Turn 33 - Third Man on the 4MT

I've had a short break from the railway - well, about 9 days for my wife's birthday. Today is a Friday, and it's pouring with rain and we have gale force winds of about 60 mph. I'm on shed with Fitter Bob at 05:45 and we are going to prep the Standard 4MT for a green service of four round trips and a fish & chip train, shared between two crews.

I'm delighted to have my first Third Man turn for several months following the COVID-19 lockdown, and my first duty is to light up and raise steam. Of course, this starts with the safety checks and a firebox inspection during which I drop yesterdays fire in the pan. This is followed by the smokebox, and what a palaver that is. The wind is blowing from the North, and the smokebox door opens towards the south so the wind empties the box all over me and the loco - and there is loads of ash from this coal we have at the moment. I'm covered in it, much to the later amusement of the workshop staff as I take my hat off to reveal a pink forehead over a sooty face & sideburns.

Fortunately I don't have to be outside and can stay on the footplate and look after the fire. I light up from the front as usual and all is going well as Fireman Joe arrives. Joe is currently engaged in driver training.

It's still pouring.

With the fire lit I use the yard hose to put some water in the tender - it is way down and we will need to do a round trip before watering at Sheringham

I feed the fire and we are at 160 psig by about 07:30 - way too early. I could have brought it on much more slowly. Learning from last week, I test the injectors as soon as I get to 160 psig, and we push back for the pit. Driver Andy has arrived, and as a professional engine driver who has worked on the NNR in his spare time since 1988, he instructs Joe to drive and me to fire for the day. Brilliant!

I suggest that we ash out, then push back for coal while I clean the pit, then we will come back on the clean pit for blowdown and this is what we do. The pan is rammed with ash and we damp it down before opening the hopper doors and dropping the ash in the pit.

Next, Fitter Bob provides a bucket & a half of coal, which I attempt to avoid spilling over the footplate with my shovel. We go back to the pit for the water sample, and blow down a whole glass. During this time I have been managing the fire, building it up and adding water to keep the pressure under control and I've already blown off a couple of times - it's the story of the day. I go and get changed - my overalls and hat are sopping wet.

It's still pouring with rain.

Anyhow, the fire is in a good place, we have plenty of water and plenty of steam, and the Signalman has arrived to let us out of the yard. I fire down to Sheringham, fairly enthusiastically since I know that we are due out again at 10:00 - we leave the platform at 09:10, a bit early, and go down for breakfast. I call the signals on the way in and drop the token with the Sheringham West signalman and we stop at platform 1. I go between to tie on.

Leaving the station on time and with full bellies, we work the train slowly out of the station limits and towards the crossing. I pick up the token again, call the crossing and go to work on the fire. Cresting Dead Man's Hill, I add some water and we gain momentum down the other side, as I fire ready for the 1 in 80 up to Weybourne. Closing in on Weybourne I realise the pressure is not really where I want to be - it's about 160 psig and on reflection, we may have had holes in the fire. I add a bit more water on the 1 in 264 through Weybourne station which doesn't help the pressure though it's still holding at 160, and we are now in the new 5 mph speed limit through Weybourne. This has been introduced to prevent further spring breakages (5 in the last two months), as the points are very worn and replacement would cost £130,000 each. There are four worn sets - two here and two at Holt.

Fireman Joe, driving, struggles to leave the 5 mph speed limit and start the 1 in 80 ascent up to Windpump Crossing - the track is very slippery. Not twigging immediately why he is going slowly, it crosses my mind that the brakes might be coming on due to low pressure - a daft idea, I can see the brake vacuum pressure is fine. Driver Andy points out a couple of places where there are holes - he told me later that the presence of very bright flames is an indication that the fire in that location is about to burn through. He also says that when holes are forming you can see particles of ash rising which is useful.

Eventually, we get up the hill & down the 1 in 214 towards Aviaries - I add some more water. The wind is picking up and progress is slowed by a fallen tree:

We stop to remove it and carry on up to Holt, which has a power cut... The Responsible Officer organises for the points to be manually wound and authorises us to pass the stop board at the end, so we run around the train.

I've become aware that the loco has been blowing off rather frequently and that the pressure comes round very fast. I'm also aware that Andy has been spotting holes in my fire which I then fill, sometimes successfully. The times that are not so successful result in more coal going in to fill the hole, which brings the fire on even more and leads to blowing off - it's hardly the little & often the text books teach, though it's down to my skill at spotting the holes and placing the coal, which is coming. It is much easier on the way down the hill, since the engine draws less and I can see the fire. It occurs to me that this trip is one of the few times (maybe the first time) I have fired the first up train of the day.

On the way down, I'm glad that I have chosen to leave my hat at Weybourne with my dirty cleaning kit. It's up to 70 mph now and the wind is blowing from the North, across the railway. I shut the cab windows.

Arriving back in Sheringham, we sit in the platform for a bit while the passengers disembark. We have an hour here - the drill is to wait in the platform for 20 minutes, run around and take on water, then reverse onto the train and wait 20 minutes to go.

I sprinkle the fire with coal to keep it going, controlling it with the doors, blower and dampers. Closing the dampers and the door will starve it of air and slow it right down.

While adding water, I need to check the injector has picked up so I go to stick my head out of the window. It's shut and I bang my head.

It's still pouring with rain.

While we are waiting, I spot a valve I had read about but had not seen - the only continuous blowdown valve on a locomotive on the railway.

The purpose of the valve is to maintain water quality by draining off contaminated water from the firebox crown sheet, just as we do on a daily basis from the foundation ring. Here's how it works:

When we are ready to depart, the Responsible Officer appears. He says "I don't know if you have realised but you are not going anywhere!". "Why" we all reply in unison, and he nods his head up the line:

A tree has fallen and blocked the line. We are obviously not going anywhere, so we settle down and I go for tea and Bakewell tart for everyone. We wait, and soon a Permanent Way chap in HiViz appears with a chain saw. The tree is 8" around, but, an hour later he has the tree chopped up and cleared.

Next, we learn that another tree has fallen at Sandy Lane, Weybourne and the power supplies to the station have been lost - the signal box is down. Unfortunately, this means the Long Section Staff that we need for Single Train on Line working is locked in the box and we have no choice but to adopt Pilotman working for the Sheringham Weybourne section and again for the Weybourne - Holt section.

Two Pilotmen are appointed and appear eventually with their paperwork and armbands to give the formal instruction to the driver, explaining the section that is to be operated and which signals can be passed at danger.

So, we set off for Weybourne around an hour late - not too bad considering.  As it is so late and we have to stop at Weybourne to pick up the Pilotman, it has been decided that the crew change will happen on the up train instead of the down train, so on arrival we meet the relief crew and leave the loco in their hands. It's not going to be much of a day for them, as they will work the remainder of the up trip to Holt, work the down trip to Sheringham and, as the remaining trains for the afternoon (and the evening Fish & Chip train) were eventually cancelled, they would take the 4MT light engine back to Sheringham and dispose. 

Quite eventful really!