The U3A Steam Train group has already arranged a number of visits to preserved railways. These trips are meant to appeal to members’ sense of nostalgia rather than deep and meaningful examination of steam locomotives engineering and practice!
Visits tend to be on gala days when there is more to be seen and access to all areas is usually available. So far this year trips have ranged from as near as Toddington near Broadway to as far away as Barrow Hill near Chesterfield. Members share cars and petrol money and try to spread the driving between members.

Sometimes trips can be arranged to unusual sites like a “Behind the Scenes” at GWSR and the Tysley Museum in Birmingham, which has very few public access days.
If you have fond memories of steam from your youth then please join us, you certainly don’t have to be an expert, and we don’t wear anoraks!

Brian Crossland
01993 212654
brian.crossland@ntlworld.com

Saturday 10th Sept saw 6 members of the Steam Group head off to Didcot. Quite a few engines were in steam including the magnificently restored King Edward II. The only let down was that they had no bacon  butties.

George kindly delighted us with his driving and firemans experience when he last visited Didcote, in fact we all knew the details off by heart at the end of the trip. Good day, good trip, good company.

Martin McBride

Future Trips being considered

Severn Valley Railway Gala Kidderminster       Sept 24

West Somerset GalaTaunton         Oct 1 or 2

Keighley & WorthValleywith NRM York        Oct 8/9

NY Moors & NRM York                                    Oct 1 or 2

Barrow Hill LNER Special                                  Oct 16

Anyone interested please speak to Brian Crossland or ring 212654

The Steam Railway group visited the stricken Gloucester & Warwickshire Railway on May 11th to see at first hand the damage done by the severe landslip that occurred during the rapid snow melt in early January. We had a very interesting day visiting both halves of the operational part of the line with a “bubble-car” trip towards Broadway on the recently opened part of the line and after a quick sandwich lunch took the steam train to Cheltenham hauled by the newly restored 8F built during WW2 and returned from Turkey some years ago in a dreadful state. On our return we walked the trackbed to the site of the embankment collapse and watched the civil engineers drilling down to discover exactly what was underneath the slipped section. Finally we visited the site of Broadway station where the platform is being rebuilt from scratch and is the next destination for the line when funds exist.

 Despite the break in the line it is still worth a visit as passengers get a combination of experiences and views and every penny in takings will go towards repairing this line.

 Our thanks to Henry Howard for arranging the behind the scenes tour and particularly the track walk.

 Brian Crossland