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Steam Train

rowan

rowan

Born a Brummie
Oh how I was taken back in time today :)

Coming home we heard a long forgotten sound of a steam train and whistle so we made haste,
not breaking the speed limit I hasten to add, in to Penzance to see a really grand sight in the station.
Gleaming and steaming was the King Edward 1complete with the old Pullman carriages.

There stood the engine driver, regalled in his splendid "old original bib and braces overall" and original
British Railway hat.Oh what memories came back as I recalled my dear Grandfather who was a railway
man through and through.

He took me once to the sheds at Saltley and I went on the footplate as the train was turned on the turntable.....magic  :)

The years rolled away as I stood in awe of the magnificent, puffing "Big Green Monster" and tears
were not far away as I saw my Grandad in the form of the engine driver :'(


It was marvelous, it truly was :)
 
Please :-[ will somebody reduce the size for me.........I don't know how to do it :-[ :-[ :-[
 
Rowan, My childhood was spent in the railway sheds of Nechells and Saltley, tearaways meant nothing, I have dropped from a railway bridge in Saltley on top of a coal train that was going underneath, we had no fear of anything and got of at Duddeston then down to the canals to get a lift home on the barges.
It was their I saw a penny on a barge and jumped down to get it which I did, and I was chuffed but on the way home we walked across the tip and being a windy day the fires that were burning blew the flaming paper all over the place and a blazing cement sack wrapped itself round my leg and I got burnt bad.
So I was with my two brothers so what did they do ?
My eldest brother got the penny I had found and went home on the bus to tell Ma that I had got burnt
While I had to walk home with my other brother
The die was cast then
The brother who stayed with me is my best pal
the other one ......I do not give a damn about
Ya can choose ya friends but not ya kin
But keeping to the thread, I love the smell of the oil in the sheds and the grime and steam, and have had the pleasure to ride the footplate up and down the yards in Nechells, a memory I will allways treasure.
Years later I wanted to emigrate to Australia but was refused as I had a court conviction .......Trespassing on the railways......It was squashed but then I lost intrest......Railways have always been in my blood .....one day I will write a book.........but folk will find it hard to believe. We are the lost generation of Brum and I feel in another 20 years we will be just what I love...... HISTORY
 
Brian is a life long lover of all rhings railway, he nows sells 'Railwayana' as its called in the trade. We have the Aston, Erdington, Birmingham New Street and Hamsptead enamel station signs on the garage wall. We have never been able to find  Witton, where we both grew up.

For one of Brian's birthdays I treated him to a day trip on the Orient Express, we went from London to Bath. He  didn't know where we were going until we arrived in London. It was such a lovely day, the train is beautiful with all the old fittings. We had brunch and dinner on board as part of the trip. Over the years he has trespassed in dozens of railways yards, he would say 'morning' to any rail staff and always carried a note book in his hand, and was never challenged. All gone now, even Saltly depot.

Picture resized, Rowan
 
Wonderful photos reminiscent stories and photos of the steam trains. I myself have always had a fascination with steam trains and my oldest brother used to collect train numbers mostly going to Stetchford Station as it had the main line trains going through there.

Working at New Street Station in the late l950s practically every train on the main routes were still steam. I went on the diesel train to work every day using my free pass from
Gravelly Hill to New Street. Our offices overlooked Platform One with big windows and
we were able to see some of the truly great steam trains of the time leave from there for London and Scotland. There was a lot to do before they left for the train staff and the Engine and Rolling Stock were gleaming on the very special trains.

It was easy to access the platforms in those days as the Bridge was still there between Ste[henson Place and Market Street and all you had to do was walk down the stairs to each platform from the Bridge.

I can still reel off a lot of the train routes that were recited all day over the
tannoy system "The train standing at Platform ? is the ?? to................. New Street Station was a different world in those days and I made the best use of all the amenities including the Waiting Rooms with cosy fires in the wintertime. The Station Master, Mr. Smith wore a top hat and a red rose in his buttonhole when Royalty passed through the station. Queen's Drive (original one) was where important people came to be dropped off and, therefore, were able to be kept away from prying eyes. No dark glass
limosines back then.

I had a great time at that job. It didn't pay very well so after approx one year I left
with a lot of amazing memories.
 
Great pic - 6024 King Edward I is a busy engine - I was fortunate to travel behind it from Snow Hill to Worcester and back through Snow Hill to Stratford and back to Snow Hill a couple of years ago. I spent hours as a child in the very early sixties watching the 'steamers' at Snow Hill.

Lovers of the steam engine please note : There is a regular steam service from Snow Hill to Stratford and return every Sunday from about July to September. Two trains per day - check out www.vintagetrains.co.uk - they're based at Tyseley. Other specials too at various times of the year

Colin
 
Colin,we took two trips on The Shakespeare Express this year,as a lover of steam,this is a great day out.
Vintage Trains also ran a number of trials with different locomotives to Stratford,this one 4953 Pitchford Hall ended up running over two hours late from Stratford due to problems.
The photo is "as taken" (honest) it was 6.30 on a dark misty December night (2005),the orange backlight is due to the sodium lights on the station car park.

Colin
 
RE STEAM TRAINS,
AS A KID AROUND 1955 / 57 I CAN RECALL GOING TO STRATFORD UPON AVON ON THE TRAIN GOING FROM HALL GREEN STATION . THE STATION IN STRATFORD WAS BY THE BREWERY FOR FLOWERS ALES IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY. A BREW ONCE I BECAME OF AGE I HAD MANY PINTS OF.
JOHN
 
Same here John....going to Stratford on the steam train for bank holidays with my friends
and bagging a compartment to ourselves with the blinds down so no one would try and
get a seat. I remember the Flowers Brewery very well and their pubs were dotted all over the area. If I remember rightly they had some of the best looking pubs around and the beer had a great reputation. Looks like they were taken over by Whitbreads.
Shame really because the pubs were never the same after that.
 
Johnedward, the Stratford Blue bus depot was right nextdoor to Flower's brewery, and the Midland Red buses which ran to Stratford on route 150 (jointly with Stratford Blue, whom they owned, after about 1950) terminated at the garage, and that could be what you were thinking of. The station was a good walk away.
Peter
 
Just paid 25p for this photo at the carboot, taken inside Saltley Sheds showing a 2-10-0 on the turntable March 1966
 
You were robbed Cromwell, should have charged you at least 20 shillings for that great memory:D
 
Bank Holiday - excursions

Waiting at New Street Station with school satchel filled with boiled eggs and corned beef and tomatoe sandwich's in with my parents when the train approached with two flags crossed on the front all the cheers went up - on our holiday to Bewdley fantastic times.

Sandwichs' were always squashed and soggy - memories - happy days8)
 
Miles when you said two Flags I expected it to be the Royal Train.

By the way my Boiled Eggs always used to turn Black:)
 
Boiled Eggs

I forgot about the boiled eggs my brother used to peel them on the train what a smell I always hung my head out the window.

Took my grandaughter on a steam train from Tyseley to meet Father Christmas to Stratford it was on the King George 1V and came back on the Prince.........Rose a red train but cannot remeber the full name can anyone else
 
When I lived at Lapworth we were by the railway, and used to see lots of famous steam engines passing, they used to do the Stratford loop, leave Tyseley, down to Hatton, across to Stratford and back to Tyseley.
 
A school friend and I used to regularly visit Monument Lane engine shed, at the bottom of Sheepcote Street where I took this shot of 44760 on the turntable. The whole site is now buried beneath a multi storey car park for the NIA now!
 
steam trains

Gosh those pictures evoked some lovely memories, Going on holiday to Margate, arriving at the station was half the holiday, crowds of people waiting for trains to different destinations. My mum put the suitcase and me into a carriage and jumped off again to get herself a cuppa from the mobile tea trolley on the platform, to my horror the whistle blew and the train started moving out, i was terrified she would be left behind, but no ,she managed to jump on, the guard holding the door for her and she still managed to retain most of the tea. I think i would have been about ten, sometime in 1949-50 :)
 
About an Hour ago I was watching Southern Steam on TV Channel Town & Country wonderful it was the 2nd of 5 Programes, its on again at 9.00am tomorrow.:)
 
I do like Lloyd's picture of a steam train on Platform 1 of New Street Station, but I'm now trying to put my thoughts together to recall when they pulled down the old overall roof, and put the flat asbestos sheeting over individual platforms. I think it was in the very late 1940s, but it might be the early 1950s. Can anyone else help?
Peter
 
Hi Lloyd:

Your photo of New Street Station certainly brings back memories for me. My first job was at New Street Station in the offices next door to the Queen's Hotel, as a shorthand typist. This would be in early l957. Our offices are on the right hand side of the photo on the first floor, the three sets of three windows. You could see a lot of the station from there. It was a very interesting place to work and I had a free rail pass for local trips which I used to travel from Gravelly Hill into New Street every work day and back.

One thing about working at New Street was hearing the tannoy system
all the time "The train waiting at Platform ? is the (time) to "where ever"
I can still remember the list of the stations my train would call at,which left at 5:20pm So the announcer, who was always female at that time, would follow on with the above message adding "Calling at" and name the stations going out from New Street...Vauxhall & Duddeston, Gravelly Hill, Erdington, Wylde Green, Chester Road, Sutton Coldfield, Four Oaks, Butlers Lane Halt, Shenstone, Lichfield City and Lichfield Trent Valley. I used to catch the train at Gravelly Hill and get off there every work night. I used to like
going into the ticket office there it was quite old and had a lot of character.
 
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