#16

RE: A King climbing out of Tyseley Yard.

in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Sat Nov 16, 2013 8:43 am
by Crow (deleted)
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I always liked ;
From a Railway Carriage

FASTER than fairies, faster than witches,
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;
And charging along like troops in a battle,
All through the meadows the horses and cattle:
All of the sights of the hill and the plain
Fly as thick as driving rain;
And ever again, in the wink of an eye,
Painted stations whistle by.

Here is a child who clambers and scrambles,
All by himself and gathering brambles;
Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;
And there is the green for stringing the daisies!
Here is a cart run away in the road
Lumping along with man and load;
And here is a mill and there is a river:
Each a glimpse and gone for ever!



Last edited Sat Nov 16, 2013 8:43 am | Scroll up

#17

RE: A King climbing out of Tyseley Yard.

in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Sat Nov 16, 2013 9:32 am
by Aaron Calder | 3.834 Posts

Not to be outdone, here's a railway poem that always brings a lump to my throat.

On Whit Saturday, 1955 Philip Larkin, who was Librarian at Hull University, set out on a train journey from Hull to London and he described what he saw as he passed through the stations en route, one of which was my home town of Goole. For me it evokes many memories, particularly of my own wedding day a few years later but essentially the same as those he describes and also of the many train journeys I made to and from Hull as a day-release student in the mid 1960s. The 'smell of the fish dock' was always there as you passed Hessle Road.

The Whitsun Weddings – Philip Larkin

That Whitsun, I was late getting away:
Not till about
One-twenty on the sunlit Saturday
Did my three-quarters-empty train pull out,
All windows down, all cushions hot, all sense
Of being in a hurry gone. We ran
Behind the backs of houses, crossed a street
Of blinding windscreens, smelt the fish-dock; thence
The river's level drifting breadth began,
Where sky and Lincolnshire and water meet.
All afternoon, through the tall heat that slept
For miles inland,
A slow and stopping curve southwards we kept.
Wide farms went by, short-shadowed cattle, and
Canals with floatings of industrial froth;
A hothouse flashed uniquely: hedges dipped
And rose: and now and then a smell of grass
Displaced the reek of buttoned carriage-cloth
Until the next town, new and nondescript,
Approached with acres of dismantled cars
At first, I didn't notice what a noise
The weddings made
Each station that we stopped at: sun destroys
The interest of what's happening in the shade,
And down the long cool platforms whoops and skirls
I took for porters larking with the mails,
And went on reading. Once we started, though,
We passed them, grinning and pomaded, girls
In parodies of fashion, heels and veils,
All posed irresolutely, watching us go
As if out on the end of an event
Waving goodbye
To something that survived it. Struck, I leant
More promptly out next time, more curiously,
And saw it all again in different terms:
The fathers with broad belts under their suits
And seamy foreheads; mothers loud and fat;
An uncle shouting smut; and then the perms,
The nylon gloves and jewellery-substitutes,
The lemons, mauves, and olive-ochres that
Marked off the girls unreally from the rest.
Yes, from cafes
And banquet-halls up yards, and bunting-dressed
Coach-party annexes, the wedding-days
Were coming to an end. All down the line
Fresh couples climbed aboard: the rest stood round;
The last confetti and advice were thrown,
And, as we moved, each face seemed to define
Just what it saw departing: children frowned
At something dull; fathers had never known
Success so huge and wholly farcical;
The women shared
The secret like a happy funeral;
While girls, gripping their handbags tighter, stared
At a religious wounding. Free at last,
And loaded with the sum of all they saw,
We hurried towards London, shuffling gouts of steam.
Now fields were building-plots, and poplars cast
Long shadows over major roads, and for
Some fifty minutes, that in time would seem
Just long enough to settle hats and say
I nearly died,
A dozen marriages got under way.
They watched the landscape, sitting side by side
—An Odeon went past, a cooling tower,
And someone running up to bowl—and none
Thought of the others they would never meet
Or how their lives would all contain this hour.
I thought of London spread out in the sun,
Its postal districts packed like squares of wheat:
There we were aimed. And as we raced across
Bright knots of rail
Past standing Pullmans, walls of blackened moss
Came close, and it was nearly done, this frail
Travelling coincidence; and what it held
Stood ready to be loosed with all the power
That being changed can give. We slowed again,
And as the tightened brakes took hold, there swelled
A sense of falling, like an arrow-shower
Sent out of sight, somewhere becoming rain.


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#18

RE: A King climbing out of Tyseley Yard.

in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Sat Nov 16, 2013 9:53 am
by Pepé Le Pew | 2.752 Posts

I don't mind being outdone.

Here's one of my favourites:

There was a young lady named Harris
Whom nothing could ever embarrass
'Til the salts that she shook
In the bath that she took
Turned out to be Plaster of Paris.


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#19

RE: A King climbing out of Tyseley Yard.

in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Sat Nov 16, 2013 1:40 pm
by Crow (deleted)
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I remember the rolling stock smelling of fish and tank trucks with various chemicals.
All the famous manufacturers names stencilled on the rolling stock, open trucks
closed trucks, a coach, truck or carriage for every use imaginable.
Playing on the railway property after climbing down a steep cutting, we were reported
and a small loco with a guards van turned up between mainline traffic. Rail employees
jumped out to chase us and when that failed, the loco crew started to fling hot coals into
the weeds and long grass, setting fire to our cover nasty lot.
Later we watched the expresses scoop water from a tower fed trough and vanish in plumes
of spray, then we recovered the copper pennies we had placed on the tracks, stretched and
flattened to nearly twice the size!


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#20

RE: A King climbing out of Tyseley Yard.

in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Sat Nov 16, 2013 3:07 pm
by Aaron Calder | 3.834 Posts

We used to 'convert' halfpennies into pennies to use in the new-fangled 'Beech Nut' chewing gum machine outside the shop in our street.

Happy days.


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#21

RE: A King climbing out of Tyseley Yard.

in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Sat Nov 16, 2013 4:04 pm
by Deeps (deleted)
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Quote: Aaron Calder wrote in post #20
We used to 'convert' halfpennies into pennies to use in the new-fangled 'Beech Nut' chewing gum machine outside the shop in our street.

.

Ah, by placing them on the track if memory serves. My brother and I used to play at being *Rambo* long before Sylvesta every got the idea. As mentioned somewhat earlier, the main line into Manchester was < 100 yards behind our house and looking to the left, our local station was maybe 300 yards away. When they took out the old open fire in the Waiting Room they replaced it with a more modern electric fire with a big red knob located on the front. Pressing this switched on the heater and timer so that the heater switched itself off automatically. Well, in the old smog covered days we'd blacken our faces, creep alongside the line as far as the station and then wait until the Station Master went into his office. It was a bit like the film 'The Great Escape' and waiting for the guards and searchlights to point the other way lol. At this point we'd make a dash across two sets of lines, climb up onto the platform, make a dash for the Waiting Room and then press the plunger. In our tiny flea-brained brains at that time, this set off a timer (I think the knob being red had something to do with it) that would eventually blow up the entire station. Of course there was always a fault with the bloody detonator meaning we'd have to re-run the Operation another day.
I don't know - maybe it's part of getting old, but I get the feeling that kids of our era used our imaginations a bit more, learned the art of playing and didn't seem quiet so bored and dissatisfied with our lot as the kids of today. If they don't have something electronic in the hand life is just not worth living.

Alan AKA Forseti



Last edited Sat Nov 16, 2013 5:13 pm | Scroll up

#22

RE: A King climbing out of Tyseley Yard.

in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Sat Nov 16, 2013 4:30 pm
by Randa france | 13.252 Posts

convert' halfpennies

Oh YES. Didn't he play well today








(Rugby Joke)


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#23

RE: A King climbing out of Tyseley Yard.

in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Sat Nov 16, 2013 4:46 pm
by Agger (deleted)
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He always does!

I thought 4472 would of got a bite but someone got there in the end!


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#24

RE: A King climbing out of Tyseley Yard.

in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Sat Nov 16, 2013 5:29 pm
by sibillini | 236 Posts

I used to fire engines on our two local preserved lines in Buckinghamshire, mainly for a friend who owned his own industrial locomotive, which we rebuilt over many years.

The best breakfast ever is cooked on your shovel in the fire box, having first given it a dousing in a jet of steam to get the coal dust off. A little oil, bacon, eggs, sausages, brilliant and well deserved. Well deserved because you will have been crawling all over the engine since probably 04.30 or 05.00 to get them ready for their days work. I know they are beautiful things in all their splendour, particularly for me those from the Great Western like the King, but in the early hours of a freezing December Sunday prepping an engine for the Santa Specials can be very hard work.

The Preserved Railways do a brilliant job of maintaining part of our industrial heritage from a time when we were at the pinacle of the industry, exporting locomotives all round the world, they could do with some of your money through a visit with your kids or grandchildren or better still why not go along and help out on one. Perhaps train to be a fireman, driver, guard, whatever. You might have some fun and their will be no problem parking your Eriba......

Charlie


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#25

RE: A King climbing out of Tyseley Yard.

in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Sat Nov 16, 2013 5:40 pm
by Aaron Calder | 3.834 Posts

For one of my more memorable birthdays (50th, I think) Mrs Calder bought me a day's engine driving experience on a preserved line at Quainton in Buckinghamshire. We stayed overnight at a lovely pub in the village and on the Saturday morning I received a grounding in the theory of steam locomotives before being paired with another chap with whom I took turns firing and driving.

The locomotive was an ex London Transport pannier tank either 0-6-0 or 0-6-2 and we drove it up and down a length of of preserved track until I became quite proficient at stopping at just the right place on the platform. The feeling of power from even such a small engine was incredible and it felt like a living creature that had to be cosseted and persuaded to perform. Magic!

The highlight of the day came, however, when the two very enthusiastic volunteers who were instructing us asked Mrs C if she'd like a go. I'll never forget the look of joy on her face when she took the controls and we set off down the track.

I'd recommend the experience to anyone. It was a brilliant day out..


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#26

RE: A King climbing out of Tyseley Yard.

in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Sat Nov 16, 2013 8:46 pm
by Steamdrivenandy (deleted)
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Quainton was where I first made the acquaintance of the King. At the time they'd just about got a running set of frames with wheels, motion and cylinders, but no cab or boiler. One of the early weekends (circa '87/'88) was spent with the engine being dragged up and down the demo line.

18 months later we had a fully restored locomotive and I had the privilege of attending the ceremony where the Duke of Gloucester formally renamed the engine.

After that the engine moved to Tyseley, outside of my weekend commuting distance and so I stopped being an active Working Party member. They don't appear to have missed me as she's travelled the length and breadth of England and Wales in the interim and clocked up thousands and thousands of miles.

She's currently undergoing her third major rebuild since her return to steam with parts spread all over the country being fettled. The frames and all the rebuilding final assembly is taking place in the WSRs shed at Minehead.


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#27

RE: A King climbing out of Tyseley Yard.

in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Wed Feb 12, 2014 7:44 pm
by hampshireman (deleted)
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Born in Darlingto and having to cross the mainline at Bank Top station twice a day en-route to school and back we used to see all the big locos London to Edinburgh and the big names too as we dallied and got covered in soot, smoke and the smell. All of the railway paintings I have done have sold easily, some commissions, all in my website.
One of Nunney Castle there too.


A painting wot i done


Last edited Wed Feb 12, 2014 7:45 pm | Scroll up

#28

RE: A King climbing out of Tyseley Yard.

in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Wed Feb 12, 2014 8:15 pm
by Steamdrivenandy (deleted)
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I've had several footplate rides on the King at various Society Member's days etc.

Back in '89 or '90 I managed to cadge a footplate ride on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, all the way from Pickering to Grosmont and return, aboard an LMS Black 5, 45428 'Bishop Eric Treacey'. Others I've wangled include the short run on Midland Railway Centre at Butterley and quite a few trips on the Quainton demo line, probably in the same tank engine and certainly some on Dennis Howell's Pannier Tank 9466.


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#29

RE: A King climbing out of Tyseley Yard.

in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Wed Feb 12, 2014 8:46 pm
by hob (deleted)
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Quote: Steamdrivenandy wrote in post #28
I managed to cadge a footplate ride on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, all the way from Pickering to Grosmont and return, aboard an LMS Black 5, 45428 'Bishop Eric Treacey'.


I went for a ride on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in 2008 from Pickering to Whitby and back...........this was the engine on that run

P1090698.JPG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

While in North Wales I rode on several of the narrow gauge railways but regrettably was not able to get on the line up snowdon as it was booked up months in advance


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#30

RE: A King climbing out of Tyseley Yard.

in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Wed Feb 12, 2014 8:53 pm
by Steamdrivenandy (deleted)
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If my eyes don't deceive me that's a BR Standard Class 4.

I've ridden the Ffestiniogg several times, including one trip from Betws on BR up to Blaenau, then onto the Ffestiniogg and down to Portmadoch and return. Of course you can do the trip right from Llandudno.

Never managed to get up Snowdon either and I've an ambition to do the Welsh Highland sometime soon.


Amber a Lunar Quasar 464 Sussex Amberley Sussex Caravans dealer special pushing a '59 reg. Kia Cee'd 3 SW 1.6 CRDi Automatic, a rough towing ratio of 86%.
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