Knotty 100

Picture the scene, riding on a wooden bench seat in a compartment of a four wheel carriage. Up front is a small six coupled tank engine, emitting a sharp bark from the chimney as it surmounts a short sharp climb, before coasting down the gradient the other side. Flanges squealing around sharp bends on a railway built cheaply across fields. The exhaust interspersed with the gentle thud thud of the four wheeled carriages on the rail joints and the occasional scraping of overhanging branches laden down with rain scraping along the carriage roof. 

A century ago, this scene was common place on the lines of Colonel Stephens’ light railway empire but is rare on the standard gauge thanks to the all conquering BR mark one carriage and the use of former main lines.

We are lucky in that there are still places where we can enjoy this sort of travel, one of those is the Foxfield Railway, a short drive down the A50 from me. This weekend sees ‘Horden’, a superbly restored 1904 built Barclay 0-6-0 saddle tank visiting from another like minded line, the Tanfield Railway for the Knotty 100 event and paired with the superb Knotty carriages. 

The weekend saw the return to traffic from overhaul of home based ‘Hawarden’ and my first sighting of ‘Marston, Thompson and Evershed No 3’, the former Marstons Brewery shunter following its overhaul and the diminutive Kerr Stuart 0-4-0 completing the quartet of locos in service. There was a two hour window amongst thunder storms this morning to head over and make the most of it. After riding on the first train of the day, we found some suitable vantage points adjacent to the line to watch the trains go by. All good inspiration for when I get back to the Melyn Valley in model form.