35006 out in the freezing cold - 9th January 2024
Clear blue skies, not a cloud around, idyllic scenery, and steam engines... what more could you ask for! It all sounds rather wonderful of course doesn't it, except for the fact that the powers that be (otherwise known as 'Mother Nature') had decided to turn the thermostat down to what could only be described as 'Baltic Levels'. I'd got up early on a rather nippy January Tuesday and the telltale signs were there, namely that the car had changed colour to white and required a significant defrosting. Naturally, I could have gone back to bed, but that's not the stiff upper lip attitude is it. and I doubt Field Marshal Lord Kitchener would be particularly impressed either if I did... 'Your Railway Needs You!' and all that jazz.
Unfortunately, we had problems getting the shunter working at first, and thus the start to the activities on P&O were a little delayed. However, despite the conditions, we persevered and managed to get a fair amount done during the day. The boiler was emptied, unboxed and washed out, all the plugs and doors were cleaned, the loco was winterised, and a start was also made on cleaning the flue tubes. I spent most of the day emptying coal from the tender and by the end, I had removed 2.3 tonnes by shovelling it out into the JCB. You’d think by being on the footplate and in an enclosed cab, I would have been sheltered somewhat from the icy wind. Sadly, this wasn’t the case and it acted more like a wind tunnel!
With 35006 having not been used much over the winter, there was far more coal in the tender than I'd anticipated, hey-ho.
I didn't manage to remove it all, but fortunately, someone else kindly finished the job later in the week and had removed the last 1.5 tonnes, giving me a bit of light respite. The tender also received a couple of fresh coats of bitumen paint.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, to anyone with a gym membership, you're wasting your money in my opinion. Come and spend a few days, weeks, or even months on shed at Toddy, and you'll soon be shipshape. That, I can assure you!
Please do not be concerned by the following photo as we had not been 'on the sauce' so to speak, despite appearances. We were merely being blinded by the 'big light' in the sky while the photo was being taken. The shenanigans on shed certainly called for a stiff drink at the end of the day mind you, and tea and biscuits will only get you so far. I think we were all rather grateful to get back to our warm homes. Thank goodness for central heating and wood burners, I say.
During January and February great progress was made with 3850, and here's a selection of photos from the period.
Reassembly making steady progress - 28th January 2024 - Photo courtesy of Kenneth Sims
Now doesn't that look smart! - 28th January 2024 - Photo courtesy of Kenneth Sims
With the end of February approaching and the start of the new operating season, it was time to steam test 35006.
Testing, cleaning, and preparation underway - 27th February 2024
All seems to be going to plan - 27th February 2024
As mentioned in the blog previously, there’s always a plethora of jobs to do over the winter, but it ultimately boils down to ensuring that our locomotives are fit and safe for operation. Fortunately, and with a certain degree of relief, all the hard work done during the closed season paid off and all four members of our operational fleet passed their steam tests and official insurance exams on the 1st March. The sight, sound and smell of multiple locomotives in steam, with their safety valves legitimately blowing off on several occasions, never gets old and is somewhat therapeutic. The old ears might not agree with the latter point, although we were all armed with trusty ear defenders. Safety first and all that! My ears have recovered, but I can still remember the first time I ever heard a safety valve lift.
Here is a selection of photos from a successful day's testing on the 1st March 2024.
That's more like it, a busy shed scene - 1st March 2024
2807 brings out the sunshine - 1st March 2024
During the same week, the department was able to train several volunteers on the art of laying warming fires and how to bring locomotives into steam (commonly known as ‘Steam Raising’). I was fortunate enough to be passed out on warming fires last year, and it’s always a great feeling to climb up another rung of the ‘footplate ladder’ so to speak. When you first start on the footplate it can be a little daunting, but with the support and encouragement of your fellow volunteers, along with plenty of practice, you soon get the hang of things (or rather, the shovel!). Sometimes things don’t always go exactly to plan, but that’s all part and parcel of the learning experience. I must confess that my fire has gone out on more than one occasion, but with experience, it’s not too difficult to bring it back to life. As I like to say, ‘Stay Positive And Determined’, proving that the well-known railway acronym ‘SPAD’ has multiple meanings and it isn’t always a negative one, unless of course, you’re referring to signalling.
Speaking of training, more department members are progressing on the footplate (either as Trainee Firemen or Trainee Drivers) and a few of them are due to have their all-important assessments during this year's operating season. I’m still awaiting a date for my ‘General Dogsbody’ assessment, I say in jest of course. I'd better go and put the kettle on.
Look at that for a line-up - 1st March 2024
I challenge you to find something that beats this... 1st March 2024
7820 simmers on shed after a successful test - 1st March 2024
Time for 35006 to cool down inside the shed - 1st March 2024
One of the endearing things about this department is the camaraderie, and it doesn’t matter if you’re having a difficult time ‘outside the railway’, as there are always people around to spread the jokes and the banter. Apparently, I should change my registered address seen as I live at the railway, and I also need to grow longer arms so that I can reach the top of 35006 when cleaning. You may recall that I am vertically challenged, and thus extended arms would be rather useful. Regarding cleaning, I was informed by John Cruxon the other week that I was cleaning the ‘wrong engine’. Whatever you do, don’t ask about the number of mugs in the mess room, as they seem to multiply by their own accord!
As you all know, we have high standards, and speaking of 'Standards', here's a bit of nostalgia for you...
The mantle of running the first service train of the year for passengers fell to 7820, and a great sense of normality returned to the railway. They say that ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ and that idiom is as true now as it ever was. At the start of the season there were a couple of notable changes, most noticeable was the adjustment in the MK1 coach rakes with the sets no longer matching in terms of livery. Some maroon coaches have been interspersed with the chocolate and cream ones, and vice-versa, which I believe is partly due to maintenance carried out of the winter. There’s even a couple of ‘blood and custard’ ones thrown in for good measure. As much as I like things uniform, I must confess that the mixed sets do look quite good and are quite realistic when you check out prototypical photographs of formations from the 1950s and 1960s. I’m still awaiting a matching BR (SR) Green set to go with 35006, although I’ll probably be marched off the premises forthwith for saying this out loud.
7820 waits at Toddington on the first day of the operating season - 2nd March 2024 - Photo courtesy of James Clarke
7820 arrives at Winchcombe - 2nd March 2024 - Photo courtesy of Andy Smith
News from the footplate
In more recent news, Jack Boskett, who is also one of our trainee firemen, broadcast live on Facebook from Toddington shed on Tuesday 30th April 2024. With glorious sunshine, the locomotives in service on the day were 7903 and 35006.
We also have some brand new wheelbarrows, although I doubt that they'll stay this clean for long!
Some new toys to play with - Photo courtesy of Kev Jarvis
A very important Steam date for your diary folks! There's less than three weeks to go until the biggest event of the year.
Tickets for CFoS 2024 can be purchased online by visiting: https://www.gwsr.com/galas/steam-gala
For those of you who use Facebook, here are a number of GWSR related groups which are worth following:
DMLL - Dinmore Manor Locomotive Ltd
2874 - The 2874 Trust
35006 - 35006 Group
76077 - Standard Locomotive 76077
THL - The Honeybourne Line - a GWR mainline in the making Anyway, until next time folks... more from the coalface will be extracted shortly.
Alex (the sooty one!).
All published photographs and videos are my own unless otherwise stated/credited.
