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More steamy sounds! We will try to update these mp3 files on a regular basis…

Churnet Valley Railway – 7821 DITCHEAT MANOR at Consall 14/1/07 (file updated on 21/02/08)

The railway had a special event this weekend to celebrate the visit of THE GREAT MARQUESS after its overhaul, but we failed to get a good recording of it here. However we caught up with it with more success in September – see Track 31. The other loco working that weekend was DITCHEAT MANOR, which we hear whistling as it pulls out of Consall Station at 1423 and passes our recording spot close to the lineside just to the north of the isolated Black Lion pub. The exhaust echoes back off the old limekilns on the opposite side of the valley.

Ffestiniog Railway – EARL OF MERIONETH at Cei Mawr 13/9/07 (file updated on 21/02/08)

While on holiday in Porthmadog we spent a day recording between Penrhyn and Tanybwlch on the Ffestiniog Railway. Our first track this day, just after 1030, captured a twelve-coach train behind EARL OF MERIONETH as it came up past the new signal box at Rhiw Goch and swung round over the stone-built embankment Cei Mawr. A still morning, giving lovely sound from the train and the birds too.

North Yorkshire Moors Railway – 61264 & 45212 at Green End 29/9/07 (file updated on 21/02/08)

On the Saturday of the Autumn Gala, B1 61264 double-headed with 45212 on the 1350 six-coach train out of Grosmont. The locos were running “face to face” with 61264, tender-first, on the front. It had deliberately been positioned this way round for the weekend because of activities on the Whitby line. The locos come into earshot as they pass the cottages at Esk Valley. As they climb above us, they pass into a short cutting and beneath a bridge, out of which they erupt with volcanic effect.

North Yorkshire Moors Railway – 49395 at Beck Hole 30/9/07 (file updated on 21/02/08)

A year to the day from the recording at Track 26, 49395 heads the 1135 ten-vehicle demonstration freight train up the gradient from Grosmont. We recorded this track high above the hamlet of Beck Hole, just above the road bridge. The wind, which had been off the North Sea the day before, has now swung round to the south and intermittent warm sunny spells have encouraged the birds to sing in the hedgerows.

North Yorkshire Moors Railway – 61994 GREAT MARQUESS at Grosmont 30/9/07 (file updated on 21/02/08)

The cricket pitch at Grosmont is overlooked by the Middlesbrough line as it heads out up the valley towards Egton Bridge. From a position in the middle of the pitch trains can be seen and heard as they pull out from Platform One and climb across the Esk viaduct. Heading the 1425 Whitby to Battersby train, the K4 blows off in the station then whistles for departure and we hear the three-cylinder exhaust beat to full effect as she approaches.

Foxfield Steam Railway – No.6 14/10/07 (file updated on 21/02/08)

Under thick grey cloud cover with gentle rain falling and a light south-westerly wind blowing, this recording was taken from the field on the east side of the railway at Tickhill Lane. Originally we were going to have positioned ourselves higher up the hill on the public footpath which leads towards Dilhorne but then we spotted the bull in the field. True he seemed more interested in munching grass than what we were doing but in the end we opted for a spot right by the line from where we could make a rapid exit if needed! The train was the 1300 off Caverswall Road, comprising two bogie carriages, with the tiny Robert Heath 0-4-0ST No.6 running bunker-first at the head of it. As it thrashed up the 1 in 33 the towering exhaust blew leaves off the lineside trees. Reaching the top of the climb a long whistle was blown for Hegarty’s Crossing. At this the bull stopped eating and stared long and hard at us – we were very relieved to pack up and go!

Main Line Special – 9466 at Coalbrookdale 3/11/07 (file updated on 21/02/08)

Vintage Trains covered unusual territory with their ‘Pannier to Ironbridge’ train, and an enormous crowd was standing near the viaduct next to the Museum of Iron to film and take photographs. We retreated to a more peaceful spot in Woodside Orchard, just a little higher up, which proved very satisfactory. As the train climbed up Coalbrookdale the exhaust echoed off Cherry Tree Hill in front of us, then, rounding the 90-degree bend into the side valley the six-coach train slogged past at a sedate but steady pace, filling the valley with sound and drowning out the rushing water in the mill pond overflow below us.

Main Line Special – 6201 PRINCESS ELIZABETH climbing Lickey 18/2/06 (file updated on 14/03/07)

A thick mist is rolling in over Bromsgrove just after nightfall, as a Central Trains Class 152 diesel unit drops down the Lickey Incline, sounding its horn. Meanwhile 6201 is going flat out in the opposite direction at the head of Past-Time Rail’s twelve-coach “Midlander” excursion, returning from Bristol to Derby. A Class 66 diesel is pushing hard on the other end of the train too, but cannot be heard over the roar from the Pacific’s chimney. When the sound of the train finally fades away sheep can be heard bleating in the fields across the valley.

Main Line Special – 5690 LEANDER climbing Lickey 25/3/06 (file updated on 14/03/07)

Five weeks later we were back in the same spot, overlooking the scout camp at Pikes Pool, to hear another L.M.S. loco in action on Lickey, this time on a Vintage Trains excursion. 5690 was returning from Cardiff to Tyseley and was meant to have had assistance on the climb from ROOD ASHTON HALL. But for complicated reasons the “Hall” never made it to Bromsgrove and the “Jubilee” was allowed a crack at the climb on its own, hauling six coaches. This was the first time for more than seven years that a steam-hauled train had ascended Lickey unassisted. A blustery wind is ruffling the microphone cover and the last of the light is just fading away as LEANDER storms past.

Severn Valley Railway – 45110 near Country Park Halt 2/4/06 (file updated on 14/03/07)

Down in the woods near the river we are sheltered from a keen west wind but high up above us the branches are thrashing about and the resident rooks are squawking. 45110 on the 1450 train from Bridgnorth – ten coaches today - has paused at Country Park Halt for a few moments and now opens up vigorously for the climb up to the golf course crossing. Black Fives Rule!

Main Line Special – 5690 LEANDER at Chapel-en-le Frith 29/4/06 (file updated on 14/03/07)

On another Vintage Trains excursion, LEANDER draws away from Chinley South Junction towards Dove Holes Tunnel on the “Buxton Spa Express”. Steam hisses from one of the cylinder draincocks, and in a pen nearby the hens run for cover while the resident cockerel gamely does his best to shout down the passing train.

North Yorkshire Moors Railway – 34028 EDDYSTONE and 80135 at Goathland 20/5/06 (file updated on 14/03/07)

Recording from the track to Goathland House caravan park, just to the south of the station, on the weekend of the Spring Gala, with a herd of cows chomping the dewy grass in front of us. Bang on time at 1950 two whistles sound. 80135 is heard first, slipping on the wet rails as it gets stuck in at the rear, while moments later a blast of three-cylinder exhaust heralds EDDYSTONE emerging from under the road bridge on the head of the train.

North Yorkshire Moors Railway – 5224 at Green End 21/5/06 (file updated on 14/03/07)

On the Sunday morning of the gala weekend we find we are not alone making our recordings; other aficionados of the sound of steam are here from Dorset and from Gloucestershire as we set up at Green End, not far out of Grosmont. The 1150 train, comprising six coaches, is headed by G.W.R. 2-8-0T no. 5224, which whistles for linesiders as it passes on the 1 in 49 gradient.

Foxfield Steam Railway – WIMBLEBURY on Foxfield Bank 15/7/06 (file updated on 14/03/07)

Under clear blue skies WIMBLEBURY, one of the Foxfield’s big National Coal Board Austerity saddle tanks, makes short work of the steep gradient out of the colliery up to Dilhorne Park Station, hauling six 21-ton mineral wagons. Assisting in the rear as the climb begins are the ex-Shelton Steelworks Bagnall 0-4-0ST HAWARDEN, and the other Austerity WHISTON. The wagon wheels squeal on the curving track, and the banking locos are heard whistling as they set back into a siding to take on water.

North Yorkshire Moors Railway – 53809 at Thomason Foss 30/9/06 (file updated on 14/03/07)

One of the visiting locos at the Autumn Gala was Somerset & Dorset 2-8-0 no. 53809, up from the West Somerset Railway. Down below us Eller Beck is tumbling downhill from Thomason Foss as the loco approaches on a mid-afternoon demonstration freight train. Two coaches have been added to the load since the morning run, perhaps to give this powerful loco something to make it work a bit? The wagons rumble past, the loco slows for the speed restriction over Water Ark Bridge, then opens up again on the other side.

North Yorkshire Moors Railway – 49395 at Darnholme 30/9/06 (file updated on 14/03/07)

The other star at the Autumn Gala was the ex-L.N.W.R. Super “D” no. 49395. Here it is heard at the head of the seven-coach 1715 from Grosmont, running 25 minutes late. As it makes its way round the long right-hand bend under the road bridge it is obviously making very heavy weather of the climb. A bystander’s dog barks at the loco. Passengers are leaning out of every window, willing the train to keep going, which it does – just. The distinctive Super “D” exhaust beat is heard to good effect until eventually the sound fades in Mill Scar cutting, below Goathland Station.

Main Line Special – 7802 BRADLEY MANOR near Welshpool, 12/3/05 (file updated on 17/04/06)

With the gauging problems which had prevented it from operating to the Welsh coast a year previously now resolved, 7802 BRADLEY MANOR finally ran over the Cambrian line on Saturday 12 March 2005 at the head of Past-Time Rail’s Cambrian Coast Express. We hear it at dusk on the return journey, climbing the bank from Buttington to Middletown, next to the Breidden hills, with the lineside trees full of the sound of jackdaws chattering.

Main Line Special – 61264 at Chapel-en-le-Frith, 9/4/05 (file updated on 17/04/06)

On this brisk day in early Spring, we managed to find some shelter from the wind in the lee of the embankment which carries the Manchester to Buxton passenger line over the top of the old Midland route as it approaches Dove Holes Tunnel. 61264, heading the Railway Touring Company’s Buxton Spa Express, draws away from a stop at Chinley South Junction and accelerates its nine coaches uphill past us and plunges into the tunnel.

North Yorkshire Moors Railway - 60800 at Moorgates, 01/05/05 (file updated on 17/04/06)

On a cloudy and damp May Day, V2 60800 GREEN ARROW heads the 0945 Grosmont to Pickering train – the first southbound trip of the day. We have our backs to the little stream which drains the northern end of Fen Bog. As the engine passes Sadler House Farm the regulator is opened up and we are treated to the full delights of three-cylinder sound.

Severn Valley Railway - 7903 FOREMARKE HALL at Highley, 23/9/05 (file updated on 17/04/06)

Just after nightfall on a drizzly Friday evening on the Severn Valley’s Autumn Gala weekend, 7903 FOREMARKE HALL makes a hesitant departure up the 1 in 50 from Highley Station, at the head of the seven-coach 1900 Kidderminster to Bridgnorth train. The loco slips several times on the greasy rails and her whistles and sharp exhaust echo across the valley.

North Yorkshire Moors Railway 45110 and 45212 double-heading through Darnholme, 01/10/05 (file updated on 17/04/06)

On the Saturday lunchtime of the Moors’ Autumn Gala weekend the hill slope at Darnholme is heaving with photographers so, because we want to be nearer the line for our recording, we crouch down out of their sight among the gorse bushes near the river bridge. After ten minutes’ wait our knees are complaining but the wait is worth it to hear the seven-coach 1150 train, double-headed Black Fives. 45110 is pilot loco and carries reporting number 1T57, while 45212 is the train engine.

Main Line Special - 45407 and 76079 climb past Combs, 22/10/05 (file updated on 17/04/06)

Ian Riley’s two hard-working locos double-headed the eleven-coach Buxton Express from Manchester on Saturday 22 October 2005, a dank day with clouds lowering over the Peak District hills. 45407 was running as former Scottish classmate 44996. The recording was taken from one of our favourite spots just above Owlgreave Farm at Combs, on the climb from Whaley Bridge to Dove Holes. Running some forty minutes late due to delays around Stockport, the locos work hard up the gradient past us with towering black exhausts soaring up against the grey cloud.

Foxfield Steam Railway MEAFORD No.2 climbs away from Cresswell Ford Lane, 04/12/05 (file updated on 17/04/06)

As a former colliery branch line, the Foxfield Railway abounds with sharp curves and sudden gradient changes. Trains approaching from the line’s headquarters near Blythe Bridge pass over Cresswell Ford Lane at a gated level crossing and promptly hit a 1 in 33 gradient. Stephenson Hawthorn 0-6-0T MEAFORD No.2 is heard slogging up the bank, running bunker first, pulling a three-coach Santa Special train.

Main Line Special – 45407 climbs Talerddig, 21/03/04 (file updated on 17/10/05)

7802 BRADLEY MANOR was scheduled to haul Past-Time Rail’s “Cambrian Limited” special train on Sunday 21 March 2004, but was prevented from so doing because of gauging problems at Machynlleth. Instead, Ian Riley’s Black Five 4-6-0 No. 45407 took over the train and here it is heard on the return trip from Tywyn, hard at work on the 1 in 52 gradient up to Talerddig. A strong westerly wind is blowing and down below us traffic can be heard on the A470 main road.

Ffestiniog – PRINCE departs Penrhyn, 21/02/04 (file updated on 17/10/05)

On Saturday 21 February 2004, a bright blustery day, we attended the Ffestiniog Railway’s Winter Warmer Weekend. The 1863-built 0-4-0 PRINCE whistles and accelerates out of Penrhyn Station at the head of the 10.50 vintage train from Porthmadog to Blaenau. As the train clears the level crossing over the A4085 road, the gates are opened to road traffic and an Express Motors Mercedes minibus heads off towards Garreg.

Severn Valley – 7802 BRADLEY MANOR arrives/departs Highley, 17/04/04 (file updated on 17/10/05)

At the Severn Valley Railway Member’s Day on 17 April 2004, we took this recording at Highley Station. It was a fine spring day with pleasant spells of warm sunshine – the birds were singing and insects were buzzing around the microphone. We hear 7802 Bradley Manor approaching on the 14.20 from Kidderminster. After a pause to pick up waiting passengers, a prompt departure is made up the 1 in 100 towards Hampton Loade. A long whistle is given for the foot crossing at the top of the bank.

North Yorkshire Moors – S15 825 climbs past Green End, 15/05/04 (file updated on 17/10/05)

A recording next to an old barn at Green End on the Saturday of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway Rail 200 Steam Gala 15 May 2004, a warm day with a light north-westerly wind blowing. Swallows are diving in and out of the barn. Behind us, the Rail Trail is busy and gates can be heard opening and closing as ramblers pass by while, up in front in the line-side fields, a farmer is attempting to round up his sheep, calling out instructions to his dog. The farmer wants to get the sheep over the bridge across the line and into the pastures on the far side. The sheep, however, are reluctant to cross the bridge which is crowded with photographers. The photographers are equally reluctant to move, but the farmer has his way and moves them off just before newly-rebuilt Class S15 4-6-0 No. 825 climbs through on the 14.50 to Pickering. A few spoilt pictures perhaps but our sound recording was fine! As the train continues towards Beckhole the farmer rides off up the hill on his quad bike.

West Somerset – 7820 DINMORE MANOR passes Leigh Woods level crossing, 26/06/04 (file updated on 17/10/05)

On Saturday 26 June 2004, on our way back from a holiday in Devon, we called at the West Somerset Railway. Heavy rain through the morning was followed by an overcast afternoon with a light breeze from the south-east. While we are waiting at Leigh Woods for the 15.55 from Minehead, two car drivers stop to have a conversation with both cars parked on the level crossing! The train is already whistling for the crossing before they decide to drive off. 7820 DINMORE MANOR makes a lovely noise climbing up the valley with its seven-coach train. The whistle sounds again for crossings further on towards Crowcombe and, as the train goes out of earshot, the sound of water from a nearby brook can be heard.

Foxfield – WHISTON pilots WIMBLEBURY, 17/07/04 (file updated on 17/10/05)

Saturday 17 July 2004 found us at the Foxfield Railway Gala. Recording near the summit of Foxfield Bank just after 10.45, we hear two former National Coal Board Austerity saddle-tanks, WHISTON and WIMBLEBURY, double-heading a short train made up of six sixteen-ton mineral wagons and an N.C.B. brake van. WIMBLEBURY is fresh from its ten-year overhaul.

North Yorkshire Moors – 80135 in Newton Dale, 11/05/03 (file updated on 16/08/04)

On the showery Sunday afternoon of the 2003 Spring Steam Gala at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, we parked the car at Raper's Farm picnic site (on the forestry road beyond Levisham Station) and walked down the track to the occupation crossing at Kidstye Farm. There was no-one around - not even a farm dog - we had the place to ourselves. A slight breeze ruffles the microphone and birds twitter in the trees nearby as Standard 2-6-4T No. 80135 thunders along the valley hauling the 15.20 service from Pickering. The loco roars up the 1 in 128 gradient, then the regulator is closed abruptly, a whistle is given for the farm crossing, and the train coasts past, slowing for the right-hand curve and the approach to Newtondale Halt.

North Yorkshire Moors – 45212 at Darnholme, 03/10/03 (file updated on 16/08/04)

The Friday of the 2003 North Yorkshire Moors Railway Autumn Gala Weekend started off dull, but sunny intervals developed later on. By lunchtime, Darnholme was busy with photographers and passing ramblers. The grass was dry enough to sit on, so we made ourselves comfortable among the grasshoppers while we recorded Black Five No. 45212 climbing the 1 in 49 in a confident manner at the head of the lightly loaded 11.50 service from Grosmont. Eller Beck burbles in front of us, and a little wind disturbs the microphone as the loco strides past, whistling frequently for lineside photographers.

East Lancashire – 76079 at Bury, 24/01/04 (file updated on 15/04/04)

"Passenger trains operating up the Heywood line from the East Lancashire Railway's Bolton Street Station at Bury round a sharp left-hand curve just outside the station limits, and then are faced with a 1 in 21 climb up and over the Manchester Metrolink's line running out of Bury Interchange. This recording was taken in breezy conditions on the Saturday of the January Steam Event, from the car park by the 1848 Knowsley Street Bridge, right next to this severe gradient. Over the drone of Saturday morning traffic we hear Standard Class 4 No. 76079 whistling as it approaches, running late on the four-coach 10.55 departure. Moments later the train comes under the bridge whereupon the regulator is opened wide to surmount the “ski slope”. As the engine nears the summit, the tumultuous exhaust echoes back off the stone walls enclosing the car park."

Great Central – 45305 at Quorn, 25/01/04 (file updated on 16/08/04)

By the time we took this recording on the Sunday of the Great Central Railway's Winter Gala it was already well after dusk and a fingernail moon was high above Bradgate Park, shining in a clear, dark sky. It was perishing cold, but peaceful apart from the noise of traffic crossing over the station bridge. Black Five No. 45305 was running half an hour late on the 17.05 Loughborough to Leicester service, the last of the day. The guard gives the right away, the engine whistles, and the train departs raucously down the long straight towards Swithland.

All recordings taken by Linda Jeffcoat on the dates shown.

Original, unedited recordings are in the possession of LSJ Recordings.