Winter Warmer Weekend 2003
Winter Warmer Weekend 2003
This years Winter Warmer Weekend was blessed with glorious weather on Saturday, with Sunday starting wet, but drying up later in the day to make a pleasant afternoon.
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Everyone at Boston Lodge had had their noses to the grindstone, and as a result, we saw the reappearance after a long break of the ALCo 'Mountaineer', now in fine fettle after attention to her long standing problem of leaking tubes, now rectified on a more permanent basis. Major attention had also been given to the valve gear. It was a pleasure to once more hear "the whistle" as she left Harbour Station with the heritage set, including car no. 15. Copyright FR Co. |
| 'Palmerston' also saw service on the Saturday with 'Linda', top and tailing the heritage set, and running a shuttle type service to Penrhyn. This train proved popular with photographers, both for the photo opportunities, and as a method of getting to other locations to photograph other trains.Copyright FR Co. | 
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The weekend was also the swansong for 'Blanche', whose boiler certificate expires at midnight on Saturday 1st March. She hauled the Blaenau service trains all weekend. 'Blanche' is in need of a new boiler, and her last train will be a special "ticket only" train on 1st March to raise some money towards "Ricket's New Kettle", Ricket being the nickname for 'Blanche'. Copyright FR Co. |
| Due to popular request by people voting from the website, 'Blanche' double headed the 10:20 train on Sunday with 'Linda', the last time they will double head for the foreseeable future. People who preferred to see "something else", your suggestions have been kept on file, so you never know, maybe next time! Copyright FR Co. | 
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'David Lloyd George' was out and about on Saturday, making return trips to Rhiw Goch hauling a rake of slate wagons.Copyright FR Co. |
| 'Taliesin' also put in an appearance, as did 'Moel Hebog', who had to make a quick return to Glan y Pwll on Friday, for attention to a gearbox problem which could have prevented her from hauling the oil tankers to Boston Lodge. Thanks to a little TLC she was fit for the occasion. Copyright FR Co. | 
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We would like to thank everyone who visited us for the weekend, many people said what an excellent time they had had, seeing various combinations of stock and locomotives not normally seen together. We saw lots of smiling faces, both at the Old Boy's get together and dinner, and at the other end of the scale, the youngsters such as the young chap who jumped at the chance to pose on Blanche's footplate. Don't know if he was as happy to wear Jon Walsh's cap though! Copyright FR Co. |