NottyImp
Vital Football Legend
Jesus, use your imagination, man!
Nostalgia
- Thread starter stokeimp
- Start date
Jesus, use your imagination, man!
Merthyr Imp
Vital Football Hero
Close my eyes, I suppose.
NottyImp
Vital Football Legend
And think of England?
Merthyr Imp
Vital Football Hero
Certainly not Wales - but don't tell my wife I said that.
Barney Imp
Vital Champions League
Whenever you're up this way, a visit to Locomotion at Shildon would be a must...
Casperimp
Vital 1st Team Regular
Excellent photo and taken just in front of the engine shed before the road bridge. It's still pretty much the same now although a lot more locos and carriages around now.
I don't think I've seen that one. I remember the real Mayflower 61379 though.
stokeimp
Vital 1st Team Regular
I reckon we visited that railway - it would have been mid/late 70s. My brother in law and family lived in a village between Loughborough and Leicester, and we certainly went to a railway there once or twice
A few years ago I was fortunate enough to take a steam train driving experience at the GCR (a present for a big birthday from my wife). Started early with a cooked breakfast ( not cooked on the fireman’s shovel) and then the drive from Loughborough to Leicester North and back under instruction, pulling seven carriages. Absolutely fantastic experience that I would highly recommend. So much power in the loco, but I still managed to avoid any wheel spins, and managed to stop the train with the carriages at the platforms correctly without overhanging any. Finished the day with a tour of the signal box and sheds.
I remember at the time they were looking to connect up the line to the other stretch which goes northwards towards Nottingham but it was a big undertaking as it would mean over bridging the current Leicester to Nottm/Derby route. Not sure how far they got with that but I think they had sourced a smaller bridge for the GU canal
Merthyr Imp
Vital Football Hero
The new bridge over the main line is in place, they're now working on rebuilding the embankments and the canal bridge to connect up to it.
I did something similar on the SVR - not the whole line - 4 miles firing, 4 miles driving.
I’m gonna have to dig out a photo of mine as I can’t remember the loco other than it being a black one
Red Wimp
Vital Football Legend
Is that Casey Jones?
Casperimp
Vital 1st Team Regular
This will be excellent when they get it finished, linking up the GCR with the GCRN would give 18 miles of Heritage line linking the outskirts of Leicester and Nottingham. I have certainly put in some money towards this and it will great to see trains rumbling past the loco shed in a few years time. Well unless they move part or all of the loco shed to Rothley which is still under discussion .
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Casperimp
Vital 1st Team Regular
It is a fantastic experience and having worked on the GCR I am fortunate that I have been on a number of footplates and it's amazing although unlike you I have never driven one.
My proudest moment though has to be riding on the footplate and firing Sir Nigel Gresley at Carnforth on a test run for mainline work. I was very fortunate in knowing someone and got an amazing opportunity by being in the right place at the right time. I am not sure you would be allowed to do that on the mainline nowadays because of all the regulations that are in place (in fact you probably weren't allowed to do it then thinking about it) but we went from Carnforth out past Grange-over-Sands and across the viaduct on the River Kent estuary which was absolutely stnning and never to be forgotten.
stokeimp
Vital 1st Team Regular
Not really personal nostalgia, but a bit of Lincoln history.
I've been reading the current edition of "Lifeboat" magazine, and in particular an article on the history of lifeboat launching methods. Included is a picture of, and reference to, a Clayton and Shuttleworth tractor that was trialed on Hunstanton beach, to be used as an alternative to horses, and going into service in 1921.
I've found an online version of the magazine article, attached. The bit on Clayton and Shuttleworth is about half way down
https://rnli.org/magazine/magazine-featured-list/2023/january/swift-launch-safe-home
I've been reading the current edition of "Lifeboat" magazine, and in particular an article on the history of lifeboat launching methods. Included is a picture of, and reference to, a Clayton and Shuttleworth tractor that was trialed on Hunstanton beach, to be used as an alternative to horses, and going into service in 1921.
I've found an online version of the magazine article, attached. The bit on Clayton and Shuttleworth is about half way down
https://rnli.org/magazine/magazine-featured-list/2023/january/swift-launch-safe-home
I have the smoke box number plate for B1 61009. Hartebeeste. The engine was based in Lincoln for many years. Does anyone have any photos of it? Upside down it reads 60019 (Bittern).
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Off to Flanders this week to do a tour of the battlefields. See the grave of my great uncle (Royal Artillery) and the memorial plaque of his cousin on the Mennin Gate. The latter, in The Lincolnshire Regiment, was killed on the first day of Passchendaele in hand to hand fighting.
When I got home after one of my first day's spotting at Lincoln Central (probably 1957) I discovered I had seen two B1 namers, 61008 and 61009. Lincoln's B1 namer at that time was 61248. Here's a pic of 61009 at Lincoln on a goods train (photographer unknown).
