The Flying Scotsman
(this is not my photo it is taken from the article I read and the link is here for the full story)
Isn't it lovely to see the Flying Scotsman all restored and on the tracks again and what a beautiful train.
My Great Granddad was on the Railway and had one of the muckiest but most important jobs on the Railway. He was a boiler maker by trade and he used to clear out the engine pipes and make the engine safe for travel. He worked on the Flying Scotsman and we have a photo of him somewhere with colleagues in front of the train. I as a little girl also used to live on the Railway line. The Flying Scotsman travelled down that line a few times as well. The cottage where we lived was on the side of the track and its not every kid that has a railway at the bottom of the garden. I remember my mother's disgust at having to do all the washing again because of the smut from the engines. But it was a wonderful place. Blackberries used to grow down the side of the track and it used to be a frequent place to go and collect them from but the line was only a quiet one then which I do not think it is quiet today.
We lived in one of the lodge cottages to The Duke of Rutland's Shooting Lodge at Gunthorpe Hall Near Oakham. My father was in the prison service as an Officer and moved from Lincoln to Ashwell Open Prison. As we were from out of the area it was customary at the time to offer accommodation to help the families settle quickly. We were offered one of the lodge cottages. It had a fair sized veggie garden, a few apple trees, rose bushes lots of grass and forget me nots growing in there but the cottage bordered the track. The cottage also had leaded lights (diamond shaped ones with really old glass in) and a freestanding metal coal stove in the kitchen area and a coal fire in the front room. Its the first place I really remember as we moved there just after the death of my grandmother when I was 17 months old. My brother was born in the cottage. Happy days and happy memories but the best bit was having the railway at the bottom of the garden and we frequently used to go into Oakham and to the station because the bus station was near there at the time. At that time I was particularly heavy into the Reverend Audrey books about Thomas the Tank Engine etc. My family over the years has had many connections with the Railway through different family members on both sides of the family. But it is my Great Grandad Horace Senior who moved the whole family lock stock and barrel up from London to Lincoln who seems to have had the most interesting connections and from the family stories was quite a bit of a character.
Catch you later
Pattypan
x
We lived in one of the lodge cottages to The Duke of Rutland's Shooting Lodge at Gunthorpe Hall Near Oakham. My father was in the prison service as an Officer and moved from Lincoln to Ashwell Open Prison. As we were from out of the area it was customary at the time to offer accommodation to help the families settle quickly. We were offered one of the lodge cottages. It had a fair sized veggie garden, a few apple trees, rose bushes lots of grass and forget me nots growing in there but the cottage bordered the track. The cottage also had leaded lights (diamond shaped ones with really old glass in) and a freestanding metal coal stove in the kitchen area and a coal fire in the front room. Its the first place I really remember as we moved there just after the death of my grandmother when I was 17 months old. My brother was born in the cottage. Happy days and happy memories but the best bit was having the railway at the bottom of the garden and we frequently used to go into Oakham and to the station because the bus station was near there at the time. At that time I was particularly heavy into the Reverend Audrey books about Thomas the Tank Engine etc. My family over the years has had many connections with the Railway through different family members on both sides of the family. But it is my Great Grandad Horace Senior who moved the whole family lock stock and barrel up from London to Lincoln who seems to have had the most interesting connections and from the family stories was quite a bit of a character.
Catch you later
Pattypan
x
Trish, My ex husband worked for the firm who owned the Flying Scotsman. He was given 3 complementary tickets for a trip, he took a friend and our eldest daughter who was Scotsman mad. They had a fabulous day travelling in reserved carriages with free refreshments. My daughter took loads of pictures, and has a framed one of her on the footplate with the driver and fireman.
ReplyDeleteScotsman is coming through Melton in the summer, we will try and get to see it.
Hi Anne what a wonderful experience and a lovely memory. As a child I lived in one of the Lodge cottages at Gunthorpe Hall which cottage used to back on to the Railway and I know that the Scotsman came down there on a couple of occasions as I was not at school and the neighbours and ourselves went out to watch her by. A lovely time. x
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