The circus comes to town... - a photo on Flickriver

            Being a member of that now ever-diminishing generation who actually remembers BR steam in active service, I like to see steam specials that recreate sights that actually used to happen back in the olden days. 

In Bristol, for example, that means GWR Kings, Castles, Halls and perhaps eventually a County, a Grange and a 4700 2-8-0 (but the latter only at night of course, unless it’s a summer Saturday...). It also means LMS engines such as Black 5s, Jubilees and Scots (and perhaps in the future an unrebuilt Patriot although I never personally saw one, Bristol’s examples being sent to the scrap heap in the Spring of 1962 whilst I didn’t get involved in railways until the September of that year). 

Even LNER B1s and the occasional Bulleid pacific were seen in Bristol too back then, so they would be perfectly OK as well. And the Standards? Bring ‘em on – of those that survived we saw all of them, except perhaps the 76xxx range – you would have to have gone to Bath Green Park to see them. And of course 71000 Duke of Gloucester - we never saw that – but then again not many people did see it working, as it wouldn’t steam, and they only found out why in preservation. 

But V2s? In Bristol? Nah...

 I am not aware of any LNER V2 ever getting to Bristol, but I am happy to be proved wrong if someone knows better. V2s were to be seen rattling up and down the East Coast main line, or on the ex-LNER lines in Scotland, like A1s A2s and A4s. 

To see one in Bristol is, to me, a bit like the circus coming to town – sure they’ve got horses, but so have we around here – the coalman’s horse, the brewery dray horse, the rag & bone man’s horse... Our horses –not the fancy ones that come with Chipperfields.

I hope you’re getting my drift!

But never mind all that, on 15th September 2001, LNER V2 no 60800 “Green Arrow” was out on manoeuvres on foreign soil in what used to be British Railways’ Western Region, and I went off chasing it between Chippenham and Bristol. 

The right hand shot was taken at the now inappropriately named Langley Crossing at Langley Burrell, near Chippenham (because there hasn’t been a level crossing there since 1977), and the left hand shot was taken when the train was in the old platform 7 at Temple Meads (I think it’s platform 5 or 6 now – they’ve only been renumbered since 1970 so you wouldn’t expect me to have learnt the new-fangled numbering sequence already, would you...? 

On that final point, some people do get left behind as time passes. One Saturday morning some years ago I was standing on the public footpath bridge at the west end of Chippenham station along with a large body of men, all of “a certain age,” pointing their cameras westward. 

An old woman of about the same age came up the steps and enquired of all these people what was going on. Somebody had just got the words out “a special train is coming through” when 5029 Nunney Castle appeared and hammered through at some speed.

“Oh!” said a surprised old woman. “I didn’t know the railways were still using those” and went on about her daily business.

 Well of course the railways aren’t still using those, but she no doubt remembered the days when they were - with those very engines and on that very line.

That’s one problem with authenticity for you – it can confuse the hell out of the “uninformed” elderly...

Taken in: United Kingdom / England / Langley Burrell (show map)

Taken on: March 22, 2017

Tags:

Bristol

Temple

60800

Langley

Burrell

Crossing

Peckingell

Chippenham « less

Groups appears in: • Wiltshire • UK Railways more » • Chippenham • UK Rail • GB Railways • Rail UK: Gloucestershire Railways • This Is Somerset • Wiltshire Railways « less

Stats: 2,996 views / 2 comments

go back

Link to this photo view:
Link to this photo large view: