Ivor Day (Part 2)

Ivor has steam up

With my early start, and my other half at home looking after baby, it fell upon grandma to bring number one son along around lunchtime. He is a Thomas fan through and through, so meeting Ivor would be a new experience. By the time I caught up with them he had already had a ride behind Ivor and was as excited about the trains as ever. What is it with little boys and trains?

With lots going on today, I have split events into two entries. The first part about locomotive preparation and an update on Bevan can be found here.

Poz - Punch and Judy show

Poz entertains

One thing about being three-and-a-half is that you find lots of things funny. In fact very funny if mine is anything to go by. Whilst photographing Bressingham's Christmas display last year I caught about ten minutes of Poz's Punch and Judy routine and knew it would be something that little one would like. Despite trying to persuade him to put the camera down at the Teddy Bear event he was too engrossed and subsequently didn't want to sit down and watch Poz's show. This time with no camera in hand and a little persuasion, I managed to keep him still long enough for things to start, reminding him that it would be funny and that he'd enjoy it.

Punch and Judy

Punch is in trouble

Where's the ghost?

The crocodile tries it on

It took about two minutes for the giggles to kick in, and after about another minute he was laughing his head off. It's great that he has such a good sense of humour. I very much suspect that next time I suggest we sit down to watch Poz there won't be any hesitation. Thanks Poz on behalf a three-and-a-half year old.

Rides galore

The Gallopers are always fun

With Poz ticked off the list and lunch consumed the rides could begin. Firstly a trip round the Nursery Line with Robin and Sian who were today's lunchtime relief, then a circuit of the Waveney Valley Line - again with Robin and Sian who were now relieving its crew.
Next up a spin on the Gallopers which today were running in steam. It amazes me how little one now seeks out Oscar or Brian after I'd told him that they'd been newly painted. I think Seymour isn't so popular with him as it's not on the outer ring.

A footplate ride

I have been volunteering at Bressingham for about six months now, and in that time I have only ridden once on the footplate - Martello's. Whilst chatting to Graham earlier in the morning he offered to give me a go on Bronllwyd so now seemed like a good time to take him up on his offer, and for me to see if a fisheye lens would give a driver's eye view. Hopefully at some point I can arrange to shoot some video footage from the footplate, and using a fisheye lens will give an interesting perspective as there really isn't much room!

Approaching Diamond Crossing

A little further round

As we pulled out of the Nursery station, I spotted Seymour heading to the workshops for a chat with his friends, so when we arrived back I wandered down to seek him out and say hello. Sadly he had already gone, and it was about ten minutes later when I bumped into him by the Nursery Line level crossing for a quick chat. It was nice to see him again and even nicer to know that he is a fairly regular visitor.

More train rides

Fisheye view from the cab

As I hadn't yet been on Ivor, now seemed a good time to put it right. After all, it was Ivor day and it would have been very remiss of me not to. It is also an opportunity to chat to Brian, today's brakeman, looking very smart in his uniform. Although he might like to think otherwise, Brian makes for a good photograph, especially when dressed up. As there is space up front, little one gets to ride next to Brian and I get a different perspective with a fisheye lens.

Jones the Steam

Peter, helping Jones the Steam today

Brian, Ivor's brakeman looking very smart

Bluebell, the donkey

Another spin on the Gallopers and we choose the Waveney Valley Line as our final trip to end the day. A couple of hundred yards after crossing the river Waveney, the line runs through a wooded area and late in the afternoon the sun (assuming it's out) streams through the trees and creates a beautiful effect where it hits the smoke.

The combination of sun and smoke creates interesting effects

Clearing down

A day's work done

After the last trains arrive back around 16:45 and the passengers have alighted the carriages are uncoupled and the locomotives driven back to the engine shed to be shutdown for the night. Graham tells me that it is important to fill Bronllwyd's boiler with water since the level will drop as she cools down, and an insufficient water level the following morning means an additional step for the driver.
I subsequently discovered that Alan Bloom needs to be drained as this helps to prevent the buildup of limescale in the boiler. I guess that the different boiler configurations and materials impose their own set of operating procedures.
Finally the driver must sign the train off: either in working order, or if there are any faults, provide notes so that the Duty Engineer can make an assessment of the situation.
Despite a long day I found it enjoyable and learned a lot about locomotive preparation. Apologies that it has taken me so long to write this entry, but there were over three hundred images to look at and sort as well as a lot of text to write.