Bittern

[ffutures]

One of the advantages of living where I do - heard an odd noise from outside, looked out, and there was Bittern.





It was pulling six or seven carriages out of Paddington Station. I think they do a couple of runs every weekend. More details here. Unfortunately the schedule of runs is out of date and I can't find anything more recent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A4_4464_Bittern

What - you were expecting a bird?

Comments

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

Gosh, that's a splendid machine.

My friends little boy is just at an age where he loves trains, there's an old steam train that runs on a piece of track near Edinburgh that they took him to, and he was just in heaven.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I was half expecting it to be the loco they've done up as the Hogwarts Express, but that mostly runs out of King's Cross.

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

Ohh, now that's some steam pr0n. One o the most annoying things about our current financial situation is that we could do our annual Christmas outing on the Western Maryland Scenic RR's steam strain ride.

[sbisson.livejournal.com]

If only I could see over the junction here - there's a regular steam service down the Waterloo Reading line. I see the steam, but never the train!

[original-aj.livejournal.com]

Jealous now! I love A4s, I have the Sir Nigel Gresley in Hornby Dublo (diecast, three-rail system, not the modern plastic ones) but I've never seen one in steam. I grew up near what was at the time one of the best preserved engine collections in the country, and remember riding on the footplate of the Flying Scotsman as a boy.

[smallship1.livejournal.com]

Have two cups of tea at once. Remember--once Bittern, twice chai.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

There are six main railway tracks and two "underground" (subway) tracks next to my house, in a couple of years another two tracks in the Crossrail tunnel under London will surface more or less opposite. When I was a kid the main lines were all steam trains, with a lot of shunting engines that have now gone since there isn't a goods terminal at Paddington any more. The outside of my house is still sooty...

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

That's a shame. Maybe you need a periscope!

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Used to see them a lot as a kid, now it's all electric or diesel-electric.

[timill]

4498 or 7?

(Mine is 4498, but the valances were removed to fit a 2-rail chassis with valve gear)

[timill]

Bristol today with 60019 - Salisbury tomorrow with 60163 Tornado.

http://www.uksteam.info/tours/trs10.htm#feb

[original-aj.livejournal.com]

7.

I inherited my dad's set (Duchess of Montrose) as a kid in the 70s, which had the catalogue in it, and so as an adult I've gradually acquired the things I'd wanted but were no longer available.

[armb.livejournal.com]

> you were expecting a bird?

I did misread it as "there was a bittern" for a moment, which made me wonder if I was completely mistaken about where you lived.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Yay! That is a 'snap' to our Sir Nigel Gresley spot!

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I was betting someone would ;-)

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Sure is - I wish I'd had a camera handy, but it was past pretty quickly and I missed my chance.