I'm currently in UK and, on Friday last, went up to the NRM Shildon branch in County Durham.

Shildon is the venue for the "Great Goodbye" - the farewell to the once-in-a-lifetime gathering of the 6 remaining Gresly A4 Pacifics to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Mallard's world record run.

The day was somewhat cold and decidedly showery but well worth the journey.

Crowds made photography of "the 6" very difficult but I did get this one of the group.

From left to right:

Mallard; Dominium of Canada; Bittern (in steam); Dwight D Eisenhower; Sir Nigel Gresley (in steam) and Dominium of South Africa (in steam)



Having seen both Dwight D and Canada at the same place soon after their arrival in UK some 18 months ago, I was totally blown away by the wonderful restoration work carried out there - particularly on "Canada" which was in a very sorry state on arrival.

What a picture Peter,it must of been a memorable day for you and a privilege to see all six in one place.

It was indeed quite a sight Alan.  Something I won't forget.

Here's a shot I took of Dominium of Canada when she arrived:




And from a similar angle after they'd attacked her with several tons of filler and a pint or two of garter blue paint:





You have to take your hat off to the Shildon restorers.  I hope she's better looked after when she gets back home this time  :roll::roll:.

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

From left to right:

Mallard; Dominium of Canada; Bittern (in steam); Dwight D Eisenhower; Sir Nigel Gresley (in steam) and Dominium of South Africa (in steam)

Great photo Peter ! :thumbs I know that I'm 'down under' where you may think we Australians are up-side-down, but shouldn't the caption read 'From right to left…', not 'left to right…' ?? ;-)

Cheers, Gary.

Hi Petermac,

What a sight. I never took the opportunity of visiting this when they were at York and regret it now. I can however create my own version in miniature as I have most of these with the exception of Mallard itself. Don't know why I haven't bought her yet. The most famous of them all.

Never mind, the photo's are appreciated. Oh……..and ignore these Aussie troublemakers. ;-)

Cheers

Toto

Wonderful shades of blue and green.

Ed

I like our Australian and other members who cannot attend such events are grateful to those who take photographs and share them!

It would have been wonderful to absorb the atmosphere of being in the presence of these giants !

Regards, Peter.

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

Oh look!  There's my uncle…ninth from the left in the blue coat!  Shame those big ugly metal things are blocking him from view!

Terry

Excellent photo Petermac. As they say, great to see them all in one place, however short-lived that may be. The certainly did a good job on Canada. Lets hope the Yanks and Canadians keep it up. Would be nice if they could both return to steam, even if it means 'over there'.

 

What a transformation,  fantastic work…………………isn't it suprising what a little bit of T-Cut will do :cool wink.

Seriously though Peter, please choose your headings carefully, I thought you were leaving us and I nearly had heart failure :It's a no no.

Lovely photos by the way

I must say my heart missed a beat as well.

Missing you already Peter! :sad:

Terry

Thanks Peter, a great picture. Noting that three are "in steam", are all six operational? I have seen Sir Nigel Gresley on occasions recently on the ECML, en route to King's Cross.

Very nostalgic

Bob

[user=878]Gary[/user] wrote:

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

From left to right:

Mallard; Dominium of Canada; Bittern (in steam); Dwight D Eisenhower; Sir Nigel Gresley (in steam) and Dominium of South Africa (in steam)

Great photo Peter ! :thumbs I know that I'm 'down under' where you may think we Australians are up-side-down, but shouldn't the caption read 'From right to left…', not 'left to right…' ?? ;-)

Cheers, Gary.

Glad to see you're awake Gary  :thumbs.  You are,of course, quite correct - I get my lefts and rights mixed up when I'm in UK - I put it down to the driving on the wrong side of the road …………….(either that or I had my back to the camera …….):cheers

Bob (Novice), I doubt the 3 non-steamers will ever steam again (although "never" is a long time ……:roll:).  Both Dwight D and Canada are incomplete with regard to "fixtures and fittings" although they could be manufactured.  I have no idea if the boilers are still tubed etc.  Mallard needs re-tubing and a new boiler certificate and I think there's little chance of them spending that kind of money, particularly when 3 are already in steam.  Dominium of South Africa has recently been overhauled and issued with a new certificate (which should last 10 years at her current mileage) but the cost, I understand, was frightening. 

Until very recently, there was talk of withdrawing "Flying Scotsman" because of the costs of obtaining the new certificates.  I think that's now been resolved and she's having the necessary work done although it will make her the most expensive loco in the country !!

p.s. To misquote Mark Twain - "the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated" - sorry, but you've got to put up with me for a few more years yet !!!

Thanks for that Peter, but my oh my, how that magnificent line up brought tears to the eyes !

Thanks so much for sharing - the good feel factor of the week !

Allan