Midland Railway Butterley (MRB) June 2013

Thanks to the Midland Railway Butterley (MRB) needing to use their steam engine on an additional train, for a wedding party, on the afternoon of Saturday June 8th there was the requirement for another engine to cover the afternoon service. This duty fell to A1A Locomotives 31271.

31271 worked the following:

1310 Swanwick – Butterley (via Hammersmith), 1335 Butterley – Riddings, 1401 Riddings – Butterley (via Hammersmith), 1505 Butterley – Riddings, 1531 Riddings – Butterley (via Hammersmith), 1625 Butterley – Riddings, 1651 Riddings – Butterley

Steam Loco #23 worked the wedding train in the other path and also fitted in between events was a test run for recently re-started 25321, which ran Swanwick – Hammersmith and return in front of the 1401 Riddings – Butterley.

This day was a rather unique occasion in that 31162 was also working at the Great Central Railway Nottingham‘s June Diesel Gala and there was enough time to get from Ruddington to Butterley for the 1335 departure, after ‘162 had worked it’s train of the day; that was unless you managed to get lost in Ripley and then scuppered by the missing signpost that should direct you left after going through the Ripley one-way system. I made it though; just! There haven’t been many occasions to ever get two A1A Locomotives class 31’s in at different railways in the same day.

31271 gave as good a performance as ‘162 had done that morning at Ruddington, unfortunately though there is still a lot of speed restrictions on at the Riddings end of the line which does take away a bit of thrash from the bottom of the hill, as the train starts away from Riddings; the wait to half way up was worth it though.