Turn 63 - Third Man on the 4MT

Today, I am Third Man 1 on a red service, once again with additional trains and we are rostered to the BR Standard 4MT, 76084. Climbing aboard with Cleaner Mark, we have a look around and all seems well so I stand alongside Mark, who's only done a few turns, while he cleans the smokebox. 

Turning our attention to the firebox, Mark gives it a shake and drops the old fire using the rocking grate.

This reveals a hole! Chatting with Fitter Alan later in the day, it appears that someone dislodged a firebar the previous day. It's a simple matter to dive in an replace it with a new one:

Mark & I shovel a layer of coal in once that is done, and he lights up under my guidance. It's all good and we soon have a raging but smoky fire going - good thing he's opened the windows. We open the roof vents as well.

We're a bit short of water, and we later realise the tender water gauge is not working. The problem is we are stabled too far from the shed to get the yard hose in so as soon as we have some steam, by which time Mark and I have cleaned all the paint, we take the loco down to the pit and fill up on the yard water crane.

Next job - blowdowns and ash pan cleaning, which involves giving the ash a quick wash down and fitting the screen to the front. We are finished, and when we are changed Fireman Mike & Driver Andrew take us down to Sheringham for breakfast.

After the first round trip, which is all about warming the boiler up Fireman Mike asked if I would be happy to fire the next trip - Mike & I have never had a turn together before, but now he knows I'm always happy to fire the next trip, or preferably fire for the rest of the day!

As usual, I took over the fire before the next trip such that I could arrive with the fire and the boiler in my preferred condition. I took over the fire on the down trip at at Weybourne and we ran down to take on water.

I had the loco ready for the second up trip, which as usual was late and made sure that when we were ready to leave Weybourne the pressure was hovering just under the red line, controlling it with ten second burst of the injectors. The trip went OK but I was disappointed to see the pressure gauge drifting down to less than 200 psi as we crested Wind Pump, and as the injectors went on the pressure dropped further despite leaving the station on the red line. This is not unusual and reflects my normal performance at this point in the trip.

Fireman Mike was there to provide another one of those railway lightbulb moments that while rare, serve to change your whole approach to firing the loco. He said that while you are complacently thinking the loco will carry you up the hill as you have it close to blowing off under the bridge in Holt, you must realise it will burn the fuel very quickly while going up the hill - so even though it is about to blow off you must fire again as you leave the station.

On the third trip up, we were in position under Bridge 302 at Weybourne with the safety valves close to feathering when we got the green flag, so taking Fireman Mike's tip I put another round on as we moved slowly over the crossover. I fired as quickly as I could as Driver Andrew had the regulator open and I had no desire to let the temperature go down. She was steaming really well and I had the water on in good time, so that we arrived in Holt with the pressure well up and the water in the top half. While driver Andrew unhooked, I went to swap the lamps and operate the run-around permission button. On the way down the platform I ran into a group of happy passengers, pleased with the noise we had been making on the way up!

Before the down trip, we had some more visitors - Richard and his family from Leeds. They were staying at the Kelling Heath caravan park and had sought me out - Richard is an old workmate from Cameron, who comes down every couple of years.

The fourth up was equally successful, but all good things come to an end and I handed the shovel back to Mike at Weybourne on the down trip. Mike fired to dispose at Weybourne, but Inspector Nick & Driver Bryan were waiting to relieve us so they could do a track examination. We didn't have too much disposal to do.

I've used Mike's shovel once or twice - it's the same as mine, but less worn - I might have to put that 1" back on my shovel blade with the TIG welder.

Turn 62 - Third Man on the 9F

Another Wednesday, and another turn on a Red WTT - two trains steam hauled, but today there is a difference. The past few days have been rather wet, and Tuesday's service, which fortuitously saw both the Quads and the Class 37 in Sheringham at the same time had so many passengers that the railway used a free path to operate an extra train. 

Today, we have three extra DMU trains pathed between the two steam trains. Secondly, I am rostered Third Man 2, so I am expecting only three trips due to the fact that the 76084 owning group is here today and the Third Man 1 slot will be taken by their people - except that the 4MT is rostered to Train 2...

At the suggestion of Fitter Alan and Fireman Graeme contacting the RO, I transfer to Train 1, the 9F.

New cleaner Jacob and I started the prep, cleaning out the smokebox and lighting up before handing over to Driver Dave and Fireman Graeme. We set about the paintwork with oil & paraffin, until the loco was ready to go on the pit.

The pit hose is a long-suffering creature destined to spend it's life in a wet and gritty environment and put up with being knotted, thrown around, run over by trains and stuck in hot ashpans. Sometimes it bites back, and today new cleaner Jacob took an early shower whilst washing down the pan.

In another part of the yard, Wissington is getting closer to being out and about - today, she is having an in-frame steam test prior to the boiler inspector's visit on Monday.

92203 was ready to go on-time, and shines up quite well for an old girl.

The three train service required a bit of unexpected shunting at Sheringham - a single coach was sitting in the loop where the DMU would wait while the two steam hauled trains left the station. Unfortunately, the coach was blocking the loop and needed a move to allow the DMU to come in.

Fireman Graeme fired the first round trip, and I took over at Holt for the second down trip. We stopped for water while I prepared the fire for the third up trip.

At Holt, there are people everywhere. It's a busy day and we entertain a teacher and her family to a footplate tour, with some shovelling experience. This is great and one of the great pleasures of working on the railway but while we have been talking I let the fire go down too much. If you let the fire go down such that the boiler pressure falls to 160 psig, it's quite a job to get it back as you will have lost a lot of heat - that's why I try to top the fire up, especially at the back, even when arriving at the end of a run. The hole in the grate will ensure I don't raise too much pressure.

The third down trip was spent recovering from letting the fire go down too much...

The fourth trip up was good, with the fire burning fiercely as we waited at Weybourne for the 4MT to come down. I got the water on in good time, part way up the cutting, but as the injector didn't start very well it was a touch low going over the top. I left it on until Fireman Graeme, who was driving, started the ascent to Bridge 299.

As usual, the remainder of the trip was spent preparing for disposal. Running around at Sheringham I had plenty of pressure, and the water was well up; I concentrated on keeping it that way as we went up to Weybourne for the last time. I wish I had added more coal on the way up; the more senior members of the crew made discouraging noises when I went to add a smattering as we pulled in to platform 1. It sometimes takes a while to get to the yard in these situations, as you have to wait for the down train to pass through the station before you can move - and this waiting uses water and heat.

On the pit, we had the water in the top quarter and about 160-170 on the clock - sufficient to stable the loco but I would have liked a bit more in hand. No matter, everyone was happy and the boiler was full when she was stabled.

Turn 61 - Third Man on the Y14

Today, we have a slightly different turn on the usual Red timetable. There are two steam hauled trains, but we are Train 2 which means we are off-shed 30 minuted later than usual and we only do three round trips - it's a short day. Our fourth trip is replaced by the DMU, which also forms the last train of the day.

I'm on shed at 06:00 as usual, along with the whole Train 1 crew plus another cleaner. They have the WD, which is notoriously slow to get up in the morning and will absorb all their ministrations, so I am on my own to get Loco 2 prepared which today is the splendid Y14, perfect for a hot summer day.

The Y14 is easy to prepare - she has a small smokebox and firebox, and as a small loco you can get her spruced up and shiny on your own, though Driver Keith arrives just as I am pulling the driver's side water gauge apart, which is clogged again and won't drain. After fixing that by removing the drain and poking it with a bit of welding rod, I light up with the usual small piece of timber to hold the damper open just a tiny bit, for a whiff of primary air.

Driver Keith oils up, and Fireman Tony arrives as I am poking about the shed getting a hose to fill the tender water tank, which is about 18" down. The next hour is spent juggling a bucket of oil & kerosene with rags to clean the paint, with periodic inspections of the fire as we raise steam.

The Y14 likes to run between 140 & 155 psi, and blows off at 160; with about an hour & a half to go we have her around 120 and it's time to shut the damper, open the door and feed the fire very gently just to keep her warm - as she is so small, she will come around very quickly and we don't want to be blowing off in the yard - or anywhere else for that matter.

We head down to the pit, where Tony & I wash out the pan and rake out the ash. We learn that the water is off at Holt due to a burst valve - this is a bit of a problem, as the Holt water crane is the only one on the line which provides the hard water the Y14 needs...

Once changed, Keith and I take the loco out of the yard and pick Tony up in the platform. We swap roles, and Tony fires down to Sheringham for breakfast and the first round trip; 

On the way back, the signalman stops us at Weybourne. there has been an incident at Sheringham and we are instructed to shuttle the passengers up and down between Holt and weybourne while we await further instructions. Fortunately, a call to the building services department reveals the water problem at Holt has been fixed.

Tony & I work out that by the time we are back at Holt he will have done the equivalent of 1 1/2 trips and he is happy for me to take over, so I fire down to Sheringham and the third round trip. We go down gently, with Driver Keith cautioning me not to overdo it but all is well as I have messed up firing this little engine before and want to be careful with it today. I stoke it up gradually before the 'right away' in Sheringham and we get a good run at the hill, with plenty of water at Weybourne and by the time our six minute wait is up she is at the top of the glass and 'steaming like a witch' as they say.

We romp up the hill, blowing off on the way out of the station but according to Driver Keith, this is OK as we are a bit late. Hmm... not sure about that, normally I like to fire when we have the 'right away' so I can be sure I am not firing too soon.

Near Wind Pump Crossing, I get the injector on early and we go over the top. As I ready to switch it off, ready for Keith to go up to Bridge 299, he waves me away from the injector steam valve, letting the boiler pressure drop. Apparently the ejector is safe down to 130 psi on this loco. Operating this way, we arrive at Holt with plenty of water.

Heading down, I keep the fire warm and concentrate on the water levels, as I won't have more than 15 minutes at Sheringham before we have to come back up to Weybourne for disposal. I've shut the damper to keep the pressure under control, but as I add water and the pressure drops I need to open it again to bring the temperature up. Keith is watching carefully and reminds me that it would have been smarter to have opened the damper on the way down the 1 in 80 rather than try to open it as he is charging up Dead Man's - I can't move the damper lever as the draught is sucking the damper shut.

The tender tank is full from our last visit to Holt, and we arrive in Sheringham with the water in the top quarter and when we have run around, I build the fire for the trip up. I don't want to run out of heat, as we will use some steam on Dead Man's Hill and the run up to Weybourne.

On the way, we have a lesson in looking out - there is a photographer on the line at at the top of the 1 in 97, and on seeing us and hearing the long whistle moves to the trackside - but he's still inside the fence. He's trespassing on the railway and he's putting himself in a dangerous position. We stop, he gets a lecture from Driver Keith but although he moves behind the gate seems not to have absorbed the information. 

Anyhow, Driver Keith is happy again once we arrive on-shed with a level fire, plenty of pressure and a full glass. We ash out, and I select my shovel for the inevitable wet, gritty, shovelling experience cleaning the pit - though in truth there is not much from this little engine.

Turn 60 - Third Man on the 9F

Fireman Steve and I have been doing Wednesday turns together for a few weeks, and here we are again. I'm usually ready to get to work when I arrive while Steve, who travels much further changes into his overalls at Weybourne - so I am usually on the loco first.

Today we have the 9F again, with it's injectors repaired - though Passed-Fireman Paul who is on shed today tells me the #1 injector, the exhaust injectors, works on live steam only.

I take a shovel, broom and a torch to the smokebox:

The grate is in a proper state. There's a lot of ash, pushed to the back, and the pan looks pretty full; the footplate is also very untidy. Leave it as you would wish to find it! Fireman Steve tidies it up while I do the smokebox and when I am done, we shake the fire using the rocking grate, but there is too much piled up at the front so I go in and brush it out - unfortunately forgetting to put my hat on...

Fireman Steve goes in the tender to pull some coal forward while I lay the fire - nice and thin, all over the grate with some holes showing. We don't want to choke it.

I light her up, and there's not too much smoke - we have 30 psi left from yesterday so we can get the blower on straight away. Driver James arrives and I climb onto the high running boards to clean the paint - though I am going to leave the landward side in 'Barry Island' condition, as the paint is so poor now.

We get onto the pit just after 07:30, having got as much water in as we can - the tank is about 1000 gallons from full, so we will top up at Sheringham on the second trip.

By 08:30 we are coaled, blown down and are ready to go. I mind the loco while the others go and get changed. I meet them in the platform later, when I have got into clean overalls; I realise that I cannot get my fingers through my hair which is full of soot. This is what comes of going in the firebox (and under the loco) without a hat.

Talking of being under the loco, Driver James asks Fireman Steve to put 30 turns on the axle box lubricator handle before checking the axle boxes. This means they are all full, and he needs only to drain the water from each of the twelve axle boxes.

We go down to Sheringham and the day begins as normal, with me on coupling/point duty for the first two trips. I take over the fire from Steve at Weybourne on the second down trip, and Steve takes the driver's seat. I add my customary four shovelfuls to the back corners and we head down to Sheringham.

I fired for the rest of the afternoon, doing as much of the fireman's other duties as I could while James instructed Steve in the driver's seat, though James hooked on a few times. I also swapped the lamps around for Steve, and learned that the custom while running around is to keep a white lamp top middle at both ends, and then remove the lamp from the end you don't need. 

On the fourth up, I got the train up to Weybourne with a raging fire and the boiler pressure around 220 psi which was set to increase while we waited at Weybourne for the down train. Here, I struggled to get either injector to start - #1 was still prone to dropping out if you got too much steam to it. We waited there a while for the S&T team to flag us past the platform 1 up starter, which was getting a newly painted board and, in Driver James eyes, I could have done with filling in the front and sides a bit more. I'd certainly been a bit weak on the sides all day, when I wasn't concentrating on getting to them.

James took over the fire for the fourth down trip, and conspicuously filled those areas in whilst I had a rest.

We took water again in Sheringham while James readied the fire for disposal, putting far more on than I would have done. After last week, there is a lesson there.

James is always one to encourage swapping roles and today I took over the engine whilst we waited for the Class 31 to come in to Sheringham, sitting at platform 2. I drove up through the crossing, 75 psi in the valve chests and 40% cut off up to Dead Man's, then closed the regulator until the bottom, then open again up the 1 in 80. I backed it off to 15% to pass through Weybourne, stopping to drop the token and then waited for the up platform starter. We stopped beyond Bridge 300 & then it was full back gear and roll down to platform 2; going gently, and we got the signal into the yard before I had to stop. You are back on the 1 in 80 here so I just had to allow her to roll back into the headshunt using the steam brake to bring her to a stop for Fireman Steve to switch the points. A waft of steam and full forward gear took us onto the pit, where I overshot by a couple of yards and had to back up again. 

Another deposit into the experience bank!

One to One

The first step toward your firing test is a face to face ‘interview’ with an inspector or senior driver, and so one Saturday I found myself in civilian clothes at Weybourne Station with Driver and NNR Director Ed. 

Sitting ourselves in a compartment on the service train, we spent the afternoon going up and down the line, talking about the railway and answering questions on locomotive anatomy, signalling and rules. Ed seemed happy with my answers, which as you might hope were pretty strong on the loco technology but revealed a few holes in signalling - I must brush up on lamp colours.

Life can be hard sometimes!