On Sunday January 24th I had a free day, so I wandered up to the East Lancashire Railway in Bury, Greater Manchester. This is certainly one of the premier preserved lines in the country, and I do like to visit the big railways on quieter days, to get a better look at everything. I arrived at Bury to find that steam power for the day was provided by one of Ian Riley's Stanier Black Fives, specifically 44871. Apparently it was the Hughes-Fowler 'Crab' 13065 rostered for the weekend, but it had failed on Saturday morning, and since the Black Fives were warm from working a railtour on the Saturday (also covering for an unavailable loco - specifically Gresley A3 60103 'Flying Scotsman') one of them was chosen to fill in the void. Incidentally it was quite nice to see the two surviving carriages from the infamous 'Fifteen Guinea Special' railtour of 1968 in the set behind one of the locos which worked that tour. Also in operation was the railway's class 117 DMU, currently operating in a 'power twin' DMBS+DMSL configuration.
I enjoyed trips of the line on both trains, the better to enjoy the fantastic bark of the Black Five and the wonderful panoramic views available aboard the DMU. I also made sure to visit the Bury Transport Museum, across the road from Bolton Street station, which had a charming collection of vintage vehicles, with a lovely litte Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST tucked away in a corner. If you are visiting the ELR I strongly recommend visiting the museum, since entry is free with an ELR day rover or all-line return.
Overall, I thoroughly recommend a visit if you haven't been there before. I've already made plans to visit again next month for their Spring Diesel Gala.
