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Published on 3 Comments on Halcyon Days at Grantham!
Halcyon Days at Grantham! I thought that I would post this recently discovered image. It turned up whilst looking through an old wallet of B&W 127 negatives. Not a photograph to win any prizes, but it captures the joy and excitement of trainspotting with friends at Grantham. Notice the regulation 'snake belt' and rolled up shirt sleeves. I can't remember when this picture was taken or even the loco in view. Any guesses?

Published on Leave a comment on Roy Veasey
Above: Roy, on the left, as a fireman with Charlie Hopwood, his regular driver, on 19th June 1959 at Darlington with Class A1 locomotive No. 60142 Edward Fletcher.
Photograph taken by Eric Treacy, lent by Roy Veasey.

We were very sorry to receive the sad news that Roy passed away on 14th January at the age of 89.

I first met Roy in summer 1963 when my father took some photographs of him and other railwaymen on Grantham station and at the Loco.  Little could they have known that their friendship was planting a seed which, some 45 years later, would begin to grow into Tracks through Grantham.

After he retired Roy wrote his memoir, ‘My Railway Life’, and when I visited him in 2008 he gave me a copy.  When Tracks through Grantham took its first tentative steps he kindly consented to its publication, and ‘My Railway Life’ became the first personal account to appear on our website.  There’s no doubt that it has inspired many others to become contributors to our project, and I'm sure it will continue to do so.  You can read Roy's personal story of his working life on the railway here.

Roy lent his support to Tracks through Grantham in many ways.  We are greatly saddened to have lost such a good friend.

Roy's funeral will be held in Grantham on Monday 5th February.  Here is a link to the family announcement.

John Clayson

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Fred Harris joined the railway at Grantham in August 1955.  He achieved promotion to driver nearly 30 years later in April 1985, hence the title of the story of his working life on the railway.  Read how a youthful Fred and his driver peered into dense fog one night from the footplate of a slowly advancing 'Tango', looking for signals that were no longer there.  How does a footplate crew respond as a 'Green Arrow' begins to self-destruct at speed on the East Coast Main Line?  Enjoy with Fred a week away at Bridgnorth refreshing his steam skills.  All this and more in our latest new page.

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Published on 1 Comment on A British Railways Runabout – just the ticket

In the 1950s and 1960s a Runabout ticket could be the key to expanding your horizons.  Roger Bryant and friends left Mablethorpe one morning and, before the day was done, they had arranged for themselves a high-speed descent of Stoke Bank behind an A1 - in the genteel opulence of a Pullman car.  Read the story on our latest new page.

Published on Leave a comment on Looking ahead to 2018
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported the TTG project throughout 2017 and to also wish all of our many friends and contributors a Happy New Year! Looking ahead to 2018, amongst other things in the pipeline we are planning to introduce a new section on the TTG website. This new section will be about the 'Diesel Era' beginning with the introduction of DMU services at Grantham and covering the decades that followed, right up to the start of electrification. If you have a tale to tell, or maybe just an anecdote, a memory, or a few images from this period and you would like us to potentially include them in this section, then please get in touch with us.

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When talking to people from far and wide about Grantham Loco, if they know anything at all about its history they will often say 'Isn't that the shed where they had a turning triangle?'  The triangle at Grantham made the shed unique, certainly in the UK, even though it was in operation for only the final 12 years of the life of the shed, which reached back more than a century.

We thought the history of turning locomotives at Grantham before 'the angle' was worth exploring, and very interesting it has proved to be.   Our latest new page is called Turntables and Triangles.

Published on Leave a comment on The Mallard weekend September 7th & 8th 2013

During the early part of 2013 it became apparent that some sort of celebration was being organised to mark the 75th anniversary of the world speed record for steam locomotives being set on Stoke Bank just south of our town. Steve Philpott has provided us with his own personal view of events leading up to that memorable weekend of the 7th & 8th September 2013. You can read the full article here

Published on Leave a comment on A recent Station Survey carried out in 2014 – 2015

Following on from our B&W Station Survey carried out during the late 1970s, we decided to undertake a similar project in 2014 & 2015 to see how things have changed. A new photographic section covering our survey has now been added to the website. You can view the new pages here This link will take you to the header page of the new section.

Published on Leave a comment on Stranded at Grantham in 2013

In February 2013 D.B.S Class 60 No 60039 found itself stranded at Grantham for a couple of weeks following an incident further along the line. Steve Philpott was on hand to record the events that followed. You can read what happened here