Robert Riddles standard class's for British Railways, Std class 4 75078

Collecting its train at Oxenhope

 

 

Departing Oxenhope with the first steam train of

the day

 

Next stop Haworth then Oakworth, Ingrow and

Keighley

 

The tea is always hot

 

Haworth Yard from a different perspective.

 

http://kwvr.co.uk/

N2 Tank engine 1744

Arriving Bury Bolton Street station

 

 

A sight which would have been common on the

Queensbury lines

 

the N2 was a development of Henry Ivatt’s very successful N1 class. The main differences were that the N2 carried a superheated boiler and was fitted with piston valves rather than slide valves to the cylinders. This latter change necessitated the boiler being raised in the frames with in consequence a shorter chimney and dome. The resultant locomotive had a less elegant but much more punchy and purposeful appearance which combined with a throaty bark gave the locomotive an impressive personality. The new class also had larger cylinders and a greater water capacity in the side tanks.

 

The N2 was designed for local passenger train work, essentially for the Kings Cross workings. It was able to lift a rake of non-vestibule stock up the gradient from the Cross with a minimum of fuss. The service was fairly intense and demanded no delay. Often the N2 hauled locals would leave their platform at the same time as an express hauled by a Pacific. The N2 would be away from a stand more sharply than the Pacific, its small wheels and less load behind the drawbar giving it an advantage. As the main line train was got under way it would catch up and run alongside, eventually leaving behind the local service as it gained speed. It could be quite an exciting event to watch from the cab of the main line locomotive or from a leading carriage in the train.

 

Many thanks to the GCR for the above notes

Bewdley station on the Severn Valley Railway

Must be one of the most photographed stations

on the preserved network

 

A lovely station faithfully restored to its GWR

days

 

The town is a lovely place to spend a while too

 

Towards Bridgenorth

 

Towards Kidderminster

GWR Manor class 'Earlestoke Manor'

Her about to leave Kidderminster town for Bridgenorth

and all intermediate stations

 

 

Once again a superb class of engine

GWR Small Prairie 4566

 Seen here at Kidderminster Town station on the

Severn Valley Railway

 

 

Undoubtedly a superb class of engine for country

and light suburban work

 

Good acceleration got them away and up to speed

between stations

 

An excellent workhorse for the rural lines in the

West Country

BR Standard class 4 4-6-0 75078 at Haworth today

Class four 75078 is readied at Haworth this morning

for the days work.

 

 

A superb engine now run in from it's recent overhaul

 

Below arriving at Oxenhope to collect its train

 

Coupled up and ready

 

The right hand side of the engine has the BR totem

however the left hand side of the tender still carries

the strange logo

 

 

Kidderminster Town station Severn Vally Railway

Kidderminster Town is operated by the Severn Valley Railway, a heritage line which runs from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth. The station was opened on 30 July 1984, was built in the Victorian style, and shares its station approach and car park with the adjacent National Rail station.

 

 

The first railway station at Kidderminster was opened by the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OW&WR) in 1854. It became an important intermediate station on the line which became part of the West Midland Railway in 1860. In turn, the WMR was absorbed intro the Great Western Railway (GWR) between 1863 and 1870.

 

The opening of the Severn Valley Railway in 1862 had no direct effect on Kidderminster because passengers wishing to use the line changed at Hartlebury.

 

The situation changed in 1878, when a "loop-line" was opened between Bewdley and Kidderminster, linking Kidderminster with the Severn Valley Line. However, despite this most trains using the line ran through Bewdley, and then the Wyre Forest line to Tenbury Wells or Woofferton.

 

Due to dwindling passenger numbers, the Severn Valley Line closed to through traffic in 1963. North of Bewdley, the line closed completely in early 1969 when Alveley colliery was shut down and freight traffic ceased. Passenger services on the Kidderminster, Bewdley and Hartlebury section clung on until 1970. The halt of traffic to Stourport power station in 1979, and Kidderminster - Foley Park sugar corporation traffic in 1982 saw the end of regular British Rail services off the main line.

 

With the exception of Country Park halt, Kidderminster is, by far, the youngest of the SVR stations. Bridgnorth to Bewdley passenger services started in 1974, and it was decided to extend the line to Kidderminster to attract more custom from what was (and still is) a bustling town close to the West Midlands conurbation. After Kidderminster goods yard became disused in 1982, the SVR purchased the line to the east of Foley Park. Sharing the British Rail station of Kidderminster was impractical, so SVR claimed a site to the west of the BR station. When the station building was constructed insufficient funds meant only two wings of the basic building could be completed. Many of the typical Victorian GWR station fixtures and fittings also had to be omitted. The station design was based on a turn of the century GWR design for Ross-on-Wye station. Since then a number of these missing features have been constructed and erected by volunteers including a cantilevered canopy in the 1880s Port Cochere style at the front of the building and the replica ornamental crestings adorning the two towers. The original iron crestings of this style are thought to have been cast by Macfarlane & Co at the Saracen Foundry, Possilpark, Glasgow. At the architect's request the replicas have been cast in aluminium to reduce the deadweight on the tower structures. To prevent corrosion due to electrolytic action all fixings to the roof structure have been electrically isolated from the aluminium castings with plastic washers etc. Examples of identical original cast iron crestings may be seen adorning Slough railway station, Wrexham General railway station and the HSBC Bank in Derby city centre.

 

The missing wing was completed in 2006, together with a canopy covering the station concourse. The design of the steelwork for this canopy has been closely based on the former GWR station at Wolverhampton Low Level.

 

In 2000, the carriage shed was constructed within the site. A fifth of a mile long, it is the UK's largest on a heritage railway with a capacity of circa 56 bogie vehicles. In the Spring of 2012, it was a filming location of the fantasy adventure movie Mariah Mundi and the Midas Box, which was scheduled for release in 2013.

 

Many thanks Wikipedia for the above notes the pictures are my own