After putting Emmet’s plugs back in and refilling her boiler last Tuesday, I met up with our head of steam first thing Saturday morning and checked all round for leaks. All the washout plugs were dry, as was the fusible plug in the crown plate of the firebox, so we were looking good to put a fire in—a wood fire in this case to warm her up gradually and also to conserve coal—and steam test her. I was rostered as guard for the morning, so I had to leave Emmet for the time being and start preparing for the day’s train operations.

First job was to put a fresh guard’s log sheet on the clipboard, and put the cash float and card machines in the satchel. Next I grabbed the token to take a line possession before putting on my hi-vis and walking down the line, checking for fallen branches and unlocking the crossing gates along my way. Back to the yard and I replaced the token in its pouch before going into the carriage shed to unplug the brake van’s air compressor battery from the charger and wait for the rest of the day’s train crew to arrive.

Kettle on, and a mug of tea each before we assembled the train, cleaning the rolling stock and checking all couplings and brake hoses, and then we headed up the line to our top station, Mills Wood. It was a quiet day overall: we only ran two services in the morning. The plus side of that was that I had the opportunity to drive the loco in the loop. My first time with the Hibberd Planet No. 2528: it’s a diesel mechanical loco built in 1941 and a delight to drive. Easier than the Simplex because it doesn’t have a clutch pedal: instead each gear (low and high) has its own clutch that is operated by the gear selector as you move between the gears and the neutral mid position.

After lunch I made my way back down to rejoin our head of steam on the footplate of Emmet, which by this stage was out in the yard raising steam. When testing the driver’s side water gauge there was a sudden cloud of steam and he quickly shut the steam and water cocks to isolate it: the glass had cracked! Off to the shed to fetch a spare along with a couple of new rubbers, and I got a lesson in how to replace the glass in a gauge.

Unscrew the top plug and the nuts that secure the top and bottom of the glass, then carefully lift the glass up and out, sliding the rubbers down and off as it goes, and putting the nuts aside. After cleaning out a couple of bits of broken glass from the bottom fitting, we slid the new glass down, slipping on the top rubber and nut, then the bottom ones, and seating the glass in the fittings before hand tightening the nuts and screwing the top plug back in. Much easier when cold, obviously: when the engine’s in steam you have to be careful to use a cloth or gloves when touching the hot metal and glass.

While we were replacing the gauge glass the boiler pressure had been steadily rising, and as it approached the red line the safety valves showed little sign of opening! The loco hadn’t been in steam since the December and they’d stuck, which is not uncommon; a bit of percussive maintenance (tapping them with a big spanner) had them blowing off nicely and the pressure was maintained on the red line. The next thing to test was the injectors. The fireman’s side one was a little reluctant to pick up and we had to take it apart and reseat the cones a couple of times before it was spot on. The driver’s side injector was a little troublesome, however, and in the end we concluded that the clack valve might be stuck: we’ll have to take it apart and fix it next weekend before the boiler inspector returns to complete the boiler exam after Easter.

Sunday I was rostered as guard all day: I’ve just about completed my training by now so the passed guard who supervises me generally leaves me to get on with it, which I’m happy to do. It was another quiet day and we didn’t have that many passengers on the seven trains we operated through the day: the chilly, damp weather might have had something to do with it, as well as it being the weekend before the Easter holidays. Speaking of which, I’m looking forward to our first steam-hauled trains of the year next Saturday. I’ll be helping with warming the loco on Friday, and hoping to be guarding which will give me my first experience of shunting and coupling up a steam loco.

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