60019 Bittern Steam Locomotive

[mcgillianaire]

You know you live in this country when the station master announces the passing through of a steam train. I only wish I had a camera to capture the beauty. There were at least two dozen enthusiasts/hobbyist photographers who arrived at the station just to snap a shot. I got chatting with the chap next to me and he said there's at least one special service every month. The carriages reminded me of the ones still used in India and I was surprised how many were sat inside. This particular beast was built in 1937 and had an Art Deco style to it. Nearly four years in this country and the first time I've seen a steam train in service. The only time I've travelled by one is in India, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built by the British in 1908 and is by a long distance the most picturesque railway journey I've ever completed in my life. My dad was lucky because he travelled by it for nearly a decade while at boarding school. The train I saw today was on its way to Edinburgh, a mere eleven hour journey. Apparently there was another one that left Euston earlier in the day for Chester. The chap next to me got a tip off for both. He was surprised there was only one other person at Euston and he was kind enough to point out the optimal vantage point from which to photograph it. And I've looked the site up where all these services are listed and turns out they're a lot more frequent than I expected. There's several travelling every week. Needless to say, the bucket list just got bigger!

Comments

[loganberrybunny.livejournal.com]

There are lots of the things, as you say. The trouble is that reliability isn't what it might be, and so a fairly high percentage of the tours get cancelled at the last minute, go ahead with different haulage, or even break down along the way. You should certainly not go on one unless you can afford to get home several hours late that night!

The classic mainline steam journey in this country is Settle to Carlisle. If it weren't so far from you, that's the one I'd recommend. Apart from anything else, there are lots of tours going that way and so it's very easy to get a place on one. Where you are, a London (Victoria) to Weymouth trip might be a good option.

Oddly enough, I don't think I've ever seen Bittern, though I have seen her sister locomotive Union of South Africa, who spent some time at the Severn Valley Railway. I've probably got a photo somewhere, but can't find it now; the one at the top of the Wikipedia article I linked to was taken on the SVR in any case.

As it happens I've never been on a mainline steam tour either. Any number of preserved lines, but that's all. I suppose my appetite has been sufficiently satisfied by living so close to the SVR.

[mcgillianaire.livejournal.com]

>so a fairly high percentage of the tours get cancelled at the last minute
How terrible but thanks for the heads up!

>The classic mainline steam journey in this country is Settle to Carlisle
Any particular reason besides the frequency of the route? It's a part of the country I've never visited but I will definitely sort that out as and when I start working and start filling up the coffers again! But thanks for the recommendations.

Are you a railway enthusiast? And are there several preserved lines still in existence?

[loganberrybunny.livejournal.com]

Any particular reason besides the frequency of the route?

Because it's perhaps the most scenic rail journey in England, though pretty bleak in bad weather. (The Ribblehead Viaduct is its most famous structure.) Although traversing the remote Pennines, the line was built to full express standards (thanks to Victorian railway politics) and that means it can easily stand up to just about anything; it's sometimes used as a diversionary route when the West Coast Main Line is closed for engineering work.

There's also an emotional pull for a lot of people: the line was recommended for closure by Beeching in the 1960s, and again by British Rail in the 1980s, but against the odds survived and in the last 20 years has gone from being a rather sad relic to a much more heavily patronised tourist attraction.

Are you a railway enthusiast?

Yes, to an extent at least. Rail is my favourite form of travel (if you exclude exotic stuff like hovercraft) and I've always enjoyed going by train; it's so much more relaxed than anything else -- commuter services excepted! I'm not really the type to spend 18 hours in a tree hoping to catch a glimpse of a new carriage on test, but I do take some interest in most aspects of the industry.

And are there several preserved lines still in existence?

An awful lot more than "several" in fact; here's the Wikipedia list! My local line, the Severn Valley Railway, carries about 200,000 passengers every year, and that's still not the most in the UK.

[messicat.livejournal.com]

I just love steam trains. I've only been on one, which was a lot of fun. Puffing Billy, I wanted to go on it again and again and again!

There's just something magical about them. I would definitely love to go on one again.

[mcgillianaire.livejournal.com]

Oh nice! I must admit the interior of the train looked a lot more grand than the ones I normally use. The one that I saw even choo-choo'd for good effect. You're right, there is something magical about them.

When did you travel by the Puffing Billy?