Heinikin Days Part One by Andy Grimmet
Our guest at the October meeting was retired train driver Andy Grimmett to present Heinekin Days Part One. Andy had recently retired from Ilford Depot and presented a railway miscellany covering the diverse range of trains and motive power that he saw and drove during his career and the locations visited both on and off duty. He was able to uniquely observe and photograph,sometimes from very close quarters at privileged vantage points or from the cab or track side many unique scenes often using local knowledge . Starting on BR as a cleaner in 1974 he progressed through the links and eventually qualified as a driver in 1978. The title stems from the fact that his camera reached parts of the network that others cannot reach. We were treated to views of different classes of locomotives and traction including freight and passenger. special workings, engineering trains and rescue duties in locations off limits to many. His images showed all the major locomotive classes over the years including the most modern currently in service and DMUs and EMUs were also featured with many in special one off liveries. Locations included Stratford and Ilford depots and their associated infrastructure including snow scenes on the Ilford Flyover, the Manchester and Westbury areas as well as many other locations on the Greater Anglia network. The operation of swing bridges and signal boxes also featured with many of the latter now just a memory.