Going Great Central: Unexpected Urie Delight...

Evening all. This was one of those days where things turned out unexpectedly good. It was the Saturday of the 2023 Winter Steam Gala at the Great Central and myself and Batesy arrived a little before 06:00 in order to complete a shed turn. Walking across the yard to sign in, I was immediately met with the sight of one of the visiting engines: BR Standard Class 5 No73082 "Camelot", of 1955 vintage...

Having admired the named Five, I walked up with Batesy to see the other visitor: Urie S15 No506 from the Mid Hants Railway. 506 was being prepared by Martyn and Simon and so we duly offered to lend a hand for a few hours...

Below is a view of the cab of the lovely 506 as she brewed up on shed this morning. It is typical 'old Southern', not unlike the T9 and "Sir Lamiel"...

506 was built under the LSWR in 1920 as part of Urie's S15 class of fast freight engines. Following the 1923 grouping, the class continued to be built (in a modified form) by the Southern's CME Maunsell. Eventually the S15 class numbered 45 examples and 7 of them survive in preservation: two Urie types and five Maunsell's. I believe that 506 is the only Urie S15 to have steamed in preservation (so far). Affectionately known as 'Goods Arthurs' due to their similarity to their N15 cousins, the S15 was a successful design that lasted in BR service right up until January 1966. I like 'old Southern' stuff. They're always handsome machines...

As the other engines gradually moved off, 506 completed prep over the No1 road pit. Here, the engine stands ready for action as Simon climbs aboard...

Once the S15 had departed shed in a cloud of condensate, the gaggle of cleaners could join forces to empty the three pits of ash. Here, well known 'King of the Pits' Batesy gets to work removing the ash from the No1 road pit. Contrary to popular rumour, anyone who is anyone starts out on the pits: that's how you get on!...

Once the S15 had completed its first round trip, we were surprised to be invited onto the footplate for a run to Leicester and back, following kind permission from both the crew and the engine rep from the MHR. This is an unusual honour, as visiting engines tend to be off limits to cleaners. Batesy would ride up to Leicester on 506, whilst I rode in the coaches, before swapping with me for the return journey. We were both very pleased to get a ride on this fine 'old Southern' machine, particularly such an unexpected one! During my ride on the engine, driver Simon awaits time at Rothley...

Having left Rothley in good voice, 506 was held for a few minutes at the Swithland down starter signal. Below is a rushed snap along the parallel boiler...

Whilst leaving Quorn towards Quorn's down starter signal, I grabbed this rushed snap of freshly repainted 9F No92214 as she arrived on the up line with a mixed freight. The engine has just completed a two week repaint into prototypical BR unlined black after many years in lined Brunswick green. She looks miles better...

All too soon my brief run aboard the lovely Urie S15 came to an end as we came to a stand at the north end of Loughborough's platform one. What a fine old thing...

One thing I always notice about the 'old Southern' stuff is how well made it seems. The S15 for example is built like a warship! Every component appears to have been made to be very strong. The whole engine appears to be sturdy. I observed this on a Maunsell example at the Bluebell some years ago. I must thank Martyn, Simon and of course the MHR minder for letting us have a ride on the beautiful 506. It's a pleasure to have ticked off an S15's footplate! If you'd like to support 506 in any way, please visit the owning group's website. Many thanks all for reading. Cheers then, 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.

"Sherwood Forester" Steams Homeward...

Yesterday a Bongo, today a Black Five! Yesterdays southward move of 61306 to Southall was only half of the job. Her crew had to today bring 45231 back to Crewe via the same route. The 5MT had moved south with "Sir Nigel Gresley" a few weeks before Christmas (post here) and today was returning home after the B1 took her place at Southall. Above, 45231 "Sherwood Forester" creeps steadily along the down goods line at Northampton as she approaches a red signal where she'd be held for other services to pass her. Sadly the sun was in totally the wrong place (unlike yesterday afternoon when the B1 called by) and so the shot of 45231 is a little blurred from the glare. After sidling steadily past, 45231 disappeared northward. Cheers all, Sam...

Please note that the above image was taken from land outside of the NR boundary fence.

A Wintry Bongo At Northampton...

Afternoon all. Today we were treated to the sight of an old friend passing the depot in the form of LNER B1 No61306 "Mayflower". The Bongo was steaming from Crewe to Southall with her support coach ready to work some Steam Dreams jobs over the coming weeks. I say an old friend as I was lucky enough to spend a few seasons helping to crew "Mayflower" as a trainee when it was owned by the late Gerald Boden. The engine was then residing on the Leicestershire withered arm and Gerald kindly allowed us trainees to go out as third men with his crews who then looked after the Eastern 4-6-0. This was the first standard gauge main liner I'd ever regularly crewed and it was a great thrill as a youngster to be out with her. Here I am snapped crewing "Mayflower" in 2010, aged 18. How things change...

These days "Mayflower" is part of the Saphos stud of express steam locomotives and is based at Crewe. It was a great pleasure to see her this afternoon and it's nice that she is still in regular operation. All of the engines featured in this blog contribute in some way to a memory from here or there and "Mayflower" is definitely one of those higher up the list. There are plenty of bad memories from a certain place from years past but the beautiful B1 isn't one of them. What a nice old thing...

Unlike the usual engine and coach moves where the loco is out of sight within seconds, today saw 61306 hanging around for about 25-minutes. During this time she waited on the up goods line at a red signal whilst various passenger and freight services passed her by. It was actually nice to have her around for a while to get a good look...

As her right time neared, the fireman made up the fire with what (from a distance) looked to be a harder coal. It certainly gave off some smoke! When the signal cleared, 61306 burst into life and hissed gently southward with one of her safety valves blowing. She then disappeared into the distance under a cloak of smoke and steam...

And that's that. I wonder when I'll see "Mayflower" again? No doubt she'll be back this way later in the year. A nice bit of nostalgia that was on an otherwise uneventful Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading folks. Cheers all, Sam...

Please note that the above images were taken from land outside of the NR boundary fence.

GCR Firing Course: Day Five...

Here we are again folks: back on the firing course! Today saw classroom day five of five take place, with the main subjects including route knowledge and rules. It was a heavy going session this one, culminating in another written exam. That's now it for the primary classroom days, with the next port of call being the three day practical weekend which is planned for February 17th-19th. I'm sure that after all of this classroom work we're all looking forward to being out on the engines again! So far I've found this course to be a very engaging and worthwhile experience and, as I've said before, I wish I'd had access to something like this years ago. Roll on the practical weekend...

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.

GCR: First Railway Day of 2023...

And just like that, we've completed week one of 2023! Welcome back folks to post No1 of 2023 which, unsurprisingly, found me at Loughborough shed on the Great Central Railway doing some cleaning work. I arrived at around 07:00 this morning and met up with Batesy for a few hours of chat and polishing. The weather however was vile: a below average January day. Whilst we scrubbed the wheels of the service locomotive (78018) the wind was howling and the rain was pouring down. It was definitely one of those mornings where you wished you'd stayed in bed. It was awful to be honest. But, nobody could knock us...we were there doing a bit! Later on, after a cuppa' to warm us back up, we set to aboard 78018s sister engine 78019. The other Standard 2 wasn't out today and sat drenched on No2 road at the shed as the rain continued to fall. Myself and Phil decided to clean up the cab and spent the next few hours cleaning and nattering. By the time home time came around, the sun had appeared and was shining, although it was still bitterly cold. At least the rain stopped...

After signing off, we returned to our cars and headed for home. It was nice to spend a few hours talking rubbish with a mate whilst cleaning the engine up. That's a good start to 2023, although a very cold one! Cheers all, 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.