75 today!
Teddy’s birthday
© Geoff’s Rail Diaries 2016
Geoff’s Rail Diaries
2 October 2016
They would be celebrating Teddy’s 75th
birthday at the Chasewater Railway
today. Teddy would operate the brake
van trips, while Colin McAndrew (the
other man in my wife’s life) would haul
a two-coach passenger train. Visitors
(the smaller ones, anyway) were invited to bring their
teddies...
With wall-to-wall sunshine and cool air earlier on, it could have
been a great day out - a ride on the train, perhaps, and a walk
around the reservoir before snapping the double-headed 4pm
departure. Could have been... In the event, it was one of those
days when things don’t quite go to plan.
We were disappointed to find that Colin McAndrew wasn’t
feeling too great - problems with his blower, apparently, so Holly
Bank No 3 would haul the passenger. Never mind,
it’s Teddy we’ve really come to see. If we got out
of the train (the 1.30 departure) on the return
journey, we could perhaps get a decent photo of
Teddy on his last run with the brake vans. We
could, but the sun chose to disappear behind a
thick bank of cloud, where it remained until Holly
Bank No 3 had gone out with the 2.45 departure.
There’s still time for a shot of Teddy returning with his brake
vans. He’ll be bunker first, so the sun will be shining. Now for a
walk around the reservoir - which we timed badly, arriving back
at Brownhills West just as the double-header left... But not to
worry - I’m sure Teddy had a great time, and of course that was
the whole point of the exercise - wasn’t it?
Link: Chasewater Railway
