railway stations – greenbenchramblings

Nostalgia Week – Flying Scotsman Ride

The Flying Scotsman is probably the most famous railway engine in the world and remains as much a favourite now as it did in its hay-day. Recently it has been given a complete renovation and looks brand new again in its deep green livery. It was taken on a tour around the UK giving as many people as possible a chance to see and experience it and provide a few with the opportunity to ride aboard the train.

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Many people have fond memories of this stately old engine and many would jump at the chance of a ride in a train pulled by it.

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This rarest of opportunities came our way recently when the newly restored Flying Scotsman was visiting the heritage railway near us, Severn Valley Railway where for a few days people were given the chance to ride with the stately engine. Naturally Jude and I with Daughter Jo and Son-in-Law Rob jumped at the chance to do so.

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So as part of my week of nostalgia posts here is the story of that day. So many things we saw and experienced that day reminded us of childhood railway journeys that took us to holiday destinations around the British coast.

We waited patiently for the Scotsman to steam into Kidderminster Station and excitement rose as we smelt heard and then finally saw the beautiful old steam engine pull in. As it got closer the tension rose further! We would soon be off on a journey of a lifetime!

We walked slowly down the platform admiring the beautifully crafted wooden carriages where we would be spending our journey.

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Once aboard, we chose our seats, got ourselves comfortable, settled down and enjoyed a coffee as we awaited our departure from Kidderminster to make our way to Bridgnorth Station aboard the train pulled by our favourite railway engines of all time, the Flying Scotsman.

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The engine pulled its carriages out of the station, in a storm of white steam and black smoke beneath a pall of smuts and the aromas of fire, smoke, hot oil and nostalgia.

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The Flying Scotsman drew crowds wherever a road or footpath came near enough to the track to see and smell its passing. As we passed cameras were raised to eyes and a multitude of photos taken in a few moments of steamy passing. A hoot from the engine driver greeted each group of spectators who reacted with raised waving arms.

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In sidings along the way old rolling stock, goods carriages and line-repair vehicles waited their turn to be used or renovated.

A special surprise awaited as we left the station at Kidderminster, a miniature steam railway line which ran alongside the main railway. The engine doubled as a seat for the driver and children sat straddled the carriages.

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A great day of memories and full of nostalgia which Jude and I shared with our daughter Jo and son-in-law Rob. A day we will never forget!

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Come on a quick tour through my gallery of shots taken during our day with the Flying Scotsman.

The Architectural Heritage of Shrewsbury – Part 1 From Station to Castle.

Back to some Shropshire architecture for this posting as promised. At the back-end of 2012 I posted a couple of articles based around the market town of Ludlow after being challenged by some followers to feature architecture photos. So here is another batch of posts on the architecture of Shropshire.

Just ten minutes up the road we find the county town of Shropshire. It is not a large town but its ambition is to become a city. Shrewsbury is famous for its historical buildings, for being the birthplace of Charles Darwin and for being the friendliest, most well-mannered town in England.

We don’t go into our shire capital often for the usual reason ie shopping. We avoid shopping whenever we can and try even harder to avoid shopping in town centres. Too much noise, too many people, too much traffic!

But we love Shrewsbury for its buildings and the entertainment it provides for us. Theatre, cinema, jazz club and coffee houses.

This series of posts feature the buildings of our town. They will not follow a chronological order but we shall explore streets, alleys and lanes in bite-sized chunks of town, chunks just the right size to explore in a half day. It would be all too easy and obvious to present the architecture in historical order but I really want to give you the atmosphere of patches of the town. Sometimes the selected areas will seem random but that is how my mind works.

The starting point for today’s random collection of buildings is the coffee shop in Marks and Spencers. After a latte (Malc) and cappuccino (Jude), we are suitably refreshed and warmed up.

First stop is the school attended by Charles Darwin, where we find a big, bronze statue of the great man himself sat outside, while inside on one of the windowsills is the scratched signature of his brother. The building now houses the town’s public library and this famous graffiti is in between the book cases. Darwin is often described as the town’s most famous son, but he is more than that. The most intelligent person ever to have lived for example?

The building displays interesting detail in its stonework and a wonderful big sundial with two faces sits astride the one corner.

The cobbled lane leading to the library is overlooked by an interesting row of town houses and a beautiful gateway.

We walked on down Castle Street towards one of Shrewsbury’s most photographed buildings. It appears in many books about railways and about the Victorian era. The railway station. How can a railway station look so good?