get rid of your steam??????????
 

someone told me about this site and its pretty fascinating always fancied a do on one of the steam trains since i stood on the engine of the flying scotsman when it stopped at accy station a few (goodfew)years ago and for the price its cheaper than taking kids to blackpool and more exciting. http://www.railwayvideo.com/railtours/

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perhaps we could have a accy web meet on one of the trips up to carlisle and a few beers in the historic city, bet it would be a brill day plus nostalgic for some.

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When I worked in Bury (and lived in West End), in the early 60s, I used to go by train. They were steam trains and I loved them. They were often dirty, always cold in Winter and a bit noisy but there was something about a steam engine that the modern ones just don't have. My grandfather was the Station Master at Church & Oswaldtwistle station in the 1910s and 20s so maybe it's in the blood.

Some years later, after I was married, we lived in Whitby, North Yorks. The Whitby to Pickering railway line had been axed by Beeching but the N Yorks Moors Railway Society decided to open up the old line. My husband joined and used to go with the children, on a Sunday, helping to clear it. The steam trains started to run on it about a year before we left the area.

Last time I travelled by steam train was in the Lake District, on the line to Windermere. I loved every minute of it - though I fell asleep on the way back, just like I always did on the Bury train. :D

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well; we might think its more exiting staggers but doubt very much wether many of todays kids would,i love em.

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my husband worked on the steam trains at rosegrove,,he had just passed from being a fireman to a driver when "beeching " got rid of hundreds of railmen .it was last in first out and you couldent be demoted to the rank you were before ,so it was the chop for him ,,,it broke his heart ,,,,i remember him getting £300 ,redundency money,,, that seemed a fortune then,,,,

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I have always had a deep affection for British Steam Trains -- I still model an LMS Branch line mostly running Burnley/Rosegrove engines and rolling stock (including, for real nostalgia, Stanier 57ft crimson 3rd class carriages).

I misspent(?) a lot of my youth trainspotting and just observing railway operations --soaking up the atmosphere as it were -- much of it on my way to and from regular and Sunday school (of course, we all walked in those days) at Towneley station which had a level crossing and signal box. I got to know the signal box man very well -- in fact I found out from him that WW2 had been declared on my way home from Sunday school on 3 September 1939.

During the 1930s just about every Lancashire family that could afford it went to Blackpool for holiday during wake's week or August bank holiday. The travel by those marvelous steam trains to get there was itself memorable -- I can still recall the excitement of seeing the engine approaching Burnley Bank Top station (now Burnley Central) and the thrill of arriving at Blackpool Central!

I travelled a lot by train during the war Years -- mostly from Burnley Manchester Road Station or Rosegrove, locally (Accrington, Blackpool, Southport, etc.) and further afield (London, Derby, etc.). After the war a lot of Blackpool excursions especially the Saturday night "Passion Express" from Burnley Bank Top.

Happy Days!

Jamesl

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heres a nice piccie for old times sake.

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fantastic,,,,,

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you dont get many of them steaming there way past cleveleys do you granny claret?

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For some reason i always connect steam trains with romance.

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This should stir the blood of British steam train enthusiasts:

http://www.jp29.org/rw09.JPG

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good piccie but what train is it? its a clan??????????????

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Clan MacKenzie

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Have you ever seen "Brief Encounter", with Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson? A very English love story and with Rachmaninov's 2nd symphony as the theme music.

It just wouldn't have worked with a 2-carriage diesel train. ;)

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I know you meant Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto, West Ender -- but it is indeed a great romantic movie -- one of my favorites. It evokes all the wonderful steam railway sights and sounds for me.

James

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You're right, James, Concerto not Symphony. It was late and I'd had a fair bit of red wine. I should have known better as I have it on a CD. ;)

Trouble is, I can't hear that piece of music now without being transported straight to Carnforth train station and hearing Trevor Howard saying, "Can I help? I'm a doctor". :D

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STEAM TRAIN colne to blackburn 39 miutes.

todays sheds colne to blackburn 39 minutes.
and we are supposed to be going forward? it beggars believe me.

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I remember my dad taking me down to stand at the little gate by the side of the"underground" at the bottom of Crossland Street to watch the first diesel train to come through Accy. Must've been the late 50's. It was actually announced in the Observer and a crowd of people had gathered to witness this momentous event (eeh, we knew how to live in them days!).

Can't say I was impressed...

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trains today just dont have that majestic look of spender and carissma . they were awesome flying through the countryside ,and you could hear the clickerty clack ages before they came into view ,,,that picture of that train going over the arches says it all ..

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My mum grew up in the Station House at that station. She lived there from the age of 3 until she was 16 (in 1926). She used to say they never really noticed the trains even though they were, literally, right under the windows.

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I will "getting rid of my steam" next Tuesday on The Jacobite Steamer from Fort William to Mallaig. This is the is line used in "Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets."

http://www.westcoastrailway.co.uk/

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have you ever been to mallaig before?me and the other half where touring scotland and we hadnt seen a deer or stag anywhere, so we went to visit mallaig not much there ,so had a brew in the sailors cafe and went to watch this boat unload its cargo,what where they unloading??? red deer all dead so i said to the misses take a photo and you can say you have seen one....smack around the head whilst chuckling to myself.

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Never been to Mallaig before staggeringman. Been to Scotland quite a few times and seen more than a few red deer (and caught more than one or two brown trout).

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been up there loads of times never wet a line in the rivers once yet, been out sea fishing thats good crack.hired a boat at lochgilliped at the side of loch long cheap for what it was.

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heres a couple of piccies took whilst being in the right place at the right time?the train is the DALESMAN it is a LMS BLACK FIVE NO.45407 carrying passengers from hellifield to carlisle. the interesting thing about this train is it used to run out of accrington so if any of you codgers know it give us some history.

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Jamesicus. Thanks for showing the picture of the 'clan'. As soon as I saw it I had massive goose bumps allover. I actually started tingling. I was a mad very enthusiastic train spotter in my younger days and railway modeler to boot. I went all over the place to see steam locos. Two of my most memorable moments were running along the platform at Manchester 'London Road' to get my first decko of a brittania and then another time after sneaking into Crewe shed and 'wow' standing next to 'City of Glasgow' . What a monster from ground level. This loco I never ever thought I would catch sight of because it had been damaged in the Harrow and Whealstone rail disaster along with 'Princess anne (the turbine and the jub 'Windward island(I think). The only 'Coronation' class I never got to see was 46222 Queen Mary. Its all too late now of course. Damn!!!

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Nearest I got to a steam train. The Jacobite running from Fort William to Mallaig Over the Glenfinnon viaduct (Harry Potter). Hope the pics came up ok:Banane45:

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Ok it didnt work so i'll try again. Foolowed mi moto as mi sister is better at this than me. I'm to young to have know the age of steam and the first one I saw was the ones going up Snowden but The Jacobite was something else best description "what a corker".

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As a child I lived opposite that gate, on Grant Street. I remember sitting on the wall as the steam trains came lumbering through to Accy Station; the whole wall shook as they passed! Funnily enough the drivers never bothered telling us to clear off, even though we shouldn't have been sitting a mere two feet away from certain death.

I also remember carriages of the Royal Train being parked there one afternoon.

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Digging into your memories to rememise steam trains I am surprised that no one has mentioned the wonderful smell that eminates from a locomotive.

My village had a quarry which used steam trains to haul chalk to the lime kilns and as I read through this thread, I could actually smell the locomotives chugging away with their tons of chalk.......wonderful! :D

Just had to edit this as I remembered something as soon as I clicked the "send."

Some weeks back I had a coach load of 5 - 7 year olds on my coach and they were playing a game which entailed making the sound of various forms of transport. When it came to trains, they all made the sound of a steam train - - complete with whistle! I mentioned this to one of the teachers and she was almost speechless as she confessed that she hadn't realised the significance of young children copying a sound that was in the main obsolete for the past 40 years!

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Why has no one mentioned the Rawtenstall - Bury Line. Especially as since you can go on steam trains now every sat and sun from Rawtenstall and call off at Ramsbottom or go onto Bury and then come back. And coming up to xmas they normally have santa trains and thomas the tank engine visits pretty regular.

Its all run by volunteers a friend of mine trained as a steam engine driver and has done the run many a time.

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I have never heard of nor did I know it existed. Maybe a nice dose of publicity is required and not just for christmas.

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i never heard of it either agree with spug needs publicising maybe vitty could get his teeth into this?

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For those who don't get out a lot:
http://www.east-lancs-rly.co.uk/index2.php

Also only about 40-50 minutes drive from Accrington. The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway:
http://www.kwvr.co.uk/

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:D steamer comming through church today more info later..someone wants serving

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The route for staggeringman's steamer:
http://www.uksteam.info/tours/t06/t0128a.htm

Next one's due on 4th March.

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A "Black 5" (as we trainspotters used to call them)! Superb! I'll make sure I see the next one!

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:D Do you mean as we Anoraks used to call them? :D

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http://www.railwayvideo.com/railtour...ubleblack5.jpgSaturday 4th March 2006 - 'The Liverpool - Manchester 175th'
Double-headed from Liverpool Lime Street!
Join us for one of the most spectacular special steam-hauled trains of early 2006, with LMS Black Five No. 45407 and Standard Class 4 No. 76079. Start Liverpool Lime St (08.40), over Chat Moss to Manchester Vic, Miles Platting Bank and then to Stalybridge. Through Diggle tunnel to Huddersfield, Hebden Bridge and over Copy Pit to Blackburn, then over Sough and through Darwen to Manchester. Finish Liverpool Lime St. A fantastic tour to commemorate the anniversary of this pioneering railway, with two highly appropriate locomotives.
Call us on 0870 747 2983 for last minute bookings just thought i would let you all know this is comming through accy and church, this saturday if you want to get your cameras out!

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sorry approximate time at accrington is 12.46.............through church and it will stop at blackburn before heading off to manchester!

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April 1st 2nd Steam Event
April 9th Vintage Motor Bike Rally Heywood Station.
For info e-mail [email protected].
April 29th 30th May 1st Day out with Thomas
May27th 28th 29th War Weekend - Click here for details
June 17th Macmillan Cancer Relief “Race the Train”
June 18th Morris Minor Day Heywood Station
June 24th 25th Steam Event
July 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th Diesel Event
July 23rd Rover Car Rally Bury Station
August 4th 5th 6th Day out with Thomas
August 28th Teddy Bear’s Picnic Nuttall Park Ramsbottom
September 1st 2nd 3rd Diesel Event
September 9th 10th LMS Theme Days All Steam
September 10th Vintage Vehicle Day Bury Station
Click here for a vehicle booking form
September 24th Rossendale Valley Motorbike Show Rawtenstall
October 7th 8th Day out with Thomas
October 28th 29th Steam Event
November 11th English Electric Theme Day All Diesel
Diesel and Steam DayNovember 12th Diesel and Steam Day
December 2nd 3rd 9th 10th
16th 17th 22nd 23rd 24th Santa Specials
Advanced Bookings Required
See leaflet available from August
or check the website for details.

For further details contact East Lancashire Railway, Bolton St Station, Bury, Lancashire, BL9 0EY
or phone 0161- 764 7790 Between 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m


That's whats on at the east lancs railway this weekend. By the way the railway station is just across the road from asda.