• (Merchant Navy 35011) Wish i had that picture to put on here? But upper steam chest missing cap end and associated copper pipework (an apprentice job)! Missing pipe to lovely looking cleaned up smokebox! Now if boilers anything like that? When i took so many from Bristol through the river Severn tunnel to scrap the fitters sometimes removed drive rods? Good steel in tender! But with reversers in neutral then only drive cylinders to run dry on a dead engine? I’m no fitter, Dunno what i say really, We didn’t go very fast, Would pull 4,5,or six and booted off anywhere to let fare paying stuff fly by! I dither! Middle drive wheel on 35011 chopped off? Looks like axle there for inner crank and counter balances where i would spend so much time ‘underneaths’ over the pits on Exmth jct shed! Mainline drivers would walk the many shed roads calling me Lol! You couldn’t hide for long! The kiln for good hot silicon sands, Hot oil for bearings, Run to the whim of his or my senior fireman! And from a standing start and so many coaches my 35011 comes out of Blackboy and runs adjacent to the coal road so close to me on that London Waterloo mainline road over Posloe lane now doing 60MPH and gaining speed sweetly! I lift my nose for that sweet smell of well oiled perfection! No funny/ Odd smells! Les has its regulator over his shoulder and Graham always comes over to wave! Any more lift of that regulator and they wont get through the next tunnel? Oh nickers i was talking that photo of 35011? Middle big end and its drive rod missing no doubt! Look at the big hole under the smoke box! And no tender? But when’s gone is gone? Give up on the past, then what future do you expect? (Just wish i could put that photo on this). Sorry to go on a bit! But i would set out from home at 4am every morning to cycle twelve mile for £3-9shilling and eleven pence a week! Seven times greater than my paper round for seven days a week! Plus i get 15/- shillings for firing turns! (3/4 of a pound)! My word ive overdone it this time, But only group members see this!

      LesliePlatt
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