Union of South Africa

FRIDAY

After a busy morning, I managed to get away from work at lunch time and head over the Pennines to see what was running at the East Lancs Railway's Autumn Steam Gala weekend.

It was rush hour in rainy Ramsbottom and I managed to see four different locomotives in the space of around 20 minutes (see extras).

The main blip is the "Union of South Africa" leaving Heywood Station. The streamlined A4 locomotive, designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, was built at Doncaster in 1937. Only six survive and it's likely that this one will be retired to a museum in Fife when its extended boiler certificate expires in March 2020