Hi all, On the spur of the moment I decided to head off to Solihull to see the last day of the Polar Express. As usual it was headed by 7029 “Clun Castle” for this years outing. I had a nice chat with the driver at Moor Street Station. I told him that I had fired the engine twice many moons ago when steam engines were allowed back on the main line after their demise on British Railways back in
Hi all, End of the line at the Jamestown branch in South Africa and as you can see 5305 feet above sea level, 900 feet higher than Ben Nevis the highest mountain in Great Britain. A town it is not, we were almost in the middle of nowhere on this glorious day having chased the thrice weekly 08.15 mixed train from Molten along dirt roads, that’s all there was and taken a good number of photographs of it on the
Hi all, I went out to Tyseley again the following Saturday after the start of the Power Express to get another picture of 7029 Clun Castle then moved onto Widney Manor. Enjoy. 30/11/2024. Regards Ledg.
Hi all, A visit to Poland after the reunification was a must to see some of the last steam engines at work withought being hassled by the police. 2-6-2 OL49-23 leaving Keblowo with the 15.22 Nova Sol to Wolsztyn. The sun shon on this the only day during a weeks visit. A lot of trains started in the early morning 04 and 05 am, good job I was used to it at work. These OL49s were great little engines, spent
Hi all, Christmas is fast approaching once again which means the return of the Polar Express running between Birmingham Moor Street station and well Lapland! (Dorridge) After the snow last week two glorious days followed with bright winters light and blue sky. Then Saturday arrives with rain thick dark overcast clouds and high winds on the first day of the service. Marverlous. So I ventured out much to the amazement of everyone to take this photograph traveling by train into
Hi all, I always loved going to Portugal as it was possible to see really old steam engines at work. This wonderful portrait shot we were able to get is of E102 a 2-6-0 Tank built in 1907 by Esslingen of Germany and still happily at work 66 years later. They had such character, with large electric lights, brass numbers, safety valves on top of the dome, a jack on the running plate along with an oil can, and a
I always loved going to Portugal as it was possible to see really old steam engines at work. This wonderful portrait shot we were able to get is of E102 a 2-6-0 Tank built in 1907 by Esslingen of Germany and still happily at work 66 years later. They had such character, with large electric lights, brass numbers, safety valves on top of the dome, a jack on the running plate along with an oil can, and a big wooden
Hi all, It’s nice not to have to travel very far from home to see steam in action which is the case near Tamworth Staffordshire. Here we are at the Statfold Farm Railway in the late afternoon winter sunshine as two 0-4-0 narrow gauge tank engines Marchlin and Ogwen head back to the terminus at Statfold Farm with a nice train of wooden coaches. It’s always worth while to see the steam gala here as there will be 12 or
Two Beyer Garrett GMAM class climb away from City View at walking pace working a freight from Petermaritsberg to Greytown. To gain hight here at the water stop these two engines are moving at a crawl and have to negotiate two 180 degree curves, this being the first one. When we were there a train left Petermaritsberg every hour on the hour. With one coming down from Greytown, this single line was extremely busy a train would be waiting at
It’s only just after sunrise as Austrian 2-10-0 6976 hurries along near Wilfensdorf through featureless country side on a misty and frosty Autumn morning with the 06.26 Bruck Ad Leitha to Vienna train. In tow are eleven four wheeled coaches which must have made for a most uncomfortable ride. 03/10/1972 Regards Ledg.
Hi all, Another picture from our recent visit to the Severn Valley Railways Steam Gala. Here is 4-6-0 3 cylinder 5XP Jubilee 4-6-0 45596 “Bahamas” looking magnificent in its British Railways green as it drops into Highley with the 14.15 Bridgnorth to Kidderminster train. In tow is a fine rake of blood and custard coaches to take you back to the 1950s. I can well remember these engines usually from Bristol Barrow Road or Leeds Holbeck getting into their stride
British Railways Standard 5MT 73125 fitted with Caprotti valve gear at Patricroft Manchester the depot only weeks away from closure. Their huge coal hopper looms large in the background. Beyond that one of the first railways in the country the Liverpool to Manchester line famous for the Rocket which ran along here during the trials of 1825 at Rainhill. For those that knew him John Bloor walks across from the cab of 73125 after moving the engine out of the