The two little saddle tanks, ‘J.N. Derbyshire’ and ‘John Howe’ were well cared for, and with the cheek that only a 14 year old can muster, it was easy to get a cab ride.
To see some pics dating from 1969 of ‘J.N. Derbyshire’ at work, check out my album of UK Industrial Steam.
My mates and I were on the one hand devasted when the two sadlle tanks were suddenly gone, but on the other were delighted when we talked our way into driving the Hunslet diesel replacement.
When I read in ‘Steam Railway’ that both locos were now at the Ribble Steam Railway, and they were having a gala day on 13/14 September with ‘John Howe’ in steam, it was just too good to miss.
It’s ‘only’ a three hour drive from home to Preston, but hey, for a trip right down memory lane you’ve got to, haven’t you.
Shame it didn’t turn out right. The Ribble Steam Railway were having problems.
In some way a set of points had been damaged, so it wasn’t until one o’clock that trains started working down the line to the marina end. (The more photogenic end, that you can actually get to). And in some way, ‘John Howe’ was trapped outside of public view.
A sad story, and your heart goes out to the guys running the railway. But at that point they started earning ‘Peaked Cap’ awards.
No, it doesn’t matter where you’ve come from or why, you can’t see ‘John Howe’. I did eventually find a way, but on the basis they wouldn’t help I’m not saying how. And no, it didn’t need trespassing, just persistence. And lo, John Howe was parked outside their shed. Trapped by a misfortune with points? Hmmm…
So what about ‘J.N. Derbyshire’? A bit more luck there. It was parked in the Ribble Steam Railway’s museum.
I took a couple of pics, but the best angle would have been the other side. The one with the barriers.
I did ask nicely if I could move the barriers, just for a couple of minutes to get the shot, and I promise I’ll put them back, but no. ‘Peaked Cap’ award number two. Maybe my southern accent marked me out as some sort of ‘Jessie’ to these uncompromising northern types.
So what about the railway as a whole, did it impress? Well no actually, not at all.
What sort of a railway puts a large lion at the bottom of its water tower, next to the road cone? (Presumably to mark the lion out as a potential hazard?) Were lions a big feature of the dock railway when it was real? If somebody can prove to me they were, I’ll happily take back my criticism. But on the basis I think its unlikely, can you please shift the lion?
The whole impression I took away was of a bunch of guys playing trains with little regard for any of their customers.
As a gricer, it didn’t impress. If I’d taken the wife and kids, they’d have been bored witless.
Chuck in the unhelpful attitude of everybody I spoke to there (and I’m a pretty easy-going sort of guy), and it’ll be a long time before I go back.
See my album of Ribble Steam Railway.
