5. NRM Shildon, County Durham 29th May 2011
‘Smoke went up out of His nostrils, and fire from His mouth devoured’
‘Smoke went up out of His nostrils, and fire from His mouth devoured’
2 Samuel 22 v9
0846 Day two of my late May trip and l leave the digs at the Old Red House at Thirsk and cycle the two hundred yards to Thirsk station, feeling a bit cheated because the breakfast did not include cereal or OJ. Weather is overcast and drizzly.
My destination is Berwick upon Tweed via the National Railway Museum at Shildon. Whilst the main NRM is at York, Shildon, like a lot of these national collections do these days, supports an outpost. Besides, I have been to the York NRM (an unforgettable visit I have to add!) so it is off limits for 50@fifty. I have no idea what to expect, the web site is not very clear.
0900 Change at Darlington. Darlington station architecture is another beautiful example of pre-nationalisation railway companies wishing to make a statement: a high sweeping triple arched iron roof supported by ranks of ornamented cast iron Corinthian columns and a long, long gently curving island platform. It also emphasises the town’s pioneering railway credentials with display boards, sculpture and models on the concourse. It’s like a museum in itself.
0950: I arrive in Shildon with time to spare so cycle through the town park (enormous, with tiny steam locomotive motives printed on the cycle path!) to visit the local Methodist chapel, which is small but modern. Sadly, the congregation is very much as a lot of chapels these days but the welcome for a ‘southern softie’ is very warm, the service enthusiastic, and they wish me luck with my travel project.
1145 On to the main business of the day - ‘Locomotion’ NRM...I cycle back down the hill and through the park, still deserted apart from a few dog walkers.
The museum is engrossing and in many ways rather sad. Sad because it is a reminder of the industrial and heavy engineering heritage that we lost during the days of Thatcher. They are not slow in pointing out that Shildon’s railway wagon works were operating from the middle of the nineteenth century until 1984 and then was just closed – it’s no wonder that they don’t return Conservative MPs. Personal audio testimonies from local people just add to the sense of nostalgia and something lost.
There is a whole area devoted to early rail pioneer Timothy Hackworth who, they claim, would have won the Rainhill Trials instead of Stevenson if his engine’s cylinder hadn't burst! Hackworth was a complete unknown to me – apparently he was a Methodist LP!
Wandering into the main building containing the engine collection I was confronted by a special exhibition of Meccano models displayed by a local club. I remember Meccano from when I was young and Rob was into it for a while before computers took over. However, these people were serious screw-heads, in particular one chap who had designed and built a crane with 8 clutches to drive the various movements and a Leyland bus with 4 working gears and a reverse gear! More mundanely another man showed a Meccano musical box but could only play one tune because of the range of notes to hand and the size of the drum.
Wandering into the main building containing the engine collection I was confronted by a special exhibition of Meccano models displayed by a local club. I remember Meccano from when I was young and Rob was into it for a while before computers took over. However, these people were serious screw-heads, in particular one chap who had designed and built a crane with 8 clutches to drive the various movements and a Leyland bus with 4 working gears and a reverse gear! More mundanely another man showed a Meccano musical box but could only play one tune because of the range of notes to hand and the size of the drum.
The collective noun for a group of Meccano enthusiasts must be a whirr. Check out the videos here... http://www.youtube.com/playlist?p=PL1BE69ADFFCC3A933
When I had had Meccano overload I spent the rest of the time perusing the main collection of engines. The railway-loving genes from my dad must have skipped a generation because I am afraid one steam engine is much that same as another to me, but as an engineer I can appreciate the technical achievements. Obviously the cream of the NRM collection is in York, but ‘Locomotion’ did have Mallard , something called a ‘fireless’ steam engine which seems a contradiction and ...erm...the Hogwarts Express!?
1615 I pass an hour reading on Shildon station waiting for the oh-so-infrequent return service to Darlington while sitting on one of those thin metal benches you only get at bus and train shelters. Very blustery so I hope it settles down by tomorrow as I plan to cycle to Lindisfarne, otherwise it will be miserable. The sun is now shining... hooray for that.
1935: I arrive in Berwick and eventually locate my digs in a terraced cottage. With the bike stowed up an alley to the back, the landlady shows me up some steep narrow stairs to a small but comfortable room with adjoining bathroom. I head out for some fodder and eventually settle on a cheap Italian restaurant and have the three course special of Minestrone soup followed by pizza and fudge cake. Wandering around as I walk back, I think Berwick is an attractive town with old and modern road bridges and a snaking multi-arched viaduct which looks magnificent against the setting sun. The town centre has individual shops and lots of nooks and crannies to explore, many associated with it's erstwhile role as a border garrison town and port. An 18th century etching on my b and b room wall shows a view from the South with lots of ships cluttering the harbour and a huge flag flying over the town walls in defiance of those ‘rebellious scots’.
1615 I pass an hour reading on Shildon station waiting for the oh-so-infrequent return service to Darlington while sitting on one of those thin metal benches you only get at bus and train shelters. Very blustery so I hope it settles down by tomorrow as I plan to cycle to Lindisfarne, otherwise it will be miserable. The sun is now shining... hooray for that.
1935: I arrive in Berwick and eventually locate my digs in a terraced cottage. With the bike stowed up an alley to the back, the landlady shows me up some steep narrow stairs to a small but comfortable room with adjoining bathroom. I head out for some fodder and eventually settle on a cheap Italian restaurant and have the three course special of Minestrone soup followed by pizza and fudge cake. Wandering around as I walk back, I think Berwick is an attractive town with old and modern road bridges and a snaking multi-arched viaduct which looks magnificent against the setting sun. The town centre has individual shops and lots of nooks and crannies to explore, many associated with it's erstwhile role as a border garrison town and port. An 18th century etching on my b and b room wall shows a view from the South with lots of ships cluttering the harbour and a huge flag flying over the town walls in defiance of those ‘rebellious scots’.
Tomorrow is the big bike ride from Berwick to Alnwick – pray for a drop in the wind!
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