interesting survivors
Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 12:44 pm
hello all
Just an anecdote about a spotting trip to Doncaster ,circa 1964,and a couple of recently rediscovered mementos.
The shed ,36A, was at that time officially closed,but was still receiving engines on inter regional workings,plus there were some withdrawn locos on shed,so it was still worth a shed bash.
On leaving the shed and walking past the ash pit Bothy(a small brick built hut located at the 'throat' of the shed yard)a voice shouted" there's plenty of numbers here lad" at the door of the bothy stood one of the sheds ashpit staff pointing to a pile of grime covered stationary under the table,"take some(books) with you"
Well you all know the spotters code,you have to actually see a loco to'cop'
it.But to be polite i took two books, approx a4 size,all that would fit in my Duffle bag,I thought i'll put them in the bin at Doncaster station!,but i did'ntfor some reason,and thats where the story ended, until last month when sorting through a lot of bric-a-brac out of the loft of my parents house(my mother passed away last year)the two dog eared ash pit books surfaced,they have been in the loft for 43 years.
They make an interesting snapshot of locomotive activity over a six week period in 1960,and a similar period in 1961.
The books are lined in six columns ,then further divided into a three shift system,6-2 day turn,2-10 afternoon turn and 10-6 night turn.
The fourth column from the right gives the time the loco came on shed,and the fifth column the person responsible for the disposal of the engine,the left hand column i presume is what time the loco is due off shed,some are scheduled for 'shops' or 'plant works',steam tests and 'x' days.
Thanks,a bit long winded i know,but interesting.
cheers...........Dave
ps see attachments.
Just an anecdote about a spotting trip to Doncaster ,circa 1964,and a couple of recently rediscovered mementos.
The shed ,36A, was at that time officially closed,but was still receiving engines on inter regional workings,plus there were some withdrawn locos on shed,so it was still worth a shed bash.
On leaving the shed and walking past the ash pit Bothy(a small brick built hut located at the 'throat' of the shed yard)a voice shouted" there's plenty of numbers here lad" at the door of the bothy stood one of the sheds ashpit staff pointing to a pile of grime covered stationary under the table,"take some(books) with you"
Well you all know the spotters code,you have to actually see a loco to'cop'
it.But to be polite i took two books, approx a4 size,all that would fit in my Duffle bag,I thought i'll put them in the bin at Doncaster station!,but i did'ntfor some reason,and thats where the story ended, until last month when sorting through a lot of bric-a-brac out of the loft of my parents house(my mother passed away last year)the two dog eared ash pit books surfaced,they have been in the loft for 43 years.
They make an interesting snapshot of locomotive activity over a six week period in 1960,and a similar period in 1961.
The books are lined in six columns ,then further divided into a three shift system,6-2 day turn,2-10 afternoon turn and 10-6 night turn.
The fourth column from the right gives the time the loco came on shed,and the fifth column the person responsible for the disposal of the engine,the left hand column i presume is what time the loco is due off shed,some are scheduled for 'shops' or 'plant works',steam tests and 'x' days.
Thanks,a bit long winded i know,but interesting.
cheers...........Dave
ps see attachments.