existentialist
Tired and unemotional
Hmm. They didn't quite nail it, did they?
Misc steam railway, traction, station and rail-related news
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That's ... well, it looks as if a steam engine has crashed into the back of a snowplough!
If we're getting into such photos, also KX in 2009:
Oh, and the first arrival of Tornado at King's Cross, in February 09:
![P070209_14.38[03].JPG](https://www.urban75.net/forums/data/attachments/222/222432-35c9f9710e5640ee356b59564093dbbc.jpg "P070209_14.38[03].JPG")
Bit of a u75 day out, that.
I expected it to be busy, but nothing like that. When davesgcr suggested that another drink in the Betjeman wasn't a good idea and we ought to get there before it got too crowded I thought he was exaggerating. He wasn't exaggerating.
Bit of a u75 day out, that.
I expected it to be busy, but nothing like that. When davesgcr suggested that another drink in the Betjeman wasn't a good idea and we ought to get there before it got too crowded I thought he was exaggerating. He wasn't exaggerating.
davesgcr
Reading books
Oh, and the first arrival of Tornado at King's Cross, in February 09:
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Bit of a u75 day out, that.
I knew some of these shots would come up eventually. Freezing cold - (the sheer feel of "respect" as she rolled into that train-shed was memorable) -plus we had a modest drink later on !
Great atmosphere, wasn't it.
When she came out of Gasworks Tunnel, the driver whistled and the whole place burst out cheering - it was quite a moment.
Mumbles274
running from law and the press and the parents
This was the second to last time a loco ran down to Folkestone harbour. Tangmere looking awesome
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
I imagine that it all becomes a bit routine after a while?
For some it must have done, but reading enginemen's memoirs you do get the impression that others gained a real sense of achievement from getting the best out of a steam engine.
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
Also, I think many enginemen had a real pride in their work - and teaching the "tricks of the trade" to passed cleaners & firemen with the will and ability to progress up the links.
Especially so when the loco was not in the best of condition or the coal was particularly poor quality.
The fireman would be shovelling several tons into the firebox as well as all the other duties ...
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
Yeah, the romance of steam was built on some pretty bloody hard labour.
And you tell the kids of today...
Indeed. They've invariably stories about fast runs with engines fresh out of shops, but equally as many stories about boilers that wouldn't steam, axleboxes that knocked so badly the vibration hurt the legs, coal that was little more than dust, draughty cabs in foul weather and 'minor' incidents that would have the RAIB banging on the door these days...
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
Talking of the "minor" contretemps that happened...
There is a story (summarised) that one during one trip, the oil-soaked lagging under the "air-smoothed" casing on a spamcan decided to catch fire. Fireman observed the smoke etc and notified his driver, who replied "That's nothing, you should see my side" which had smoke and flames billowing out ...
Back on shed that night, the shed foreman took one look at the blackened casing and sent one of the cleaners out to Woolies for a can of green paint.
There is a story (summarised) that one during one trip, the oil-soaked lagging under the "air-smoothed" casing on a spamcan decided to catch fire. Fireman observed the smoke etc and notified his driver, who replied "That's nothing, you should see my side" which had smoke and flames billowing out ...
Back on shed that night, the shed foreman took one look at the blackened casing and sent one of the cleaners out to Woolies for a can of green paint.
davesgcr
Reading books
Back in 1979 , when I started , we had a superb old boy Essex born training officer - who started as a fireman out at Southend Victoria but as he was young and keen (plus they needed more staff urgently in inner London) - this being about 1945 he got sent to Kings Cross loco and brutally put on a Leeds working.
A run down A3 - filthy - tender of finest Yorkshire dross , an uncaring driver who barely spoke to him , he did not know the route - it was dark and there were about 15 packed coaches behind him. He had one cheese sandwich.
He barely looked up from his labours apart from being shouted at by the driver approaching Peterborough - and they stalled on the Nene river bridge for lack of steam and the drag on the brakes - so they got dragged into the station by something else and he refused to go any further. He was virtually physically sick.
So they were going to sack him there and then for insubordination , but realised that would have been counter productive. He got back to Southend pretty quickly and eventually moved onto management.
He would be the first to tell you about the "non glory" of steam. He loved the electrics when they came along.
One of my Watford drivers as a young 18 year old took 9 hours to get to Northampton on some urgently needed coal empties in the winter of 1947 and even longer coming back with a more urgently needed train of power station coal. Still - he made his 50 years of service. A harsh training in a harsh world. .
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
You've touched on another point that had occurred to me - what was the reaction of steam engine drivers to the clinical by comparison experience of driving electrics and diesels? I imagine that it must have been an unbelievable contrast...and I guess at least a few ex-steam types must have ended up driving HST, which would have been even more of a culture shock...
teuchter
je suis teuchter
I've been following the run-down of the HSTs rather more closely than is acceptable in conventional society. This has included travelling on the last ever one from Inverness (my original 'home' station), going to see the last ones out of Paddington, and going to see the final arrival and departure at Kings Cross. I'm sure there are some drivers for whom it's just a job - but it's clear that there are plenty of drivers with quite an attachment to the HSTs, who maybe feel the same way about them going as was the case at the end of steam. And of course the HSTs are now old technology, and I've read a few descriptions by drivers saying they are more satisfying to drive than the most modern trains, because you have a more direct engagement with the machine itself, rather than being somewhat distanced via and electronic interface.
davesgcr
Reading books
Many started on a Welsh tank engine and finished on a HST with main line steam in between "A King , 10 bogies and a 12 wheeled diner Dave - non stop from Newport to Padd(ington...) - probably not bad in the 1950's when standards had improved and you got some time in London !
I think most of them appreciated the comfort of a diesel / electric - but one told me that steam was "healthy" and they never got colds ! ......
Same here, and frankly there's a real sense of loss now they're (largely) gone. Some of my earliest memories of train travel involve going on the 'InterCity 125,' of which my father always made a bit of a thing. He used to have to put his hands over my ears when one pulled away because I was frightened by the scream from the turbochargers. Subsequently, I've lived mainly around the East Coast Main Line and travelled a lot between London and the West Country, so the HST has always just been there, and it's always got me to where I want to go. I was sad enough back in 2010/11 to go and stand by the droplight of a Grand Central one as it pulled out of King's Cross to listen to that Valenta sound one last time, and as their replacement loomed larger I made a point of travelling on them on the East Coast Main Line, just to enjoy them while I still could. Last time I went down to Norfolk it was genuinely sad to see the lines of redundant HSTs at Ely awaiting their call to the scrapyard. On the way back north I got chatting with a member of buffet car staff who was a bit of an enthusiast and had recently worked the farewell railtour. She looked around rather sadly at the little cubby hole that passes for a buffet on the IET, pointed out a few fitting that had already broken and bits of interior trim already starting to look tatty, and predicted that the IETs won't be doing such good service in four decades' time as the HSTs were doing right up to withdrawal.
As for the 'romance of steam,' this short film from 1959 is well worth watching:
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
I used to live in Chippenham, and we sometimes saw the prototype HST out on trials. One Wednesday afternoon I was lucky enough to get out of school early and as I crossed over the station footbridge I looked into the yard, Guess what was parked up ? I trotted over and had a good grice. Just before I was about to leave, the traction inspector (?) climbed out of the cab, looked around to see who was about. Did I want a look in ? (stupid question !) I spent quite some time having that look around and getting a serious briefing, even included a look in the engine bay. My train mad younger brother was really miffed that I had had that "cab" before him, as they pushed off back to Swindon before he came past - he might have seen or heard it leave ... I so wish I had had my camera with me (or a modern mobile phone to tell him to get himself down there).
editor
hiraethified
I've never heard of the Mangapps Railway Museum in Burnham-on-Crouch before but it's a pretty sizeable operation. Anyone been?
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Mangapps Railway Museum | Burnham on Crouch
Mangapps Railway Museum, Burnham on Crouch. 1,605 likes · 8 talking about this · 95 were here. Mangapps Railway & Museum, short railway, HUGE museum! A standard gauge heritage railway in the Essex...
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teuchter
je suis teuchter
Yes and we've simultaneously lost the droplight window just about everywhere now - another thing that's always just been there as part of rail journeys. I had plans to do a few last trips in that regard this summer too - east anglia for example - but covid put stop to that.
Ironically enough we got shot of all our trains with the potential for maximal fresh air ventilation in the exact same year that it might have been rather beneficial...
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
I know several of the (ng) heritage railways are - or have been - busy making their rolling stock "Covid-secure".
Mainly by splitting carriages up into individual compartments by adding additional partitions above seat backs.
As well as other things (like one-way systems around stations etc)
Mainly by splitting carriages up into individual compartments by adding additional partitions above seat backs.
As well as other things (like one-way systems around stations etc)
Indeed. I'd be much happier travelling by train atm if I could sit next to an open window rather than having to breathe recirculated air!
stethoscope
Well-Known Member
Must admit I'm missing the InterCity too - used to captivate me when I was a kid/teen, and spent such a lot of time travelling up and down on the Midland Mainline - whether it be when I commuted between Bedford-London, upto Sheffield as a student, and then back and forth to see my folks. Pendolino, Voyager, even the new Hitachi trains still don't come close to the HST in my opinion. Seeing this 91 last year on the East Coast evoked those memories a bit too
Passing time idly on the web I stumbled upon this pic from the 1980s (credit to the original taker) - can't imagine it speeding its way through here
Although sadly I've not taken any train since lockdown, it seemed a bit weird at the end of last year to be regularly journeying between mine and parents on a Turbostar since they've been utilised on the Yorkshire coast line, when I used to regularly travel on them 20 years ago between Bedford-London!
That really reminds me how much I miss the old St. Pancras when I used to do the daily commute too - there was a great bunch of regulars on the 17:55 and we'd all stand in the buffet car - a couple of them had City jobs and would regularly buy us all a can of Stella for the journey home. Used to be proper jokes on there to pass the time
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