Poor Old Bruce

Boston Sleaford Junction, GNR, 8 Aug 1979. No name boards and a broken window.

Boston West Street Junction, GNR, 8 Aug 1979

Back to the GNR Skeggy line on 8 Aug 1979. Almost in Boston was Grand Sluice.

Just noticed that I have missed Sibsey, GNR. Here it is on 8 Aug 1979 This box is still with us, or at least it was on 28 October this year. No fancy mechanisms here, the Bobby was physically walking the gates to and fro across the road.

10''5 & 15/16" means 1/16th of an inch short of 10ft 6in. the firebox adds another nominally 7ft, that's where the '7' in 'G7' comes from.

Next box along towards Boston was Maud Foster, GNR, 8 Aug 1979

Today's photo is Old Leake, GNR, 8 Aug 1979

It was indeed Andy. That's why I couldn't get a better picture of the box.

Bellwater Junction, again 8 Aug 1979. If I'd known I could drive up to it, I would have paid a visit at half term but the OS map suggested (to me at the time anyway) that it was in the middle of nowhere. Hopefully there'll be another time. Should have come before East Ville by rights but not to worry.

Next along the line was East Ville, 8 Aug 1979

Flippin' 'eck!! for that price you can have my kit!

In the late 1950s and early 1960s (probably before then but that was when I saw them) freights north of Rowsley were regularly piloted and banked from Rowsley to Peak Forest. I remember seeing 8Fs with a 4F fore and aft and even on one occasion a train with three 4Fs, two pulling and one pushing. The Southern Pacific mentioned above by @lather was Barnstaple, in SR livery but with its BR number and attached to a Stanier 4000 gallon tender. The Hymek diesels had their acceptance tests from Manchester to Derby and back. Some were finish painted but many were in pink primer.

Back to the Skegness line, the next box I have was Little Steeping (or Little Sleeping according to Platform 5's Track Atlas), GNR, 8 Aug 1979. Very similar photos, one on the outward journey and one on the return, but I have put them both in for completeness. Not sure where plumb is (was) so I've gone with the horizon and signal post. Should have perhaps gone a bit more!

Point taken Stephen. I should have mentioned the Webb 3-cylinder compounds with only two exhaust beats per revolution. Two-cylinder compounds similarly gave two beats per rev. I did see a little 2-6-0T 2-cyl compound somewhere in Europe (Austria perhaps, not sure without digging) which gave out two beats and sounded very 'different'. Well, the Midland and LMS compounds worked quite well, to the extent that they could be argued to have been the most successful compound locos in this country, having had a life span covering almost 60 years. Don't forget that the driving axles of the Webb LNWR 3-cyl compounds were not coupled at all. The two HP cylinders drove the trailing driving axle while the LP cylinder drove the leading driving axle.

Looks interesting. You must let us know how you get on.

I bought some nicely repainted S/H Tri-ang clerestoreys like that which just(!) needed the bogies changing. I ended up destroying the existing bogies (Tri-and Mk1s which would be scrap anyway) to access the floor, chain-drilled round the boss to get that out of the way and then start rebuilding the floor to fit new bogie mounts.

Thorpe Culvert, GNR, 8 Aug 1979 The original box was replaced about 2003 with this one, seen on 21 October this year

For some reason I missed Wainfleet in 1979 but fortunately it was still there three weeks ago, 21 October 2021

Working our way back from Skeggy, the first box was Seacroft, apparently demoted to a crossing keeper's hut since 1964. Then a similar structure at Havenhouse, still with a summersault signal Both ex Great Northern and both now long gone but seen here on 8 Aug 1979

Some pictures of a rather forlorn looking Bedford Midland station taken on 14 June 1979 at the start of rebuilding.

iands took us to 'Skeggy' a few days ago. I had a day trip hanging out of the 'Jolly Fisherman' on 8 Aug 1979. Here are a couple of my pictures of Skegness box taken that day. Great Northern of course.

Trent, Midland Railway, 8 Sept 1963

What's mysterious about it? The HP cylinder exhausts into a the steam chest for the LP cylinders. Only the LP cylinders exhaust to atmosphere so it doesn't matter whether the loco is running compound or simple, it can only give four exhaust beats per revolution. On the Midland and LMS Compounds the outside cranks were set at 90 Degrees with the inside crank at 135 degrees.

Shepshed, LNWR, 1962

Whitwick, LNWR, 1962