Flying Scotsman

I too had a Hornby-Dublo D8000. It was the only diesel that I had and I only had one Pullman Car, Car No79.

In April 2001 we had a Diesel Gala on the NYMR andI was rostered as second man on D8000 doing a two coach shuttle to Goathland and back. Alas after two trips it failed with a leaking coolant system so we parked it out of the way in Platform 4 at Grosmont, on top of the dining train, and finished the remaining shuttles with another visiting diesel, 37116. It was only some months later that I realised that we had parked it on top of Car No79. It certainly never occured to me when I took this picture. I think that this may have been the last time that D8000 worked.

And by-the-by I've kept seeing 37116 over this past month as it is now with Colas on the daily Yorkshire Coast RHTT circuit out of York.

Sorry none of this has anything to do with Flying Scotsman.

Peter

 

Back in the '80s the much loved John Belwood was the Museum's CME. Assisting him were a small team of general workshop staff, together with Kim Malyon and Pete Pickering, who were funded by the Friends of the NRM. Also involved were a team of support crew volunteers, of whom I was proud to be one. Museum locos, and indeed any steam loco, venturing out onto BR in those days was examined by Sam Foster, the chief Boiler Inspector and a Chief Mechanical examiner whose name escapes me. Both of these gentlemen could not have been more helpful and encouraging. Coordinating all steam activity on BR in those days was SLOA.

Happy Days

Peter

 

What a fascinating story (for me, anyway)

 

That would have been Colin Woods...

 

That would have been Colin Woods...[/QUOTE]
Of course - thats the name. Thanks. Colin looked saw to the locos up north and Keith Jackson the ones down south. Brian Penny was their overall boss as I recall. Sorry for the memory lapse but it was 35-40 years ago now. Must be getting old

Peter

 

I have it the other way round. Colin Woods was i/c of the unit, Brian Penny was the 'mechanical examiner'. Both Brian (left) and boiler examiner Sam Foster (right), usually, if not always, appeared together for the 'in steam' exam.

 

You could be right - it was a long time ago, but it was almost always Sam Foster and Colin Wood who came to York in the 1980's for exams. 46203 returned to steam in 1990, as I recall, at the time when I stepped away from main line stuff for a few years. I never really knew Brian Penny.

Peter

 

Photo taken 1994, I'm sure Brian made mention that he was to retire soon.

 

I believe Brian retired to the Cardiff area .. I met him and wife shopping in Brecon a good few years ago..... Still sharp and remembered our dealings...

 

Thanks very much Peter, this is the history lesson I was looking for. So did the end of this era at the NRM coincide with rail privatisation? I looked back at the early years of UK Steam, 1996 and 1997, but that point it just tells you the tour promoter, Past Times, Hertfordshire, Pathfinder etc, not the TOC.

Peter

 

I'm not too sure how things worked in the early days of privatisation. In the 1980s there was only one TOC, namely BR. I stepped away from support crew work in 1990 and didnt return until 1999 by which time there was a very different landscape on the railway. I didn't return to volunteering at the NRM until 2004.

Peter