littleton no5

From 3rd to 10th December Avon valley railway are participating in the Christmas big give raising money for the overhaul of Littleton no 5 if they can raise £5000 this will be doubled which would be enough to send the loco for assessment at the Flour mill Bream

Littleton is a unique loco idealfor hauling services on the Avon valley so any support I am sure will be greatly accepted.

 

The link's here if anyone's interested - https://donate.thebiggive.org.uk/campaign/a051r00001QZv61AAD.

The appeal's passed the halfway mark, but there's a long way to go and all support will indeed be gratefully received - because donations are doubled and gift aid claimed where appropriate, every little really does help...

All the best,

Andrew.

 

Thanks for the link. Donation made. Fond memories of the loco when it was the mainstay of passenger services at a fledgling Great Central.

 

By way of a thank you, here's "Littleton No. 5" doing just that, complete with blue and grey Gresley buffet car, courtesy of the RCTS Photographic Archive...

With very best wishes,

Andrew.

 

Thanks for the link donation sent.

 

And most gratefully received, thank you.

As a taste of things to come, thanks to the generosity of supporters, here's the loco at Littleton colliery. It was taken in March 1970, I think. Photo by kind permission of Keith Partlow.

All the best,

Andrew.

 

I was very young when I saw N0.5 at Foxfield on one of its few steamings there back in '73. I can't picture it now but do know that when I got home I got the biggest loco out of the toy box and it was Littleton from that point on.....

Wonderful machine and would love to see it on Foxfield Bank one day.

Jon

 

Again, many thanks, it's much appreciated. We're approaching the £6k mark now...

I'm an armchair volunteer on the fundraising side of things and not involved on the ground at Bitton, but when we come to the next stage of fundraising I'll certainly be suggesting that trips to Foxfield and Chasewater are explored. Major funders want to see interpretation and engagement as well as restoration, so personally I think taking the engine back to the communities where it worked and recreating past scenes through gala events and charters could well play a role in that...

All the best,

Andrew.

 

That's a great story, thank you! Again, when we move onto the next stage of fundraising it's likely that we'll be wanting to gather just this sort of reminiscence in a bid to show the human side of the engine's history, so I may well be in touch!

It reminds me of playing with my Matchbox trains in about 1980, and deciding to recreate The Flying Scotsman (train not loco). I knew that it had been pretty important and travelled a long way, so put together my longest train hauled by my biggest loco - and so the Flying Scotsman that trundled all the way across the black and white tiled kitchen floor and back consisted of a pannier tank and four 4-wheeled balcony carriages...

With best wishes,

Andrew.