July 14th - Foxfield Gala - During the extended heat-wave I drove across to Blythe Bridge via the new route discovered by Henry, avoiding Derby and Mansfield etc., a much smoother journey via Newark and South Nottingham, joining the ‘A50’ at the ‘M1’ crossing. With the caravan, only a 2 hour run, arriving at Caverswall Road, with its immaculate new car-park, and pitching the 35 year-old Sprite Alpine caravan in the large field, used as a car-park for the hundreds of visitors on gala days plus a few ‘campers’ like me..

The visiting loco, immaculate-in-maroon livery - Hunslet Jessie from Llangollen was already raising steam near the shed. Its owner, Mike Pearce told me it would be given a trial run down to the colliery later that day. Jessie spent some time in a children’s playground before moving to the Dean Forest Railway in 1980 for restoration. After a ‘bits and pieces’ move to Llangollen in 1998, the loco was finally restored in 2003 and this was to be the first time I would see it run.

[Jessie is an 0-6-0 saddle tank built by the Hunslet Engine Co, Leeds in 1937, Works No. 1873. It spent all its working life at Eastmoors steelworks in Cardiff as no. 18 in the fleet. The massive size of its buffer beam indicates how hard it was expected to work as an industrial engine hauling ladle wagons of slag to the sea shore tip, or pushing 100 - 150 ton torpedo wagons of molten iron ore between the blast furnaces and the melting shop. It could pull trains of over 1000 tons on the level. With 18in cylinders and smallish 4 ft diameter wheels it is said to be a precursor of the Austerities.]

While I was at the Colliery I inspected the recent work on the Headsticks, the upshaft is looking good but cost rather a lot of money!

After speaking with volunteer Bill Adshead at the ‘colliery end’, who was busily strimming the long ‘vegetation’ ready for the onslaught, I drove over to Churnet Valley Railway. Just a DMU running shuttles, with the northern end of the line blocked by a parked rake of coaches. I was shown round the workshops by a veteran volunteer who showed me the huge American Lima-built ‘S160’ and the boiler for a second loco of the same type. The bar type frames were being worked on in the shed. GWR Ditcheat Manor (pronounced ‘Ditch it’) was to run at the weekend.

Beyond Leek I paid a visit to my friends at the Rudyard Lake Steam Railway, only 10¼ inch gauge but a ‘real railway’. Nothing moving, but a look at the former Ashorne loco now re-gauged from 12¼” and a natter about the forthcoming gala. I heard that an Eastleigh engine is to visit the line. Also, the ex-Mullrail Waverley is now to remain there.