Race the train!
AS REPORTED on page 18, yourdeputy editor enjoyedamuch- needed‘ steam fix’with his family in hishomeland on July 11 – the firstweekend residents fromthe other side of Offa’sDykewere permitted to cross the Anglo- Welsh border on non- essential business in almost fourmonths.
Your deputy editor drove over the scenic Berwyn mountain range from his native north Montgomeryshire to neighbouring Meirionnydd to enjoy a trip on the Bala Lake Railway ( BLR).
On the outward journey from Llanuwchllyn to Bala, two sheep decided to ‘ race the train’, hauled by Quarry Hunslet 0- 4- 0ST George B.
At first, the‘ horse power’ of the locomotive appeared to be no match for ‘ sheep power’– but the landbased team conceded defeat against their rail- based rival at the request stop of Pentrepiod, where they are pictured.
Let’s hope passengers ‘ flock’ to the BLR – and indeed, all other heritage lines which are resuming operations after lockdown…
Our railways need all the support we can give them.
LEGOisahouseholdnameforits tinybricks, whichsomeofusenjoyed assemblingintoworksofartinchildhood. Arecentadditiontotherangecaught yourdeputyeditor’seye– thedistinctive ‘ Crocodile’locomotive.
Based on Swiss Federal Railways’ Class Ce 6/ 8 II electric locomotives, introduced between 1919 and 1927, the model is packed with a‘ jaw dropping’amount of detail. It includes side rods whichmove as thewheels turnand retractable pantographs– plus twoLego figures, a section of display track andaplaque.
Themodel is part of a range aimedat adults, and can be motorised with the aid ofapack of components, which are sold separately.
Measuring 20 ½ ins ( 52cm) long,
6 ¼ in ( 16cm) high and 3 ½ ins ( 8cm) wide, it can be assembled from1,271 components. The UK RRP is £ 89.99.
The locomotives’distinctive ‘ snouts’arose because of the need for a powerful articulateddesign to negotiate tight curves – the three- part construction allowing everything to move against each other.
Motors are locatedoneachbogie, with the centre section containing the heavy transformer and twodriving cabs.
The last‘ Crocodile’was withdrawn fromfront line service in1982– nine of the 51 SBB‘ Crocodiles’survive.
Theprecise origin of the nickname ‘ Crocodile’isunknown, but it certainly seems appropriate, given the locomotives’reptile- like, flexibledesign with snout, body and tail.
Swiss sources state the nickname was first used by railway enthusiasts, while others believe itwas initiallyused by Märklin on its model trains in 1933.