92220 Evening Star
Hi------------ I have always been a railway enthusiast/trainspotter.
In 1958-1964 I was a Fireman at Aston,3D,21D. In 1960 Aston started working ESSO petrol train (about a 1000 tons loaded, fully braked) from Immingham Docks to Soho Pool, Winston Green, Birmingham. We worked the empties from Soho Pool down the bank to Great Barr Junction, Bescot, Walsall(Patricroft), Brownhills, Lichfield, Wytchnor Junction, near Burton on Trent, there we went into the Down loop and waited for the loaded train from Immingham which would go into the Up loop, we then changed footplates, but it never ran that smoothly. The train from Immingham was always late we could wait anything up to 8 hours. We usually had a B1, B2, Stannier Class8 or Austerity engine, they were always low on coal and the fire in a poor state, I usually had to start cleaning the fire, as best as I could and shoveling coal forwards from the back of the tender (hard work). From Wytchnor to Patricroft Walsall its all up hill the engine works very hard, in places at walking pace, from Walsall through Bescot to Great Barr, easy, we now have the Soho Bank , (more work for the fireman) up to the old Soho Station where we run around the train and push it into the "Soho Pool ESSO oil depo", its then light engine to Aston Loco where the engine was Disposed (fire cleaned) Coaled, watered and oil ready for the next nights work back to Barry.
In 1961 the ESSO Petrol trains were switched from Immingham to Barry Docks. We started working petrol trains to Stourbridge Junction from Soho Pool Depo via Great Barr, Bescot, Willenhall, Dudley Port, Dudley, Round Oak, Stourbridge Junction where we went into the goods loop to wait for the loaded train from Barry Docks. We then changed footplates when it finally arrived witch was hours and hours after our arrival. Once again it is all up hill from Stourbridge Junction. We pulled the train to the start signal by Stourbridge Loco Depo and waited for 2 pannier tanks to bank us, when they whistled we set off up the bank passing Round Oak Steel Works, where in the early hours the sky was lit up by the slag heaps, and the blast from our class 9 engine (Known to train spotters as a 92 thouseners) to Dudley Tunnel on entering the tunnel the bankers dropped off. From Dudley to Great Barr Junction the going is easy. Once more we clime the Soho bank to Soho station, run round and push train into Soho Pool ESSO Depo, lite engine to Aston Loco.
The Engine men booked on about 9.30 pm and it was not unusual for us to work 12 hours or more all the trains ran Monday to Friday.
Now to evening Star. All the engines used on the Barry Docks trains were pull by Class 9 locos sheded at Cardiff (Canton) 86C, they had about 30 in all. On 4 occasions I had Evening star when working these trains. We also had 92250 which was the last numbered class 9.
In January 1963 about 7.30am in the morning we arrived back to Aston Loco after working the Barry petrol train with "Evening Star 92220", the snow was a foot deep, after signing off I took the GWR fireman's shovel of the engine to dig out my car(Standard Vanguard). Because the snow was so bad I put the shovel in the boot and used it a few times that year. Not much gritting in them days.
What memories I have.
I still have that GWR shovel off 92220 Evening Star.