The Eight Freight: Round Two...

This morning I was rostered for another early 'third man' turn at Loughborough, this time with LMS 8F No48305 of 1943. I was pleased to see our names penned to the 8F as I thoroughly enjoyed our one trip with her on the Christmas diner last December. Having donned my prep coat, signed in and read the notices, I met up with fireman David and we headed out to the engine as she waited on No2 road. The first job, having checked the water level, was to check and clear out the smokebox. Here, David brushes the ash back towards the door whilst I await the next bucket for my wheelbarrow. This is never a pleasant job at 06:00 in the morning...

With the smokebox checked and clean, our efforts turned to the firebox. Last nights fire bed was clearly quite substantial and it took some heavy clearing with the irons to achieve a clean grate. However, after much sweating on this warm Sunday morning, we had a clean enough grate to light up. With the absence of the Welsh coal, the Loughborough engines are now lit up on two barrows of the manmade ovoids as these also don't produce much smoke. Having shovelled two barrows worth up onto the footplate, I spread the ovoids evenly around the grate, under the watchful eye of David. Then, with a liberal application of paraffin-soaked rags, I lit our new fire. A good helping of pallet wood was then added and the firehole doors closed. 48305 still had 40psi on the clock from the night before and so we would be in no rush this morning. With the fire now burning nicely, it was time to head underneath to empty the pan. Unlike my last charge: the Riddles Standard 5: the 8F has the more common fixed pan and so the hosepipe and the rake were soon flailing around between the frames...

I must admit, though I really like the 8F, the easy to prep and dispose Standard 5 certainly seemed a more attractive proposition as we left the pit half soaked in an oily mix of water and dust! The next job was to do some cleaning. Fellow cleaner Dave is spotted cleaning the boiler barrel whilst fireman David cleans the windows...

Whilst the three of us cleaned, driver Andy was making his way around the engine with a variety of oil jugs and feeders to lubricate the many points. As our off shed time neared, the 8F was coming around nicely. The cab is seen here...

Once we were off shed it turned into quite a busy morning. Having left Loughborough fifteen minutes behind time on our first train due to an operational issue, we ended up remaining late for the rest of the shift. We made up some minutes here and there but a lengthy 5mph slack in both directions through Quorn made it impossible to keep fully to time. We did our best though and had a great day. David fired the first trip whilst I did the second and the third. The third trip saw David driving under Andy's supervision. The 8F steamed beautifully on (I believe) a different Russian coal. It was noticeably different to fire with than the Columbian stuff we had on 73156 the other week. The new stuff was also very hot but needed a few minutes to get the heat there, unlike the seemingly rapid Columbian coal. Interesting. Anyway, after a great morning I managed to snap 48305 very quickly as we changed over crews at the water tower...

I must thank Andy and David for their hospitality on the footplate of 48305 and for letting me do the majority of the firing. I had a great time and it was a pleasure to spend another shift with the 8F. I must also thank David for the sausage rolls he brought along for us all: they were just the job! Talking about 8Fs always makes me think of Dave Goulder's 'Eight Freight Blues': the song about a fireman struggling with a worn out 8F in the days of steam. Luckily we had no such issues today!:

Smoke in my eyes

Soot in my hair

Cinders in my shoes

I'm watching a needle falling away

And singing the Eight Freight Blues

Lyrics by Dave Goulder

As usual, thank you all for reading this garbage. I appreciate it. Cheers, Sam...

Please note any views or opinions expressed in this blog are merely personal and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person, group or organisation.

Statfold: Out And About With "Howard"...

Another day, another footplate! Today's turn saw me penned to Hunslet Brazil Class "Howard" at the Statfold Barn Railway for the returning Giant Miniature Weekend (or whatever it's called these days). The fireman for the day was none other than old mate and roller man Batesy and our trio was completed with recently joined cleaner TJ. I arrived at the SBR base a little before 06:30 and, having signed in and read the notices, discovered "Howard" standing on the shed frontage with the rest of the six rostered locomotives. After years of experience I know that there is a substantial time difference between Batesy time and the commonly used Greenwich Mean Time and therefore elected to check "Howard" over and light the fire to get us started...

With the fire now burning, TJ soon arrived and got to work cleaning the outside of the engine. Shortly after, a sniveling Batesy turned up, red nosed and full of a cold. This was nothing that a day of the smoky Shotton coal wouldn't sort out! Phil duly clambered up into the cab and began cleaning the fittings. I meanwhile started the oiling process which is no real hardship with "Howard". Almost everything is easily accessible, except maybe the eccentrics for the Stephenson's motion...

After the usual 08:30 safety briefing on the lawn, we returned to the loco with our tasty bacon rolls. We were the last of the pile to leave shed today and this allowed us time for a quick cuppa' before the off. Our first train was made up of the ex-Lynton coaches which always seem to look a bit out of scale with the big Brazils...

Around 10:15 we departed with our first round trip of the day. The operating procedure was the same as the model railway show last month. We departed Statfold before calling at Strawberry Park in the down direction. We then continued around the railway and proceeded none stop through Cogan Halt and back to Oak Tree, where we awaited the next down train to pass. "Howard" was her usual willing and free steaming self. Ever since this engine arrived in 2013 (as side tank "Josephine") it has always been a strong and capable engine. To be honest, these Brazils are masters of the job. Both "Howard" and younger sister "Trangkil" are brilliant service locos. Here, the 1936-built 0-4-2 waits in the platform at Oak Tree for the section to be cleared...

We had a good laugh today. I've known Phil for many years and we always have a good time out together with plenty of banter. TJ made up the gang and was also good company. I've always been one for footplate camaraderie which is why I always found it a little unusual when single manning anything. You can have a good engine and good weather but it's the people you spend your day with that make up that final piece of the triangle. Here, Phil climbs up onto "Howard" as "Isibutu" arrives from Oak Tree...

Our fourth trip saw us back on the ex-Lynton coaches again, with "Howard" spotted here awaiting the road to depart platform 1 at Statfold junction...

For our last two trips I swapped with Phil, who took over the regulator whilst I supervised TJ doing the firing. In between those trips we had to water "Howard" at the high level platform at Statfold which crossed off another piece of track for me. Whilst Phil sorted the operational side of the move out with the signalman, I got to drive "Howard" from the turntable to the high level line. I don't think I've ever driven an engine over that piece of track. Small things amuse small minds I guess...

After our sixth and final trip we returned the hard working "Howard" back to the shed after another very pleasant day on SBR metals. The engine is seen here basking in the evening sun following disposal, as the lovely "Isaac" stands behind...

Thanks as usual go to Alex for rostering me and to old Batesy and TJ for their help and company aboard "Howard" today. She's a good all-rounder this one and always does her best. That's it until next time folks, cheers, Sam...

A Quiet Few Hours At Loughborough...

Afternoon all. Just a short one from today. After a stressful week at work I was shattered this weekend and very nearly decided to stay in and chill out rather than go anywhere. However, after much deliberation I did manage to get myself motivated enough to spend a few hours at Loughborough shed cleaning their version of the Forth bridge: the mighty 9F 2-10-0 No92214. Scrubbing this impressive beast is a seemingly never ending task but, as with all engines, she always looks better for it afterwards! As it was the GCR diesel gala this weekend, no steamers were running on the Saturday and Sunday. The Bank Holiday Monday however was advertised as a mixed traffic day and so 92214, 46521 and 73156 were rostered to join in the fun. All three engines were being prepared today and had their respective warming fires put in. Myself and fellow cleaner Dave set to work with the big 9F, which was quite grubby it had to be said. Over the next few hours we white spirited her boiler casing and smokebox before giving her a full body polish. Our efforts on the driver's side were quite rewarding...

As the hours wore on the engine became cleaner and our pile of soiled cloths gradually grew. 92214's warming fire was crackling away nicely as she began to slowly warm through, sending a plume of smoke steadily skyward. She's a big engine this one. It's only when you work on and around her that you appreciate it...

Around mid-afternoon I decided to call it a day after a worthwhile effort cleaning the 9F with Dave. I'm sure she'll look lovely now when she goes out tomorrow. Hopefully the shining barrel will last a few weeks! That's all folks, cheers, Sam...

Please note any views or opinions expressed in this blog are merely personal and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person, group or organisation.