see a drivers eye view just before departure from Strawberry Park...

"Fiji" sits settled at Strawberry Park after a safe arrival with another ECS working...

Phil was on the handle of the leading engine for the final trip of our morning shift: the 13:30. By now the warm sunshine had given way to thick and threatening cloud which quickly made us glad to soon be leaving the footplate! We used the final trip on the back to get our things together and make "Fiji" ready for the oncoming afternoon crew. Whilst she feathered at Oak Tree we removed the bulk of the ashes from the pan and I gave her a thorough check over and oil round ready to fill in my portion of the loco report. By now the snow was beginning to fall from the darkening skies...

By the time we left Oak Tree the snow was really coming down and we were met with the glum faces of the snow covered crews arriving for duty! Keith, Barry and Jake would be taking "Fiji" over for the afternoon and, having told Keith the engine was OK, we headed into the warmth of the roundhouse mess room to fill in our reports and sign out. In a heavy snow shower, I left the SBR at around 14:30 for home. My grateful thanks must go to Joey, John, Phil, Caroline and Alex for a great morning out with the engines. I'm on again next Sunday on the PM shift: can't wait!