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.
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