Childhood Memories Steam Locomotives

Regards DoctorM's posting
[style="color: #333333;"]The school I went to was near Clapham Junction - the former LSWR and LB&SCR split just before the entrance and the lines ran either side of the school. King Arthurs, Lord Nelsons, Schools and Bulleid air-smoothed pacifics pulling passenger trains (including the Atlantic Coast Express, or Ace as we kids called it) were my daily treats. There were loads of other classes to be seen both on passenger and freight trains. I was always fascinated by Bulleids Q1s, and I also liked the standard Britannias, 5MTs and 2-6-4Ts.

I know that school very well. I passed it every day when I had my flat on St Johns Hill during the 80's & 90's (as 1980,s)
I grew up in London Victoria in the '60's round the corner from the main line terminus. As it was nearly all 3rd rail electric stuff by then I only have one abiding memory of steam - The Golden Arrow, recently arrived at its dedicated platform. The image is fixed in my mind. Spent a lot of time in the "news cinema" next to the Brighton Belle platform, devloped a thing about Warner Bros cartoons, Meep-Meep! What's up Doc'!

My father ensured that my first loco on my (T/T) train set was a Bullied Spam Can with the correct green coaches, baggage van and art deco Ashford Station. But as a six year old I never twigged the significance of all that. Oh, and if I had only realised that Nine Elms was but a walk down Vauxhall bridge Road .........
Max.
 
I have an early memory, just, of looking over a wall at Gateshead
while staying with Gran, and seeing a named loco "Cock of the North", passing by, and later in life , when a confirmed Train person, driving out to Dripstone Crossing to see and hear the Western mail with 38 class climbing out of the valley , while I was working for aweek in Wellington NSW, and even later in 1960s listening to a36class climbing out of Singleton on the North West Mail..the last working steam I heard was double headed QJs on frieghts watering and cleaning the fire and then heading out towards Nanking [China] in 1976, and this happened every 15 mins all night long.. got very little sleep for a week I worked there [Wuhsi].

I consider myself very lucky..

Gordon.
 
Ah yes my mother used to wheel me down in my little buggy, I was a nauseating fat little third of a child, to Kittybrewster to watch the GNSR 4-4-0s, sometimes though there would be a BIG engine, a B12 I suppose, then occasionally a real GIANT, that would be a Black 5 with what I now realise would have been the Niddrie goods. This would be about 1938, just before the war. 61A and 61B sheds were where I went later on Saturdays, but then into the fifties I kind of lost interest. Then when I realised what was happening in the mid to late sixties I discovered the Cumberland fells and places like Rose Grove Darwen you know, all those places. Suddenly, it was gone, BR steam finished. So, along with some other guys, we did the SNCF in '69, DB in '70, OBB in '71, RENFE and CP in '72. I went to Poland in '75, then a bit of a gap, then four weeks in Pakistan and India, I suppose that must have been about 1980. Later I had a bash at Turkey, I did a short steam tour in Russia, out of Moscow, I went to South Africa in the last year of main line steam there. I did Cuba twice before the sugar business collapsed. I "discovered" the US narrow gauge lines, been there several times, then someone mentioned China, wow, eventually went there eight times. Bashed Pakistan again, but I'll never go back there, the Mallets of Eritrea more recently, and this year I had an enjoyable visit to eight railways in what was East Germany, including the famous Hartz. What's left? Not much time, I fear, and certainly little cash. One never knows, as an ex-girl friend of mine said, when I remarked, we'll never do this again, she said, never say never. We haven't, by the way
 
Glengrant said:
Ah yes my mother used to wheel me down in my little buggy, I was a nauseating fat little third of a child, to Kittybrewster to watch the GNSR 4-4-0s, sometimes though there would be a BIG engine, a B12 I suppose, then occasionally a real GIANT, that would be a Black 5 with what I now realise would have been the Niddrie goods. This would be about 1938, just before the war. 61A and 61B sheds were where I went later on Saturdays, but then into the fifties I kind of lost interest. Then when I realised what was happening in the mid to late sixties I discovered the Cumberland fells and places like Rose Grove Darwen you know, all those places. Suddenly, it was gone, BR steam finished. So, along with some other guys, we did the SNCF in '69, DB in '70, OBB in '71, RENFE and CP in '72. I went to Poland in '75, then a bit of a gap, then four weeks in Pakistan and India, I suppose that must have been about 1980. Later I had a bash at Turkey, I did a short steam tour in Russia, out of Moscow, I went to South Africa in the last year of main line steam there. I did Cuba twice before the sugar business collapsed. I "discovered" the US narrow gauge lines, been there several times, then someone mentioned China, wow, eventually went there eight times. Bashed Pakistan again, but I'll never go back there, the Mallets of Eritrea more recently, and this year I had an enjoyable visit to eight railways in what was East Germany, including the famous Hartz. What's left? Not much time, I fear, and certainly little cash. One never knows, as an ex-girl friend of mine said, when I remarked, we'll never do this again, she said, never say never. We haven't, by the way
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Cyril
Are you quite sure she was talking about railways?:rolf:
 
As usual Cyril has cracked me up!

My earliest recall of steam was in Newcastle Central, about '62 or so, I'd be 3 or 4...... meeting my Father off the train, as he came home from sea, and seeing the train pulled in by, what at that time, I thought was a 'Princess'. This would have been due to my elder brother having a Triang one, and me not knowing about A3's !! (or an A1 or somerhing similar I suppose) anyway it was big and had 6 driving wheels! A few years later, I have a strong memory of seeing big, dirty black goods engines hauling rakes of hoppers - Q6's and J27's I suppose. Usually at Fellgate bridge, Gordon..... I used to look forward to going that way in the car in case I saw steam! Unfortunately my Mother didn't see the point in interrupting her social life to take her youngest down to Tyne Dock shed - even when the Flying Scotsman visited. :-( and of course dad was away - again.

The local NCB colliery we lived near to was electrified, but the line from there to Whitburn was steam when I was young, Austerity 0-6-0's and outside cylindered Stevenson Hawthorns. Then the diesels came....noisy Rolls-Royce powered Sentinels, and that was the end really.....:(
 
Enjoyed reading these. My earliest memories only pertain to big diesels :crying:
but they were still a lot better than the units around today.

I am reading a book called "1968" at the moment. Ten years before I was born.

I think it is interesting that the romance of steam grips those of us who have no recollection of it in service.

If I could have a time machine I think seeing a 9F with a monster mineral train would be great to see.
 
Re your remark and the ex-girlfriend, Keith, I can't really remember what she was talking about now, it was so long ago. Whatever it was, I think I enjoyed it
 
CoggesRailway said:
I think it is interesting that the romance of steam grips those of us who have no recollection of it in service.

If I could have a time machine I think seeing a 9F with a monster mineral train would be great to see.
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You mean, sort of like this? There was a guy standing next to me on this day with a cine camera, wish I could have seen his film. The old girl well, she wasn't that old, was slogging her way up to the summit, ejector problems I think
047e94f33f0945b2b562c3a481956536.jpg
 
Oh how I am enjoying reading the replies to my post. Great.:thumbup:
I cant be me then and I am not mad. Just sentimental and nothing wrong in that.
John.
 
Anyone remember 47606 ?? You know, the Tri-ang jinty ?

It ended it's days on Bletchley turntable minus it's centre drivers.

No, not the Tri-ang one..............:bigsmile:
 
Glengrant said:
CoggesRailway said:
I think it is interesting that the romance of steam grips those of us who have no recollection of it in service.

If I could have a time machine I think seeing a 9F with a monster mineral train would be great to see.
Click to expand...
You mean, sort of like this? There was a guy standing next to me on this day with a cine camera, wish I could have seen his film. The old girl well, she wasn't that old, was slogging her way up to the summit, ejector problems I think
images
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AND that looks like Wildboar Fell in the background. My favourite part of the world.:clap::clap::clap:
 
When I were a lad in the early sixties we lived in Putney and the house backed up to the railway just near the point where the Undergound went over the mainlines (4 of "em) and the branch off the main to Wimbledon climbed up to East Putney station. so I had eight lines running over and under the garden! Steam was limited to milk trains climbing the grade to Wimbledon not sure what they were but on frosty wet nights they would get stuck on the grade and start whistling for help! until a helper arrived. When we had visitors all the kids wanted to do was sit on the shed roof and watch the trains go by!! Probably why I never had an interest in trains until my boys came along. one memory I always think of is Winston Churchill's funeral train passing at the bottom of the garden, all the neighbors were out as well waving flags as it sped past can't remember what was pulling it though maybe a Deltic?
The grade up to Wimbledon is now alas gone just the brick towers left last time I went home. but the house still shakes as the freights go by!!!
 
Great memories - when I was about 8, it would have been 1966 or there abouts, my father was driving us home (probably from grandmothers) from High Wycombe to Princes Risborough. As we were nearing West Wycombe an open wagon frieght passed over a bridge in front of us. The frieghts took an over the hill route whilst the passenger trains whizzed through a newer tunnel.
We raced the train to Princes Risborough - it was sending great showers of sparkes into the night sky - we won the race - just. It rattled through PR at quite a pace and we counted 60 odd wagons.
I remember it well.
 
For me it was watching the trains emerge from the tunnels at Edge Hill in the very early sixties. Me and my best mate Barry would watch for hours whilst sitting astride an 8ft high wall marvelling at all the smoke and steam - especially from the double headers. Then one day this blue and gold contraption exited the tunnel without any smoke and making a strange noise - it was Deltic.
Me and my mate didn't think much of it.
We thought it was boring and went home early for tea. :bigsmile:
 
Earliest memories would be the local push-pull from Windsor to Slough, headed by a Pannier. At Slough there was sometimes a Collett 0-4-2T pottering about while we waited for the semi-fast to Paddington, hauled by a large Prairie, and very noisy as it entered the station. If one was lucky an express would thunder past on the fast lines. Nearer London I always looked out at Kensal Green gas-works to see the little 0-4-0 tanks shunting the coal wagons. this would be in the mid-1950s.

Later we moved to Twickenham, so it was a change to ex-LSWR locos with a Drummond 700 class on the pick-up goods. Sometimes one of the big hump-shunters from Feltham marshalling yard might be used. Around 1963 or so we had two "specials" in the area, as the last two Beattie tanks and one of the Lyme Regis 4-4-2Ts had Farewell tours round the south-western suburban lines.

Going to school in London I remember the last London area steam service - the peak hour trains from Clapham Junction to Kensington - mostly hauled by a Standard 2-6-4T but using carriages from the early 20th century, until eventually BR suburban coaches became available. That service went diesel in 1967, I believe. Plenty of steam in and out of Waterloo as well. Earlier in the 60s I recall a Bulleid Pacific at Charing Cross which at the time was unusual, and there was often a standard tank on the low-level platforms at London Bridge. Further out of town the goods trains out of Hither Green yard had C class 0-6-0s at the head until the new overhead electrics (E33xxx ?) arrived.
My last trip behind revenue-earning steam was from Liverpool to Preston (the train was en-route to Glasgow) a standard 4-6-0, I think. Cannot now recall the date, but perhaps 1973-ish (???)
 
Oh Cyril, that looks like the 'Long Meg' anhydrite train - one of the 9F's swansongs, it was very tightly timed.

Oh, the spam can 'Winston Chrichil'l hauled his funeral train, did it not? Saw it on the telly, the coffin was in a full brake painted in pullman livery I think, although that was grey and greyer on TV of course!
 
My first clear memory (age 6) was not of the trains but of the Station forecort at Padstow in cornwall, & a vivid sight of an old single deck half cab bus, permanantly parked opposite the entrance as a rest room for the Western National bus drivers.
Later on when travelling to Penzance I remember being impatient when a stopping train went off the main line at Bodmin road, upto Bodmin town, returning to Bodmin Road, before continuing the journey, ( I think I wanted to get back to my meccanno!! )
When I was about 9 I had my first train set Triang black Princess
A few years later when living at Churston, we lived in a cottage just one field away from the Brixham branch, & the regular unchanging sight of a small BR(W) tank ( 14xx? ) in between two auto coaches running to & fro, Locally known tongue in cheek as the Brixham whipet
Then went to school in Dartmouth by train from Churston, usually suburban stock with NO corridors & accross the Dart in the railways own ferry boats ( Thomas Hauley rings a bell )
occasionally if we legged it down town quickish we could catch the return Torbay express empty stock working back home ( it doubled as a local stopping train back as far as Paignton I think, with huge sidings at Goodrington to cope with holiday traffic
also at that time ( 14 ish? ) did train spotting at Paignton station ( not much to see at Churston ) quite a few trains then terminated at Paignton & Goodrington Halt ( for the holiday camps) so lots of mainline steam & local shunting, great fun when shunting was across the level crossing at the south end of Paignton Station. There you got a good view from the road & public footpath that ran alongside
Only once went to Newton Abbott to train spot but got hassled by a porter sent up to move us on when we sat on a grass embankment by the bridge at the south end of the station, Some vehicle had kindly bent a part of the steel fencing allowing slim boys to squeeze thro!!
Later as a lorry driver I went to Exmouth docks to collect sleepers when the track was 'rationalised'?
collected roof slates from Kingswear when a signal box was demolished.
Worked into Friary yard Plymouth to load into 16 ton steel mineral wagons, but as then things were into a rapid down turn that part of the yard hardly saw any engine movements, wagons would appear & dissapear over night, I remember thinking that I was glad I did not live in earshot of such a yard.
I now wish I had taken more notice of what was going on around me, and cameras were low on the list of priorities with a young growing family
 
minimans said:
When I were a lad in the early sixties we lived in Putney and the house backed up to the railway just near the point where the Undergound went over the mainlines (4 of "em) and the branch off the main to Wimbledon climbed up to East Putney station. so I had eight lines running over and under the garden! Steam was limited to milk trains climbing the grade to Wimbledon not sure what they were but on frosty wet nights they would get stuck on the grade and start whistling for help! until a helper arrived. When we had visitors all the kids wanted to do was sit on the shed roof and watch the trains go by!! Probably why I never had an interest in trains until my boys came along. one memory I always think of is Winston Churchill's funeral train passing at the bottom of the garden, all the neighbors were out as well waving flags as it sped past can't remember what was pulling it though maybe a Deltic?
The grade up to Wimbledon is now alas gone just the brick towers left last time I went home. but the house still shakes as the freights go by!!!
Click to expand...

Minimans - you must have lived in the same street as me, and at the same time!
Although the road changed name half way along, where the footbridge crossed the Putney to Waterloo line. From your description I assume you were at the start of Disraeli Road, whereas I lived in Fawe Park Road.
When it was foggy (quite often in those days) I can remember being woken up at night by the bangs of the fog signals that were placed on the track - and I lived the other side of the road and our garden did not back onto the railway, so had the disadvantages without the pleasure of being able to see the trains.

Churchill's funeral train was pulled by a Bulleid Battle of Britain light pacific named "Winston Churchill" but if I recall correctly the nameplates were switched to a better locomotive so number did not match the name.
 
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