Postcards - June 2004

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MRRS Annual Bus Trip
For our annual reunion bus trip this year we took this Leigh Corporation AEC Renown bus on an excursion to the Churnet Valley Railway in rural Staffordshire. As you can see in the right hand picture, we soon had our favourite destination on the blind - It's a real place, near Leigh in Lancashire.

The railway provides a very enjoyable steam-hauled ride through the countryside. One excellent feature of the line is that at least three of the stations have nice pubs nearby. Here's a picture of the Black Lion, near Consall station.
19^th June 2004

Two weeks before we went, I thought it would be a nice idea to fly to the Churnet Valley and take some aerial shots of the line. As I flew across Cheshire towards Crewe, I was greeted by this view, shortly before I decided to turn back!
5^th June 2004

A Mystery Seaside Excursion
I went with a group of friends to Bury to catch a special train which had two unusual features: Firstly, it started on the preserved East Lancashire Railway and secondly, we didn't know where it was going! (We had been told it was an East Coast Resort)
My prediction of Cleethorpes proved wrong and the train took us to a very grey and wet Bridlington, where we had a quick look round the harbour, a couple of beers and some nice fish and chips.

On the left is the train ready to depart from Bridlington.
The train then headed north to Scarborough (right) where we had a brief stop.

At Scarborough mechanical signalling is still in use, and this ceramic railway map survives in excellent condition.
My thanks go to North Western Railtours for an enjoyable day out, reviving the old railway tradition of the mystery excursion.
26^th June 2004

Postcards index Back to my home page ©2004 Phil Wieland

	MRRS Annual Bus Trip For our annual reunion bus trip this year we took this Leigh Corporation AEC Renown bus on an excursion to the Churnet Valley Railway in rural Staffordshire. As you can see in the right hand picture, we soon had our favourite destination on the blind - It's a real place, near Leigh in Lancashire.
	The railway provides a very enjoyable steam-hauled ride through the countryside. One excellent feature of the line is that at least three of the stations have nice pubs nearby. Here's a picture of the Black Lion, near Consall station. 19^th June 2004
	Two weeks before we went, I thought it would be a nice idea to fly to the Churnet Valley and take some aerial shots of the line. As I flew across Cheshire towards Crewe, I was greeted by this view, shortly before I decided to turn back! 5^th June 2004
	A Mystery Seaside Excursion I went with a group of friends to Bury to catch a special train which had two unusual features: Firstly, it started on the preserved East Lancashire Railway and secondly, we didn't know where it was going! (We had been told it was an East Coast Resort) My prediction of Cleethorpes proved wrong and the train took us to a very grey and wet Bridlington, where we had a quick look round the harbour, a couple of beers and some nice fish and chips.
	On the left is the train ready to depart from Bridlington. The train then headed north to Scarborough (right) where we had a brief stop.
	At Scarborough mechanical signalling is still in use, and this ceramic railway map survives in excellent condition. My thanks go to North Western Railtours for an enjoyable day out, reviving the old railway tradition of the mystery excursion. 26^th June 2004