Going Great Central: An Afternoon With The 8F...

"LMS workhorse No48305 awaits her 16:15 departure from Loughborough"

This afternoon saw me complete my twelfth firing turn of the year at the Great Central Railway, working turn A4 alongside two different drivers. I arrived in good time for my 13:00 sign on and was pleased to see that I was rostered to 1943-built LMS 8F No48305. With the Hall having been away for a while at the West Somerset, the other three operational engines have been BR Standards. Therefore the chances of getting the old 8F are only 1 in 4, which makes her quite illusive! Indeed, the only other time I've had this one in 2024 has been a turn back in May. Having read the notices, I wandered out onto the shed apron and found BR Standard 2 No78018, now looking much more complete following a re-ring of the valves and pistons...

I soon met up with the first of my two drivers on this job: Chris. My original driver: Alan B: had had to stand down and so Chris would drive our 14:20 train, with driver Alan P taking over for the 16:15 working. Kit in hand, myself and Chris wandered up to the island platform to await the return of the 2-8-0. (She was currently working back from Leicester with the returning 12:20 trip). Having ate our sandwiches whilst chatting on a station bench, we were on hand to swap over with the morning crew just after the 8F rolled in. I grabbed the below rushed snap just as we boarded the engine. Notice the star below the number on the cabside. This star denotes that the locomotive has additional balancing for higher speed running...

Having taken over the engine, we watered her at the column before proceeding around to the head of our stock in platform one. We still had 25 minutes to go until departure at this point and so, having coupled up and changed the lamps, I grabbed this snap of the 8F simmering quietly in the shadow of the bridge on Great Central Road...

The first trip saw us carrying two footplate passengers as we performed a memorial, whereby the ashes of a friend or loved one are brought onto the engine and then cast into the firebox whilst the engine is working. The ashes will then be spread by the exhaust of the working engine at a beauty spot along the line, usually at picturesque Swithland. This is a fitting tribute to railway lovers and is a fairly common request now at the railway. With our memorial completed, we continued onward to Leicester North. Here there was the additional ten minutes in the timetable to allow for footplate visits and the 8F is seen simmering quietly in the headshunt...

With plenty of happy punters having visited the large footplate of the 8F, we closed the doors and headed off to complete the run round. The 8F is then seen below at the head of our northbound departure for Loughborough...

The trick with the extra time at Leicester North is making sure you've got enough water space in the boiler and a quiet fire to keep the valves down. The last thing you want is to have the thing blowing its head off in the platform when passengers are trying to clamber up and down, or even ask questions. Once the footplate visits have been completed, I tend to start making up my fire as we run round. With the engine clear of the bridge on the station approach, I tend to wash the cab floor and tender coal space down before we proceed back onto the stock. This arrangement allows the fresh coal on the grate to get going whilst I'm in between coupling up. Then, once coupled up and lamps changed, I can return to the footplate to finish the remainder of the fire off (where required) for departure. If you leave it all until the last minute you'll leave with a 'cold' fire, which will then only come to life by the time the driver has eased off (or even shut off) for the downward gradient towards Thurcaston and Rothley!

Having had a pleasant run back to Loughborough, driver Chris swapped with driver Alan P at the north end of platform two, prior to the run round. The 8F is then seen at the head of the waiting 16:15 departure, with 20 minutes still to go...

The final train of the day on these turns (the 16:15) always feels a little quicker as we just go straight there and straight back, without the extra time at Leicester. The 8F steamed brilliantly as usual and we had no trouble with steam or water. I've always liked the pre-nationalisation designs: they just have so much character. (There is of course nothing wrong with the Standards in any way, shape or form!). After an enjoyable second (and final) round trip, we rolled into Loughborough and duly uncoupled the engine. Following a final top up of water at the column, we dropped down onto the pit on No1 shed road in readiness for disposal...

Starting on the footplate, I worked my way around the engine performing the fireman's disposal tasks:

• The first job is to level the fire and release any clinker. (I'd already been running the engine down in preparation anyway, so there wasn't masses in there). With the fire calmed, you can remove the baffle plate for a final check of the firebox, leaving the baffle on the tender shovelling plate. Any defects (leaking stays for example) can then be reported on the engine's defect card. The firebox is then done with as such. 
• Next, it's the ashpan. After removing the screens (used to prevent hot ashes falling from the ashpan and causing a lineside fire), I emptied the pan with the help of a hosepipe and a long rake. The front section of the 8F's pan always surprises me with its capacity. It's a fair old ashpan!
• Third, it's the smokebox. There wasn't much in there, just a full bucket or so of soot which I duly removed. Again, during this task we're checking for any defects in the front end, looking over the blast pipe, main steam pipes, superheaters, tube ends etc for any issues.
• Finally, the boiler. The aim is always to come back on shed with a good water level anyway, preventing any thermal shocks caused by adding too much 'cold' water at once. (It's not cold, but you get the idea!). The final top up ensures that the engine will still have a safe water level once she's dropped out of steam, taking account of any possible leaks. For example, if the blower passes badly on an engine, she'll of course lose more water overnight. I've known some engines (not on this railway) lose most if not all of the glass overnight, so it's always best to be mindful of the engine's condition when you're topping up.

With all of those tasks complete, it's just a case of closing hatches/windows, putting tools back and locking away the lamps before the engine can be left for the night. She still had 160psi on the clock when we left her, despite having a full pot of water and a very quiet fire. I must thank both of my drivers today for another enjoyable little turn. I do like the old 8F: I think it's my favourite non-GWR machine! Ciao...

Please note that 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.