Standard mogul for the Bluebell’s Giants weekend

THE second visitor for the Bluebell Railway’s October 14-16 Giants of Steam weekend was announced as BR Standard 4MT 2-6-0 No. 76017 from the Mid-Hants Railway.

This year’s event is being billed as a celebration of the work of BR Standards designer Robert Arthur Riddles. Born on May 23, 1892, Riddles joined the LNWR works at Crewe as a premium apprentice in 1909, completing his course in 1913 before serving with the Royal Engineers during the First World War, after which he returned to Crewe.

He volunteered as a driver during the nine-day general strike of May 1926, working trains from Crewe to Manchester and Carlisle, the practical knowledge of driving a locomotive he gained becoming invaluable aid to his design work.

The weekend will also see the first pairing of two BR 5MTs in preservation, when resident

No. 73082 Camelot joins the Great Central Railway’s No. 73156, while 4MT tank No. 80151 will complete the line-up of Standards.

LMS 4-6-0 No. 46115 Scots Guardsman heads the Settle & Carlisle Railway Development Company’s 1Z70 30th anniversary steam special from Carlisle to York on September 17 through Shotlock, with Wild Boar Fell in the background. An early morning southbound steam excursion over the route has been a great rarity in the heritage era. DAVE WILSON