Another Wednesday, and another old friend to fire - the BR Standard 9F, 92203 ‘Black Prince’. The rostered cleaner is off sick, but Fireman Phil and Fitter Alan are both here so I head down to the yard to get started. It’s the first time I have had to use the yard lights this season!
One the usual checks are done, the smoke box clean and the fire lit, I set about cleaning the footplate. There’s 20 psi on the gauge when I arrive and we have a full glass so raising steam is a relatively simple matter today.
Driver Dave is here to oil up, so we are shaping up for a good day out. Fitter Alan drops a couple of scoops of coal in the tender, which Fireman Phil has levelled (with a bit of help from me - though he’s 12 years older than me he’s stronger & fitter) to make way for the coal lorry, and contrary to the usual sequence we wash out the pan and blow down next. Or Phil does - I have gone to get changed, so that I can look after the loco while he and Dave change.
We plan to swap over at Holt every other trip, to make a change. It’s a good place to swap as the trip down is considerably less demanding and it gives you time to prepare the fire for the up trip. So, Phil fires the Light Engine trip down to Sheringham to get breakfast and pick up the train and take it up to Holt, and I fire down to Sheringham and the second trip up. This is a bit light, finishing with just under 200 on the clock at the top of the hill. This low pressure is caused by a big hole in the front right corner of the grate, and tells me that I need to pay attention to front as well as the horseshoe at the back. Phil then takes over to fire down, but Driver Dave has an alternative plan for the third trip - he wants Phil to drive, so I take the shovel back at Sheringham and hastily prepare for the third up. This is a lot more successful and I am relaxed and enjoying myself as the big loco pounds up the 1 in 80 hill, and I stay on the shovel repeating the performance on the fourth up trip.
A surprise awaits at Sheringham on the run around - my wife's school friend Sarah came down to the footplate to see us and took this picture:
So another turn comes to an end, and another turn with no blowing off, though it was by the skin of my teeth before the fourth run around - I had near 250 psi on the clock, distracted again - I didn't get the injectors on in time to put some water in until we were rolling back, and you cannot use injectors on Ottendorf Green. I opened the door, turned the blower right down and shut the dampers, which kept a lid on it until Driver Dave could use full forward gear to run around which made a great noise and used some steam.
In fact it was a good day for visitors. We'd seen Fireman Steve at Holt and had given a couple of his friends a footplate ride as we ran around. Steve was at Weybourne for the fourth up and took this picture of us:
Fireman Phil fired the fourth down and to dispose, while I resumed my normal pit clearing duties.
De-briefing with Driver Dave, who had asked earlier why I had not put in for my test (which I had, but just asking was a clear vote of confidence) wrote on my report that he had had a 'superb day's firing'. It doesn't get much better than that.
Next week, it's a quiet cleaning turn for once. We'll see what that brings.
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