Into Georgia

Monday 24th September 2018

I was already up when we arrived at Ayrum around 7.00 a.m. where Armenian customs formalities would take place. Crossing international borders is a serious business and our daily briefing notes to passengers asked us to wait in our cabin while customs officials went through the train. I noticed unthreatening-looking soldiers at regular intervals on the non-platform side of the train. The actual 'Exit' stamp was applied by a friendly, polite immigration official in the doorway of my cabin, after he checked a small laptop.


Armenia Railways: The well-kept station at Ayrum.

As each coach was completed, we were invited to go to the restaurant car for breakfast. The train set off again just before eight o'clock and arrived at Sadakhio about 8.20 a.m., presumably having crossed the legal border somewhere between the two stations.

As we arrived, there were no soldiers on security duties (at least, none visible) but I noticed a Georgian railways electric locomotive on the adjacent track which I correctly guessed would replace the Armenian locomotive which had brought us from Yerevan.


Sadakhio, Georgian Railway electric locomotive 10-931 (class VL10).

Once again, we were asked to remain in our cabin until formalities were complete. A party of three officials walked through the train and the senior one checked my appearance with my passport photograph before adding the passport to a substantial pile he'd already gathered. Within 15 minutes, the senior man returned and handed me my stamped passport. I was now in Georgia which, like Armenia, does not require a visa for British passport holders.

At 09:20, as scheduled, we were on the move again on the single line which would take us to the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi. It was a little after eleven when we arrived in platform 1 of Tbilisi station. The architecture of the station is modern and functional but already in need of significant renovation because of crumbling concrete.

Within minutes, we were making our way through the busy station to the road coaches for our city tour. Although independence has brought many problems, Georgia has been successful in attracting inward investment and the city now has a number of striking new buildings. As in many countries, the capital has acted as a magnet and migration from country districts means that around half of Georgia's population now live in Tbilisi. One consequence is congestion on the city's roads and it took our coach some time to drive perhaps two kilometres from the station to the Old City from where we continued on foot.

Firstly, we visited the Metechi Church with its two separate bell towers. This dates from the 12th century and formed part of the former royal residential complex.


Tbilisi, Georgia: Inside the Metechi Church as a devotion is performed, amidst clouds of incense.

Our guide, Dimitri, then led us down the narrow streets (now lined with restaurants), calling in to see the remodelled 17th century caravanserai. I knew the term as applied to a group of travellers, often traders, negotiating the great trade routes but the term also applies to the periodic stopping places, sometimes elaborate, where travellers could be accommodated.


Tbilisi, Georgia: Restored 17th century Caravanserai.

Crossing the nearby main road proved rather hairy, then our guide led us at high speed across the river bridge and up awkward steps to the Sioni Cathedral which was started in the 7th century.


Tbilisi, Georgia: Inside Sioni Cathedral.


View of Tbilisi, Georgia, from outside Sioni Cathedral.

Crossing back over the main road, we walked to the district with a number of bathhouses using local water which contains sulphur for which, apparently, Tbilisi is famous. We saw (from outside only) one Muslim-style and a number of Turkish-style bathhouses. The Turkish baths are subterranean, with only stone domes of various sizes showing above ground, reminding me of a some of the Star Wars sets showing desert villages.


Turkish-style Sulphur Bathhouses in Tblisi, Georgia

We took lunch in the large private dining room of a nearby restaurant. Naturally, it was upstairs (this isn't a just pattern - it's a conspiracy to show up my impaired mobility). The food was Georgian style and I've decided that I'd probably survive on Armenian/Georgian food although I'm noted for my limited food preferences. After a jolly, but noisy, meal we joined our coaches on the busy main road and were driven through the seemingly perpetual traffic jam in Tbilisi to the Janashia State Museum.

The Museum was opened specially for our tour to have a viewing of the 'Golden Treasury' exhibition. Research has shown Georgia to be one of the earliest sites of human development after Africa and the discovery of a large collection of gold and silver articles of early date and astonishing sophistication forms the basis of this remarkable exhibition.


Janashia State Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia: Gold Diadem with rhomboid plaques depicting fighting animals - a recurrent theme in Eastern and Greek fine-art of the period.


Janashia State Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia: Silver vessels, including Colchian phialai, situla, Achaemenid Persian vase and ladle were found in this burial.

Our bus struggled through the traffic again to return us to our train, now moved to platform 4, allowing guests time for a brief rest before going out to dinner at a local restaurant by coach.


Tbilisi Station, with the 'Golden Eagle' train in platform 4.

The popular Georgian Restaurant at the head of a wide, sweeping staircase, was a huge room with a large number of big round tables accommodating, I should think, a few hundred diners. The meal was Georgian style with lots of items in generous proportions. The meal was accompanied by music and dance, the music played very loud and with synchronised lighting effects. There was a pianist, two male vocalists, one female vocalist (all performing modern 'standards') and an amazing troupe of Georgian dancers.


Dinner in Tbilisi: The Georgian Dancers.

After the meal and the entertainment, we made our way outside to where our coaches waited in the darkness. Once back at Tbilisi station, a walk through the brightly-lit and still fairly busy concourse led down to platform 4 and my welcome cabin on the 'Golden Eagle'.

Related posts on this website

This is one of a series of posts describing my 'Golden Eagle' Caspian Odyssey trip, starting with Travelling East.

Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report

Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Caspian Odyssey reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Caspian Odyssey reports.

My pictures

These albums include pictures of the above events:-

The 'Golden Eagle' Train from Yerevan.
Railways in Armenia.
Georgian Railway.
Tbilisi Station, Georgian Railway.
Tbilisi, Georgia.
Janashia State Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Dinner in Tbilisi, Georgia.

All my pictures taken in Georgia (except 'technical' railway pictures) are in the collection Georgia.

[Minor edits, links to pictures added 6-Oct-2018: Pictures embedded 22/23-Oct-2018]

Lake Sevan and Dilijan

Sunday 23rd September 2018

With our train standing in the platform at the derelict-looking Tsovagyugh station, breakfast was served in the two dining cars starting at 07:30, local time. Both dining cars have two clocks, one set to 'Local' time, the other to 'Moscow' time.


The 'Golden Eagle' train: One of two Restaurant Cars.

The make-up of the train depends upon the tour being operated and the loading. Up to Baku (where I left the train) the make-up was 17 vehicles:-

Generator Car
Staff Car
Coach 1 (Silver class)
Coach 2 (Gold class)
Coach 3 (Gold class - my coach)
Coach 4 (Gold class/Imperial)
Coach 5 (Gold class/Imperial)
Bar Car
Restaurant
Kitchen
Restaurant
Coach 6 (Gold class)
Coach 7 (Gold class)
Coach 8 (Silver class)
Coach 9 (Silver class)
Coach 10 (Silver class)
Staff Car

The day started dry but cool. We made our way from the train onto the single crumbling platform, giving me my first view of the locomotive which had brought us from Yerevan - a Russian-built 2-section electric.


Armenia Railways: The Russian-built 3 kV d.c. 2-section locomotive which hauled the 'Golden Eagle' from Yerevan.

The station building was a once-impressive concrete affair with a steel lattice tower topped with a steel fish. We descended to road level via steps and joined our tour buses at a large, abandoned-looking station forecourt of fractured concrete with prolific weeds and the occasional cow-pat.


Armenia Railways: Tsovagyugh station, road side.

Our buses made a short drive on a main road around the periphery of Lake Sevan (a main road with a herd of cows wandering along, foraging for reasonable grass) to a promontory called The Peninsula. Originally an island, it became connected to land after the disastrous drop in lake water level following the introduction of a large number of cascaded hydro-electric plants fed from the lake by the Soviet Union.

A tough climb to the monastic churches of Sevanavank at the peak of the peninsula followed. This involved over 200 stone steps with a handrail provided either left or right (at least, most of the way) as the path zig-zagged up the hillside. The views of the lake at the top justified the climb and there were two old churches to explore.


Lake Sevan, Armenia: View across the lake from the Churches on the Sevanavank Peninsula.


Lake Sevan, Armenia: St. Arakelots Church, Sevanavank.

I found descending not bad at all and after passing through a market of souvenir traders, I explored the lake edge where there were a number of cafes and jetties with trip boats offering 20 minute cruises. Rejoining the buses, we drove back along the road to Tsovagyugh station, pausing briefly for Golden Eagle staff to take a group photograph of their passengers at a viewpoint at the lakeside. We then made a toilet stop at a modern supermarket/café complex where we were given generous samples of fresh baked ‘thin bread’ and a sort of baguette filled with cheese. I found both delicious.

Just before Tsovagyugh, we turned off on the road which ran through rolling hills towards Dilijan. A road tunnel over one mile long emerged into a heavily wooded valley which I christened the ‘enchanted valley’. A number of passengers commented on the sudden change in scenery. Our guide, Dmitri, said that ‘jan’ was a special term of affection which he rendered as ‘heart of my soul’ suggesting that Dilijan and its setting is very dear to the Armenian people.


Dilijan, Armenia.

Our next visit was to the Haghartsin Monastery, hidden in the deeply wooded mountains reached by a steep, winding road. The buses had to park about half a mile short of the monastic complex and it transpired that we were to walk the rest of the way, walking on the road which became too difficult for large buses. I say 'transpired' because, although I'd enquired, I could get no sensible answer about the length and difficulty of the walk. Well, I set off optimistically but found the walk taxing. Fortunately, a small bus had been provided to accommodate those who didn't wish to attempt to walk and, when this caught up with me, I gratefully 'hitched a ride' the rest of the way. The group of buildings had been heavily, and I thought rather insensitively, restored and the location was rather busier with tourists than I'd expected but it was still a very worthwhile visit.


Haghartsin Monastery, Dilijan, Armenia

In the afternoon the weather turned very warm so, when we stopped for lunch at the 'Flying Ostrich' restaurant, I was happy to dine at one of the outside tables situated in the veranda area, rather than the gloom of the restaurant itself. The buses then took us to what they called the Old City of Dilijan and Old Shahamberyan Street "famous for arts and crafts". My jaundiced eyes saw a mixture of 'Disneyfied' and still semi-derelict and buildings selling tourist souvenirs.


Old Shahamberyan Street, Dilijan, Armenia

A party of 80 (including a group of about 20 from Taiwan) is uncomfortably large to manage in a small area like the Old City. We rejoined the buses and drove back to our train at Tsovagyugh station. The electric locomotive had run round the train during the day so it was clear that the train was to return the way we had come.

The train left around 17:15 and, with dinner not until 19:30, I was able to observe the journey back along the single electrified line for a while, although the design of the coaches and the double-glazed window units made it difficult to observe details of the railway (and take photographs).


Lake Sevan: Churches at Sevanavank, viewed from our train.

Soon after leaving, a tremendous rainstorm lashed the train for a while, after which a double rainbow could be seen behind the train.


The 'Golden Eagle' train: Double Rainbow viewed from our train.

The electrified branch from Dilijan trailed in on our right and the two lines continued side-by-side to Hrazdan station where we stopped at 18:30. A freight train, travelling in the same direction as our train, came to a stand on an adjacent line. On our left, I could see Hrazdan hydro-electric plant. A canal at high level delivered water to a Spillway and two huge Penstocks fed a large Generator House at the foot of the hill. The Spillway and Generator House discharged water into the Hrazdan River.


Armenia: Spillway and Penstocks of Hrazdan Hydro-electric Plant.

At 18:50, we set off again. I had dinner in the restaurant car so didn't pay particular attention as we made our stop at Masis. In any case, it was difficult to see much once it became dark. We made one more stop during the night at Gyumri but I was asleep.

The next morning, we would reach the Armenian/Georgian border.

Related posts on this website

This is one of a series of posts describing my 'Golden Eagle' Caspian Odyssey trip, starting with Travelling East.

Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report

Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Caspian Odyssey reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Caspian Odyssey reports.

My pictures

These albums include pictures of the above events:-

The 'Golden Eagle' Train from Yerevan.
Lake Sevan, Armenia.
Haghartsin Monastery, Dilijan, Armenia.
Dilijan, Armenia.
Railways in Armenia.

All my pictures taken in Armenia (except 'technical' railway pictures) are in the collection of albums Armenia.

[Minor edits, links to pictures added 6-Oct-2018: Pictures embedded 15-Oct-2018]

Around Yerevan

Saturday 22nd September 2018

After the glorious weather of Independence Day, it rained overnight and the streets were just drying out as I took breakfast with new friends in the Cucina Restaurant before checking out of the Marriott. The 80 passengers starting the Golden Eagle tour were divided between three 'Higer' luxury touring coaches and a people carrier. I was in coach 1 and we set off to visit Geogard Monastery, a medieval Christian monastery in the mountains 37km about an hour's drive from the city. We stopped at a viewpoint looking towards Mount Ararat in Turkey but poor visibility meant the view was not good. We continued to the monastery where we had a fascinating visit but too much walking on cobbles and climbing for my current mobility.


Geogard Monastery, Armenia.

We got back to the bus just as a spectacular thunderstorm started and drove to the Garni Temple site used by the Romans and later as a summer palace by the then Armenian royal family. There's an article on its complex (and sometimes disputed history on Wikipedia here. I was amazed how many tourists were there and the narrow roads delayed our arrival and still necessitated a fair walk (I think I see a pattern emerging).


The Temple of Garni, Armenia.

We were shown the making of the local 'thin bread' and invited to try the local 'snacks' made from the bread with cheeses and herbs. I enjoyed it.


The Temple of Garni, Armenia: Making 'thin bread'.

There was a very lively singing and dancing demonstration from a group of men and women in traditional dress. I usually dismiss this sort of thing as 'touristy' but they performed with such gusto that I enjoyed it, even when I became one of the guests co-opted into a simple 'ring' dance.


The Temple of Garni, Armenia: Traditional singing at dancing.

We drove back to Yerevan, catching up with the storm again. In the city, the drains were not able to handle the water and there was some flooding on the roads. We stopped at 'Tavern Yerevan', a large restaurant for an Armenian-style lunch. The thin bread and cheeses I'd tried earlier were provided and I ate a lot more, plus I sampled some of the other foods and finished off a wonderful fish fillet, perfectly cooked.


Yerevan, Lunch at 'Tavern Yerevan'.

Our coaches then took us to Armenia's Memorial and Museum of Genocide, commemorating the 'ethnic cleansing' of many Armenian people by the Turks in the first World War. Armenia's claims are not accepted by all countries but the evidence very professionally presented in the displays and outlined by the museum's lady guide seemed compelling. I must find out more and regret that my British education failed to alert me to this suffering, which has resulted in an Armenian Diaspora with far more Armenians around the world (at least 7 millions) than in Armenia (estimated at perhaps 2 millions). It was a harrowing but instructive visit.


The Memorial and Eternal Flame, Museum of Genocide, Yerevan, Armenia:

The museum was located on one of the tall hills around the centre of Yerevan, giving wonderful views over this interesting city and rather better views of the omnipresent Mount Ararat than we'd obtained earlier.


Mount Ararat in Turkey as seen from Yerevan in Armenia

Our last visit was to the Cascade Giant Stairway, a curious landmark turned museum started by the Russians and continued by an Armenian donor after Independence as a museum of modern art but still incomplete through lack of funding. A very odd place which fascinated me, even with the various fountains not working but still offering different vistas of Yerevan at each level.


Cascade Giant Stairway

Finally, we drove through the darkening streets to Yerevan railway station where we joined our 17-coach train.


Boarding the 'Golden Eagle' at Yerevan Station, Armenia: The triumphal Soviet architectural style of Yerevan station.

Almost immediately, an excellent dinner was served on board. The programme called for our train to depart around 2.00 a.m. Sunday for the journey to Tsovagyugh in Armenia and, after breakfast on the train there, we were to spend the day exploring Lake Sevan and Dilijan by coach, returning to the train at 5.15 p.m.

Related posts on this website

This is one of a series of posts describing my 'Golden Eagle' Caspian Odyssey trip, starting with Travelling East.

Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report.

Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Caspian Odyssey reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Caspian Odyssey reports.

My albums of pictures

Marriott Armenia, Yerevan.
Geogard Monastery, Armenia.
The Temple of Garni, Armenia.
Yerevan, Armenia.
Museum of Genocide, Yerevan, Armenia.
Cascade Giant Stairway, Yerevan, Armenia.
The 'Golden Eagle' Train from Yerevan.

All my pictures in Armenia can be found in the collection of albums Armenia.

[Minor changes, picture and picture links added: 3-Oct-2018]

Independence Day

Friday 21st September 2018

A circular from the Marriott in my room had advised that Republic Square and the adjacent streets would be closed on the 21st but didn't explain why. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Armenia held a referendum on 21st September 1991 and proclaimed its independence. There's a Wikipedia article here. So Friday 21st September 2018 was the 27th Independence Day and a National Holiday. 'Golden Eagle' had arranged a separate buffet breakfast for their group in the hotel's Cucina Restaurant. This was available from 6.30 a.m. and, although I didn't present myself until after seven, I'd finished before anyone else arrived.

The view of the square from the restaurant revealed that there were going to be some sort of festivities so after my meal I wandered round the square. It was quiet with a few pedestrians and smokers, plus a small group of presumably stray dogs. However, there were dozens of uniformed police and police cars with not much to do.


Yerevan, Armenia: Republic Square at 7.25 a.m. on Independence Day.

It was clear that music was going to form part of the show: there was some pretty serious loudspeaker equipment around (the flight cases they were transported in were marked 'PAL Line Array Bull Series Model 2D' which I think is equipment of Chinese origin).


Yerevan, Armenia: Some of the sound equipment in Republic Square.

There were a number of the portable stages as used at pop festivals and for a short while I watched one of these being erected.


Yerevan, Armenia: Stage being erected in the street for Independence Day.

It was eerily quiet with no through traffic. I assume on a normal day the area would teem with traffic. Certainly the wide roads with multiple lane markings suggested that. But, on this day, all was peaceful (until the audio engineers started doing sound checks). It all seemed very leisurely - some of the craft, food and drink stallholders were only just starting to set up their offerings. It was hard to believe that the event was happening today. I decided to go back to my nearby hotel, work on the computer or rest and return to the square later.

I was back in the square just after noon and the situation was transformed, now thronged with people (mainly Armenian as far as I could tell) enjoying the holiday, the 28 degree Celsius weather and the loud 'pop' music playing.


Yerevan, Armenia: Independendence Day 2018

So many scenes caught my attention: a large area of road surface had been given over to children and areas had been roughed out to allow chalk artistry to be practised. This was usually of a generally patriotic nature using the national flag (or its colours).


Yerevan, Armenia: Childrens' artwork, Independendence Day 2018

I was charmed by the rapt attention of the children and the obvious pride of the watching parents. At this moment, one of the ambulances stationed on standby found it necessary to slowly drive out of the square, over the artworks but nobody seemed to mind too much. The energy of the various young dancers appearing on the one stage to upbeat music also impressed me. After a short 'set', another group would take over or, sometimes, a single female singer. That stage always commanded a large, but varying, audience. There were other attractions, not least the food and drink stalls. Young artists were displaying paintings, presumably for sale. A large figure of a giant, manipulated by three people, posed for pictures with children, taken by friends and parents with the inevitable Smartphone. Some of the craft traders' stalls had demonstrators in what I assume is traditional ethnic dress. One stall demonstrated hand corn milling and the preparation of wool by a variant of 'carding'. Another stall showed spinning and weaving on a simple weaving frame.

I'll try to expand on this later but tomorrow morning we check-out and, after a day sight-seeing locally, board our private train. I'm not sure when I'll have internet access again so I may go silent.

Related posts on this website

This is one of a series of posts describing my 'Golden Eagle' Caspian Odyssey trip, starting with Travelling East.

Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Caspian Odyssey reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Caspian Odyssey reports.

My albums of pictures

Yerevan, Armenia.
Marriott Armenia, Yerevan

All my pictures in Armenia can be found in the collection of albums Armenia.

[Minor changes, pictures added: 3-Oct-2018]

Arriving in Yerevan

Thursday 20th September 2018 (continued)

The clock went forward an hour between Birmingham and Paris. It went forward two more hours between Paris and Yerevan so, by the time we arrived, it was dark. We were late away from Paris (more delays loading cargo containers and surface water on the normal runway meant a long taxi to an alternative runway, giving us a view of a preserved Concorde elevated on three slim columns as if in flight).


Preserved Concorde on static display, Paris CDG.

Again, a very basic A320 was in use with 3+3 seating. Moveable curtains define a variable Business Class cabin at the front. As a concession to business class passengers, the middle seat in each group of three was left empty. I was quite surprised to find not even audio channels were provided so I read the latest 'Private Eye' thoroughly. We did get a tray meal with a choice of two main courses during the four hour plus flight. Once again, the cabin staff were friendly enough. Although the Captain said he'd try to make up some time en-route, we were still late into Yerevan.

In contrast to Paris, the elderly terminal building at Yerevan was fairly basic and looked Russian-built. But we did enter the terminal through one of two air bridges I'd seen as we arrived, as departing passengers were shuffling down the other air bridge to an Aeroflot aircraft. My one checked bag arrived fairly promptly and with a British/EU passport no visa is required. Our arrival seemed to be the only flight troubling Immigration so I was quickly admitted to the country and passed through the green Customs channel. The arrivals hall was quite busy but after a short search I located the 'Golden Eagle' lady guide. She'd already collected the rest of her 'charges' so we immediately walked out of the building to a large people carrier which drove us into the city.

The impression of the buildings and infrastructure I gained as we sped through the fairly well-illuminated streets suggested Armenia's recent history as a Soviet Republic. The shops and commercial buildings were liberally decorated with illuminated signs - about half in English, the other half in characters I didn't recognise which I assumed, and later confirmed, to be Armenian. We arrived at a large square with a number of imposing, fairly grand flood-lit buildings - Republic Square with Government House, Museums and the Marriott Hotel which was to be my temporary home for two days.


Marriott Armenia Hotel, Yerevan

Related posts on this website

This is one of a series of posts describing my 'Golden Eagle' Caspian Odyssey trip, starting with Travelling East. Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Caspian Odyssey reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Caspian Odyssey reports.

My albums of pictures

Paris: Charles de Gaulle Airport (this and earlier trips).
Yerevan, Armenia.
Marriott Armenia, Yerevan

All my pictures in Armenia can be found in the collection of albums Armenia.

[Minor changes, pictures added: 3-Oct-2018]

Travelling East

Another journey starts but this time not to the far East but to the historic area to the east of Turkey which was formerly part of the U.S.S.R. but, with the demise of the Soviet Union, has fragmented into a number of counties.

Thursday 20th September 2018

The alarm was set for 4 a.m. and the car picked me up just after five. It was dark and raining fairly heavily. We took the M6 Toll road to Birmingham Airport which I find I like like less each time I use it. Air France were to take me first to Paris on the AF1165. Well, I arrived in plenty of time but it was apparently still rather early because there was only one Air France check-in desk manned. After about twenty minutes, two more desks opened and then I was quickly and politely checked in. At least the Security area was not busy and I was processed without delay and without the usual irritation that the staff often display. I waited in the re-vamped 'Aspire' Lounge which Air France use - certainly an improvement on the former one. I watched an Air France A320 taxi in and correctly decided that it was my flight but arriving late so my departure would be late.

We were about 20 minutes late taking off partly because there were lots of cargo containers to be loaded.


Cargo loading in the rain, Birmingham Airport: the view from seat 1F.

The aircraft was a little 'tired' but the cabin staff were friendly and the flight just gave them time to serve a pleasant continental breakfast before we started our descent to Paris.

CDG airport (Charles de Gaulle) didn't seem particularly welcoming but (more by luck than good judgement) I managed to transit to the 'K' gates (involving a Siemens driverless train) and find the Air France lounge from where I'm posting this introduction. Now, I'm off to gate K22 for the AF1060 to Yerevan in Armenia.

Sorry if I sound crochety. Air travel seems to get harder.

Related posts on this website

This is the first of a series of posts describing my 'Golden Eagle' Caspian Odyssey trip. Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report.
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Caspian Odyssey reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Caspian Odyssey reports.

My pictures

Birmingham Airport (this and earlier trips).
Paris: Charles de Gaulle Airport (this and earlier trips).

Preparing 5542 (part 1)

Fig 1: 5542 ready for action on 9-Dec-2017.

The (reproduction) cap badge on my locomens' greasetop reads 'LMS' which I always thought of as my 'spiritual home' (although I was only five when the LMS was absorbed into British Railways on 1st January 1948). However, my period as a volunteer at the then Birmingham Railway Museum at Tyseley gave me an abiding respect for the design of the locomotives of the Great Western Railway and, in particular, for the influence of George Jackson Churchward who was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the GWR from 1902 to 1922.

So, when I set about 'oiling round' on 'Light Prairie' 5542 at Shackerstone shed on 18th August 2018 I was reminded of Churchward's legacy in producing a range of standard locomotive designs which served the Great Western so well. Churchward was ruthless in his pursuit of reliability and efficiency and the sound detail engineering for which the Swindon Works of the Great Western became famous was immediately obvious. However, Churchward was not noted for his aesthetic sense and some of the stylistic features now admired by enthusiasts were due to members of his design team.

On most preserved railways, it is the responsibility of the fireman to perform a series of checks on the boiler before 'lighting-up'. A 'warming fire' had been left in the firebox overnight and, by the time I arrived, the fireman, Jamie, had the boiler just starting to make steam. I made my own check that the single gauge glass (embraced in its plate glass protector to protect enginemen from flying glass should the gauge glass shatter) indicated a safe level of boiler water. Most locomotives have duplicated gauge glasses but the Great Western managed with one, plus 'try cocks' as an alternative method of testing boiler water level. Swindon justified this economy by the rigorous training they gave fireman in the replacement of a failed glass tube in minutes.


Fig 2: 5542: single Gauge Glass with Protector Note the two Try Cocks on the right of the gauge glass.

I also carried out the essential safety checks - Locomotive in mid-gear, handbrake hard on, regulator fully closed and cylinder drain cocks open. It's also usual to set wooden wheel scotches in front and behind the driving wheel on one side and display a 'Not to be Moved' board in order to prevent any movement until all staff are confirmed out of harm's way.

Sight Feed Lubricator

Moving parts in contact with steam (such as the valves, pistons and regulator valve) require lubrication with a special, compound mineral oil, formulated to retain its properties at high temperature. The sight feed on 5542 is described in a post here (use the back button to return here).

I briefly described oiling 5542 in the earlier post On the Footplate but decided to go into a little more detail this time.

Layout of Valve Gear

The 2-cylinder 'Standard' designs of the Great Western with outside cylinders all feature Stephenson Link motion with four eccentrics mounted on the driving axle between the frames to provide the necessary valve events. With inside cylinder designs, the valves are usually between the frames and can be readily driven from the expansion links via the dieblocks and valve rods. However, where outside cylinders and valves are required, a means must be provided to translate the movement of the dieblocks from inside the frames to outside the frames. Swindon devised a typically rugged arrangement using rocking shafts which is illustrated below.

Click on the above diagram to enlarge.
Fig 3: Layout of valve gear.

The drawing above shows a tender engine: in the tank engine variant some of the proportions are altered and there's no valve spindle crosshead. The dieblock is attached to an Intermediate Valve Rod, the lower end of which is supported by a swing link. The upper end of the intermediate Valve Rod is attached to the inner of two valve arms attached to the rocking shaft mounted on the framing. The upper end of the intermediate valve rod describes an arc when driving the rocking shaft, necessitating the swing link at the lower end to accommodate this non-linear movement. The outer valve arm also describes an arc, requiring a short valve link connected to the valve spindle to accommodate the non-linear movement.

I usually start my oiling by dealing with any outside motion accessible by walking round at ground level before moving on to less-accessible parts of the locomotive. 5524 has a box for oil bottles and oil feeders mounted underneath the cab just behind the cab footsteps on the driver's (right) side of the locomotive so, having located a suitable feeder and, if necessary, topped it up from the oil bottle of Motion Oil I usually start at the trailing crankpin on the right side and then work around the engine anti-clockwise. It doesn't matter what order oiling points are attended to but some sort of routine is necessary to ensure none are overlooked.


Fig 4: 5524 has a box for oil bottles and oil feeders mounted underneath the cab just behind the cab footsteps on the driver's (right) side of the locomotive.

Coupling rods have a bearing which embraces the crankpin protruding from the coupled wheel. The bearing/crankpin interface is lubricated via a delivery tube by a plug trimming set in the base of a rectangular oil box forming an integral part of the coupling rod. A large cork which prevents ingress of water and dirt is removed to add oil to the reservoir and the check or replace the trimming as necessary.

Moving forward to the right hand driving wheel, matters are more involved. In addition to the crankpin bearing on the leading coupling rod, a rearward extension connects to the trailing coupling rod via the gradient pin. The fluted connecting rod terminates in the massive big end bearing. The sheer size of the crankpin with its broad bearing area and the careful design of the arrangements immediately gives a driver confidence.


Fig 5: 5542: Right driving crankpin. Leading coupling rod has the bearing for the crankpin and a rearward extension connects to the trailing coupling rod via the gradient pin. The fluted connecting rod terminates in the massive big end bearing.

The oil box at the leading end of the front right coupling rod is frequently hidden by the connecting rod, crosshead or slide bars, depending upon the 'angle' the driving crankpin has stopped at.

The front end of the fluted right connecting rod is provided with a generous oil box (closed with a cork) to provide lubrication to the pivoting joint with the gudgeon pin which secures the connecting rod to the crosshead. However, if the big end of the connecting rod has stopped above the piston centreline, the space above this oilbox is reduced and dealing with this oiling point may have to be deferred.

The crosshead itself slides between two substantial machined slidebars attached between the cylinder block casting at the front and the massive motion bracket positioned rearwards about 2/3 along the slide bars. On the right of 5542, the lower slide bar is lubricated from an oilbox formed into the bottom of the cross head so, if the big end of the connecting rod has stopped below the piston centreline, the space above the crosshead oilbox is reduced and dealing with this oiling point may have to be deferred. The right upper slide bar on 5542 is lubricated from two cast oil pots with tail trimmings attached to the upper face of the slidebar one to the rear of the motion bracket (visible in Fig 6) and one ahead (seen on the left in Fig 7). Both these oil pots deliver oil through oilways to the lower face of the upper slidebar.

The right crosshead is provided with four hex-head bolts (visible in Fig 6 and Fig 8) which attach a drive bracket behind the slide bars for the vacuum pump so that, when the locomotive is in moving, the motion of the crosshead also drives the piston of the vacuum pump. The black-painted vacuum pump body is visible top left in Fig 6 with its piston extending forward and connected to the drive bracket. Fig 8 gives a better view of the vacuum pump drive bracket and its connection to the vacuum pump piston.


Fig 6: 5542: Right Crosshead near back dead centre.

A further complication in this area is the small oil box closed with a cork to provide lubrication to the connection at the bottom of the right outer valve arm to the rear of the short valve link and a similar oil box formed into the front of the short valve link where it connects to the right valve spindle. This is shown in Fig 7 and, again, in Fig 8 with the engine stopped in a different position.

Finally, Fig 7 also shows a second oil pot mounted on top of the right upper slide bar. In common with some patterns of oil pot, this example is closed by a tabbed flat steel cover, secured by a single screw allowing the cover to rotate so that oil can be added and the tail trimming checked. This oil box delivers oil via a vertical copper pipe to lubricate the right piston rod just to the rear of the piston gland.


Fig 7: 5542: Front of Upper Slidebar on Right Side, with the Right Crosshead near back dead centre, showing two Oil Pots. At the top, is the outer valve arm of the rocking shaft connected via the short valve link to the valve rod.

For comparison with Fig 6, Fig 8 shows the appearance of the motion when the right crosshead is near front dead centre.


Fig 8: 5542: Right Crosshead near front dead centre, showing drive to the piston of the vacuum pump.

Now we move round the front of the engine to the left side of the engine, remembering to bring the oil feeder, oil bottle (allowing the feeder to be replenished as necessary) and all-important 'wiper' (a rag to remove any surplus oil). Completing the oiling of the outside motion on the left is largely a repetition of the process on the right but this time working from front to back. Because the motion on the left side is a quarter of a turn behind the right, oiling points which were readily accessible on the right may be hard or impossible to reach on the left (or vice-versa) so the driver must keep a careful note of any oiling which has been deferred until the locomotive can be moved.

Fig 9 below shows the left crosshead on 5542. There is no vacuum pump to drive on the left of the locomotive so (on 5542 at least) the left crosshead is a different pattern. Although the left upper slidebar is drilled to mount three oilboxes (like the right), only the leading oilbox feeding the left piston rod is fitted. The upper slidebar is lubricated from an oilbox formed into the top of the crosshead and a second oil box formed into the bottom of the crosshead serves the lower slidebar. The picture shows that the oil box at the leading end of the front left coupling rod is easily accessible but the oilbox at the little end of the left connecting rod is obstructed.

The left outer valve arm and short valve link (not illustrated) also require attention.


Fig 9: Left Crosshead.

Fig 10 shows the left driving crankpin with oil reservoir on the connecting rod big end, oil reservoir on the coupling rod and oil hole in the gradient pin.


Fig 10: 5542: Left driving crankpin. Leading coupling rod has the bearing for the crankpin and a rearward extension connects to the trailing coupling rod via the gradient pin. The fluted connecting rod terminates in the big end bearing.

I've included a picture of a sister engine (4588) with connecting rods removed to show the size of driving crankpin necessary to transmit the power of each cylinder to the three associated coupled wheels. Removal of connecting rods was usually done where a 'dead' engine had to be taken a long distance. Each crosshead was wedged in a suitable position during the journey so that the pistons, piston rod and crosshead did not move and thus didn't require oiling.


Fig 11: 4588 showing left driving crankpin with connecting rod removed pictured whilst in store at Peak Rail.

Once the oil reservoir on the rear of the left trailing coupling rod is done, that's the easy oiling finished. In the the conclusion of this article here I describe attending to the inside motion by descending into the pit underneath the engine and clambering up underneath the boiler and other necessary oiling.

Related posts on this website

Preparing 5542 (part 2).
To see all my posts about the Battlefield Line, select Label 'Battlefield Line' or click here.

My photograph albums

Where necessary, clicking on an image above will display an 'uncropped' view or, alternately, pictures may be selected, viewed or downloaded, in various sizes, from the albums listed:-

5542 GWR Locomotive
Battlefield Line, 2017-2018
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[Link to part 2 added 6-Aug-2019]

Battlefield Line 'Family Fun Weekend'

Saturday, 25th August 2018 was the start of the August Bank Holiday Weekend and the Battlefield Line were offering a 'Family Fun Weekend'. The publicity proclaimed:-

Fun for all the family at Market Bosworth Station Goods Yard. Come along and see;

Splat the rat
Plinko
Hook a duck
Ring toss
Bucket toss
Buzz wire
Ten pin bowling
Basket ball
Boxing
Inflatables
Temporary tattoos
Face painting
Story telling.

Win tickets to collect prizes. Trains running between Shackerstone, Market Bosworth and Shenton all weekend. Get on at Shackerstone or Shenton and receive free entry into the event at Market Bosworth.

Events of Saturday, 25th August 2018

I was asked to drive 5542 on the Saturday and was pleased when a text arrived saying that Tracy Tye was firing. I arrived at 7.00 a.m. and found 5542 in the shed with the remains of a warming fire still glowing red and almost 20 pounds on the clock. Tracy arrived just after me so we had almost four hours before the first service. A previous mechanical failure had put the back damper out of service until repairs could be carried out so we contented ourselves with using just the front damper to control 'primary air'.


5542 Firehole with Flap plate up.

I left Tracy with the fire whilst I plodded my way through the daily 'exam' and 'oiling round'. Although the '55XX' has outside cylinders, the Link Motion to drive the valves and four of the oil boxes feeding coupled axleboxes are between the frames. The picture below shows me sitting on the leading coupled axle facing backwards underneath the boiler, having climbed up from the inspection pit. I probably look happier than I felt.


Battlefield Line 2018: Oiling 5524

Oiling and 'daily exam' got a lot easier when designers started to make locomotives with two outside cylinders and outside motion (usually, not invariably, Walschaert's motion). This lesson seemed to be learned very late in the United Kingdom. I admit that many overseas countries had a more generous loading gauge than us, allowing them to use larger outside cylinders than possible here. And I agree that, within the confines of our loading gauge, very powerful locomotives may need a third or fourth cylinder to be able to generate that power (then transferring the problem to the difficulty of making a boiler which can generate enough steam to feed those cylinders without itself fouling the loading gauge). The contortions necessary to complete oiling on some locomotives certainly favour younger people yet, in the 'old days', footplatemen could be quite old before they attained the seniority and experience to be given, say, a 3-cylinder 'Royal Scot' or 4-cylinder 'Castle' to prepare. According to the Wikipedia article here, the Ancient Greeks first looked into what we now call 'Ergonomics' or 'Human Factors' but it was the American engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) who first applied the ideas to increasing the productivity of workers in the industrial age.

In the early part of the day, we had some difficulties with steaming and lost a little time. The mantra is "Get it hot and keep it hot" but that's hard to achieve on the sort of diagram we were undertaking. On a long distance express, once the engine is hot, it can be kept that way by adjusting the firing rate to match the demand for steam. The fireman may be able to set an injector fine enough to leave it running and maintain the boiler water level. But our booked timings were as below:-

Shackerstone Dep	11.00	12.15	13.45	15.00	16.15
Market Bosworth Dep	11.12	12.27	13.57	15.12	16.27
Shenton Arr	11.20	12.35	14.05	15.20	16.35
Shenton Dep	11.35	12.50	14.20	15.35	16.50
Market Bosworth Dep	11.45	13.00	14.30	15.45	17.00
Shackerstone Arr	11.55	13.10	14.40	15.55	17.10

Looking at the timings for the first trip (later trips have similar allowances), the engine uses steam for no more than about ten minutes before there's a brief stop at Market Bosworth. Then steam is consumed for less than ten minutes before arriving at Shenton. That's an oversimplification. Leaving Shackerstone, there's a succession of different 'slacks' (speed restrictions) until the top of the bank, then Line Speed (25 m.p.h.) is interrupted by a very short distance with a temporary restriction at 10 m.p.h., then there's a succession of different 'slacks' into and out of Market Bosworth before Line Speed is authorised until the run-in to Shenton where the restriction is 5 m.p.h. Of course, the same speed restrictions apply on the return journey but, with the gradients now reversed, the effect on driving method is different.

Because of the variations in allowable speed, the driver frequently adjusts the regulator (the large handle which lets steam into the cylinders from the boiler) between 'Drifting' (essentially closed but with sufficient steam to ensure adequate lubrication to the pistons and valves) and various 'Open' settings. Alternately, the driver can choose to adjusts the 'Cut-off' (altering the percentage of piston travel for which live steam is admitted to the cylinders). Cut-off is adjusted on the reverser which is a lever (or 'Pole') reverser on 5542.


5542: The Regulator Handle in the 'Drifting' position.

So the demand for steam is rapidly changing, requiring close co-operation between driver and fireman to avoid either having insufficient steam to work the train to time or too much resulting in discharge of steam from the safety valves (wasting coal, water and fireman's shovelling efforts). Although the rate of steam generation can be altered by altering the rate at which fuel is added, by control of the dampers ('primary air'), by adjustment of the firedoors ('secondary air') and by adjustment of the artificial draught using the Blower, change does not occur instantly. There's another, rather cryptic, mantra: "Driver's steam - Fireman's steam". That means, when the regulator is open, the fireman should be producing steam at a sufficient rate to keep the driver happy ("Driver's steam") but as soon as the regulator is closed or set to drifting, the steam still being produced is at the disposal of the fireman ("Fireman's steam"). This gives the fireman the chance to put on an injector, replenishing boiler water and the cooling effect tends to preventing wastage of steam from the safety valves.

There are a number of posts in this blog which discuss various aspects of the footplatemens' art. Most of these can be found in the series of articles labelled 'MIC' which are briefly listed in an index here.

On arrival at Shenton, the fireman is then preoccupied with uncoupling the locomotive, working the hand points to let 5542 from the headshunt onto the run-round and keeping a lookout as the locomotive runs the length of the run round, crosses back onto the running line and sets back onto the train.


Battlefield Line: Family Fun Weekend August 2018: Tracy uncoupling 5542 from our train.

Finally, the fireman has to couple the locomotive back onto the train. Just 15 minutes is allowed for all these activities, for which I've given only a simplified outline. I've not fully described what's involved in uncoupling and coupling, with heavy screw couplings to manipulate off and onto drawhooks, vacuum hoses to be wrestled apart and connected-up and, in the steam heating season, steam heating hoses to be dealt with. There's a more detailed description of attaching a locomotive to passenger coaches in the post here and more information about screw couplings in the post The Role of the Shunter (2).

On days when a third person is rostered on the footplate (usually a Cleaner gaining practical experience), the workload can be shared but, on the day being described, there was only Tracy and the writer on the footplate: all other available 'bodies' were at Market Bosworth helping with the 'Family Fun Weekend'.

Each time the train returns to Shackerstone, the workload is even worse. Once again, the fireman is preoccupied with uncoupling the locomotive, working the hand points to let 5542 cross to the other platform road and keeping a lookout as the locomotive runs through the station and crosses onto the running line and then sets back towards it train. But, before attaching to the train for the next run, the locomotive water supply is normally replenished at the water column just south of platform 2, as described in the section 'Water Supply' in the post 5542 at the Battlefield Line.


Battlefield Line: Family Fun Weekend August 2018: Watering at Shackerstone. The safety valves are 'sizzling' in traditional Great Western fashion.

Twenty minutes are generally allowed for running round and taking water at Shackerstone. However, in a timetable innovation introduced, I think, this year in between the second and third trains, there's a luxurious 35 minutes allowed for running round and watering, which gave us a chance to depart 'Right Time'.

The fireman is always trying to anticipate the effect of adding fuel because, as stated above, changes in the rate of steam generation do not occur instantly. This is particularly the case when using coals with low volatile content, like the opencast 'Welsh' we were using (which I talked about in the section 'Coal Supply' in the post 5542 at the Battlefield Line).

Both Tracey and I quickly became dirty from the coal dust flying around, although Tracy frequently used the coal watering hose ('pep pipe') in an attempt to lay the dust. One elderly group at Shenton seated outside the Buffet burst out laughing at my appearance - I certainly did look like a refugee from the 'Black and White Minstrels'. A couple of lady passengers at Shackerstone commented (favourably) that we were fielding an all-lady crew. One man, noting the difference in our ages, asked if we were Mother and Daughter. Any parent would be proud to have the independent and determined Tracy as a daughter but I admitted that we were not related.

The weather was hot all day apart from two short, sharp periods of rain. We were gratified at the number of passengers, and we were frequently delayed at Market Bosworth, the base for the entertainments, because of the number of passengers joining and leaving the train. Dave N. was the train Guard and his help in changing the loco lamps at each end of the line and taking water at Shackerstone was particularly welcome.


Battlefield Line: Family Fun Weekend August 2018. The Guard, Dave N. assisting with taking water.

Tracy and I completed our shift tired, dirty but pleased the day had been a commercial success. The following day (Sunday) suffered indifferent weather, depressing visitor numbers, but on Bank Holiday Monday, the weather improved and large numbers of visitors arrived to complete an excellent event.

Related posts on this website

To see all my posts about the Battlefield Line, select Label 'Battlefield Line' or click here.

My photograph albums

Where necessary, clicking on an image above will display an 'uncropped' view or, alternately, pictures may be selected, viewed or downloaded, in various sizes, from the albums listed:-

5542 GWR Locomotive
Battlefield Line, 2017-2018
All my Battlefield Line albums