Statfold Steam

Just published to Geoff's Rail Diaries - an account, with 29 photos, of the atmospheric day at the Statfold Barn Railway on Saturday, 22nd September 2007. Yes, the light was right - in the morning anyway. What a great setup - is this a preview of the railway enthusiast's heaven? Visit "Statfold Steam" and find out...

Statfold Supreme

Saturday 22nd September - another open day at the Statfold Barn Railway. And what a day! No less than eight narrow gauge steam locomotives in action - wonderful! In no particular order, there were the two ex-Java O&Ks - Pakis Baru nos. 1 and 5 (the Mallet), the repatriated Hunslet "Trangkil no. 4", Alan Civil's "Pearl 2", "Isabel" from Amerton, the Harrogate gas works Peckett, new build Hunslet "Jack Lane", and on the garden railway "Emmet". We mustn't forget a bevy of visiting traction engines, and Cockerill "Yvonne" in steam (but not moving very much!) on the standard gauge. More detail - and more photos - to come on "Geoff's Rail Diaries" (it'll take a day or two to "develop" the best of the 260 exposures I made...). In the meantime, here's a sampler:

Lizzie in Shropshire

It's perhaps a sobering thought that 6201 "Princess Elizabeth" has been hauling steam specials up and down the Welsh Marches for more than 30 years (on and off...) - especially as she was only in normal main line service for 29 years. Anyway, here she is again, on Saturday 15th September 2007, in the pleasant Shropshire countryside near Stokesay Castle.

The video clip (below) was filmed at the same time, and later as the southbound "Welsh Marches Express" headed past the former station at Condover.

BaMMOT - more pictures

More photos from the August visit to Bammot available here

Keef and Perrygrove, 1 September 2007

Just published, a photographic account (23 photos) of Saturday's visit to the Forest of Dean. Check out "Paddy and the Garratt" on "Geoff's Rail Diaries"

Paddy and the Garratt

It's 1st September 2007, and it's the annual open day at Alan Keef Ltd, near Ross-on-Wye, and a "special" day on the 15" gauge line at nearby Perrygrove.

Starring at Keef's were old friends Taffy and Peter Pan, and newcomer "Paddy", a newly-built vertical boilered loco, plus much else of interest (as always) including a fine new diesel "Flynn" for the Longleat line, and the frames of "Lydia", who is to be a new 2-6-2T for Perrygrove...



...where, after the obligatory pork-and-stuffing rolls, we went to see three locomotives in action - "Spirit of Adventure", Ursula and the 15" gauge replica of the 2' gauge K1 Garratt, making its first public appearence. The day also marked the public launch back into traffic of Heywood's Ducal saloon for the Eaton Hall Railway, by none other than Sir Arthur's grandson...


Perrygrove's Garratt



and Ursula