A Tribute To Jan Ford...

"Jan during a break on GWR 3803 at Market Bosworth" (Dec 2013)

I was particularly saddened to hear this afternoon of the passing of driver Jan Ford, a lady with whom I spent numerous turns on the footplate at Shack, both as a cleaner and latterly a fireman. I hadn't seen Jan for some time, in fact I think the last time I shared the footplate with her was on a trip with the Austerity "Cumbria" over Christmas 2016. However, in the years prior to that I had many a trip with Jan and always found her to be a pleasant and well read individual. Jan was heavily experienced with steam locomotives and had been a driver at the Birmingham Railway Museum, the Manchester Museum of Science & Industry and of course Peak Rail. Outside of her day job as an electrical engineer, Jan completed remarkable humanitarian work overseas as well as restoring her country house home at Brewood Hall. I remember hearing many a story of her time with Tyseley, where she was a regular trainer on their then pioneering 'Drive an Engine' courses. She'd driven them all: "Clun Castle", "Flying Scotsman", "Sir Nigel Gresley": all the big namers! She did however always come out with the famous phrase..."You can do anything with a pannier tank"...

"Jan at the helm of LMS 3F No47298, as Thomas" (April 2011)

Jan also kept a remarkable blog of very varied content, detailing her extensive travels as well as her railway exploits. I believe it is planned to continue the blog under the custodianship of a friend of Jan's. Her blog can be found here. In fact, Jan's blog was actually the inspiration for this blog, with yours truly being an avid reader of her posts. Jan therefore is partially responsible for the blog which has followed, although Jan's work was far more adventurous than any content I could offer. Across my years in this hobby I have met some fantastic people and Jan is one of them. A firm but fair driver, with bags of experience and knowledge. The steam engines however were only the tip of the iceberg: check out Jan's blog to find out more! Rest in peace, Jan.

Jan Ford: 1942 - 2024.