If anyone ever wonders why I regularly run off to Wales to play with steam engines then have a look at this view. This was around 10am on Saturday 19th October 2024. I’d just backed double Fairlie James Spooner onto its set of carriages in 20 road at Boston Lodge and about to set off ECS to Porthmadog when I looked up the Glaslyn Valley towards Snowdon.
It didn’t last, it pelted it down during the loco servicing turnround at 14:00 (ish)
My Bygones Roster explored both unreasonable ends of the days. Friday on David Lloyd George we did a run to Blaenau with a Palmerston on the front with the Victorian Set and the boat (as far as TyB) on the back. It then involved Minffordd Shuttles and posing in the dark for photographers. Official book off 23:00 (aka Pub shut!) but part of the posing made the engine disposal ready and its was just HBF’d* in to the shed.
Got a pint at 22:35!
The late finish and what came on Sunday meant I was more of a spectator for Saturday but I did visit Boston Lodge for a bit of model research. More of that another time.
Sunday morning was unpleasant! Woken at 03:00 by rain hammering on the roof, up at 04:00, book on at 05:00 to prep James Spooner.
Sunday’s job was to provide the anti-gravity for the morning run of the gravity train. Leaving Harbour Station sidings at 08:00 we took the gravity train to just shy of the summit by the power station.
An interesting bit of working is then that the Single Line token is held by the person in charge of the gravity train whist the loco proceeds to Tan-y-Griseau without it. Once we phone in to report clear of the section the gravity train driver is given it with which to proceed downhill.
The second unusual bit of this diagram is that the passenger train with Lyd on it that went to Blaenau ahead of us (07:40 off Port) does a shuttle run down to TyG to meet us and we put James Spooner on the Blaenau end and top and tail the train back to Blaenau. We then return to Porthmadog with 22 coaches worth of engine on five diddy coaches. The payback for the 05:00 start is we’re done by midday and someone else gets the engine and is grateful we put its roof on during prep as the afternoon was soggy.
Over the week I drove all three double engines, JS more than once. Bygones was DLG’s last days for this season as its the first in for its winter maintenance. Its put away in the erecting shop on Sunday night and was off its bogies and in bits by Monday night.
Wednesdays job was a shuntathon leaving virtually no truck at Boston Lodge unturned. The aim was to put the displays and the vintage toys away in the old loco shed whilst removing all the tat we hid in there over the weekend. In putting Princess back in at the far end of 3 road an old friend was briefly out in the rain.
I did get a day out with the other woman on Tuesday on the Quarryman service starting from Blaenau
Whilst it was a day out and I was the rostered driver I didn’t drive Blanche at all during the day. A combination of a fireman who should very soon be a trainee driver and a trainee fireman at the stage where he needs and element of “get on with it, sink or swim” meant I spent the trip as trainer from my seat in the tender.
I get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing them progress and helping them on the way. It can be slightly self defeating as I have a bit of a track record of having firemen with me as regulars, training them up for them to leave me to go on to driving leaving me to find a new one to train up.
Its not like I am short of Blanche driving having done over 1000 miles since the Covid year
(* HBF, Hook off, book off &, well you can probably work the last bit out)
