March, 1961.
L&PPS No.6 'BRIONNETH' waits in the newly refurbished passenger platform at Portethwaite. The society was allowed to use the mainline platform during the year for special celebrations.
No.6 was turned out in a fancier livery than when delivered.
#L&P #OCs #portethwaite
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
L&P No.3 'BIA' at Portethwaite station with a small trial train of the ex-WDLR wagons being used for passenger carriage. Two of the converted wagons sit between the locomotive and one of the original Brake carriages. The WDLR wagons would only be through braked and existed to bolster passenger trains rather than replace them.
'With only 7 coaches pre-preservation, it became difficult to have adequate space on trains when two-train running commenced. The solution was ramshackle, and consisted of cleaning out the quarry wagons and installing platform benches. Bia is photographed with a test train.'
#L&P #OCs #portethwaite
In the early 1920s, like many other railways, the L&P bought 6 ex-WDLR wagons for their own use. 5 D class wagons and 1 H class tanker.
The opens got board extensions and block buffers for quarry trains,whilst the tanker was only given draw-hooks.
Only two Ds would be brown.
#L&P #portethwaite
A rather atypical scene from the early-mid 1950s
L&PR No.5 'Astraios' running around the coaches. The heavy Australian was forbade from running past Hardbrooke due to the lighter nature of the extension. And so would sometimes run a shuttle on Market Day with No.3 'Bia'.
#L&P #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
Two steam locomotives with faces, sitting around a water tower at a railway station. The left locomotive looks, bemused, at the other who has an anxious expression.
The 1963 Season.
With a tight timetable, Bia backs off from the coach set to take on a drink. Redcap watches on, anxious.
The scottish arrival spent almost the entirety of her life pulling coal trains. This would be her first summer regularly pulling passengers.
#L&P #OCs #portethwaite
'Bowen Cooke refueling at the water tower and coal stage besides the running shed'
#L&P #OCs #leakbeck #portethwaite
A red brick station building with a platform Canopy. Left to right, urinals, toilet block, waiting room, booking office/management offices/station master's office
A red brick station building with a platform Canopy. Left to right, urinals, toilet block, waiting room, booking office/management offices/station master's office
The station's Waiting Room. Wooden benches line the wall. A fireplace at one end with a mirror and clock above it. A row of leather-topped tabels are in the middle.
Station Master's Office/Ticket Office. 2 windows for sales of tickets, a staircase to the offices and a clerk's desk
A much larger project than I'm used to. Portethwaite Station Building. Headquarters of the L&PR with toilet facilities, spacious waiting room, large ticket office and management space on the top floor. It is the largest Red Brick structure on the railway.
#L&P #3D #Roblox #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
'Before the boiler lift, the tanks and cab had to be taken off in the workshop. The only thing that couldn't be taken out was the boiler due to its size. This picture was taken 2 nights before she would be wheeled out to the yard for the life by crane.'
#L&P #Portethwaite #OCs
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
"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
