|
June 15th - Day 1
In past years, we've only attended the Tanfield Steam
Gala for on the Sunday. We've usually been
at the Frontline Sedgefield event on Saturday, but this year it wasn't being
held. Since my daughter had a dancing rehearsal on Saturday morning, we
couldn't take both Jeeps on day one. Instead, we took her "My Little
Pony" themed model railway on display, joining two other model railways
and a number of trade stalls in the Marley Hill carriage shed. |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
I arrived around 08:30 hours while the steam engines were still building up steam and the diesel was assembling the mixture of carriages and goods wagons for each train. While my daughter couldn't be there on Saturday morning, she joined me around lunch time and spent the rest of the day talking ponies to the public. As for the real steam action, due to keeping an eye on the model railway, I was limited to watching the shunting in Marley Hill yard, just outside the door of the carriage shed. |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
JUNE 16th - Day 2 For the second day, we took both Jeeps along
to join the Sunderland & District Classic Vehicle Society on display in
the field above Marley Hill yard. Soon after arrival, we hopped on the train
at Andrews House Station, pulled by No3. Twizell, one of the railway's own
locos. The first ride was South, through Causey Arch station and stopping at
East Tanfield station for a coffee and cake. Last year, the platform was
having new concrete edging fitted. This year, it was all complete and a large
area outside the station building was block paved. There's also a fairly new
carriage shed. |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
After coffee, we caught the next train North, back through Causey Arch, Andrews House, passed the well of the old turn table and onward to the end of the line at Sunniside. Originally of course it carried on to the River Tyne, but now, the track at Sunniside stops where the A6076 road cuts across. There are no buildings or facilities at Sunniside, just a grass covered platform and a passing loop for the locos to run around the train for the return journey. |
|||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
Here's a small selection of vehicles from the Sunderland & District Classic Vehicle Society. The society had their vehicles on display all weekend, along with some auto themed car boot sale stalls. There was a fairly intensive time table for the trains, but unfortunately one of the guest locos suffered a mechanical failure the week before the event and wasn't able to attend. I didn't take as many photos this year but did shoot a lot more video. |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
We had another ride on the train later in the afternoon but by 16:00 hours, there was a very dark cloud getting close. I'd already started to remove the follow me sign and flags from the Jeep when the first spots of rain started to fall. Thankfully I'd put the canvas roof up on the GPW soon after arriving that morning. We were just leaving the main gate when the clouds let go and dumped their contents. The sun was still out and shining brightly, creating a very strong rainbow, with a very shallow curve and very close to the horizon. All the cars heading in the opposite direction were also followed by rainbows of their own. By half way home, the rain stopped and the Jeeps were dry again by the time I came to put them back in the garage. |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
|
|