Locomotive Breath

I was really pleased to be able to get up close to this locomotive as it was building up a head of steam. There were lots of engines to see, in various states of decay and at different stages of repair and I think it must be very rewarding for the engineers to see the fruits of their labour when these marvelous engines are fully restored and running again. It was exciting for me and the other people who with me were enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of years gone by.

The first of today's pictures looks along the tracks towards a diesel locomotive which was also being prepared for the day's work, seen through the steam I think this makes a great image.

The second shot is a close up of the driving wheels and pistons that would soon be taking this engine down the tracks and give a good impression of power and precision.

The title of today's post refers to the steam bursting out and is taken from a Jethro Tull song from the 1971 album Aqualung (coincidentally Bursting Out is also the title of a Tull album) I have included a link to a 1982 performance of the song as that was the year I saw Jethro Tull at Nostell Priory with my dad. It was the first gig I ever attended and I bought my dad his ticket. So not only has this post been nostalgia for the era of the steam engine but also for my introduction to live music and a passion which is as strong today as it ever was.

In The Engine Sheds

I am not an engineer by any means but for me there is something magical about a workshop, the grease, the sounds and smells and the cheerful banter of the mechanics/engineers and hopefully today and over the coming days I will be able to convey some of these sensations in the pictures that I share.

After my day in Whitby I went next to Grosmont in the North York Moors, specifically the engine sheds and home of the North York Moors Railway. Here there were numerous engines in different states of repair and people hard at work on what seems to me to be as much a labour of love restoring giant locomotives from times past and preparing them for use on the railway between Whitby and Pickering.

I like the first picture of the engineer concentrating on his work, completely focused and seemingly oblivious to the noise all around him.

In the second picture an engine is being prepared for the day's running and before long it was building up a head of steam.