16th January 2020 · “Steam Day Shed Bashing”

Presenter: Vic Drake

A very well attended meeting gathered for the first session of the new decade and all were treated to a programme of high quality monochrome illustrations taken by a number of photographers whilst shed bashing around numerous depots scattered about the country in the 1950’s. Collated and presented by branch member Vic Drake this was therefore a production dedicated almost exclusively to the days of steam. Significantly the collection concentrated on locomotives of the smaller and more ageing varieties of workaday tank and freight engines originating from pre-grouping railway times. Big wheelers and namers were very much in the minority.

Much was seen of depots in the Northern territories of Yorkshire and Lancashire covering many of the sheds where locomotives of interest were to be found. Journeys into Scotland, the North East and Wales extended the variability of the motive power that was pictured. A number of visits to the works at Crewe, Doncaster and Darlington were to provide additional interesting sources of material and a sprinkling of engines from the Southern and Western region sheds nicely complemented and expanded the range of the programme.

As a closing phase to the evening the audience was shown pictures of Carlisle station and attendant movements taken during the rebuilding phase of the 1960’s. This then widened out into the showing of illustrations depicting scenes from the North Western branches around Cumberland and Westmoreland plus a few colourful views of action on both Shap and the Settle & Carlisle railways.