Patrick Davey

Lovely stuff!! Sorry to miss this one

NUNS ON THE RUN PART ONE - KIDNAP It’s Saturday March 31st 1956, and the Great Northern Railway Board is running a series of special events to mark the 80th anniversary of the formation of the Great Northern Railway of Ireland on April 1st 1876. They had decided not to run events on the exact anniversary date because April 1st was Easter Sunday that year. Despite the precarious state of the GNR Board’s finances at that time, the railway employees took such pride in their work that they insisted on the anniversary being marked in some way. But the Board were not overly keen to spend money on network-wide events, and instead, the staff at each station were left to organise (and fund) their own events. At Clogherhead in Co. Louth, it was decided to offer a day of steam locomotive driver experiences, with regular Clogherhead locomotive T2 442t No. 64 rostered to be at the station the whole day. It was a fun family day at Clogherhead A fleet of GNR buses operated a shuttle between the station and the beach No. 64 was sent to Clogherhead with driver Rod Glover, a top link man who was actually a descendant of the esteemed GNR(I) engineer George T. Glover who designed the original T class locomotives: Rod was therefore well-connected. His fireman for the day was Sammy Shovlin, a keen but ultimately unsuccessful golf amateur, who blamed his lack of sporting achievement on his railway job - he always ended up in the bunker. Also on duty that day was Fergie French, by far the finest fitter (he was from Fintona) who would be on hand to ensure that No. 64 was well-oiled throughout the day (Rod and Sammy had previously expressed their intention to get into exactly the same condition after they finished their shift at Amiens Street that evening). The Clogherhead steam locomotive driver experience event was scheduled to begin at 10:00am, and well before that time, a sizeable queue had gathered at the station, as many folk wished to avail of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of driving a steam locomotive. The day was a great success and those who enjoyed the experience left the station filled with renewed pride in their railway, and they expressed their gratitude to the GNR team who had done so much to make it all happen. Two nuns, Sister Ann R. Kay and Sister de Zaster, have been awaiting their turn But things started to unravel around 4:45pm when it was the turn of the final two people in the queue to ascend to the footplate of No. 64. Two nuns, Sister Ann R. Kay and Sister de Zaster (she was from Belgium), had arrived by car from Ardee, having heard of the event and hoping to build on their previous, if unorthodox, experiences with No. 64. Rod and Sammy were actually delighted to see the two nuns, whose antics had become the talk of the railway. Soon the sisters were absorbing all the essential information pertaining to the locomotive’s controls, and both driver and fireman were actually quite impressed by how the ladies performed when given carefully supervised control of No. 64, easing the locomotive gently forwards and then backwards along the platform a number of times. As the locomotive came to its supposed final stop, Fergie French the fitter from Fintona appeared at the cab door, and alerted Rod & Sammy to a possible issue with the right hand side piston. There's a problem with the locomotive but the crew shouldn't have left the footplate unattended.... The locomotive crew, in a moment of carelessness, both left the footplate to see what was concerning Fergie so much, and immediately, the naughty nuns looked at each other, winked, and sprang into action. In an impressively slick manoeuvre, Sr. de Zaster slammed the cab door firmly shut with a flick of her shoe, whilst at the same time disengaged the locomotive’s brake lever. Meanwhile, Sr. Ann R. Kay, waiting for just the right moment, pushed the regulator forward and soon No. 64 was in motion. It all seemed to happen in a matter of seconds, so much so that the three enginemen stood frozen to the platform with looks of absolute terror on their faces. By the time they realised what had happened, No. 64 and her liturgical lady loco crew had passed the end of the platform, and were steaming smartly towards the road bridge. Thankfully the points were set for the running line rather than the headshunt, thus avoiding an immediate derailment. But that of course created another, and much bigger concern - the locomotive was now heading out of the station on an unauthorised movement, with two nuns at the controls…… The two nuns bring No. 64 towards the overbridge.... ....as the GNR men can only look on in horror PART TWO - RUNAWAY On the footplate of No. 64, the mischievous maidens were very happy with themselves - they had of course planned the whole thing, the idea being to steam their way a short distance out of the station, then return and enjoy the embarrassed looks on the faces of the railwaymen. However, as soon as Sr. Ann R. Kay reached for the regulator with the intention of stopping the locomotive, she realised with sheer horror that it was firmly stuck in the forward position and she was unable to release it, not even with the help of Sr. de Zaster. No. 64 was by now well clear of the station limit and was making her way at a leisurely pace, but out of control, towards the junction with the GN main line - not a pleasing prospect. Back at Clogherhead station, Stationmaster Sandy Castles was making frantic phone calls to Amiens Street and also to Drogheda North signal cabin, which controlled the junction for the Clogherhead branch - the signalman immediately set the points for the branch and stopped all traffic in the area. Driver Ned O’Hara was quite confused when he was brought to an unexpected halt a short distance to the north of the junction, with VS No. 208 ‘Lagan’ hauling the afternoon up Enterprise, and his confusion only intensified when shortly afterwards he saw locomotive No. 64 ease onto the main line from the branch, with two nuns on the footplate, frantically waving their arms and sounding the whistle. The runaway loco approaching Drogheda No. 64 was now on the GN main line, and soon she was rattling across the mighty viaduct on the approach to Drogheda. A down goods train was occupying the centre road through the station and there was a railcar set in the down platform, so the runaway had to be routed into the up platform, and those who remember it speak of the locomotive lurching to the right as the left side wheels lifted off the rails, the right side wheels squealing like a demented banshee, and the loco almost toppling over. Thankfully she righted herself just beyond the tall south cabin, and there was a loud clang as the wheels slammed back down onto the rails. Soon No. 64 was well past the junction for the Oldcastle branch, and confidently making her way southwards towards Laytown. Crossing the mighty Boyne Viaduct Once the railwaymen had recovered from the shock of realising that one of their locomotives had in effect been stolen by two tiny nuns, who had only been shown the basics of driving a steam locomotive ten minutes beforehand, they started scrambling to formulate a plan to bring the situation under control. CIE had been sending their new diesel locomotives across to the GN lines on test runs, and it was quickly realised that A class locomotive A30 was sitting in a siding in Gormanston station, in the care of a CIE driver, a CIE Inspector and a GN pilotman. The request was made for A30 to help bring No. 64 to a stop, so the brand new diesel locomotive, her futuristic silver livery sparkling in the Spring sunshine, was driven onto the up main line around 15 minutes before the tank engine was due to arrive. It was estimated that No. 64 was travelling at around 40 miles per hour so A30’s driver selected a speed just below that, intending to allow the steam locomotive to make contact from behind, at which point he would start bringing her to a controlled stop. The GN pilotman would then board the steam locomotive and undo whatever damage the naughty nuns had inflicted on the controls. No. 64 hurtled past regular service trains on the mainline A30 had just crossed the Delvin viaduct and entered County Meath when the CIE Inspector, who was travelling in A30’s rear cab to act as lookout, spotted the unmistakable wisp of white exhaust in the distance. He ran back through the locomotive, past the deafening throb of the Crossley engine, and alerted the driver and GN pilotman that the nuns were approaching. The Inspector returned to the rear cab, the pilotman took up position in the engine room (holding his ears) and all agreed on a system of hand signals to be used to count down to the critical moment of impact. No. 64 was approaching, but seemed to be slowing down - it later emerged that her experienced fireman Sammy Shovlin had kept the fire low for the short runs at Clogherhead but as luck would have it, he had also arranged to have the loco’s water tanks topped up just before she was commandeered by the nuns, with the intention of making a swift departure once the event had concluded - this meant that the fire was burning itself out and there was little danger of a boiler explosion. A30 was well beyond Balbriggan when the Inspector gave the signal to indicate that impact was imminent, and sure enough, at a speed of barely 30 miles an hour, there was an almighty ‘clank’ as the steam locomotive’s front buffers made contact with the diesel’s rear buffers. The three men, who were all in the front cab by this stage, were thrown forward quite roughly, but the driver was able to quickly compose himself to begin the risky procedure of gradually reducing speed in order to bring the unlikely ensemble to a halt. No. 64 was, on paper, no match for a brand new and ultra modern diesel locomotive, but the ageing steam locomotive gave a good account of herself and put up a mighty protest as A30 tried to slow her down - and slow down she did, albeit very gradually, although the CIE driver and Inspector were getting concerned that the incessant shuddering and shaking would eventually tear their lovely shiny new locomotive to pieces. The GN pilotman then made a suggestion - he yelled his plan into the ears of the two CIE men, who looked at him in horror, but both agreed that this was probably the only means by which the whole debacle could be brought to a swift and safe conclusion……. PART THREE - SALVATION AT SKERRIES By now, word had been passed up the line about the runaway steam locomotive and the ‘diesel in shining armour’ (literally) which was doing its best to bring her under control. At the next station, Skerries, a large crowd had gathered on the down platform to watch events unfold, because the up platform had been placed out of bounds to allow the locomotives to pass safely. A small number of staff remained on the up platform, in the shelter of the main station building, and before long they saw the silver A class appear in the distance, by now travelling at less than 20 miles per hour. In the front cab of A30, the GN pilotman asked for one last effort to reduce speed, then he opened the cab door, and positioned himself at the top of the locomotive’s cab steps. Speed had now reduced to around 10 miles per hour, and as soon as the down platform at Skerries had been reached, the pilotman jumped out of A30’s cab, raced along the platform beside the diesel locomotive for a while before falling slightly behind to draw level with the black steam locomotive’s cab, the terrified nuns staring out at him in disbelief, their faces by now black with a thick covering of coal dust. With the end of the platform rapidly approaching, the pilotman launched himself towards No. 64’s cab door. He just about managed to land correctly, then he kicked open the door and fall in an undignified heap onto the footplate, just as the platform ramp passed by outside. He immediately jumped up, reached for the regulator handle, and with considerable force, managed to free it, pull it back and at last bring No. 64 to a halt, around a quarter of a mile beyond Skerries station. He also made sure to engage the brake, just to be sure, then he glared sternly at the two nuns who were consoling each other and sobbing in the corner of the cab. A30 had stopped a short distance further up the line but she soon reversed back and coupled up to the now pacified steam locomotive, the hiss of steam gradually weakening. The CIE inspector suggested that they push No. 64 back to Skerries and place her in the loop off the up line, throw out the remnants of the fire and leave her there until further instructions were received. The pilotman agreed, so once the CIE men were back in A30’s nearest cab, he disengaged the brake and A30 began the slow shunt back to Skerries. They stopped at the platform, where the two nuns were escorted down from No. 64’s footplate, to be looked after by the station staff. The steam locomotive was placed in the loop and soon she was sitting there in silence. Meanwhile, the two nuns immediately headed across to the booking office and innocently asked for two single tickets to Clogherhead. The reply of the ticket clerk was not recorded. No. 64’s original crew, Rod Glover, Sammy Shovlin and Fergie French, soon arrived at Skerries on SG3 No. 41 which travelled light engine from Drogheda, to be greeted by the sight of No. 64, sitting lifeless in the loop. As fitter Fergie examined the stricken locomotive, a local character, who had just been thrown out of a nearby hostelry as a result of over-inebriation, staggered up to Fergie and asked: “Wasshhamadder boss?” Fergie answered “Piston broke.” Back came the reply: “Aye, me too.” With grateful thanks to Kieran Lagan and Tony Mirolo for facilitating the insanity!

These look superb - I would certainly like to see more photos!

i wonder do sound files exist for that and also for the sound of bin lids being hammered onto the pavements.....

Crikey those vehicles really bring me back!

Looks like a great show - sorry to be missing it this year but grateful for the photos here on the forum.

The Countess has returned to the Nixon Works for some final detailing and her digital installation. That will leave just the separate etched name and builder plates to round off the build, as well as a cab interior and some other small fittings. With many thanks to Alan @Tullygraineyfor this great work and for this clip of the locomotive running on one of Alan’s superb layouts. And huge thanks to Jamie @J-Mo Arts for doing the CAD of the locomotive, you did a fantastic job there sir! IMG_2745.MOV

This is just stunning!

Superb Jason - can’t wait to see what you do with that amazing space

Gulp

Very impressive!

Fabulous model of an iconic prototype!

Wondering what this means?

My prediction was wrong but I am not complaining!! Thank you IRM!! Order placed!

Mighty stuff - happy first decade IRM! I was actually right with my prediction of the 800s in March so I'll probably be wrong this time..... suggesting that Thursday's announcement could be a C class and Saturday's could be the Irish style of footbridge that was hinted at a few years back........