A Family Affair

Saturday was family day down at the Nene Valley Railway, an annual event consisting of a beer festival as well as entertainers and activities for the children at Wansford Station.  It looked like a case of odd bedfellows to me, as the idea of a family day doesn’t seem ideally suited to a beer festival!  Perhaps it could be called ‘Compromise Day’ – as Dad gets steadily hammered on pints of Bishops Finger or Wags to Witches in the beer tent, Mum is letting the musicians and entertainers keep the kids happy over on the platform.

Well, the event was successful enough, if a little on the quiet side – possibly due to the start of the World Cup shenanigans.  Most beer festivals were probably taking place in people’s living rooms, fuelled with cheap supermarket booze rather than carefully brewed Fursty Ferret.

So what was on offer, then?  A free Routemaster bus service connected various participating pubs in Peterborough with the railway itself, and once at Wansford the wandering minstrels Pennyless, who are seen here with Thomas who was shunting the yard for the children’s benefit, serenaded visitors.  Pennyless also performed live on one of the trains; quite an achievement to keep their footing and play note-perfect in a lurching Mk1 coach!

A pair of entertaining and talented stilt walkers called Phillipe-Phillope (flip-flop – geddit?  It took me three days so don’t worry) kept the audience impressed with their repertoire of juggling and cycling antics, and rather surprised the passengers of one bus load by knocking on the windows of the top deck when the Routemaster arrived!  They clearly thought that the Nun’s Ruin was more potent than anticipated …

In addition to all this, the railway was also running travelling post office demonstrations throughout the weekend.  These utilised 31108 with an authentic rake of postal vans, and recreated the days of collecting and sorting mail by rail.  Lineside apparatus is installed at Yarwell, and on each trip passengers detrain at the station and walk down the line to view three operations as the train runs up and down on several passes.  It is an interesting spectacle to witness, and as it was a quiet day I joined the afternoon train to film events.  I chose to remain on the train and film the mail collection from onboard – I’ll do exterior shots another time.

The timing of the operation is critical, and the mailbags fly into the train with some force.  This was at 25mph – back in the sixties, trains would have been travelling around 80 mph in all weathers.  The job for the postal workers was backbreaking as levers control everything manually – not a push button in sight.  The sorting coach, where letters and packets were sorted by hand into their destination dockets, was dimly lit and quite claustrophobic.  Working on the trains can’t have been much fun, and it was always against the clock to get the mail delivered on time.  How times have changed; the only mail that arrives on time now is junk mail from car insurance companies and special offers to sell my gold.  The TPO immediately brings to mind the classic poem Night Mail by W.H. Auden.  The prose is superb as it is written in perfect time to the motion of a train.  If you listen to an audio recording of the poem you can almost hear the wheels on the rails and the hiss of steam as the locomotive arrives at the destination.

This mail has been waiting to be sorted since 1968.  I found a Christmas card from 

my Auntie Lucy in this lot.  So she wasn't the mean spirited old bat I had her down for.  Sorry.

I rounded off family day with a complete trip up and down the line, acting as tour guide to a party of pensioners on a coach trip.  They were great fun and we got quite a party atmosphere going on the trip.  With all of this, plus my foray into modelling during the morning, I can’t remember when I last packed so much into a single day.  There’s always something different going on at The Nene Valley.

Exchange of Goods

Here’s the sequel to Times of Austerity; a new J94 film entitled Exchange of Goods.  As the first film was very much about a contemporary restored loco in passenger service, I took a different approach to recreate the 1960’s and relive No. 22’s past glories.

Many Austerities spent the vast part of their working lives engaged in privately owned industries, where they would shunt wagons and make up freight trains that would travel down to exchange sidings for onward transit by a British Railways loco.  That is essentially the story depicted here, with the J94 collecting wagons and taking them down to Midford for collection by a BR class 14 and a Fowler 4F.  Some double heading is seen, as well as a couple of fast runs by the Austerity in fine form as it runs alongside the River Nene.  To provide a direct contrast with the previous film, I chose to work in black and white that was recorded onto a melodic and understated Beethoven soundtrack.

This was all filmed during the NVR’s Somerset & Dorset event in April; hence the appearance of Midford Station which is a nice touch.

Railway Modelling

It’s quite some time since I took any active role in railway modelling as my interest diverted to the real thing ever since I took up filming and then joined the NVR as a volunteer.  However, my interest in modelling was rekindled on Saturday during my shift at Wansford Station, although not in the way that might immediately spring to mind.

Although I wasn’t booked on duty, I’d volunteered at short notice to cover someone who couldn’t make it in.  I was on the relief turn, which is essentially a spare body ready for action wherever required.  It was the Family Day on the station and a beer festival was taking place in the marquee as well as various pubs in town, all linked by a free Routemaster bus service.  (More on this later).  In addition, we were running TPO mail train demonstrations along with the normal steam hauled passenger service.  Diverse events like this often need a spare body who can pitch in wherever there is a need, and as my body is more spare than most, I took on the role for the day.

As it happened, it was a lot quieter than expected – perhaps everyone in Peterborough had dashed round Asda in the morning, filling up trolleys with cheap beer ready for an afternoon slumped in the front of the World Cup.  Still, as it wasn’t particularly busy I had time to look around and chat to people.  I’d spotted a photographer taking pictures of a girl on the platform, this seemed to be a professional shoot rather than some snaps for the album.  We had a chat, and it transpired that they were doing just that.  Photographer Harry C was photographing model Siân for her portfolio, and wanted a location that would provide some interesting and different backdrops.  With many models jetting off to Barbados and Mauritius for photoshoots, Wansford certainly was different.

Harry asked if it would be possible to use the yard for some pictures – yes, of course, but only if you’ve got an authorised guide with you wearing a hi-viz jacket for insurance / health and safety purposes.  As luck would have it, I just happened to have my hi-viz jacket to hand, and I was in a position to escort the group round the yard after popping into the booking office to let Eddie know that he was on his own for a bit and good luck – see ya!

Various photoshoots were set up, with Harry requesting Bullied Pacific 92 Squadron and the brake van as scene setters – a good choice.  Harry was interested in the trains themselves and was clearly an established photographer who knew his subject well.  Siân came across as a very genuine, chatty girl who is enthusiastic about her work, professional and very personable.  They were accompanied by Siân’s chaperone, in this case her fiancé who was also interested in her work and very supportive.  It made for a friendly and pleasurable experience, the likes of which I have never been involved in before.   Siân took the unusual setting of an uneven, dirty and oily railway yard cheerfully in her stride – no Naomi Campbell tantrums here!  I asked if it would be acceptable to take photos for publication and she was quite happy to let me snap away – it is good publicity for both her career and the railway itself, so everyone came away happy.

I’ve always wanted to do a photoshoot with a model, and as we chatted during the filming I suggested some poses that would look good in the context of the railway background.  I also thought that the bulky dark green Polish tank 5485 would provide a good backdrop, as it was surrounded by spare wheelsets and bits of machinery that provided an interesting contrast to Siân’s petite figure and purple dress.  Looking at the photos, I can say that I was right.  I’m wasted driving a truck.  One suggestion that didn’t work came on the brakevan when I said, “How about a Brief Encounter pose.”  Siân replied, “What’s that?”  Ah, before your time pet.  I feel so old.

Siân herself wanted a picture with Thomas; by a stoke of luck he was shunting Wansford Yard at the time.  Oh, the gods were smiling that day.  Ironically enough, to illustrate a point in my blog post A Bird in the Hand, I’d mocked up a photo of a model giving Thomas a titillating glance to counteract his cheeky smile.  A couple of days later, a real live model was creating the perfect look right in front of me!  What are the chances of that happening?  And to think I’d only come down to Wansford to cover another volunteer who was ill.  It must be karma.  Or a reward for delivering to all those dodgy Leicester car dealers during the week.

Of course I thoroughly enjoyed the modelling experience, and Harry and Siân were fantastic people to have on the railway.  It just goes to show that there’s always something different happening on the NVR.  I personally wish Siân great success with her future career; perhaps one day she might get to star in a Grumpy Git Production, the pinnacle of any model’s career.  Indeed, I’ve already turned down requests from Cindy Crawford and Kate Moss – they just haven’t got what it takes.

If railway modelling has evolved into activities like this, I might just take it up again.

~~~

HarryC Photography covers portraits, boudoir, weddings, model portfolio and special occasions.

Siân models Print Magazine, Swimwear, Gothic, Lingerie, Fashion, Parts Modeling, Catwalk and Hair and has portfolios at TFP Models and Net Models.  The gallery of pictures that I took may be seen here.

Times of Austerity

I’m pleased to announce completion of the film centred around the Austerity J94 that I wrote about below.  Back in April I captured some great footage of this loco on freight duties, but decided to wait until I had some decent passenger workings to throw into the mix.  As it happened, I was so pleased with the footage taken around Yarwell and Wansford last weekend that I ended up devoting the whole film to last weekend’s activities and the freight doesn’t get a look in.  Not that the footage is going to waste; I have a cunning plan in mind and it doesn’t involve a cabbage.

I was lucky to get a windless day during filming of these scenes, thus providing some excellent sound effects provided by No. 22.  These are particularly prominent during the climb from Yarwell to Wansford Tunnel.  This meant choosing a muted, gentle background score that simply links the scenes together rather than dominate the soundtrack.  Bach’s Air on the G-string seemed the perfect accompaniment to the peaceful countryside and branchline scenes.  So I present Times of Austerity, starring No. 22.

Austere Times - A Leap of Faith?

Our current lords and masters who reside in grace and favour accommodation with chauffeured cars to ferry them around inform us that we are now living in austere times and a new period of austerity lies ahead.  For us, not them, presumably.  Well, I’m ahead of the game, as this weekend was all about austerity, and it was by personal choice.

One of my favourite locos currently down at the NVR is Austerity J94 number 22.  This loco only arrived in April, and made her debut working some demonstration freight trains at the Pines Express event.  22 looked and sounded in fine form during the day, and the finish on the loco is superb – one of the best paint jobs I’ve ever seen anywhere.  The Austerity was then booked onto passenger duties in early May, but unfortunately failed with big-end problems on the first run.  Repairs were commissioned immediately, and at the weekend 22 made a triumphant return to traffic on passenger duties, hauling the six-car Mk1 rake with ease and producing some great audio and smoke effects into the bargain.

Naturally I hastened down to Wansford on the extremely hot Saturday morning for a photoshoot.  Because the weather conditions were favourable, I decided to try my hand at filming at Yarwell, the NVR’s westerly terminus.  The station is located at the site of Yarwell Junction, where the Northampton and Rugby lines diverged.  No station existed here, and for many years NVR trains used the line purely as a run round loop.  In 2007 the station opened, giving passengers the chance to alight and watch the locos couple up.  The former quarry adjacent to the station was converted into fishing lakes, and a number of attractive countryside trails start from here.

The station and short line in the area present interesting opportunities for the photographer – most notably because a path now exists from the station down to the TPO equipment and onto a viewing platform that provides excellent shots of the tunnel mouth.  I’d not used Yarwell as a location before, except briefly last weekend in torrential rain, but had seen the possibilities and fancied giving it a go.

5485 with the Polish Plumber's Special last weekend.

There’s only one way to reach Yarwell – by train!  By taking the first service out of Wansford I had an opportunity to film the runround and departure through the tunnel.  It would be two hours before the train returned, so I set off to climb the pathway that leads onto the top of the tunnel for a great view of the line.  Because the area around the Nene is so flat, this is the only place that offers a panoramic vista of the line.  How I spent the two-hour wait is covered in my other blog here, before the train reappeared and filming began.

22 runs round, viewed from above the tunnel - a cracking location.

Once the train had departed, I now had another 2-hour wait – or a walk to Wansford, which I reckoned would take around an hour.  Well, it was far too hot for that sort of thing, so I decided to wait at Yarwell and read a bit.  However, I met up with some walkers at the station and we got chatting, which passed the time pleasantly enough.  I’d intended to simply return to Wansford and go home – there weren’t really any more photo opportunities available down the line with half the services now run.  But once on the train I started chatting with the crew, of course, and decided I might as well go to Ferry Meadows for an ice cream, and then catch the train on its way back up the line.

As we approached Lynch Bridge, it was clear that the sunny weather had brought out the teenagers in large numbers.  A footpath runs on the bridge alongside the railway track, and on hot days it’s a popular hangout for the Peterborough teen scene.  Usually they’re pretty laid back, but there have been occasions in the past of lunatic behaviour, as well as vandalism and obstruction of the railway track itself.  A story told with some relish to all newcomers on the NVR is that several years ago, two clever idiots placed their bikes across the tracks at this spot.  The crew alighted from the loco, took one bike each and put them on the tender.  The bikes were then held at Wansford until the angry kids with even angrier parents turned up to demand their return.  They got them back, but only after paying a donation to the Railway!  There are many other tales about incidents down at Lynch Bridge.  The bridge itself has a speed restriction of 5 mph, which gives these youngsters plenty of time to devise up various forms of entertainment.  Between trains they amuse themselves by the sport known as ‘Tombstoming’.  This entails jumping off the bridge into the River Nene below.  It’s a sport confined to teenagers, which is a pity – I wish bankers, politicians and traffic wardens would take it up.  I have breezeblocks going spare …

The lads wished they'd checked first, as the M6 hurtled up to meet them ...

The most common activity is the age-old custom of ‘mooning.’  If I’m working as TTI on a sunny day I usually advise passengers that they can expect to be honoured by a 21 Bum Salute as the train crosses the bridge.  Reactions range from taking a sudden and deep interest in the Ferry Meadows brochure right up to, “I’ll get my camera.”  Forewarned, and all that … Personally, I think that as long as they don’t interfere with the running of the train or get abusive, then they can do what they like.  A bit of friendly banter out of the train is customary, and of course they just love getting attention.  It’s always nice to see pretty girls in bikinis in summer, and far more preferable than the sight of middle aged men in mandals.  I rest my case.

Down at Ferry Meadows I got my ice cream, which I ate in my customarily messy fashion.  I don’t know how I do it, but I cannot for the life of me negotiate my way round a Magnum in summer without wearing half of it and end up looking like a toddler who’s just put his face in his dinner.  I’ve learnt from this experience and always carry baby wipes with me in my camera bag.  They’re more important than a spare battery these days.

Ferry Meadows station lies opposite the golf course, which provided something to look at after I’d cleaned myself up with babywipes, now new and improved with ‘ello-vera and carbon monosodiumglutimates and enhanced with enricher VT7, for a longer lasting enrichness.  Yes, I watch all those ads on TV; they’re not wasted on me at all.  The course was doing good business, and it was interesting to see a lot of young blood enjoying the sport – and pretty good at it too.  It was in complete contrast to the tombstoners, and proves that there is always a balance, despite what the Daily Mail would like you to believe.  Golf is not my sport – setting up the DVD recorder to tape A Touch of Frost is my idea of activity – but I have dabbled in the past.  I could never get the ball through that damn windmill on hole 18, though.

I took the train back to Wansford, past the tombstoners who pushed a girl off the bridge as we trundled past – and I missed the shot!  (She was willing; I mean they didn’t just pick up a passer-by and chuck her off).  I decided to film departure of the train and call it a day, but I was invited into the signalbox and that was far too good an opportunity to miss.  Consequently, I stayed until the last train returned, and the railway closed down for the night.  It was an interesting and entertaining excursion, and as austere days go, not half bad.

Polish Plumbing Saves The Day

What do you do when your fifty-year-old boiler breaks down just before a bank holiday weekend?  There’s only one answer – call in a Polish plumber!  And that essentially was the problem down at the Nene Valley this weekend, with a three-train passenger service scheduled to run, but with the two principal steam locos (44422 and 73050) both sidelined with maintenance issues.  The Austerity J94 is out of action with big end problems thus compounding the shortage even more.  Whilst the ever dependable Thomas could be relied on for his Yarwell shuttles, the main line needed urgent assistance to provide the advertised service.  Unlike Notwork Rail, we don’t believe in simply giving up and going home at weekends with the vague promise of a bus to take you home.

Enter the ubiquitous class 14 diesels to work the Mk1 rake, and call in the Poles to provide us with a new boiler – in this case the recently overhauled PKP 0-8-0 Slask locomotive number 5485.  This would haul the Danish (DSB) set of coaches.  During the course of last week the loco has been named The Meg, but no one seems to know why. Or indeed, who Meg is.  This was great news for me as I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to film and travel behind this unusual machine ever since it emerged from the works in April after a lengthy rebuild.  5485 doesn’t generally work weekends, but instead works our midweek ‘Schools Specials’ with the four-car DSB rake.  These coaches are open saloons; for some reason the teachers of the schools groups prefer these to the compartments of the Mk1 stock!  I mean, what mischief could fifty schoolchildren possibly get up to in compartment coaches?  (Here’s a clue …)

A period poster advertising The Great St Trinian’s Train Robbery from 1966.  A lengthy and highly entertaining chase involving a number of trains was filmed on the former Longmoor Military Railway - well worth watching, with a top-notch cast.  Perhaps because of these scenes, present day teachers prefer to keep their pupils where they can see just what the little darlings are up to!

As 5485 works these services it usually has weekends off when the other locos take over.  So it made a pleasant change to be able to ‘go Continental’ over the Bank Holiday period.  Meg is an interesting loco, and has a highly individualistic character of her own.  Built specifically to move long and heavy coal trains back home in native Poland, finesse is not one of her strong points.  Control of the loco is all-or-nothing according to the crews who work her on a regular basis.  Open the regulator a little to move away and nothing happens.  Open a tad more – still nothing.  A smidgen more, and Meg suddenly leaps into a life like an unsuspecting MP who’s just picked up The Daily Telegraph on expenses day.  Once on the move, 5485 truly has a life of her own. The long body overhang extends fore and aft over the eight close-coupled small-diameter driving wheels, which means that the loco bounces, twists and sways along all at the same time.  Regular crews take seasickness pills along for the ride.  Every rail joint and piece of pointwork is transmitted and magnified up through the bodywork and onto the footplate.  Standing still is an achievement in itself – grab hold of a handrail as the cab twists and lurches, then gyrate in time to the unpredictable motion in an attempt to stay more on less upright.  The whole crew resemble a party night down at The Bigg Market on Saturday night – and of course all of this explains the origination of the term ‘Pole Dancer.’  See, you’ve learnt something.

I spent all three days down at the NVR, with Saturday nominated as a filming day (rained dawn till dusk, naturally), Sunday as TTI on the Mk1 rake and relief booking office on Monday.  These turns allowed some breaks to get the odd bit of filming done, in addition to the very soggy photography session on Saturday.  Indeed on Monday I finished early enough to lurch down the line as far as Ferry Meadows on Meg’s last turn, in order to film the return trip back to Wansford.  It was a varied and enjoyable weekend, and I plan to produce a Polish film in due course.  In the meantime my washing machine has developed a fault, so as soon as the lads have finished coaling up Meg ready for next week, I’m off to have a word.

Setting off a Train of Thought

Anyone for spam?

In my last post I briefly mentioned that The Nene Valley has a new visitor – or to be more accurate, a returning resident after an extended holiday.  The locomotive is 34081 92 Squadron, a Battle of Britain class Bullied Pacific.  A potted CV of the loco reveals that she was purchased from Barry Scrapyard by The Battle of Britain Locomotive Society in 1976 and despatched to the NVR where rebuilding commenced.  The lengthy project took until 1998 to complete, when 34081 entered service as a mainstay of the locomotive fleet.  In 2003 the loco departed for visits to other heritage lines, latterly the North Norfolk Railway.  Recently 34081 failed a boiler examination with 13 broken stays and although the owners were hopeful of an extension if the stays were replaced, this did not prove to be possible and a full overhaul is required.  With many of the society volunteers living locally to the Nene Valley, it made practical sense to bring 92 Squadron back to Wansford.  So much for the technical side – but when I saw 34081 stabled in the yard on Saturday morning, tightly squeezed in between 31108 on one side and the DMU on the other, it immediately brought back faded memories of an early trip to the NVR in 1998.  When I returned home I went through my photo archives, and found that my memory had not deceived me after 12 years – which is amazing, as it always lets me down after 12 hours and I have no idea what I did yesterday.  Or today, come to that.

The relatively smart exterior hides a huge engineering task to be tackled.

I was aware of the NVR at the time, having previously paid a fleeting visit to see Flying Scotsman in 1995.  However, my interest at the time was in the contemporary scene and heritage railways were merely an occasional diversion.  On this occasion, Susana and I were having a day out together, and I’d suggested Ferry Meadows as neither of us had ever been there and the brochures looked appealing.  I’d noticed that the railway ran right through the park, but at the time it was of passing interest rather than the destination itself.  It presented an opportunity to gently break Susana into the world of railways; in fact it would be her first sight of a real live steam train as she hails from Madeira.  Ironically enough, in the same month that 34081 returned to the NVR, Susana also made her first visit after 12 years – coincidence, or am I missing something?

Perhaps this early visit to the NVR sowed a small seed in my mind; after all I usually take some time to catch onto things and taking 12 years to reach a decision really isn’t unusual.  But back to the day in question – unfortunately my notes have long gone so I only have some skimpy scribbles on the back of the pictures (no digital camera in those days!) plus my rusty memory to rely on for information.  Fortunately I numbered all my pictures, so at least I can work out the order they were taken in and work back from there.  Who needs Inspector Morse when you’ve got a system and a mind like mine?  

We must have parked up at Ferry Meadows, then walked to Mill Lane - in the intervening 12 years since I took this photo the vegetation has taken hold and this scene is much more closed in.

Then we followed the Nene Way through the park and caught the next working approaching Orton Mere – the fireman is holding out the single line tablet for the signalman as the train approaches, and the riverside boathouse in the background confirms the location. 

We’d then followed the train down to Peterborough – quite how I persuaded Susana to do all this walking is lost in the mists of time; these days she’d take a taxi round Asda if they’d let her.  I got a couple of grotty pictures at departure time before walking back up towards Ferry Meadows later in the day for this shot at Yacht Club Crossing, still a perennial favourite photographic location that has featured in many Grumpy Git Productions videos.

Now, although my fuzzy brain had vague recollections about 34081 in service, it wasn’t until I began trawling through the photos that I discovered these two pictures that I’d completely forgotten about, taken on the same day.  They feature Austerity tank 75006 in service on the Danish rake of coaches and the pictures were taken at Lynch Bridge.  Susana is the girl in blue watching the train.  Yes, of course I’ll edit you out … This is not the same loco that has recently entered service on the NVR in lined maroon; 75006 has been out of use for some time and is currently stored in the loco depot at Wansford.

75006 as she appears today; stored unserviceable in Wansford shed.  Shame.

I’m delighted to make a re-acquaintance with 92 Squadron once again, and it was interesting that seeing the loco after all this time rekindled fond memories of the past in an area that has become of great relevance today. 

For more information about 34081 and The Battle of Britain Locomotive Society I can recommend a visit to their website.  The overhaul is going to be a long one – years, rather than months are being talked about, after which the loco is expected to remain on the line in passenger service.  

A Steamy Hot Weekend

It was certainly a hot and steamy weekend, and that was even before I left the house to travel to the Nene Valley for my Booking Office turns on Saturday and Sunday.  Generally speaking, if the temperature in Peterborough rises above 70ºC then the good citizens all pile into their cars and spend several hours baking away in traffic jams that eventually deposits them at the overcrowded seaside town of Hunstanton.  Quite why they put themselves through this when they have the delights of Ferry Meadows on their doorstep is a mystery.

It’s not that difficult a choice … is it?

Saturday was a normal operating day, whilst Sunday saw the annual and very popular event that is Thomas’s Big Adventure. This entails Thomas working a six-car rake over the whole length of the line more or less non-stop.  Given the age of the participants, plenty of events take place on the train to avoid any tears, tantrums or boredom setting in – and there are also activities designed to amuse the children.  They think of everything.  At Peterborough the loco runs round, but is also refilled with water – and a neat twist here is that the children take part in this activity themselves by filling the tanks by hand with buckets!  It’s a great way of keeping their interest and up and can wear them out sufficiently for the return trip to be thankfully mellow …

From an operational point of view the train was an interesting one as it consisted of two Danish open seconds, two Wagon-Lit saloons, a Belgian sliding door saloon and the unique Norwegian timber bodied coach with open vestibules.  I would love to ride the whole line on one of these open platforms sometime.  The Norwegian saloon is only used on special occasions and for film work – the vehicle’s X-Factor moment came in 1982 when it had a prominent role (along with the NVR as a whole) during some set-piece scenes in the James Bond film Octopussy.  With gun battles, knife fights, fisticuffs and a chase over the roof of the coaches before a car was crashed into the path of the oncoming train, the film convincingly portrayed a typical Saturday night in Peterborough.

Meanwhile Class 40 D306 (carrying the Irish Mail headboard), and Standard 5 73050, now cleaned up and reunited with its City of Peterborough nameplates after various special events, operated the normal service throughout the weekend.  With the exception of the Thomas event, which was all pre-booked, the line was not especially busy – it was a hot day, so people decided to go and sit in even hotter cars in traffic jams on the road to Hunstanton as I mentioned earlier.  This meant that I could pop out and take some photos, which made a nice break.  To accommodate the Thomas timetable, a different working pattern was established at Wansford, the upshot of which meant that in between trains the spare loco was stabled at the signalbox on platform 3 road – the perfect location for pictures.  It also meant that a great shot could be obtained as the incoming train passed the stabled loco, with the green 40 nicely complementing 73050 and the crimson and cream coach rake.

Later on I took a walk to see the latest visitor to arrive at the Nene Valley; however this is worth a post of its own in the near future.  When Thomas returned to Wansford, I have to say how pleasant it was to be greeted by the 350 passengers with big smiles, and we received very many thank-you’s from happy parents and excited children.  It’s always nice when people leave the line with happy memories, and the organisers of the Thomas event really do put an enormous amount of work in to ensure that it all goes off smoothly.  I’m glad that I wasn’t the one who had to handball all the catering supplies off the train, across two platforms and into the café afterwards, all in humid temperatures of 80ºC.  On top of all the actual work, I should point out that very few of the Continental coaches have opening windows, and the temperatures soared during the day.  It must have been almost as hot on the train as it would have been stuck in a Fiat Punto on the way to Hunstanton ….. Oh well, there’s always next weekend.

The Pines Express - Film

Following the Pines Express event and the running of a recent charter train on the NVR, Grumpy Git Productions have released a film to celebrate the recreation of the Somerset & Dorset summer Saturday in the fifties.

It’s a straightforward enough premise; we see Fowler 4F 44422 being prepared for service followed by the arrival at Midford Station.  Boarding the train, we take a journey down the line – seen through both the eyes of a passenger and a lineside spotter.  The train arrives at Orton Mere in heavy rain – well, we’re recreating the British summer after all!  44422 is turned by hand on the turntable, and we see the train depart from the station tender first before it runs alongside the river where a couple of dogs are enjoying a splash about – a nice addition the film.

We then change trains and watch as 73050 leaves the loco shed.  Boarding the train we take another journey down the line with some energetic running by the Standard 5.  Finally both locos are paired up for The Pines Express itself, with the final scene following the doubleheader all the way along the Nene flood plain towards Castor with regulators off and whistling for all they’re worth as they approach the historic non-stop dash through Wansford.

Although filmed over two days, the weather was consistently grotty enough not to cause any noticeable changes between scenes.  

The Austerity J94 was also running on the day hauling demonstration freight trains.  However, it didn’t really fit into the context of the film and would have meant chopping up some nice footage to squeeze it in – and that would spoil things.  Fortunately I got some cracking scenes that feature this loco, and have enough material to give no. 22 a film of it’s own – so Austerity fans, do not despair!

You Spin Me Round

In my recent post ‘Go East’ I photographed the Nene Valley Railway’s collection of locos all positioned heading east.  This came about because of The Pines Express event that featured turntable demonstrations.  The locos had to be turned round once again ready for the coming weekend’s normal service, and Wednesday was chosen for that purpose.  No passenger trains were running, but the line had been hired for a private charter with both 44422 and 73050 in service that day, so the opportunity was taken to turn both locos during the lunch break.  Fortunately I happened to have a day off work on Wednesday, and equally fortuitously, I happened to need to visit Wansford to drop some stuff off.

It’s a pity I didn’t get there earlier as I missed both locos double-heading out to Peterborough.  But the garden needed doing, and it was the only day my gardener was available at short notice (you don’t think I do it myself, do you?  If there’s one activity I find more tedious than filling in tax returns, it’s gardening).  However, after dropping the stuff off and having a coffee and a chat in the cafe, I managed to film the arrival back at Wansford, albeit tender first.  Then both locos were turned on the manual turntable; 44422 first followed by the heavier 73050.  All went well with the 4F, but the Standard 5 proved more troublesome as the turntable came to a halt around 10 feet from the end of the turn.  Cue lots of manhandling; expended energy (not mine); lots of bad words my mother wouldn’t approve of (again, not mine.  For once) until the good old fashioned answer turned up – a man with a big stick.  Respect – that’s how I fix things.  After some poking around in the depths and a good whack or two the blockage was freed, and 73050 joined 44422 for the afternoon runs.

I filmed departure over Wansford Bridge, then nipped round in the car to Orton Mere where I was lucky enough, despite having to negotiate the school run, to capture the passing of the train.  Then in readiness for the final return run boiler first to Wansford, I walked to Yacht Club crossing as there is a good run up on a bend here.  As the train was operating private hire with photo run pasts, there was no schedule – it was a case of waiting it out until the participants ran out of film, battery life or interest.  This turned out to be a long two hours that I hadn’t expected.  Annoyingly, I could hear the whistles every so often and knew where the train was – but as many a photographer knows only too well, if you pack up and walk down to meet the train, it will leave and you’ll miss it.  Fortunately I had Custard Creams and a drink on standby, as well as a book to read in the unusually dry weather so it wasn’t too much of a hardship.  If I can spend hours standing in fields of snow for the Santa Specials, I can cope with a warm and dry level crossing.

When the train finally returned the end results were worth the wait, especially as it was such an unusual event to capture some double-heading.  All locos are now back in their rightful places, and 73050 will shortly be reunited with its nameplates – normal service will resume!

More Diesel, Gromit?

Sunday and Monday were days I had booked out for a trip to see family and friends in Sunderland, with a chance to do some catching up after the wedding.  On the return trip down the A1, I passed by the Wensleydale Railway, and as the main entrance is at Leeming Bar, literally a minute from the A1 (plus 10 minutes trying to negotiate the junction at the end of the slip road) I thought, ‘Why just pass by?  Why not call in?’

So that’s just what I did.  The weather was typical May Bank Holiday stuff – squally heavy showers and leaden grey skies, so linesiding was out of the question.  I decided to take a ride and explore the line instead.  Unfortunately it transpired that owing to a recent derailment on the line the service was somewhat truncated and a rail replacement bus service transferred passengers from Leeming Bar to the next station down the line – Bedale.

As this was an impromptu visit I wasn’t concerned, and whiled away the next hour in the station buffet cum shop, plus a look round the yard whenever the rain stopped for long enough to grab some pictures.  At 13:25 I boarded the decidedly non-vintage Volvo coach for the short but very comfortable trip to nearby Bedale.  Here a two car Met-Cam DMU burbled away in the platform as it awaited departure time.  No time for photos; get on and let’s get gone.

The exterior of the DMU has been finished in an attractive blue and cream livery, but the interior was literally back to the 1980’s – I kept expecting to see Gene Hunt scream into the car park in a red Audi Quattro.  I felt at home, and so I should – car 51210 was a Heaton Depot vehicle during the 1980’s and I travelled on it many, many times in my misspent youth between Sunderland and Newcastle on trainspotting trips to Gateshead.  In 1985 when I (allegedly) grew up and got my first job, 51210 was one of many such units that bounced and lurched me on my daily commute, in between breakdowns, strikes and point failures at least.

I was pleased to see that nothing – and I mean nothing – has changed since then.  The unit is exactly as it was in 1985, in what BR at the time called ‘refurbishment’ which basically saw some faded old green panelling replaced with some cream panelling and fluorescent lighting to replace the tungsten bulbs.  The ride was as noisy and bouncy as ever; you still need to be a trapeze artist to stay seated on jointed track.  The window frames are either so loose that they rattle your teeth out or are seized solidly together and nothing short of an arc welder will open them.  The heater didn’t do anything, but they never did in winter anyway.  In summer they’d fry you in 100º heat, especially while you sat on the High Level Bridge while a long stream of passing trains crossed the station throat ahead of you.  The great view out of the cab was a high point – unlike many miserable buggers working out of Heaton depot, the WR drivers keep the blinds open!

I took the DMU out to Leyburn, where I left to change trains for some loco haulage.  The National Railway Museum at York had sent up 47798 Prince William for the weekend, and coupled it to the WR’s rake of cream and red Mk2 coaches.  Because of the operational problems caused by the derailment, this train was confined to running between Leyburn and Redmire.  There is no loop at Leyburn, and the train had to run empty several miles to run round in the passing loop.  This caused big gaps between services, but nevertheless, full credit to the WR for keeping a service going in difficult circumstances and coming up with a solution.  Notwork Rail would have just shut down the entire line in similar circumstances.  I managed a nice shot of the DMU as it left Leyburn, but by the time the 47 arrived it was raining.  Again.

The trip out to Redmire is spectacular – well, it is when you can see the view of the Yorkshire dales.  Driving rain doesn’t exactly improve the situation, but every so often there would be a break in the clouds and the magnificent scenery would be visible for a moment.  This meant that I could concentrate on my surroundings – once again, I was transported back to my youth in the Mk2 coach that still retained all it’s BR features – remember those wingback seats and a sea of grey formica panelling? 

At Redmire I jumped out for some less than spectacular photos during a break in the rain as the loco ran round.  On the return to Leyburn the sun came out allowing some pleasing views from the train; in fact it got very bright at one point and I stupidly thought that the bad weather had packed up and gone home until next weekend.  

For this reason I decided to stick around at Leyburn, and took a walk to find some good vantage points ready for the departure of the next DMU, as well as a passing shot of the 47 taking the Mk2 stock back to the loop.  I found a couple of nice spots, but inevitably minutes after the 47 had passed by the rain found me.  Yet again.  Therefore I opted to return to the station and take the DMU up to Redmire, then all the way back to Bedale as it formed the last train of the day.  Redmire is a pleasant enough station and a good starting point for walks in the area, but today the word ‘bleak’ sprang to mind.

Predictably, on the return journey as the DMU got nearer and nearer to the Bedale the clouds majestically parted and bathed the Dales in glorious warm and photo-friendly sunlight.  On the drive home back to Grantham, I had to wear sunglasses all the way.  Oh, thank you, God.  I shall refrain from further observations on this matter and leave you with the lovely parting shot as I left Bedale to pick up the bus for Leeming.

Still, the visit was an enjoyable enough break on my journey home, and pleasant to see another line that I haven’t visited before.  There is great potential for lineside photography, whilst the 12 mile trip to Redmire is highly recommended.  Almost all services are diesel hauled or provided by the DMU, with a peak summer steam service operating with a Standard 2 Tank.  The staff were friendly, and the stations well maintained and tidy.  The stock in service was clean, but decidedly tatty internally as I mentioned.  Personally I quite liked this, as it brought back so many memories of my teenage years following these trains, but it’s a subjective matter on a tourist line.

Overall, despite the weather and unfortunate derailment, my visit was a pleasurable one, and I’d certainly like to make a return visit in more favourable conditions.

Go East

I now have a set procedure when turning up for duty on the Nene Valley Railway.

1. Get a coffee

2. Set up the Booking Office

3. Get a Full English Breakfast

4. Check out the motive power on shed

5. Get coffee

6. Open Booking Office.

This puts me in the right frame of mind ready for the day ahead.  On Saturday I followed my established routine, and when it came to checking out the motive power on shed, I was surprised to see this line up:

Unusually, all locos are facing east following last weekend’s Pines Express event, and normally such a photo is not possible.  The NVR always runs the locos boiler first heading westbound, as the majority of runs take place when the sun (hang on ... sun?  What sun?) is to the southwest and offers the best photographic opportunities.  I therefore made the most of this rare opportunity to capture the moment as no less than three locos prepared for the day ahead, especially recently arrived Austerity 22 looking immaculate as steam is raised for the day ahead.

Meanwhile 73050 has been reunited with its City of Peterborough nameplates, but looks pleasingly worked stained in this view at Wansford during the afternoon.  The locos will be turned back to their usual positions shortly, so it was a good opportunity to get some pictures from a different perspective.