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.
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