The day I was bitten

I'm not even sure how I got bitten but my Grandad has always been interested in Railways he still has one of his spotters books. He was also a signalman when Haywards Heath had a signal box (though not in steam days) and has a few friends in the Railway industry one is/was part of the group that saved Thomson B1 61264.

I remember him taking me to the Bluebell when I was a kid and one of his friends was driving 92240 that day so he said that when we got to Kingscote he'd let us on the footplate as the loco ran round which was amazing even for the short time it took place. A little latter we went again and he was driving 73082 this time and did the same again. My Grandad still has the photos somewhere.

I think the earliest I remember was August 1995 at the Bluebell when I was about 3 (I'm 20 now) which I think was a Thomas event and I was for some reason scared of the engine shed not sure why although I have seen photos on me on the train happy so something must have struck around then. And its uncountable the amount of times I've been to the line since and have visited every year since 2000 at least. I've also been to Didcot and GCR which I personally don't remember but my parents do so I may have been a similar age or slightly younger or older. I think there maybe something in my subconcious of the GCR that remembers though as my parents told me that 4498/60007 Sir Nigel Gresley was there and A4s are one of my favourite classes.

 

1979, 4 years old went to Preston station with my dad.
He got very excited at seeing 40106 trundle through.. the last BR green diesel.... i picked it up from there, when he bought me my first Ian Allan from the Smiths bookstall at Preston station.. which had 40106 on the cover... I still have it.

Other very old memories of this time..
5690 to Carlilse, 4498 on the S&C,
Rainhill 150
Seeing an APT at Preston
4472 on the Bolton Spa Express, 34027 being delivered to Bury, followed by 45337, 80097
Getting to cab a Deltic at Manchester Victoria with my dad, and the driver gave me his cap badge (I still have today).
Riding 6 car knackered DMUs to Blackpool
Lots of Butlins holidays which saw me see "clacton" EMU's... and of course Woodhams several times.
Lines of Scrap 76s at Reddish, and 126's close to Ayr.
Sounding the Horn in the cab of a DMU from Rawtenstall to Manchester via Heywood on the official closing trains for the line.
The Red Bank Parcels..
45149's crash at Patricroft. (My dad tells me of a Crash at Bolton that I saw in the late 1970's but don't remember it).

I could go on and on.

My dad regularly took me to Preston, Crewe, Birmingham, and mid-week a few hours at Moses Gate, until they relocated the Manchester bound signal off the platform, it was still a staffed station then with an hourly service, trains included 25's, 40's, 45's, 47s.. used to love New Street.. as it had 33's, 46's, 50's, I even remember a 58 once.


I have thousands of pictures from this age... none of them particularly spectacular but massive memories to me.

 

Nice to see this thread coming out for an airing every now and again !

 

Ah - but - when did the British modern scene get so boring that it really is only a means of getting to and from interesting events, or providing a means of exercising real machinery every now and then?

Well - perhaps as long as HSTs and MkIV stock are still around it won't be completely terminal - but as for the rest of the railway - well multiple unit passenger services, foreign traction, and declining on board amenity and ambience just don't do it for me nowadays.

A4s off Ferryhill - 5388 leaving St Annes - kipping overnight in brake vans in Heysham yard - three day excursions to the west highlands with mates, overnighting in sleeping bags in compartment stock. Those were the real days!

Thank goodness that, arising from my railway employment, I got to ride regularly on MkIII stock on the WCML before Branson ruined and withdrew it! A peppered steak and a beer, running into the setting sun out of Euston at night - that was real class! The last memory of that was alighting from a Vomiter at Stoke one night as I had come up from Oxford and Mrs TBF was following up the main line from Euston. Out of the darkness came Vulcan and its train in full rasperry ripple, and as I stepped into the subdued warmth and comfort of a First Open it made you realise what the bus company and airline management have destroyed - God rot them!

 

Not quite dead... Those Mark 3's, the Steak can be enjoyed from Liverpool St to Norwich every hour.

but I agree, privatisation made it boring.. It opened my horizons, first I discovered the American way of doing things..., then the Asian way and more recently the African way.. but without doubt Eastern Europe still has it... in the last 10 years the most exciting days can be had at Budapest Keleti and around the suburbs (including ex-UK class 86's) Poznan, Krakow, Wroclaw as well as Tczew are how it used to be.... for Mega freight... try the Slovak mainline from Kosice to Zilina

The real last chance for "branch line" trains is Chojnice... think Hellifield... all the trains are 1 Loco, 1 or 2 coaches... friendly shed master, lots of diesel hauled freight.. unfortunately this will only last a short space of time... the tin can multiple unit cometh.

If it has to be steam.. well there's only 3 almost knackered locomotives holding their own with a 250 mile a day timetable.

 

Like a few others on here, I cannot really 'pinpoint' a moment when I was 'bitten' by the railways. My Grandfather used to take me up in my pushchair to Whitchurch (Hants) Station, where my Parents and I lived, and I can just remember the 50s roaring through - ironically they are now one of my least favourite classes of loco, despite me being fairly evenly split in my interest steam/diesel.

However my Grandparents lived, and still live, within 20 miles of the Severn Valley Railway - so naturally, visits there, and to a couple of others (the Mid-Hants was another favourite - I can just remember the S160 they had) were frequent and fun! A 00 gauge railway in the loft 'sealed the deal'.

I don't know, exactly, where signalling became my main interest - a visit to Chappel & Wakes Colne, and several afternoons pulling the levers in their 'box must have helped, as did occasional invitations into signal 'boxes by friendly signalmen elsewhere, especially the SVR, where one in particular became friendly with my Grandfather which suited me perfectly. I remember when I was about seven my Grandfather making me out of garden wire a pair of token hoops so that I could run around the garden with a wheelbarrow and do token exchanges! And now I do them for real

 

I was bitten at an early age and never recovered! When I was a toddler our house overlooked two sets of sidings in Lancaster where goods wagons were sorted and marshalled into trains. I spent many hours sat on Grandma's bedroom window sill watching this process with utter fascination, kept me quiet too. As I grew a bit older Mum used to take me ad my brother to a footbridge at the throat of the eastbound sidings where we had great fun standing on the wooden planked bridge as a Jinty passed below blasting us with smoke and steam which didn't seem particularly hot.
It wasn't long before I knew all the different Jinties that worked the yards, Lancaster had an allocation of seven on them which never changed for many years, I soon recognised the Compounds that worked the Morecambe-Leeds trains, the lines passing between the two sets of sidings.
When I was nine we moved up the valley five miles and the land at the back of the house was bordered by the line, my enthusiasm was undimmed. We had only lived there less than a year when an amazing event took place [amazing to me anyway]. The 7-15pm train to Leeds/Bradford left Caton station with the usual toot of the Compound's whistle followed by a sound I had never heard before. Along came the train with two locomotives, the Compound and this huge green engine with windshields bearing the name ARIEL and the cab number of 70016. By this time I had my first Ian Allan ABC which had no mention of such a loco. 70016 appeared each evening for the week, the last two or three days without an escort. The next month Meccano Magazine had a cover picture of 70000 Brittania and all was explained, I guess Ariel was doing running in turns.
So here I am, 60 years later, still haven't shaken off the bug that bit me all those years ago.
Edward

 

Great memories Edward - 47468, 47662, 90706 and 90595 should mean something to you ! Not to mention 46410, 46433 and 46441

I take it you were down the Skerton end (LadiesWalk/New Zealand) whilst I was up top close to Lancaster No.2 and the Castle Stn yard.

 

Taw Valley heading through Barton under Needwood on 11/11/89. I was brought up on railway filled family holidays, but this was my first real taste of mainline steam. I saw in one of the mags that it was running nearby and decided to cycle the 10 miles from home to see it. It obviously made an impression as I made several trips on my bike to the Stenson Junction area the following spring to see various specials heading to / from Derby, mostly involving 71000. This also sparked my Dad into taking more interest in mainline tours, and before we knew it we were heading off all over the country. Life's never been quite the same since!

 

Thanks John,
I lived on Newton Estate on the south side of Ladies walk and New Zealand sidings which was in an elevated position giving a great view. The long term Jinties were 47381, 47468/9/70/71, 47532 and 47639. 47639 was first to go, probably about 1959 or 60 which would be when 47662 arrived I suppose. I was totally absorbed by railways in the mid to late 50s and walked round Lancaster shed most mornings before trudging up to Lancaster Grammar School, the Heysham boat train loco from the previous night was serviced there so it was good to see a more exotic engine, I once got a ride from the shed to Green Ayre station on 70001, Lord Hurcombe. The shed pilot was 47201 for years, I remeber when it arrived in the early 50s still with condensing pipes on it, seemed odd that one of the Kentish Town Johnson 0-6-0Ts should have been transferred there, it soon lost the condensing gear. It had a lever reverser and I remember seeing it being thrown into reverse, wheels spinning on the greasy rails while the loco was still moving in the opposite direction!
You may have come along a bit later than I, do you remember the 0-4-4 tanks 41900-4 which ran the Lancaster-Morecambe-Heysham trains when the electric train equipment was being rebuilt?
Lancaster engines always seemed very dirty, I don't think much cleaning was done and that's before the time that nothing was cleaned towards the end of steam. The Compounds were my favourite engines, Lancaster ones included 41005, 41045, 41087,41137, 41196, as they were withdrawn others came along to replace them until there were none left. By that time i was working and no longer visited the shed but still saw the unrebuilt Patriots that replaced the Compounds and ended their lives on the Morecambe-Leeds trains.
I guess that's enough for now......

 

Edward,

There's never 'enough' about Lancaster Green Ayre as far as I'm concerned! Yes you are right, I came along (as a serious enthusiast) just as Black 5's were taking over from the Patriots, though as a smaller child I remember several defining moments, the earliest of which kicked this thread off! I have a vague memory of one of the 0-4-4's sitting against the buffer stops nearest to Cable Street and the station approach road. A Green Ayre fireman and driver lived on our street and I was lucky to get a ride on 45025 (I think) from Hellifield - Green Ayre one winters evening (returning from a spotting trip to Doncaster). It was awesome!

Thinking back, the shed foremen never refused a polite request to look around the shed as long as you went back to the office to say you had finished and were leaving! Oh those halcyon days!

 

John
That siding was where withdrawn locos were dumped, 47639 was there for quite a while before it was carted off, it was one of the Jinties with no vacuum brakes, no hose and just a 3 link coupling.
The last time I saw 45025 was at Carnforth where a large number of withdrawn locos were stored, its chimney had been removed.
I was never challenged at Lancaster shed, nobody seemed to mind a couple of lads wandering around, no H&S issues in those days! 46441 spent its entire life at Lancaster until the shed closed, I assume it then went to Carnforth, most days it did the pick up goods train from Lancaster to Bentham [or maybe a little further] and back, not a very onerous task, just a few wagons, one or two dropped off at Caton as I recall. I believe it was a very low mileage loco when Dr Beet bought it.
Another memory from Green Ayre the mid fifties was 48261 just returned from overhaul in fresh shiny paint, when the sun shone on it at the right angle you could see the outline of some arabic letters on the cabside and WD on its tender. When I left school in 1960 my shed visits ceased, at that time there were no Black 5s or WDs there, the allocation was remarkably stable with the same Crab 2-6-0s 42893/5, 42928 and I think one more, a few 8Fs, the Patriots had not yet arrived, acouple of "Mucky Duck" 2-6-0s and an odd 4F 0-6-0 or two plus long term resident 2-6-4 tanks 42135/6 and 42589. The last Compounds had gone and the last 3F 0-6-0 might also have left. 47201 left when the shed closed I think, it lasted till 1966 and was the last surviving Johnson 3F 0-6-0T. After the 0-4-4s finished there were some Ivatt 2-6-2Ts on the L-M-H service including 41221.
One morning there were the last surviving Furness 0-6-0 51394[?] and the LNWR Cauliflower 58409 on their way for scrapping, presumably under their own steam but maybe not, another unusual visitor was 58326[?] from Barrow which might have been in the same predicament.
I have many fond memories of Green Ayre and its station which was quite an impressive building, the shed site is now Sainsburys. Over the years it moved from one shed area to another many times, 20H,23C,11E,24J.

Edward

 

Edward,

If you have not seen this - it will interest you I'm sure - worth the long read and scrolling for the pictures.

Lancaster Green Ayre - RMweb

 

John,
I've been following Jamie's Green Ayre progress since he began, very interesting, the photo of the driveway up to the station is one I've seen many times.
I am building a layout based on Caton station and yard but it is on hold at present as I am in the USA. The late Donald Binns' book on the Little North Western is an excellent reference work particularly as track layouts are shown, I have got as far as tracklaying but it all has to be wired etc. I have storage sidings based loosely on Ladies Walk/New Zealand sidings, I just hope I live long enough to get it done!

Edward

 

Following on from my "day I was bitten" posts, once I got to Lancaster Grammar School I joined the Railway Society, this was run by an older student under the supervision of one of the teaching staff. The great thing about it was that we got to go on "spotting trips", well organised visits to cities like Manchester, Liverpool. Sheffield etc. where official passes had been obtained to various sheds in the area. Better still we had trips to various loco works, Crewe, Horwich, Gorton, Derby, Darlington etc. I remember one visit to Crewe when the Crosti boilered 9F 2-10-0s were under construction, these trips were pure magic, usually escorted and highly instructional, great experiences.

After my schooldays other interests took over from railways for a while but I did ride the last passenger train from Wennington to Green Ayre in 1966 and watched sadly as the demolition trains passed our house and finally the track was torn up. 75027 was one if not the last locomotive to use the track past the house.

My interest was revived some years later but without any great fervour, those diesel locos just didn't have what it took to bring back the real interest but I got involved with narrow gauge steam for a while. then of course standard gauge preserved lines got going which reignited the spark. Currently I support the Patriot project and can't wait to see one of my favourites reincarnated, hopefully by 2018.

Edward

 

I wouldn't say that this was the defining event which got me interested in steam, but it must've had an effect! Virtual pint for anyone who can tell me the date and place.... that is me in the pushchair BTW with me Dad! Sorry about the small size but I haven't figured out how to zoom it!

I grew up in Thurgarton, on the Nottingham-Lincoln, home village also of Roland Hoggard, of St. Pancras station clock fame. Spent a fair few days of my childhood clambering over 68088 which along with its spare boiler was for many years stored in Roland's barn, and of course "driving" it. Used to take cabbage stalks for Roland's scruffy menagerie of sheep and goats from my dad's allotment, returning with a barrowload of manure.... ah, the joys of free trade! Roland's farm was well-known for having a clock in every room, shed and outhouse, as well as being a fascinating place for a kid to mooch around, for he was (and still is) a compulsive hoarder who threw nothing away if it might be re-used.

I don't consciously remember working steam on BR, to my eternal regret, but garnered an interest in modelling N gauge which lasted until Easter 1975, when I was on a visit to my grandmother's in Loughborough. I visited GCR and thereafter was only interested in 12" to the foot scale.

 

Give the man a coconut!

If you Google Pathe news reels, there's a website which contains a clip of the loco and tender being moved into Butlitz on that very day; worth watching to admire the skills of the Pickfords driver.

 

I think I was born with steam in my blood. From birth my bedroom was 40 yds from the Wakefield Bradford line, just level with the top of the bank and the 1:100 summit on the Ardsley side of Morley Station. My neighbour was a ganger, my Uncles drivers at Ardsley, trains of various shapes and sizes passed my window day and night.

I still remeber the shivers of delight as the night coal trains slipped to a stop outside our house, no steam and the young fireman getting a mouthfull from the driver. Then the clank of the tools and after a blow up a struggle to start and drag the load over the top and through the station where the gradient eased and allowed a bit more help.

Mum shouting at me and my brothers to close the window and get back to bed. Oh happy days!