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BLACKNEY, a Glimpse of the Forest


westerner
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12 minutes ago, westerner said:

Ben's been visiting again. A couple of shots of 8749 arriving with the afternoon goods from Bullo.

 

1855760916_8749closeup1Forum(2).jpg.8bbca753ec0ee2ff7d3df74bce4a84bb.jpg

 

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Bradford Barton meets Ben Ashworth - lovely pictures!

 

 

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19 hours ago, westerner said:

Ben's been visiting again. A couple of shots of 8749 arriving with the afternoon goods from Bullo.

 

1855760916_8749closeup1Forum(2).jpg.8bbca753ec0ee2ff7d3df74bce4a84bb.jpg

 

1493479928_8749closeup2forum.jpg.2f853eed2270f5200b5752f6d8f5e815.jpg

 

They work so well in monochrome Alan

 

Superb

 

Paul R

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I've been re-reading Bob Barnett's "Dean Forest Footplate Memories" and have been trying to match the dates in his accounts up and down the the two Forest Branches with photos in Ben Ashworth's "BR Steam in Dean" and eventually I came across a correlation. He describes a trip on Prairie 4564 on a very hot 28th August 1964, The loco was not in good condition, it was so poor that going through the 209 yard Bradley Hill Tunnel conditions were so bad on the footplate he wanted to get off but was stopped by his driver. Remembering there was a photo in Ben Ashworth's book featuring a small prairie I leafed through and found the photo and discovered  that it was taken on the 28th August 1964 so I must assume it was during the described trip. It sounded incredibly unpleasant with Bob laying on the floor of the footplate to avoid passing out through the heat, fumes and gasses that were filling the cab. It certainly gives a completely different view of the Forest Branches than do the almost idyllic photos.

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17 hours ago, westerner said:

it was so poor that going through the 209 yard Bradley Hill Tunnel conditions were so bad on the footplate he wanted to get off but was stopped by his driver.

 

It sounded incredibly unpleasant with Bob laying on the floor of the footplate to avoid passing out through the heat, fumes and gasses that were filling the cab.

 

I appreciate poor old 4564 was no Usian Bolt, but by the time you allow for our man feeling overcome, having a chat about leaping, a brief tussle, the fireman chipping in "how about lying on the floor", clearing a bit of room and gingerly getting down with knees creaking (or is that just me?) surely they'd have been out for about a minute?!

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On 19/01/2022 at 14:40, westerner said:

The demolition train arrives to take away track and ballast from a disused siding up the branch.

I saw the first line & my heart sank - I thought you were about to rip things up!

Really evocative pictures & I do like the idea of the removable loads on the bolsters.

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5 hours ago, Ramblin Rich said:

I saw the first line & my heart sank - I thought you were about to rip things up!

 

He'd better not!!! :nono:  This layout is far too good for that!! If Alan ever does want to scrap it, he can scrap it in my direction any time he likes... :yes:  ;)

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2 hours ago, westerner said:

I'll remember that if ever I do want to scrap it. But I have no intention of doing so for the foreseeable future.

That’s, I’m sure a great relief to many on here ……if it did happen there would be questions raised in parliament :angry:

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6 hours ago, gismorail said:

That’s, I’m sure a great relief to many on here ……if it did happen there would be questions raised in parliament :angry:

He could take a leaf from the "Big Book of Boris Excuses" if that happened....

"I didn't realise removing the track counted as scrapping"

"No one told me I was dismantling the layout"

"I wasn't there although it happened in my house".....

 

:jester:

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