East Lancs Railway

There's a discussion elsewhere about this; views on how to respond to what happened will vary.

 

I said it when the issue was made public, and I stand by it - I would not visit the ELR while it is under the current management.

That does not mean I do not support railway preservation, nor is it a disrespect to the founders of the ELR.

 

We visited the East Lancs last Sunday. We knew in advance that it would be diesel running, but we were surprised to see the steam on the dining train. Is there not more than two steam engines?
We parked at Bury and had a good trip up and down. The staff at Bury were friendly and gave us lots of background info which was useful. There wasn't much too see at either end, but the journey was interesting and scenery attractive. Ramsbottom station looked particularly interesting but we could only see from the train.
There is a model "shop" at Bury in a coach which was very fully stocked and we bought some stock at a decent discount.
I am glad we started at Bury. There was good parking and it made sense of the journey. I would recommend starting there. There is also a small cafe on the platform.
After we had been up and down a few times, we decided to call it quits and we got the tram into central Manchester. The tram terminus is only 5 mins walk from Bury ELR. That was interesting and we enjoyed the street running.
All in all a good visit, just a slight pity that there wasn't two steam engines available on a Sunday. The tram ride into Manchester was a bonus that rounded off the day.

 

I think the ELR is a bit tight for operational steam locos at the moment.

The Std 4 tank is due back fairly soon looking at the groups Facebook posts which I'm sure will be very welcome.

Chris

 

Which steam loco was on the diner?

 

Can't remember the number but it was the J94 tender conversion.
Ian

 

2890 Douglas

 

*Austerity tender conversion. 2890 was never an LNER machine so not a J94
(Before you complain, this is Nat Pres. Do you really expect not to be picked up on minor things like whether an Austerity 0-6-0ST can be called a J94 or not? )

 

The number comes from the original Austerity - Hunslet 2890 - which retained the number when converted from o-6-0ST to 0-6-0 tender loco by the Mid-Hants Railway as part of its Thomas Tank fleet.

 

Shunting activities today before this weekends Heritage Open Days.
Details: https://www.eastlancsrailway.org.uk/events-activities/heritage-open-days-at-bury-transport-museum/

 

Not sure about this weekend ,but I understand 92134 staying until late October and running Oct half term and Halloween trains next week .