A day on the footplate of 80080
We spend a full day on the footplate of the Standard Class 4 tank 80080 on the East Lancs Railway. The day starts with sub-zero temperatures and snow, signing on at 08:00 at Bury Loco shed. The cleaners have been here since 06:00 doing an essential job, and we take over 80080 just before full boiler pressure is reached. We move the loco through the yard and across Baron Road. The cylinder drain cocks are open continuously to allow the cylinders to get to full working temperature without damage from condensation, making very difficult to see at times. Eventually we couple up to the 4 carriages waiting for us on the platform.
The starter signal gives the all clear and we take the train over the 'ski-jump' and the M66 and on the Heywood. 80080 struggles a little to run freely and produces a plume of dark smoke to mark the occasion. Run round the train and back to Bury and onto Ramsbottom and Rawtenstall. Steaming more freely now we take on water at Rawtenstall and then run steadily back down to Bury.
We head back to Rawtenstall through the tunnels and take on water again at Ramsbottom, then run round at Rawtenstall.
We see late afternoon shadows as we return to Heywood. Then back to Bury. Allow the fire to die back a little, and move the loco back across Baron Road to the shed. We clean down the loco ready for the next crew to take her out again later that evening.
Many thanks to the 3 man footplate crew for their time and effort, and to the ELR for allowing me on the loco.
This was a 10 hour day reduced to 15 minutes for KZread. If you are interested in seeing more I can produce a 50+ minute DVD for a very reasonable price. Let me know if you are interested.
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Had the pleasure of driving her back in 1994 at the Midland railway centre at Butterley in Derbyshire. I also had the pleasure of helping with the restoration (though in a very small way) while she was at Matlock station goods shed back in the 70's. Absolutely stunning locomotive!
Excellent video with some classic shots, especially towards the end.
Cool! I admire these men for preserving railway and industrial history.
Bring back memories from the 90's that, on shed at 3am in mid January keeping everything unfrozen. worked as a cleaner then. I'll be back when the kids have grown up.
Thankyou for the Wonderful Video. You have really captured the atmosphere. I loved the night time segments. All the Best; Ian T.
Great footplate footage, love the standard tanks, lots of power for their size!
Thank you for posting
Is this loco one of the surviving Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway locos?🤔 I spent a few years as a volunteer along with my best friend when we were in the RAF. We worked on the Severn Valley Railway as cleaners, disposing the engines at night raking out the fires looking like miners at the end of the day! Being down in the pit the first time a HOT live loco drives over you is a real test of nerve! Then raking out the embers making our boots smoulder 😂😂😂 the next day we would get up at 4am check the boiler levels and raise steam on which ever locos were on diagram. I am vegetarian now and very old but in those days you could not beat an ‘engine-mans breakfast’! Clean the shovel with cotton waste, heat it up in the growing fire, crack in a couple of eggs and rashers of bacon then bakc in the firebox......and a big enamel jug of strong tea THE BEST meal ever! We never wanted to move up to firing we loved getting grubby! My mate Nick and I had a guards van with a pot bellied stove that one lump of coal would run all day. In between jobs we would sit in there chatting out of the rain, imagining how life would have been in the 50’s! I am old now and my old buddy is gone, but I will ALWAYS have steam in my veins. We were both aircraft engineers......what a difference to a steam engine👍🏻🇬🇧 RULE BRITANNIA.....long live steam!
That will be me in the future as I will soon be starting as a volunteer at the Llangollen railway. Hopefully after a few years as a cleaner I should work my way up to fireman.
superb love these engines. i went on 80098 once at night not knowing i was going on her. open the firebox door forgot got blinded lol. went to open the bunker slide door and pulled it out half a ton of coal on the footplate ha ha. not bad for my first time the driver wasn't impressed.
I don't know why the trams are in the yard. My guess would be that it is the most convienient storage site for the owner.
lovely!
Thomas driver and firemam.
Why was there 2 Blackpool Tram cars there ?.