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Here's us all at Bury
Station, having arrived to spend an afternoon on the railway. Left to
right there is as follows:- Jen Batchelor (Giles' wife) - Val Richardson
(Giles' mum) - Me (Robert and Giles's and Tim's dad) Giles Batchelor and Tim
Batchelor. It was the weekend when the East Lancs Railway were holding
a World War II weekend. And what a great day out it was as well.
There were lots of people in 1940's style dress and in uniforms, including
German ones! First sight we went to see - you've guessed - it was the
bar! |
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wasn't a train in site there was plenty to look at, and in the case of the
adjacent photo - to listen to as well. On the opposite platform was a
duo, as you can see, in Army uniform singing 1940's songs.
Like the sort George Formby used to sing.
Very pleasing on the ear as well. As you can also see this photo
demonstrates the type of clothes of the period.
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It wasn't too long before
a train appeared. I'm actually not sure what I expected to see but it
certainly wasn't the magnificent 92214 the BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0.
This engine was amongst the last of the steam engines built for British
Railways, and only had about 6 years working life. |
Much to my surprise
(again!) it sailed past the platform we were waiting on, and reversed into
the platform opposite. Which, with the benefit of hindsight, was an
excellent manoeuvre as it allowed me to get the photo you see opposite.
There it stood, gleaming in what passed for sunshine on the afternoon of
Saturday 28 May 2005. The engine looked absolutely magnificent! |
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We took the train to Rawtenstall and I got the chance to
take this photo as the engine uncoupled and reversed to the other end of the
train for the return journey.
For more details of the engine you can visit the dedicated web site at
www.92214.co.uk |
Another engine in active service on the day was the Midland
Railway's 0-6-0 engine No 44422 bearing the 5A (Crewe) shedplate. I never
managed to get a picture of all the engine, so I'm afraid this is the best
it gets!
Still I'm sure I will catch up with it somewhere in the future.
For some excellent shots of this engine go to
www.44422.co.uk and look at the
E.L.Ry. Steam Gala
pages. I understand from a contact on the 44422 web site, that the
engine is currently, on 13 Feb 2006, on its way to Crewe for some repairs
before heading off to the West Somerset Railway to take part in their S & D
Gala Weekends. Wish I was in Minehead! Latest news update is that the
engine has now returned to the East Lancs Railway where it will remain for
the rest of 2006. |
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Rawtenstall Station was looking surprisingly quiet given the
number of visitors to the railway on the day. |
Viewed from the train on the return journey to Bury was this American Army
camp. Well I don't suppose it's too unusual to see the American Army
in rural Lancashire is it?
Whether it is or not it all made up for a great day out. |
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Thought I would show this
picture to contemplate on.
It's rumoured that one of the engines from this class achieved the speed of
90 mph whilst working a passenger train.
The mind boggles at the thought of how this mechanism looked at that speed! |
End of an truly interesting afternoon and need some refreshment before
returning to Bolton where we were staying for the weekend.
Didn't
think it would be a good idea to go back to bar, because of breathalysers
and all that, but there was always the NAAFI Mobile Tea Room to solve the
problem for us! |
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Lastly, the day out
nearly over, no trains in sight, but a reminder of things past in the form
of a signal gantry.
There are still some semaphore signals
in Scotland where I live, but nothing to match this one. |