UA-cam constantly surprises me. I hadn't seen this video before, despite all the time I spend looking at all things Great Western! As many of the other comments have already said, this was an excellent video, very nostalgic and so typical of a different world that once existed. To tow a locomotive that had been standing outside since May 1963 when it was withdrawn from Llanelli would be considered madness in this day an age, but you succeeded.
I saw all of these at Filton and Stoke Gifford when I was a kid, wow brings tears to my eyes, wish I could turn back time, when all children could experience what we did. Aircraft, ships, trains, and plenty of jobs.
I just found this as recommended (it's June 2021!) Kudos to all you lads for saving these grand locos. I can't believe you towed them in those days, I think it's all done by road now isn't it. I remember seeing Drysllwyn at Tyseley when I were a lad.
Yes, it was much more fun in those days, being hauled on the main line than transporting by road, but it wasn't half cold that day! Thanks for watching
@ADMIRALSCORNER Thank you Michael. Your comments are much appreciated. I've just watched your video from 1987 as suggested and I was very impressed. It looks great in the snow, but awfully cold!! Mervyn
@2010ditta You are quite possibly right. I've just looked at the vid again, and compared it with my shot of 5322 leaving Barry (also available on my channel) and I think that I might have put it out of sequence and confused it with the footbridge at Barry when I scanned my old colour slides. I don't actually remember stopping at Severn Tunnel junction, but it was 40 years ago and it was bitterly cold, so I am blaming a frozen brain!! Thank you for watching...Mervyn
@2010ditta Yes, 5051 was in excellent condition, and had a trouble-free journey to Didcot (at 25mph) except for triggering a hot-box detector before Gloucester. On inspection, there was no evidence of overheating. The restoration at Didcot took a long time because being a large 4 cyl loco, there was much more (in size and number of parts) to overhaul to main-line standard, and of course, the costs are greater for a large loco...Mervyn
Mervyn, just seen your video of Drysllwyn Castle moving from Barry to Didcot. What a journey! I presume it was all done at low speed, too. I've subscribed to your site and will catch up with your other later,
..........and not a florrie in sight. I was on the St Davids Day express from Swansea in 2007, the last run in Wales, and looking forward to possibly seeing 5051 out again on the main line again one day !
@mvjedforest Hi Mervyn I/m glad you saw the video.You must have been closely associated with bringing the loco back to life which is great. I wonder, can you enlighten me as how it later it came to change its name?
The Collett designed locos had better protection for the footplate crew than those designed by his predecessor, Churchward. They were even worse before him, but in those days having something to stand on was a luxury!
@@MervynPartin It was the one thing I didn't like about everything GWR up to the Castle Class. The dinky little cab looked way out of proportion to the rest of the locomotive. One of the worst examples was "The Great Bear". This monster locomotive for the time, looked ridiculous with that style of cab. I don't understand the thinking behind it. The LMS and LNER had my favorite designs. Bill Stanier even came from the GWR. Glad he saw the deficiency and didn't replicate it at the LMS.
@@channelsixtysix066 I couldn't agree more. I have only been in the cabs of LMS and LNER locos whilst stationary, but they were much better, and had more comfortable seats for the driver (I have driven and fired GWR locos). Also, as you said, the Great Bear did look ridiculous.
What an excellent set of images Mervyn, I wasn't aware that you had been uploading. It was great see see this old Llanelly based engine being moved from Barry to Didcot, I was also lucky to have ridden the footplate of Hinton Manor from Barry to Kidderminster on a bitterly cold night in the early 70's...Bob
Excellent little video. At 1.18 you can see my house on the main road at mon. bank sidings. One little quibble, the bridge in the backgroundat 0.44 is it the one at severn tunnel junction? Looks like it.
Sorry, I knew at the time, but my memory has sadly failed me as to the intended recipient of that extra tender. Definitely not a spare for the Castle but for one of the smaller locos, perhaps a Manor or Hall.
I'm a bit old now and the memories going,but I seem to remember that there were two or maybe even three Drysllwyn Castles over the years all of which were renamed,a very sad thing in my mind being welsh, and though not technically correct we always thought of them as "Our Castles"
@r0g3r5m1th I also feel sad about the renaming- I much prefer the original name, but at least the GWR did not do it as often as the present rail companies. Thanks for watching. Mervyn
@ADMIRALSCORNER Hi Michael. 5051 was originally Drysllwyn Castle as built in 1936, but changed to Earl Bathurst (formerly on a Dukedog) in 1937, reason unknown to me-perhaps others may know? regards, Mervyn.
@mvjedforest ,The reason as I believe it was none other than Earl Bathurst (the man) thought a DukeDog as being unworthy of his name ?.I suppose though that they did not,after all, have the looks (or prestige of a Castle Class Loco..
This is a lovely video: very interesting to see the engine and the journey, and it's a touching tribute to your colleague as well. The music was a great choice as well. In fact, it's become a bit of an ohrworm, and would love to find it, but I've so far been unsuccessful: searching American Sunrise hasn't given me this particular track. I'd be most grateful if you could point me in the direction of this piece, or give me the name of the composer who wrote it, or where you got it from? Thanks very much, and I hope you're well! John
Many thanks for your kind comments, John. To avoid royalty issues, when producing this video, I took advantage of UA-cam's own royalty-free music which is accessible when uploading videos, but I do not know if it is still available. UA-cam have changed their uploading format so many times that it is often difficult to find a piece of music that is both appropriate and of the required duration. I've just looked back at the video via the creator dashboard and cannot find any more details, other than in my original video description. It is possible to download videos and music from UA-cam using YTD software, but the only other suggestion that may help is to upload a short video (of any subject matter) and during the process, search the UA-cam music soundtrack library, which does usually give the name of the performers. Sorry that I cannot give more help than that, but if anything occurs to me, I'll add another reply. Best wishes, Mervyn
Thanks for replying. One other question if you dont mind. What kind of condition was she in, she looks pretty good to me judging by the pics,. and seeing that she was only at Barry for a few years?.
She was built 1936, renamed 1937, withdrawn 1963, at Barry 1963-1970, restored 1979, withdrawn 1990, returned 1998, withdrawn 2008, static display 2008-onwards
Thank God for those enthusiasts. If it weren't for them, we'd probably only have 4073 left
UA-cam constantly surprises me. I hadn't seen this video before, despite all the time I spend looking at all things Great Western! As many of the other comments have already said, this was an excellent video, very nostalgic and so typical of a different world that once existed. To tow a locomotive that had been standing outside since May 1963 when it was withdrawn from Llanelli would be considered madness in this day an age, but you succeeded.
Hi Gareth, Glad you liked it. It was hard work, but it was great fun, but alas, just a distant memory now. Thanks for watching...Mervyn
Thank G*d for their foresight, intelligence and commitment. Every one of those people deserves a medal.
I saw all of these at Filton and Stoke Gifford when I was a kid, wow brings tears to my eyes, wish I could turn back time, when all children could experience what we did. Aircraft, ships, trains, and plenty of jobs.
I know what you mean. I feel the same way about those times.
Great pictures and with the Hymik
Background music entirely appropriate for this wonderful occasion. A locomotive rescued from certain demise...
Thank you for your kind comment on the music, with which I tried to get a match the to the content of the video.....Mervyn
I just found this as recommended (it's June 2021!) Kudos to all you lads for saving these grand locos. I can't believe you towed them in those days, I think it's all done by road now isn't it. I remember seeing Drysllwyn at Tyseley when I were a lad.
Yes, it was much more fun in those days, being hauled on the main line than transporting by road, but it wasn't half cold that day!
Thanks for watching
@ADMIRALSCORNER Thank you Michael. Your comments are much appreciated. I've just watched your video from 1987 as suggested and I was very impressed. It looks great in the snow, but awfully cold!! Mervyn
@2010ditta You are quite possibly right. I've just looked at the vid again, and compared it with my shot of 5322 leaving Barry (also available on my channel) and I think that I might have put it out of sequence and confused it with the footbridge at Barry when I scanned my old colour slides. I don't actually remember stopping at Severn Tunnel junction, but it was 40 years ago and it was bitterly cold, so I am blaming a frozen brain!! Thank you for watching...Mervyn
great vid, enjoyed seeing a bit of history today.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.
You couldn't have paid a better tribute to your colleague - well done.
Thank you for your kind comment- much appreciated.
@2010ditta Yes, 5051 was in excellent condition, and had a trouble-free journey to Didcot (at 25mph) except for triggering a hot-box detector before Gloucester. On inspection, there was no evidence of overheating. The restoration at Didcot took a long time because being a large 4 cyl loco, there was much more (in size and number of parts) to overhaul to main-line standard, and of course, the costs are greater for a large loco...Mervyn
Mervyn, just seen your video of Drysllwyn Castle moving from Barry to Didcot. What a journey! I presume it was all done at low speed, too. I've subscribed to your site and will catch up with your other later,
@robmasterman It was quite an experience, Bob, but biiterly cold like your trip so I was glad to get in the Hymek cab to warm up!
..........and not a florrie in sight.
I was on the St Davids Day express from Swansea in 2007, the last run in Wales, and looking forward to possibly seeing 5051 out again on the main line again one day !
I hope you enjoyed the St. David's Day express- It is along time since I last managed to ride on a steam special. Thanks for watching.
@mvjedforest Hi Mervyn I/m glad you saw the video.You must have been closely associated with bringing the loco back to life which is great. I wonder, can you enlighten me as how it later it came to change its name?
The first Great Western locomotive that had a decent sized cabin to protect the crew.
The Collett designed locos had better protection for the footplate crew than those designed by his predecessor, Churchward. They were even worse before him, but in those days having something to stand on was a luxury!
@@MervynPartin It was the one thing I didn't like about everything GWR up to the Castle Class. The dinky little cab looked way out of proportion to the rest of the locomotive. One of the worst examples was "The Great Bear". This monster locomotive for the time, looked ridiculous with that style of cab. I don't understand the thinking behind it. The LMS and LNER had my favorite designs. Bill Stanier even came from the GWR. Glad he saw the deficiency and didn't replicate it at the LMS.
@@channelsixtysix066 I couldn't agree more. I have only been in the cabs of LMS and LNER locos whilst stationary, but they were much better, and had more comfortable seats for the driver (I have driven and fired GWR locos). Also, as you said, the Great Bear did look ridiculous.
What an excellent set of images Mervyn, I wasn't aware that you had been uploading. It was great see see this old Llanelly based engine being moved from Barry to Didcot, I was also lucky to have ridden the footplate of Hinton Manor from Barry to Kidderminster on a bitterly cold night in the early 70's...Bob
Excellent little video. At 1.18 you can see my house on the main road at mon. bank sidings. One little quibble, the bridge in the backgroundat 0.44 is it the one at severn tunnel junction? Looks like it.
My Uncle is named Peter Rich, of Birmingham nr Bourneville. Small world :)
5051 seems to be doing the Flying Scotsman in these shots, what exactly happened to the other tender?
Sorry, I knew at the time, but my memory has sadly failed me as to the intended recipient of that extra tender. Definitely not a spare for the Castle but for one of the smaller locos, perhaps a Manor or Hall.
I'm a bit old now and the memories going,but I seem to remember that there were two or maybe even three Drysllwyn Castles over the years all of which were renamed,a very sad thing in my mind being welsh, and though not technically correct we always thought of them as "Our Castles"
Yes there was 5051, 5076 and 7018 named drysllwyn castle with 7018 doing 102mph in 1958
@r0g3r5m1th I also feel sad about the renaming- I much prefer the original name, but at least the GWR did not do it as often as the present rail companies. Thanks for watching. Mervyn
Wonderful photos! You may care to see a video I have just uploaded of Drysiiwyn Castle from the winter of 1987.
@ADMIRALSCORNER Hi Michael. 5051 was originally Drysllwyn Castle as built in 1936, but changed to Earl Bathurst (formerly on a Dukedog) in 1937, reason unknown to me-perhaps others may know? regards, Mervyn.
I believe steam railway did a news story about the recovery of this engine
Thanks for that info. I didn't know about that. It's probably too late to see the article now, but I will try.
@mvjedforest ,The reason as I believe it was none other than Earl Bathurst (the man) thought a DukeDog as being unworthy of his name ?.I suppose though that they did not,after all, have the looks (or prestige of a Castle Class Loco..
This is a lovely video: very interesting to see the engine and the journey, and it's a touching tribute to your colleague as well. The music was a great choice as well. In fact, it's become a bit of an ohrworm, and would love to find it, but I've so far been unsuccessful: searching American Sunrise hasn't given me this particular track. I'd be most grateful if you could point me in the direction of this piece, or give me the name of the composer who wrote it, or where you got it from? Thanks very much, and I hope you're well! John
Many thanks for your kind comments, John. To avoid royalty issues, when producing this video, I took advantage of UA-cam's own royalty-free music which is accessible when uploading videos, but I do not know if it is still available. UA-cam have changed their uploading format so many times that it is often difficult to find a piece of music that is both appropriate and of the required duration.
I've just looked back at the video via the creator dashboard and cannot find any more details, other than in my original video description. It is possible to download videos and music from UA-cam using YTD software, but the only other suggestion that may help is to upload a short video (of any subject matter) and during the process, search the UA-cam music soundtrack library, which does usually give the name of the performers.
Sorry that I cannot give more help than that, but if anything occurs to me, I'll add another reply. Best wishes, Mervyn
Thanks for replying. One other question if you dont mind. What kind of condition was she in, she looks pretty good to me judging by the pics,. and seeing that she was only at Barry for a few years?.
She was built 1936, renamed 1937, withdrawn 1963, at Barry 1963-1970, restored 1979, withdrawn 1990, returned 1998, withdrawn 2008, static display 2008-onwards
Putting a cutting tourch near such a Nobel Beast warrents The Hangman
Dureros