A day on the road

This morning I pointed the trusty van south and ended up not far off the M1 looking at this 2 foot gauge Hudswell Clarke, Number 1238 for conservation and restoration advice purposes. A real challenge which I know its owners will rise to, and more details here:
http://mrt-news.blogspot.com/2008/05/historic-steam-loco-travels-from-africa.html
After a splendid fish & chip lunch, it was off to Barrow Hill roundhouse near Chesterfield where there are four items of NRM rolling stock on display. Two are seen below around the turntable, the LNER J17 0-6-0 on the left and the Great Central Railway Director Class "Butler Henderson" on the right. Between them stands the Drury family's A2 Pacific "Blue Peter". None are currently in working order, but the atmosphere is still fantastic as a working shed should be.

Outside the roundhouse in the sidings is our unique 1948 LMS dynamometer car 45049, and I just had to go and have a look inside to assess it and get to know about the collection!

What a fantastic object - the interior of the dynamometer car, now to find out what it all does!

Finally a quick look at our class 84, an electric loco which worked on the 25kV system and now in the care of the AC locos group. Electric locos are few in the collection, but it is right for the AC group to look after the 84, as they have now examples of 81, 82, 83, 84, 85 and 89 at Barrow Hill, good to know that someone is looking after recent heritage.