Bristol Harbour Railway, The M Shed, Bristol, 12/02/17.

Tags

Bristol, Bristol Harbour Railway, Industrial Heritage, M Shed, Museums, Portbury, steam locomotive, steam railways

“Portbury“, built by the Avonside Engine Company in 1917, steaming along the Bristol Harbour Railway towards the M Shed museum. According to the “working exhibits” section of the M Shed’s website:

“Portbury had a reputation for great strength and in her hey-day it was said that she could ‘pull a town down’. She also had a tendency to move off when unattended – a common problem with steam locomotives with worn parts. Thus she was usually parked between other engines in the Avonmouth shed“.

Thankfully, it looked like Portbury was under control as the locomotive reversed!

 

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Photo Archive: Llangollen Station, Llangollen Railway, July 2011.

Tags

Llangollen, Llangollen Railway, railway bridges, Station buffet, steam railways, Steam Train

Llangollen Station, I recall, sits beside the River Dee, which runs through an area of outstanding natural beauty; an area of natural beauty I’ve been meaning to go back to. On only my second holiday in North Wales I was accompanied by a friend of mine, who drove me to Llangollen especially to meet another friend I hadn’t seen in over a year. The plan was to walk through the town, have an ice cream, have a trip down the canal on a horse drawn barge (the horse’s name was Stan), visit a local ruined abbey and stand next to a famous landmark; all of which we did! Somehow, in amongst all that, I managed to get a cup of tea at the station buffet, which gave me time to write a couple of postcards and get a good look at the train preparing to leave.

Whilst I’d been drinking my tea the trains crew had somehow managed to turn the engine around and place it at the other end of the impressive row of carriages, at the opposite end of the platform from the buffet and my tea things. I must have used this as an excuse to walk along the platform a bit to take one last look at the beautiful locomotive before we continued our tour. Who suggested we go further, onto the bridge over the railway line I do not know, but we did and now it strikes me as something “The Railway Children” or naughty school boys in a Reverend Awdry “Thomas The Tank Engine” story would do. Lost in pre-Beeching Report, 1950’s, rose tinted, nostalgia, I waited for the train – completely forgetting about the smoke bellowing from the engines funnel!!! *cough, cough, splutter, splutter, cough, cough*.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The experience obviously did not put me off steam trains for life or phase two of my plan; running to the other side of the bridge to photograph the train heading away from. A classic example of being in the right place at the right time, but next time I’ll stand either a little to the left or a little to the right of the funnel!

If you’d like more information on the Llangollen Railway, here is the website: http://www.llangollen-railway.co.uk/page.php?id=2   

 

Photo Archive: Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, 12th October 2012.

Tags

Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, locomotive, photographs, steam locomotive, steam railways, steam trains.

The locomotives being largely in motion or bellowing smoke and/or steam I had to take a lot of photographs, on that crisp October day, to get any of a quality worthy of sharing with you. For the purposes of this post then I have determined to whittle this collection down to a Top Five for your enjoyment:

1. When this trains whistle blew I was some what stuck. The path, running between the river and the railway embankment, had started well, but soon degenerated into a water logged, muddy, mess, tangled up with all manner of undergrowth. Forewarned by the whistle I climbed up as high as I could and prepared the camera; this the result. This is one of my favourite photographs and I did not feel too demoralised as I retraced my step back to the safety of the road.

2. The view from the guard’s van; something I never thought I’d see (being a child of the diesel and electric age, rather than the age of steam). The train was packed and the guard shouted something and one or two late comers to the scrum jumped into the van. Here we’re passing a mixed goods train, which was something of a surprise.

3. Roaring fires. There is something about a coal fire in the hearth that strikes you, or me at least, when you first feel the warmth of it. This example was at Ingrow (West) Station and it was very welcome.

4. It is the little things that make a house a home. I spent a very pleasant moment by the fire at Oxenhope Station wondering, like Sherlock Holmes, what sort of characters left these sticks and umbrella in the rack beside me.

5. The infectious enthusiasm of others is probably best illustrated by this photograph of a group of men determined to get the best view! I say “infectious” enthusiasm, because, after I had taken this photograph, I headed around to stand in front of them!

Keighley & Worth Valley Railway website: http://www.kwvr.co.uk/ 

Here is a link to other photographs from my collection: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121480122@N04/sets/72157643304607304/