Wigan Album

This Austerity is standing on the ash pit road , The machine in the back ground is for filling wagons with the hot ash from the Loco after the fire as been cleaned this was hard times for some of the railmen. i spent hours sheding loco like this happy days

That's a awful dirty filthy engine, what on earth could that have been used for?

The Austerity was made in war time , and very basic not made to last like meny other Engines .Its main job was to pull coal wagons to keep factories running .hard work for the men that worked with them ,I worked on them in the 50 and 60 as a fireman just think going over shap in winter on this type of engine hard work but i sill remember the good times

They weren't very good engines, but for wartime builds, I suppose they did their job, if they had been coaled with briquettes, you were in for a rough ride, one thing I remember about them, was the noise, especially when you were freewheeling. clank clank, clank, clank, clank

Hi Aitch, can you explain "Briquettes" and why was it a rough ride....I used to see these engines on the Whelley line and as Brian says pulling and banking coal trucks. Thanks gents.

Briquettes were either brick shaped and sized blocks made out of coal dust and other ingredients, including cement dust to hold the things together, which didnt have the burning power of coal, sometimes they where egg sized, (these can still be bought) either way they would congeal if they wernt fired right, so the burning power was not what was needed, as regards the clanging noise, the engines had a set of small driving wheels, which just wernt up to the task, have a look at the photo and you will see what I mean.

I remember the brickettes and the small round ones, we called them duck eggs, you could set off with a tidy footplate, then the first time you fired up the footplate was full of them you couldn't stop them rolling all over the place.
Aitch I was on the shed ( I failed with my eyes)coaling, tanking, running in and shed shunt from late 1958 to october 1961, I had the nickname "rowdy" I can name most of the sets of men and the firedroppers at that time, I'm trying to remember you?
roland

roland, your name is very familiar, but not from the branch, you wouldnt have lived near to the Amberswood did you, I seem to remember you, but just am unable to place you, I lived on Island row, near to Petticoat Lane, does that jog your memory. ????

Hi. Aitch,
No you are on the wrong track,
Iam from Spring View, I started at Springs branch in 1953 as a cleaner, progressing to fireman, in 1956 to 1958 I did national service, when I came I failed the eye test. and ended up on the shed, I remember the same thing happening to Alan Box, I left in 1961 and went to the Post Office, Alan stayed on and they allowed footplate men to wear glasses, so he went on to become a driver,if that had been allowed in my time I may have stayed on the Railway.

My wifes cousin worked on shed at the branch, Thomas Littler, she went to his retirement presentation with him a few years ago, did you know him Roland, and it must be from the Branch that I remember you

Hi aitch I seem to remember the name but can't place the bloke. if he retired only a few years ago he was younger that me, I'm 72

My dad Norman Taylor was a driver out of Springs Branch in the late 1940s/early 50s and died when I was 5, 1953. Anybody know of him? We lived in a railway cottage in Pemberton.Lots of memories and war info.