ParkeNd

5541 approaching Norchard on the DFR 11th Feb 2017. Driver Keirran Copley making plenty of steam.

5541 at Parkend on the DFR 11th Feb 2017. Fireman Rhys Prince on top waving to passengers.

Thanks Dan. The parcels hut has always been an oddity to me. Does it actually serve any purpose?

A few shots of last Saturday. 5541 and her doughty crew - in fact Keirran, Courtney, and Matt may be DFR's youngest crew. Then some of the changes still work in progress at Norchard. The new double doors and the new floor and extended shop area I understand. The move of the parcels office and the work going on where it stood I don't. I'll ask.

Saturday 11th Feb was DFR's first real steam day this year. Here are a few photos of what was a cold and dark day with snow flurries - but good fun too. First three are Parkend - note the short train enabled two photos to be taken that would normally be obscured by carriages. The 4th is Norchard - which I find a difficult place to take interesting photos. Last two are at Whitecroft - note the extra ballast wagon renovated over winter.

2017 and it's Dean Forest Railway's first serious steam outing this year over this coming weekend 11th and 12th February. The weather forecast is for it to be a maximum of 3 degrees C all weekend, but with no rain forecast on Saturday I plan to get to Parkend with the camera before the first train arrives at 10.59 am. Will post a few - in view of the temperature there should be lots of steam.

Glad yours are OK. Mine haven't come loose - they were never stitched. To fix it the middle 6 sheets would need to be removed, the loose sheets inserted in their place, then the middle sheets placed on top of them - then try to rework the staples in. Probably not a goer.

Don't know if anyone else's copy of 1/17 is the same - pages 21 to 28, and 61 to 68 are not stitched into the magazine - they are just folded and stuffed into the magazine loose.

Its ages since I posted anything. DFR are in the quiet period punctuated by only the various children's events but there have been a few photos. In the meantime I have been posting on the Official DFR Society website.

A lighthearted day at DFR.

As threatened earlier here are a few photos taken at Lydney Junction and Norchard of the last conventional day's steam running this year - Wed 2nd Nov 2016. Santa has the show at Christmas time. There were two separate school trips on "my" train - shattering piercing row - two days after half term!! Whatever happened to double maths, PT in the frost, and detentions? Not sure what happens over the next few weeks - the cafe is a good place to escape from the missus. I it open? Any idea Dan?

Will post a few photos of Wed 2 Nov ride on DFR. Last running until Christmas.

Not counting a few Mince Pie Specials the end of DFR's season is rapidly approaching so I went down to Parkend to take a look at the new level crossing gates on Friday last week. It was a Thomas Day so Norchard was a no go area for old men. I was really surprised to see 5541 in party mood already at Parkend (my memory tells me it's usually the DMU) and the last few touches (except the targets) being added to the gates. Aron Stenning tipped me off that at about 12.15 the gates would be opened for the first time to let 5541 through to run round enough to fill up with water so I waited. Sure enough that all happened but I hadn't spotted the Class 14 on the back of the train and was surprised when 5541 returned to the front of the train and was towed out backwards with the train and coaches. Here it is in photos. An finally being towed backwards whilst looking surprised - see exhaust going the "wrong" way. I shall go back Wednesday for some final Autumn colour shots.

If all 7 above are considered Dan then your 1st Choice is both logical and loyal. But to choose a favourite from only the guests is what I had in mind. Had the Hymek materialised I might have been swayed that way even though it's a diesel - but it didn't. Working the other way around I would probably be tempted to jettison 5521 and MET1 first from the list - see how hard this is. Of those left the Class 26 is better than I thought it would be, the Beattie Well Tank was seductive, the Greyhound was awesome, and Iris just unarguably cute. Possibly a toss up between Iris and the Greyhound if my arm was twisted.

Even picking my favourite is impossible.

Thanks to Dan Winter for clarifying the identities above. As the summer/autumn part of 2016 draws to a close a reminder of the stunning guest locos appearing this year - all photos at Parkend. How ever will DFR follow that? [/ Mind you, as apparently demonstrated below, give resident star 5541 her head and she can get her tail out!! [/url]

Maybe one of the DFR guys will tell us who it is please. I had heard somewhere that the loco rebuild was going to be 5 years - and when I mentioned it to the driver he corrected me and said it was going to be more like 10 years. I suppose there are at least three ways the work can be done :- 1. As the sole priority with infinite funding and a dedicated team working uninterrupted. 2. Intermittently as funds are provided by other paying work for external customers - a la Gas Monkey Garage perhaps? 3. Fitting into the next X years workload as time becomes available in between other projects. Perhaps you have an inside knowledge yourself?

This Wednesday 19th October was the very last day left on the Flour Mill's 5521 (albeit masquerading as L150) boiler certificate. So here are a last few photos of it at DFR where a private party had been organised in the owners salon for Flour Mills guests. The driver of 5521 is I believe the foreman at the Flour Mill who will be in charge of taking the loco apart - which I think saddens him from what he was saying. The chap in the middle of the bench conversation is (I think) the owner of the Flour Mill and hence the owner of the loco. The last photo is probably my last view of 5521 - I will be 80 in theory when it returns - 80 in practice? - who knows.

Until your post above I had not realised that 5521 had only become L150 in 2013 at the request of London Transpot to help celebrate 150 years of the Underground. This makes sense of a comment I heard yesterday when someone asked what livery the loco would emerge in after it's 10 year refurb. A further thought from me in that case - will its reduced cab height be "corrected" if the livery is changed back to its original colours? I got the impression that its future livery was undecided at this stage. Nevertheless it is a superb loco that runs like a dream. Travelling in the coach immediately behind it reveals a tremendous aggressive sound. Apparently it's boiler certificate was due to expire at the end of yesterday and the thought of having to start taking it apart today was causing much sadness. I have more photos taken on its last running day and will post a few because I reckon it was a significant day in its life.

I aim to go back to DFR Wednesday this week when L150 will apparently be running so I might get a ride behind it this time before it vanishes for 5 years refurbishment. But here are six more photos taken Friday 14th October on the first day of the Gala. I have tried to make them a bit different from the other photos of the event doing the rounds on Facebook.

London Transport Prairie on the Dean Forest Railway this weekend.

I'm still processing the RAW files from Fridays visit to the Prairie Farewell Gala but here's 4 to be going on with.

Spent from 10am until 5pm at the Prairie Farewell Gala. 5521 the maroon Metropolitan Prairie is very nice and well worth seeing - it certainly wasn't being wrapped in cotton wool. Timetabling made it very hard to see both locos together. Between 12.50 and 1.30 they were both at Parkend but at opposite ends of their trains. Finally a magnificent double header was created at Lydney Junction at 3.30 pm but most people had gone home by then and didn't see it. Got some good pictures though - will post some soon.

It's a lady kind of chap. A senior DFR official. Lynne Wentworth the Admin Director if my memory serves me right.

Thanks to Dan for the above news. In advance of the Classic Car Show at NEC in November I have been "running in" a compact mirrorless camera which is tiny but has an APS-C sensor (like in a Nikon 7200 DSLR for instance) and an electronic eye-level viewfinder. It doesn't have a zoom lens so feet are required! I find a full frame DSLR and a heavy mid range zoom inappropriate in some circumstances - like at the NEC. The software to process it's unique RAW files is new - so all in all quite a learning curve. These are the results first time out.