Peak Rail Steam & Diesel Weekend 2011

The Steam & Diesel Weekend featured two-train running, with a 6-coach passenger train and a loose-coupled demonstration freight train. The two trains passed one another at Darley Dale.

The diesel diagram was performed by D8 alternating with 37152. This weekend was the inauguration into revenue service of 0-6-0 'Austerity' class 'Lord Phil', following restoration at Statfold Barn. During the day, 'Lord Phil' and Peak Rail stalwart 68013 worked the steam diagram, either alternating, top and tailing or double heading. In addition, both steam and diesel diagrams called for the traction to swop from the passenger train to the freight, so the many photographers who'd turned up had plenty of variety during the day.

I was one of the steam drivers on Saturday 14th May. Due to a last-minute change, I was on 68013 with Dave as fireman for most of the day but we swopped to 'Lord Phil' for the last round trip. More pictures of the event.

Visit to Brewood by 'History Walks'

For a number of years, Margaret George has organised a series of popular educational walks in Staffordshire. The walk around Brewood on 8-May-2011 finished with a visit to Brewood Hall.

Whilst the 41 people on the walk enjoyed a cold drink in the Dining Room, Jan talked about the history of the Hall. Then, the party was divided into two groups. Jan took the first group on a tour of the principal rooms and the second group either explored the garden or simply relaxed. The second group were then given the tour, giving the first group the opportunity to look around the garden.

Some of the vistors had been on the previous visit to Brewood Hall by 'History Walks' which they said was eight years ago.

The weather was kind and everybody seemed to have a good time. Thanks are due to Marion and John for their assistance during the visit.

More pictures of the visit here.

Old Locomotive Committee A.G.M. 2011

My friend John Archer and I visited Liverpool on the 7th May 2011 for the 26th Annual General Meeting of the Old Locomotive Committee. Like last year's A.G.M, the meeting was held at the Liverpool Museum Store - there's a report on last year's meeting here. The 2011 AGM gave OLCO members a final chance to closely inspect 'Lion' before she is transferred to the new Liverpool Museum, later this year. There are a few pictures of the 2011 meeting here. OLCO now has its own website here. My own posts on the history of 'Lion' and OLCO's activities are here.

The preserved Liverpool Overhead coach I admired last year has already moved to the new museum, but there are no current plans for the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board shunter or 'Cecil Raikes' to go on public display so I've added more pictures to the sets I started last year.

Although steam-powered road traction doesn't really do it for me, I also took a few pictures of the preserved 'Sentinel' steam tractor which are here.

Oops!

Some of the Links to Photographs in my blog are not currently working.

Initially, this was because my pictures, which were hosted by Fotopic for a number of years, became unavailable because Fotopic stopped trading early in March 2011 and the parent company, Snappy Designs, went into voluntary liquidation. The pictures actually embedded in my blog posts continued to work because they were stored in 'Picasa'.

The servers containing the Fotopic site were purchased by a former director of Snappy Designs and there were suggestions that the pictures would become available in the future but (as you may imagine) that didn't happen.

So, the only alternative was to re-create the on-line picture archive with another host from my backups. This was a major task and there are some pictures for which I didn't find backups so they're currently regarded as lost.

Apart from the 'lost' pictures, most of the photographs have now been re-loaded on 'Flickr'. I've concentrated on making the images themselves available and many photographs either lack individual titles or the titles are still in the title page of the Set.

There are hundreds of links from the blog to the photographs, most of which should now be working again, but I'm afraid some may have been missed. But you can go to my Flickr Home Page and browse from there.

I'm sorry about the inconvenience.

[Updated 3-Aug-2011, 29-Jun-2012, 19-Aug-2016]

Midland Railway Centre, Butterley

At the beginning of May 2011, my friend Keith visited from Australia. Together, we made a visit to the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley.

In the museum section of the large locomotive shed at Swanwick Junction, we were both taken with the elderly Midland 2-4-0, number 158A. The Kirtley design was built in Derby in 1866 and spent a couple of years working Midland trains to King's Cross, before the Midland opened their own London terminal at St. Pancras. The locomotive underwent a number of rebuilds during its long life and was finally withdrawn from local passenger train service in 1947.

Midland Railway Centre in pictures.