Merseyside, Chester & North Wales
Branch visit to the West Lancashire Railway on 5th April
On Saturday April 5th we tried something a little different and hired a railway for the afternoon! This gave our party of twelve exclusive use of the 2’ gauge West Lancashire Light Railway at Hesketh Bank. Our train was hauled by Quarry Hunslet “Irish Mail” and we made at least 9 runs (there may have been more but we lost count) over the short, but picturesque, line. Unfortunately this loco no longer has a lamp bracket so the Society’s replica headboard could only be propped up on the bufferbeam for a group photo. Party members enjoyed footplate rides, rides in the guard’s van, photo runpasts and access to the shed and workshops. Our thanks go all of the West Lancs volunteers who gave up their time, especially with a gala scheduled for the following day, to make our visit so enjoyable.
The seven members who made the trip by public transport noted that the additional shuttle services to the Grand National at Aintree were operated by the 4 Merseyrail emus that have received vinyls promoting Liverpool as the European City of Culture 2008.
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| Quarry Hunslet "Irish Mail" at Hesketh Bank |