Best laid plans.....

I don't usually have a plan when it comes to writing this blog,  I just take along a camera to the railway, grab a few photos of whatever happens to be going on and scribble some drivel afterwards. Hopefully it will turn out to be of some sort of interest, if not to the man on the Clapham Omnibus, then at least to the person on the Cheltenham Express from Toddington.  This week however I had a cunning plan!  The Planet's favourite Prairie was arriving during the week and would be hauling the historic first passenger service from Cheltenham to Laverton since BR ceased services. My plan was, nip over to Toddington for stupid O'Clock on Saturday morning, spend a while cleaning up 5542 (she'd only just arrived, how dirty could she be?) grab a few photos, catch a few shots of her leaving Toddington and then chase her in my car round the line taking in shots at Laverton/Stanway Viaduct/Chicken Curve etc and bring you a report on how much of a roaring success it had all been.  My nice shiny new lineside photographer's pass had just arrived in the post (complete with yet another hi-viz vest to add to my collection) and there should even have been an opportunity to grab few shots of Battle of Britain class, Tangmere steaming through the Cotswold mainline on the 'Cotswold Venturer' rail tour.  I had even fondly imagined that the sun would shine for the event.  What could possibly go wrong!

Anyway, stupid O'clock on Saturday morning arrived and I turned up at Toddington MPD to start cleaning 5542.  Now remember she had only just arrived, I rather expected her to be pretty much shining like a new pin, in reality she had been used on a fire & drive course the day before and was now more than just a little grubby.  Never mind, there was a good turn out of cleaners and we all selected something to clean and got cracking with it.

Andrew (Left) & Karl proudly show off their handiwork

Andrew would doubtless like you to know that he spent ages with some emery paper making those smoke box door locking arms shine (they were a fairly rusty before he started), Karl on the other hand would probably want to direct your attention to the gleaming brass work that he had just given some therapy with Brasso.  I'd point your attention to the pit that I had filled with ash from her ash pan and the black smokebox.... not quite such glamorous jobs, but I like to think important nonetheless.

Students of Collett small prairies, would probably like to know just what detail changes have taken place on 5542 during her winter holiday down on the South Devon Railway.  If you look closely, you will notice that she now has autocoach gear just under her front buffer beam which wasn't there before.  If only we had three or four autocoaches to run with her.  Something that  came as a bit of a surprise to me was that she now has a tilting grate fitted.  Clive Norton the fireman for the first shift today seemed to be pleased to find it there.

It's a bit late now to show it tilting, but somewhere in there is a tilting grate

You can find out about these things and more on 5542's official web page.

Emptying out the ash pit isn't usually the world's most interesting job, however Cliff and Ade set to the task and Cliff discovered that he wasn't alone in the pit.... in fact he was very much playing gooseberry to a pair of amorous interlopers who were in there with him.

Cliff and Ade emptying the pit of ash

Toad of Foremarke Toad Hall.... and Lady Toad

The amorous interlopers were none other than a pair of toads (not the GWR brake van variety) who were engaged in making more toads and seemed oblivious to the fact that I had dumped a pile of ash on top of them (well it was still dark when I emptied the ash pan) or that Cliff had nearly sliced them in two with his shovel.  They didn't even seem to notice Karl picking them up and taking them to safety. Clearly a very single minded pair of toads.  Nature lovers will be pleased to hear that not only were no animals harmed in the making of this blog, but that Karl even washed the ash off of them in a puddle by the wood store and left them to carry on with whatever they were doing underneath a hedge where hopefully they would get a bit more privacy.

Now that 5542 was nicely spruced up ready for her meeting with the history books, there was time in hand before she set off, to repair to the Flag & Whistle for one of Val Hoskin's delicious full English breakfasts!  Just as well really, as it turned out to be the last I'd eat for another 12 hours.

Well so far the weather wasn't behaving, but everything else was going according to plan.  The allotted time came and wearing my nice shiny new hi-viz I set off to grab a few photos of the first departure from Toddington.

5542 stands at Toddington station, ready to depart

Off she goes

 I overheard the fireman, Clive Norton say to Ian Windscheffel his driver as he approached Toddington signal box 'I'd better not drop the token or it'll be all over the blog tomorrow'.  Although I was poised to catch the perfect shot of the token being dropped, Clive managed to catch it and they proceeded on their way without mishap.

Well so far, so good, the plan was starting to come together.  Having plenty of time before 5542 got down to Cheltenham and started coming back, I headed off back into the yard to see what wanted doing.  As it turned out, both 2807 and Foremarke Hall both needed lighting up.  Not having done a light up since passing out to do them sometime before Christmas, this seemed like a perfect opportunity to get some practice in and soon enough I was whizzing around the loco running through the safety checks before cleaning up the grate and getting a fire going, meanwhile, Chris Chewter was doing the same with 2807.  As it turned out, the goal posts were running around all over the place.  It was initially supposed to be a case of bringing her up to steam enough to check that after some work, the lubrication system was getting oil through to the front end, but that was changed to joining 2807 as double headed light engines on a fitness to run exam for 2807 up to Laverton and back.  You can't abandon a loco when it's lit up, so both Chris & I spent much of the day from around 10am through to 4pm minding our engines and keeping them from blowing off.  As a consequence, my plan to report on this blog of the historic return to Laverton by steam etc came to nothing.  I shall have to refer you instead to excellent reports on the matter elsewhere, such as the Steaming to Broadway blog and of course the main GWSR website.

The best that I could manage from my vantage point on the footplate of Foremarke Hall was this shot of 5542 returning from Laverton to Cheltenham

5542 on first run from Laverton to Cheltenham

 At least after a small shunt had taken place, I was alongside 2807 so Chris & I could at least compare notes and generally chinwag for a while.

Chris taking a break from getting 2807 into steam

Dan Wigg & Sean Nielsen returned later on to inform me that Tangmere had rushed past on the mainline at some fantastic speed and that the sun had momentarily appeared just at the right time affording them superb photos of the event.  Dan has kindly allowed me to show you what I missed.

I suspect that they may have told me a porky pie as regards the sun!

 Now remember that the locos were supposed to be off shed and down to Laverton together at 4pm.  I had a bit over three quarters of glass of water and sat steady at about 220 PSI by about quarter to four.  I'd been sat there for nearly 6 hours and kept her from blowing off in all that time.  By and large I was feeling fairly pleased about it.  The fire was a bit run down at this point, so I decided to fill up a few of the points where it was a little light and have her perfectly ready for setting off at four.  No sooner than I had done that, than the news that we would now be leaving at twenty to five came along.  Needless to say my water space was all used up and she was blowing off nicely by then.

I had been meaning over the last month to take a ride out to Laverton on the DMU to learn the route, but had always found other things to occupy my time on the railway,  so I was keen if possible to grab a ride there and back on the footplate.  Cliff & Adrian not only allowed me to join them on the run, but Cliff left me to do the firing, though in reality I don't recollect that I needed to shovel in any coal, just keep the fire spread out over the grate and bung in some water now and again when she was getting close up to the red line again.

2807 leads Foremarke Hall back to Toddington from Laverton Loop

Upon getting back to Toddington, both locos and 5542 now had to play a game of musical chairs to get each one in the right place on the pits in readiness for tomorrow's services.  As far as I could make out the collection of photographers that had been hanging around earlier on had now all disappeared and missed the show.

2807 heads off first, 5542 will follow her onto road 9, then we will head off down road 8

Somehow of all three locos in steam I had to be on the footplate of the only one that has an evening disposal, the owning groups of the other two leave theirs until the morning.  Whilst everybody else ran through a few swift checks and toddled off for a beer or two, Adrian, Cliff & myself got on with drawing up the fire and banking it up along with emptying the ash pan & smoke box etc.  

I had cause to be at Toddington again for a bit on Sunday morning too.  As it was passing whilst I was sat in the mess coach, I grabbed a photo of 5542 heading off for Cheltenham.  Andy Beale remarked to his crew as they went by 'Looks like we're going to be on the blog tomorrow chaps', so I'd best not disappoint them.

Andy Beale driving 5542 yesterday

Trainee fireman Howard Parker was on the shovel under the supervision of Ben Evason.  Howard maintains his own website and made an entry about the trip.