#Leakbeck

October, 1956
Ex-RKR "Brionneth" performing steam tests up the line before cosmetic restoration

#L&P #OCs #portethwaite #leakbeck #waiteside

"The people restoring No.1 weren't overly familiar with the railway's historical liveries. Returning BRIGITTE in the same colours as No.2, but with extra flare.

The stovepipe chimney seems to be evident of the original going missing or being cracked."

#L&P #OCs #leakbeck #portethwaite

Old film style picture of a narrow gauge diesel locomotive "DOMITIA" hauling wagons into a station on the middle road.

In an attempt to make her useful, "DOMITIA" was used to carry fuel supplies to the quarry and bring loaded trains back down. It worked well but required the additional empty wagons to be brought up on the preceeding passenger train.

#L&P #OCs #leakbeck #portethwaite

Dismantled steam locomotive on top of a flatbed. A diesel locomotive just out of shot pushes them towards the locomotive shed

The significance and importance of No.3 'BIA' cannot be overstated, which is why it's odd to find a photo from a time when she was dismantled and put aside, not worth the effort.

#L&P #OCs #portethwaite #leakbeck

'Bowen Cooke refueling at the water tower and coal stage besides the running shed'

#L&P #OCs #leakbeck #portethwaite

A postcard of a locomotive 'Brigitte' posted infront of a station with the caption "Leaving for Leakbeck"

A colourised postcard that displays the grand scale of the L&P's infrastructure for such a narrow gauge.
Brigitte stands ready for the UP train from Portethwaite.

#L&P #OCs #leakbeck #portethwaite

Steam locomotive with a POC face. 'BRIGITTE' looking angry as she pulls a covered grey van, a square tank wagon and a bogie coal wagon.

Brigitte never minded mixed trains. She enjoyed the small shunting, Yet weirdly she always hated soley-goods trains.

Some think she hates unfitted stock. Others believe it's the lack of passenger praise. whilst her crew think its because she got lime in her eyes.

#L&P #OCs #leakbeck #portethwaite

B&W photo - A steam locomotive steams into the platform of a halt in a forested area.

Being an odd-job engine, Bia was no stranger to charter trains, and was always the first choice for them unless a specific locomotive was requested by the client.

#L&P #OCs #leakbeck #portethwaite

In the years before Domitia, Bia was often sent up to the quarry if extra help was needed, or if the vertical boiler usually employed was under repair or refused to steam.

#L&P #OCs #leakbeck #portethwaite

B&W railway poster. "LEAKBECK and PORTETHWAITE 2FT RAILWAY." "Frequent train service between Portethwaite, Waiteside and Leakbeck (Glacial Lake at the end of the Waite Valley)." "Regular Bus service running between Market Rasen and Portethwaite Station." "Time Occupied on train, 1 hour and 10 minutes. Return Fare, 2/5. Season tickets priced weekly and upwards issued at greatly reduced prices." "Special Trains can be arranged for on very moderate terms." "Cyril Porter, General manager. Railway Office, Portethwaite."

Another poster from the L&P's service days, featuring a picture of No.2 Bowen Cooke hauling a rare non-mixed train beyond Waiteside.
Based on the simplicity, we can presume it's from the very late 1920s

#L&P #leakbeck #portethwaite

Decided that the wagons look better with branding on them.

Also there are fixed distant signals before stations.

#L&P #Leakbeck #Portethwaite

A steam locomotive 0-6-0ST pulling a cattle wagon, open wagon and brakevan up the hill past a stone wall with a wooden gate in it.

No.3 'BIA' was used for shunting and odd-jobs that it wasn't worth steaming the other two up for.
She was photographed climbing Waiteside Bank with the rarely-used Cattle wagon, bringing a farmer his new cattle and food for them.

#L&P #OCs #Leakbeck #Portethwaite

A worn down locomotive 'BIA' with rusty metal is hauling wagons over a dirt crossing. A pile of refuse sacks sit by the lineside for them to collect.

The last 2 years of service for the L&P meant drastic changes with the death of the manager. The summer timetable was changed to the winter timetable for passengers, goods trains ran instead of the displaced services.

#L&P #OCs #leakbeck #portethwaite

Dingy photo of a 2-6-2 tank engine lifted up in a workshop.

"The Brigitte lifted up on blocks in the workshop. Boiler cladding, water tanks, valve gear and a few other small things removed for renewal. This would be the last time she was overhauled before withdrawal in the late 40s."

Post-vfx by @smudgerspkmn.bsky.social
#L&P #OCs #portethwaite #leakbeck

Rainy scene in the woods. Brigitte is slipping on the rails whilst the fireman shovels dry dirt under her wheels for grip. The driver is leaning out of the to manage the slip. Drawover by @colloquial-kayak.bsky.social

A story this time from the memoirs of a former fireman on the Leakbeck & Portethwaite. (He seems to have made a few typing mistakes) It concerns sand, designs and dirt.

(Story in the 3 panels or google doc in replies for those that can't load the images.

#L&P #OCs #Leakbeck #Portethwaite #writing

A rainy scene. A 6 wheel brake van with balconies each end is tilted at an angle and derailed on the points. Locomotive No.2 'Bowen Cooke' is sat next to it and the driver is looking over the side to check there's space to get past.

'Whilst shunting the limestone train into the sidings, the brakevan's wheels left the railways and came to rest split on the points. It was quickly made stable, but the weather halted any immediate action. It was a problem for later.'

#L&P #portethwaite #leakbeck

A scene of a goods train running down the line. The camera is behind a fence, looking at the train positioned on a stone wall. A brakevan is closest to the camera, with the train of various tarped wagons getting futher away until we get to the locomotive running bunker-first.

Running between passenger schedules, trains from the quarry would keep crews occupied. This rake includes P.O wagons at the front full of lime, with 3 railway-owned wagons full of lime, and a final one filled with raw limestone.
Also seen is the railway's unique 6-wheel brake van.

#L&P #Leakbeck

"No.1 BRIGITTE, photographed between the two waitesides, hauling a mixed train of milk, bread, coal, merchandise and people. The former would be dropped off at Butary, whislt the rest was bound for Leakbeck." A blue tank engine steaming along a raised embankment with two wagons at the front, 3 coaches in the middle, and 2 wagons at the rear.

Brigitte was completed on the 22nd of January, 1900.

So here we have a picture of her doing what she did best; mixed traffic work and running her line for the benefit of the communities around it.

#L&P #OCs #leakbeck #portethwaite

A brown horse being guided by its handler. pulling a rake of wooden wagons along a railway. The railway sits higher than the road next to it, and a traction engine in the distance slowly approaches.

First birthday post on Bsky.

A scene from the Waiteside Farmland, 1899.
The relaying of the line from Tramway conditions to proper railway conditions was ironically conducted by horses for the first few months, then Traction Engines, then steam engines.

#L&P #OCs #leakbeck #portethwaite

Black and White photo; Brigitte climbing a hill, past a stone wall. a stone cottage in the background

A rare photograph taken from the driver's side of the train on the journey to Waiteside Town.
The school yard was the easiest place to get such a picture on the 1:70 climb.

#L&P #OCs #leakbeck #portethwaite

"T.A Crockley & Sons primarily used the railway as means to deliver supplies to people in the valley, with peopleand businesses fetching it from their nearest station. The L&PR however had the railway, ties with the canal company, and a couple of lorries for deliveries in-land where neither of the others could reach. The road service would charge the same as the railway, but costs still needed to be cut, so one of the lorries was sold to a nearby business, leaving the railway with only 1 for all their in-land duties. After this, the railway tried to use the lorry sparingly in fear of it breaking. This picture at Portethwaite shows two of the Private Owner wagons behind an UP passenger. The guard is loading the van with smaller deliveries, and the railway's odd-job engine sits calmly outside the shed. The Guard is carrying the official sword around his belt, as is tradition and policy."

A photo taken from Portethwaite platform of the P.O wagons that operated on the railway. The position of the wagon could indicate it's a deliver for Leakbeck.

#L&P #leakbeck #portethwaite

Living a humble life, the Butary tramway carried dairy from the station, across the Waite and to the creamery near St-Mary's.

Not the sort of place you'd expect for excitement. This was until the late 30s.

#L&P #OCs #leakbeck #portethwaite

'ASTRAIOS' was rarely seen on passenger traffic, as they were thought to be too heavy to continue past Hardbrooke.

Quarry trains were how it earned its keep, and on the rare chance they did take passengers, they would hand it over to another engine half-way.

#L&P #OCs #leakbeck #portethwaite

Astraios' new boiler being lifted into the frames, 1951. The water tanks have "FREMANTLE" chalked on the side from the workshops in Australia. The locomotive has yet to recieve a new name or working livery.

The original boilers on the Swan "Specials" were ill-suited to the UK climate, and almost immdeiately after shipment, new boilers were sent out to customers to fit to their engines.

This proved a nuisance, but also a lesson in the design's assembly.

#L&P #ocs #portethwaite #leakbeck

A steam locomotive sitting idly in a warm shed. They're decorated with reflective lights, holly wreaths and other festive merryments. A carriage sits next to them, lowly decorated with garlend along the side

Engine and Carriages were decorated for a few special trains before the Christmas break. All engines on this service were fitted with a snowplough due to risk of getting snowed in.

The service runs from Portethwaite to Butary for a performance play and back again.

#L&P #OCs #leakbeck #portethwaite

Legacy Picture

Motive power was no longer a looming issue for the preservationists by the late 70s, this meant groups could focus on restoring other parts of the railway.

A small group of about a dozen set about restoring Ekend Halt's station building. Reopening in 1981.

#L&P #OCs #Leakbeck

Legacy piece Bowen Cooke in reverse, pulling a rake of carriages along a shared road. A traction engine steams away in the distance. The train will climb into Waiteside Town and stop at the village green, dropping off passengers and picking up market shoppers to take back home

'The Calm before The Storm' - Legacy

Market Day (Thursday) brings in many people through the valley to Waiteside Town

'Bowen Cooke' passes through the farmlands north of town. The crew will have to enter slowly to avoid crowds. A farmer has already escaped home.

#L&P #leakbeck #portethwaite #OCs

A 4 wheel, wooden bodied wagon covered in dirt. Sandwiched behind a railway carriage and a private owner wagon. The wagon is carrying sheep, with a set of wooden fence posts surrounding them

Wagon #5 on the L&P was often taken out of regular service with quarry work and commandeered for livestock movements.
Fitted with a rudimentary fence around its perimeter, the wagon would join the normal Bogie van for high-demand periods.

#L&P #Leakbeck #Portethwaite

L&PR No.1 'BRIGITTE' sits outside the shed on a dark cloudy night. the Sheds are poorly lit by a door lamp. Brigitte's headlamp is shining a beam of light into the night. A barn owl with Blue and brown feathers sits upon Brigitte's water tank handrails

Not a legacy piece this time, but a remake of one.

'Waite has becoming synonymous with the owl population.
It's even said that the railway was influenced by them before opening.'

Owl drawn by @arytniver.bsky.social
#L&P #ForgetWaiteValley #OCs #leakbeck #portethwaite

Completely forgot to add my usual hashtags

#OCs #L&P #portethwaite #leakbeck