1973 - First Class at Hemel..
Ex BR Drewry 0-6-0DM, now owned by the Hemelite company, on a standing-room-only enthusiasts trip at their works at Cupid Green on a cold sunny winters day in 1973, on the old Midland Railway branch from Harpenden to Hemel Hempstead, known as the 'Nicky Line' (or 'Nickey Line')..
It would appear that someone needs some help, getting up the rickety wooden ladder into the coal truck..
The loco was buit in 1952, as BR 11103, and later D2203, and was based in East Anglia, and operated for a time on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway, fitted with a skirt and cow-catcher..
It was withdrawn by BR at the end of 1967, and purchased by the Hemelite company, and operated on the remaining section of the freight-only line from Harpenden until that closed down in the late-70s. It was later preserved, and is now in operation at the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway..
The 'Nicky Line' closed completely in July 1979, and the tracks were removed three years later. Part of the trackbed is now a popular walking and cycling path, and sections were used as part of a new ring road bypassing Redbourn town centre, in the 80s..
Today (2020) this site is part of an industrial estate.
Restored from an under-exposed purple-colour-shifted fungus red-stained original..
Original slide - photographer unknown
1973 - First Class at Hemel..
Ex BR Drewry 0-6-0DM, now owned by the Hemelite company, on a standing-room-only enthusiasts trip at their works at Cupid Green on a cold sunny winters day in 1973, on the old Midland Railway branch from Harpenden to Hemel Hempstead, known as the 'Nicky Line' (or 'Nickey Line')..
It would appear that someone needs some help, getting up the rickety wooden ladder into the coal truck..
The loco was buit in 1952, as BR 11103, and later D2203, and was based in East Anglia, and operated for a time on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway, fitted with a skirt and cow-catcher..
It was withdrawn by BR at the end of 1967, and purchased by the Hemelite company, and operated on the remaining section of the freight-only line from Harpenden until that closed down in the late-70s. It was later preserved, and is now in operation at the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway..
The 'Nicky Line' closed completely in July 1979, and the tracks were removed three years later. Part of the trackbed is now a popular walking and cycling path, and sections were used as part of a new ring road bypassing Redbourn town centre, in the 80s..
Today (2020) this site is part of an industrial estate.
Restored from an under-exposed purple-colour-shifted fungus red-stained original..
Original slide - photographer unknown