Steam Train art

We were always fascinated by them and had to 

look at the engine.

The Great Western was always a favorite along 

with the LMS. They usually shared my happy 

childhood journeys. LMS for the first part and 

the GWR for the final leg 

Lots of little country stations 

There was a palpable calmness about the immediate

post WW2 years, as of the country was taking a deep

breath after a long race.

Great Northern railway from Windhill to Thackley and Idle now

Wednesday saw me  tracing what remains of the 

old Great Northern railway from Windhill to

Thackley and Idle

The trackbed still remains and much of it is accessible

The Google satellite view above tell you where the

pictures were taken 

The bridge that carried the old footpath between 

Winhill Old rd and Brackendale Drive has now 

been demolished and cutting filled to the level

of the abutments,

As can be seen the riveted girders which carried the 

bridge now lay discarded.

The view from the northern abutment shows the 

depth of filling.

All the above three are at point one on the top

satellite view

Between points one and two the trackbed remains

well trodden as a bridleway, the hoof prints being

 the evidence

Here Windhill Old rd passes under the railway in

a Z bend. This is point two on the satellite view.

Then on the Ballantyne Rd off Winhill Old Rd

the bridge remains but is only a footpath 

connecting the two sides of Ballantyne

Rd

As can be seen nature is taking over

the past presence of mans railway

I am assuming the truncation of 

Ballantyne Rd is because no one

will now take responsibility for 

the structure of the bridge

This is at Point three on the satellite view

Passing on now to point four on the satellite view

The railway run under Crag Hill Rd

This is just to the east of Thackley station and some 

evidence can still be seen of the site though the

trackbed is very overgrown.

We now pass on the two further bridges at Thackley

corner where the A657 Leeds Rd passes over the 

old railway trackbed. Both of these are at point 

five on the satellite view

Onward's to Idle.

Many thanks to Google for the satellite view and

the map above. The pictures as ever are my own

The Vale of Llangollen Railway

Looking up the vale from Llangollen station

Down towards Ruabon and Shrewsbury now sadly 

closed

However the line up the vale is now some ten miles

Very busy as Llangollen is a tourist centre

Right by the side of the River Dee

A very pleasurable visit and thanks you to the staff

http://www.llangollen-railway.co.uk/

 

 

Llangollen then and now

Llangollen station

Designated for closure under the Beeching cuts, the station closed to passengers on Monday 18 January 1965^[1] but the section between Ruabon and Llangollen Goods Yard remained opened for freight traffic until April 1968. Immediately afterwards the track was removed from the whole line between Ruabon and Barmouth Jn.

From the above to today below

The Flint and Deeside Railway Preservation Society was founded in 1972, with the aim of preserving one of the regions "axed" railways. Originally the society was interested in preserving the Dyserth to Prestatyn line; however that line was deemed unsuitable because a small amount of freight traffic was still using it.^[5] The society refocused its attention on the Llangollen to Corwen section of the Ruabon to Barmouth line. The local council granted a lease on the Llangollen railway station building, as well as 3 miles (4.8 km) of track, with the hope that the railway would improve the local economy and bring more tourists to Llangollen. The station reopened on 13 September 1975, with just 60 feet (18.3 m) of track.^[6]

The station was fully reopened in 1981 by the preserved Llangollen Railway as its eastern terminus, and has been subsequently been extended westwards to reopened in stages, to its present length of 9.5 miles (15.3 km).^[6] The refurbished station now encloses the Robertson Suite, which is available for hire as a venue for licensed weddings, functions or training.

See more at http://www.llangollen-railway.co.uk/

Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway class 21 better known as the PUG

With 80002 now out of the exhibition hall and 

down at Haworth workshops there is a little more

room to move in the exhibition at Oxenhope

Here the little L&Y 0-4-0 dock shunter better known

as the PUG

The L&YR Class 21 is a class of small 0-4-0ST steam locomotive built by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway for shunting duties. They were nicknamed Pugs.

The class originates in the purchase of three saddle tank locomotives ordered from Vulcan Foundry in 1886. They were fitted with an 8-foot-10-inch (2.69 m) long, 3-foot-0-inch (914 mm) diameter boiler pressed to 140 lbf/in² (965 kPa) powering two outside 13-by-18-inch (330 mm × 457 mm) cylinders connected to 3-foot-0-inch (914 mm) driving wheels. The wheelbase was 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) and the total heating surface of the saturated boiler was 475.75 sq ft (44.20 m²).^[1]

J. A. F. Aspinall then ordered more locomotives of a modified design: the wheelbase was shortened to 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m), the tank was extended over the smokebox, the cab was enlarged, ^[2] and the boiler pressure raised to 160 lbf/in² (1,103 kPa). Seventeen of this modified design were ordered from Horwich Works in three batches; Aspinall's successor Henry Hoy order another batch of 10; and Hoy's successor George Hughesordered 30 more in two batches.

The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) gave the locomotives the power classification 0F. In total sixty were made between 1886 and 1910. They were built for use in sharply curved sidings for shunting duties. The Pugs were allocated by the L&YR for operation in the industrial areas and docks of Fleetwood, Goole, Liverpool and Salford. In later times they became more widely dispersed, reaching places such as Bristol, Bangor, Crewe, Derby, Widnes, York and Swansea. When the LMS was merged into British Railways on 1 January 1948, 23 'Pugs' remained in service; BR added 40,000 to their fleet numbers.

Withdrawals started in 1910 with two going in that year. Four went in the 1920s, 31 in the 1930s; leaving 23 to be withdrawn between 1957 and 1964.

Seen here working at Goole docks.

Two "Pugs" have survived into preservation, both through the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Trust.^[5] L&YR No. 19 (LMS No. 11243), built in 1910, was sold by the LMS into industry in 1931 and was acquired by the Trust from the United Glass Bottle Manufacturers Ltd. at Charlton in 1967. It was found to be in poor mechanical condition and was later placed on static display pending overhaul, most recently at the Ribble Steam Railway. L&YR No. 68 (LMS No. 11218, BR No. 51218), built in 1901, was purchased directly from British Rail in 1964 and moved to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railwayin January 1965. The locomotive was re-tubed in 1974 and took part in the Stockton & Darlington Railway cavalcade that year. The locomotive was overhauled again in 1997 and continued in service, albeit mostly as a shunting locomotive due to its low power, until its boiler was condemned in 2006. The locomotive, which has carried its original identity of L&YR 68 since 2004, is now in storage at Haworth on the K&WVR pending overhaul following completion of 0-6-0ST No. 752.

Several models of the 'Pug' have been produced commercially.

The first was a 'OO'-scale polystyrene kit made in the 1960s by Kitmaster, the moulds for which were subsequently sold toAirfix then passed on to Dapol, which still manufactures the former Airfix plastic kit range. This kit has often been used as the basis for a narrow-gauge 'pug bash' locomotive running on 00-9 tracks.

A ready-to-run OO model was produced initially by Airfix then Dapol and finally Hornby where the Pug was produced until 2000. The Pug was reintroduced to Hornby's range in 2010 (R2927) in early British Railways Livery.

Larger scale models are available from a number of suppliers including Tower Models of Blackpool.

Many thanks to Wikipedia for the above notes and the last picture, the top four pictures are as ever my own.

Llangollen Railway more of my visit GWR 5952 Cogan Hall and 2859

The stations are beautifully preserved

Engines awaiting restoration include below

GWR Hall Cogan Hall No 5952

GWR Hall Class 5952 Cogan Hall was built at Swindon in December 1935. As a mixed traffic engine it handled both passenger duties and freight duties. Its first shed allocation was the Penzance depot in Cornwall. In August 1950 it moved to Old Oak Common. During this time it was fitted with a three row superheater. In March 1959 it moved again to the Worcester depot. Its last shed allocation was to Cardiff East Dock before it was withdrawn from duties in June 1964.

The engine ended up at Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, South Wales, and thus survived into preservation unlike some of its other class mates. Purchased by a private individual, 5952 Cogan Hall was the 136th departure from Barry in September 1981. It is one of only 11 of its class that survived into preservation.

Stored at the Cambrian Railways Trust, the intention was to restore it at their Oswestry site. However, in 2010 it was sold to the Betton Grange Society, who intend to use its bogie and tender for the new-build loco. In the long term, the Society hopes to restore the engine at its new home on the Llangollen Railway.

Many thanks Wikipedia for the above notes

2859 and 5532 were bought from Barry in 1987 by the GWR loco group, who are undertaking their restorations. At present 5532 is the focus of attention, and resides in Llangollen shed; for the future the group has bought many thousand pounds' worth of parts for 2859 including complete sets of rods, back head cab fittings and so on. I believe this engine is now up for sale as the group cannot find funding to restore it. 

Many tanks Llangollen Railway for the above notes

GWR 2800 class 2-8-0 2859 was resident at Cardiff

East Dock 88A

 2859 was the last loco overhauled at the GWR 

works at Stafford Road in Wolverhampton. That 

should mean that under all the rust it is in not too

 bad a condition

Many thanks to the sources mentioned above. The pictures as always are my own

Pickering station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway

A delightful station, especially at this time of year

The train services to Whitby are quire regular and 

more so to Grosmont

Both steam and diesel services at this time of year

North Yorkshire Moors Railway Class 37 diesel

Diesel services that day were in the hands of 

class 37 No 264

They are a bit smoky in the confines of the train 

shed, they have to close the buffet service window

coz of the smoke.

Still it was progress and for many it still holds

nostalgic memories

The British Rail Class 37 is a diesel-electric locomotive. Also known as the English Electric Type 3, the Class was ordered as part of the British Rail modernisation plan.

Many thanks Wikipedia

Much as we all remember with a rake 

of BR blue coaches

North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Pickering BR std class 4 75029

Had a trip up to the Moors on Wednesday

Class 4 75029 was in charge of steam services

'The Green Knight'

Llangollen railway

One of the most photographed stations in the UK

 

 

In the most beautiful of settings right alongside the

river Dee

 

It now has a run of some ten miles

 

 

 

Llangollen was already a popular place for tourists by the 1840s. Travel up to this point had been by horse-drawn carriage, but by the 1840s the Shrewsbury to Chester line had been completed, allowing passengers to alight at Llangollen Road (later known as Whitehurst Halt), and then take a coach towards Holyhead.
However, the commercial development of the local mining industry meant that the development of a railway became essential to the region's economic development. A number of schemes were proposed, including one by the LNWR, but it was not until 1 August 1859 that scheme engineered by Henry Robertson received Royal Assent. The 5.25 miles (8.4 km) Vale of Llangollen Railway left the Shrewsbury to Chester main line 0.5 miles (0.8 km) south of Ruabon, and proceeded as a single track line on a double track route via Acrefair to the new station at Llangollen. The line opened to freight on 1 December 1861, and to passengers on 2 June 1862 at a temporary terminus on the town's eastern outskirts.
The extension to Corwen was undertaken by the associated but separate Llangollen and Corwen Railway company, and involved constructing a long tunnel under the Berwyn Mountains. It, together with the new centrally positioned and larger station in Llangollen, opened for service on 1 May 1865.

 

Thankfully nature as always reclaims the industrial

intrusion of man

 

Berwin Station is set in a very lovely part of the

Vale of Llangollen

 

The Station is maintained by volunteers and is open

at Weekends

 

The River Dee flows rapidly through and it has

become a centre for canoeing.

 

Berwyn originally referred to the Berwyn range of mountains in northeast Wales:
Cadair Berwyn or Cader Berwyn is a mountain summit in north east Wales
Cadair Berwyn North Top or Cadair Berwyn (Old Top) is a top of Cadair Berwyn in north east Wales.

Carrog Station was the old terminus of the preserved

railway.

 

 

As with all the stations it is set in some superb

rural North Wales countryside

 

No longer the terminus as the railway was extended

to Corwen in 2014

 

5199 waits to depart for Llangollen

 

Carrog is a village in Denbighshire, Wales. Formerly referred to as Llansanffraid-Glyn Dyfrdwy, as it lies within the parish of Llansanffraid Glyndyfrdwy, it takes its modern name from the Great Western Railway station on the opposite bank of the River Dee, which in turn took its name (possibly to avoid confusion with the adjacent Glyn Dyfrdwy station and that in Llansanffraid Glan Conwy from the Carrog estate on that bank.
Carrog Station is part of the Llangollen Railway and is a passing place on the line, now the extension to Corwen past the site of Bonwm has been opened. One notable resident is Peredur Lynch who graduated from Bangor University to become a literary historian. Carrog has one primary school, Ysgol Carrog which is over 100 years old.

 

The lines new terminus at Corwen

 

Many thanks to the Llangollen railway for the last

two pictures. All other pictures are my own. many thanks

to Wikipedia for the text on the history of the line

 

Go to the Llangollen line at http://www.llangollen-railway.co.uk/