Most preserved railways operate some sort of Christmas Service. For young people, this often includes a chance to meet Santa and receive a present, for grown-ups perhaps a mince pie accompanied by mulled wine. Railways that operate dining trains usually provide the opportunity to take a full meal on the train. The revenue that these initiatives bring in can be crucial to the finances of a railway.
MOSI
About 25 years ago when I first became a railway volunteer at what was then the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry (MMSI) but is now the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester (MOSI), we ran trains at Christmas using a DMU Trailer Car for passengers, hauled by Agecroft No. 3. The trains were discontinued when the cab-less 'Planet' replica became our only steam motive power and the semi-open 4-wheel coaches were the only passenger rolling stock.
The situation for footplate crews (if not for the passengers) improved with the commissioning of 'Agecroft No. 1' and MOSI re-introduced Christmas trains in December 2011. In 2011, I wasn't able to do any of the pre-Christmas trains, but I was driver on 29th December, described here. Operating with the two semi-open 4-wheel coaches and usually a 20-ton brake van on the rear for the guard, these trains proved popular and were repeated in December 2012.
In 2012, I was rostered a couple of times, on Saturday 8th December and Saturday 22nd December.
On the 8th December, the weather was dry, rather cold but with some sun. Dave was Fireman and his wife, Eileen, was Guard. Matthew was Operating Officer. As expected, 'Agecroft No. 1' performed well. She has been repainted in what I believe was the R.S.H. standard ex-works livery (where the customer did not specify a special livery) and looks quite handsome. Plenty of visitors braved the cold weather and took a trip by train so we were kept busy all day.
Saturday 22nd December did not go as planned. It poured with rain and was very gloomy. Once again, Dave and Eileen were Fireman and Guard but, this time, Gordon was Operating Officer. 'Agecroft No. 1' had been left on the pit on Friday night, with a warming fire in the firebox but the incessant rain had cooled the boiler down and it was about half past eleven before we'd steam. While Dave was seeing to the fire, Gordon and I performed the necessary shunt using the Battery Electric Locomotive. The 'Battery' was standing next to the two semi-open coaches in the Power Hall, so we coupled the coaches on, released the handbrakes on the coaches and made sure the coach brakes were released by kicking the brake blocks. The 'Battery' has recently received a complete new set of batteries which has given her a new lease of life. Shunting should always be carried out at low speed so it was never necessary to use more than second notch (with the two traction motors in series). We tied-down the coaches just clear of the running line so that we could close the yard gates and the electrically-operated door on the power hall. Then we 'unhooked' the 'Battery' and moved to the pit to attach 'Agecroft No. 1', by now 'brewing-up' quite nicely. We then shunted the steam locomotive to the head of its train, Dave attached the coaches and we moved the whole consist back to the pit so that I could 'oil round' and carry out the daily examination. Dave uncoupled the battery electric shunter and Gordon drove it clear.
It was still raining hard as I oiled 'Agecroft No. 1' and the term 'drowned rat' soon described my condition. It's amazing just how wet you can get oiling even a small locomotive. Going into the pit to oil the inside Stephenson's Link Motion provided something of a respite because the boiler acted as an umbrella but the pit drainage seemed to have trouble dealing with all the water so I was splashing about in a couple of inches of water. Another of my sayings is "Anybody can work on an engine in good weather - it takes a Railwayman to do it in bad weather" so I pressed on.
As the boiler pressure came up, I gently moved the train back into the platform and onto the 20-ton Brake Van stabled at the buffer stop. Dave coupled the brake van onto the coaches using the red-painted Emergency Coupling. As its name implies, this coupling is usually used when the normal coupling has failed and it is fitted between the two drawhooks and not permanently attached to either vehicle. The two 'D' links are a different length from normal couplings to allow fitting between drawhooks and this means that the Emergency Coupling may also sometimes be employed where use of the standard couplings would allow too much slack, as in this case.
Coupled up, I attempted a brake test. When conveying passengers, there must be an effective continuous brake which can be applied by both the Guard and the Driver (and applied automatically in the case of the train becoming divided). There's an earlier article describing brakes here. Admitting steam to the Ejector on the locomotive allows the regulation vacuum to be created in the Train Pipe which runs the length of the Train. Normally, a 'locomotive only' brake test should be carried out before leaving the shed, as described in another earlier article:-
The driver should also check that the vacuum ejector for the train brakes is capable of creating the correct partial vacuum (21 inches of mercury for this locomotive) and that there are no blockages in the brake pipes to the flexible hoses on the front and rear bufferbeams. If time is short, this last test is sometimes deferred until the locomotive is actually in traffic but this is not to be recommended.Sadly, on this occasion, 'Agecroft No. 1' struggled to create even 16 ins/Hg so we carried out various tests looking for leaks on the train or flexible hoses not made correctly. Then we carried out the 'locomotive only' test and checked around the Vacuum Ejector and the drain provided to release condensate from the the ejector exhaust. We carried out a 'Test Run' without passengers to see if that would provide any more information. The brakes worked correctly, as they should, with the system and brake cylinders operated at '15 inches' (it's the pressure difference between the top and bottom of the piston in the brake cylinder which operates the brake) but the braking effort is reduced when the correct vacuum is not obtained. Gordon correctly decided that we would have to cancel the planned passenger operation and so, after three hours of getting everything ready, we disposed of the engine and put everything back. As the rain was still lashing down, it was almost literally an "early bath". We'd not been able to diagnose the fault although Dave thought that the Vacuum Ejector system on the locomotive might have had some recent changes.
MOSI Photographs
There's a (very small) set of photographs here. This set is part of a larger collection of photographs of the Museum here.
Peak Rail
In 2012, I was rostered a couple of times, on the first day of Santa Trains on Sunday 2nd December and on Sunday 16th December.
Although Peak Rail's normal service trains run through to Matlock Town, the 'Santa Specials' terminate at Matlock Riverside. Including the 2-coach 'Palatine' Dining Set, they are 7-coach trains and, traditionally, they are top-and-tailed, although it is possible to work the service with one locomotive as has happened at times, for instance, where a diesel locomotive has proved difficult to start in the morning (details).
On the 2nd December, I was rostered on popular visitor 'Sapper' whilst 68013 was undergoing repairs to the combination brake valve. By the time I arrived, Derek and Colin had matters well in hand, but they explained that the heavier-than-forecast frost had caused them some problems because the locomotive had been left on the outside pit. This is the standard arrangement, to avoid having to drag the locomotive outside the shed before lighting up. However, on subsequent 'Santa' days, the motive power remained in the shed overnight and a member of staff was rostered early to move the locomotive (or locomotives) onto the outside pit with the diesel mechanical 'shed pilot'. The only problem I had was that 'Sapper' was reluctant to move when we were ready to come "off shed". I'm never sure what's most susceptible to ice build-up but a bit of judicious application of steam in both fore gear and back gear soon got us moving, allowing us to shunt across to the stock and start steam heating.
'Sapper' worked at the Matlock end of the train, facing south, with 'Penyghent' at the north end. The weather was sunny but cold and we carried out our booked working during the day without incident.
My second 'turn' was on Sunday, 16th December. '68013' was back in traffic (sporting her new brake valve), paired with 'Sapper'. Harvey and I were on '68013' at the south end of the train facing south and Roger and Rob were on 'Sapper' at the north end facing north. Every train was fully booked and the 'Palatine' was at full capacity for Christmas Lunch.
Once again, we performed the four round trips to Matlock Riverside without incident, apart from some late running because Santa had so many boys and girls to see as he worked his way through the train with his Helpers who carried the sacks of presents.
Since commencing the Jan Ford's World blog, I've written about Santa Trains each year from 2007 onwards. You can find all these posts here.
Peak Rail Photographs
There's a set of photographs Peak Rail Santa Trains 2012. This set is part of a larger collection of photographs at Peak Rail here.
[Additions 23-Dec-2012, 25-Dec-2012]
