K1 2-6-0 62046 has come from York on a freight train to Washwood Heath sidings Birmingham and now rests inside three shed at Saltley waiting for a job home some time in 1965. I took this picture whilst at work, it’s not good quality but brings back so much. It gives you a taste of steam at the end of it’s existence on the railway. All the shed roof has long gone through decay. Large lumps of coal have fallen off a tender at some time and wait to be cleared up, three brake blocks are piled up ready to be fitted. A hose lies on the shed floor and trails into the pit next to 62046 ready for Lenny the lions next boiler washout. He was a star turn at Saltley, a real character you could hear him all over the shed giving orders to his assistant Jock Frazer to turn the water on or off. He was always dressed in filthy overalls and soaked through with water from the boiler tube wash out rod as he stood on the engine front with the smoke box door open summer or winter. A pea jacket would be worn if it got really cold and I mean really cold before it went on. If you look at the stand pipe that the hose comes from you can see an old rag used as a make shift washer as none were ever available. Water would spray out all over the place because there was no seal.
Lenny went on to be one of the shed bus drivers when he lost his job as washout man. He was mad at it. I can remember one early Sunday morning being taken out to Tamworth by him with a bus full of loco men to relieve an engineering job and as we approached a hump back canal bridge we flew over and all wheels took off and we landed on the other side with an almighty crash, bags, tea cans and men were thrown all about the bus but Lenny just kept on going. Memories.

Regards
Ledg.