Sunday, 7th April 2019
No. 72 on an 'Up' train pauses at Darley Dale on 25th March 2018.
The popular 'Austerity' 0-6-0 saddle tank No.72 which had worked the services during 2018, usually top-and-tailed with a main-line diesel (D8 'Penyghent'), had been retained as the steam motive power in 2019. In the morning, Mike S. was fireman with C. Ward taking over in the afternoon. Colin D. was cleaner all day and it was a merry footplate.
In the morning, Mike and I came off-shed at 08:30, in order to collect our driving experience candidate from Rowsley Station at 08:45, giving him two hours on the footplate. This time was divided between familiarisation with the locomotive and its controls, driving between Rowsley and the Up Home signal at Church Lane, operating Rowsley South Ground Frame to allow shunting movements to the loading dock at the north end of Rowsley Yard (where our driver was met by his wife and two children) and a little practice firing.
Apart from the 'pole' reverser, which was unreasonably stiff to move following maintenance work, the engine performed well.
Easter Saturday, 20th April 2019
Once again, No. 72 was the motive power. Robin S. was fireman all day. He'd stayed 'on site' overnight and booked on very early (04:15) so we were ready to come off shed nice and early and we sat in the platform at Rowsley, waiting for our driving experience candidate who enjoyed a 1-hour experience course, followed by a footplate ride on the first service train to Matlock Town.
The weather was bright and warm and we had plenty of passengers on all the trains. When we arrived back at Rowsley after the fourth round trip, we were informed that we'd started a small lineside fire. On that return trip (when we were being 'towed' by 'Penyghent') I'd seen a couple of people standing on the public footpath adjacent to the line, apparently looking at the track, but I'd spotted nothing untoward. Keen to ensure that any embers were fully extinguished, the Guard recruited help, loaded at least two five gallon drums of water into the Guard's compartment and we arranged to stop at the incident on our last trip to Matlock to ensure the fire was out. We stopped as planned and the Guard made a thorough job of dousing the area with water before completing the trip. Only a tiny burnt area was apparent and I joked to the Guard that he could have spit on on it to make it safe but, in very dry weather, lineside fires can be very serious and preserved railways may ban the use of steam locomotives during high-risk conditions. I described another lineside fire on the Battlefield Line in the post here.
Peak Rail 2019: A small lineside fire.
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The 'Austerity' 0-6-0ST locomotive.
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No. 72 - Austerity Tank.
Peak Rail 2019.
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