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23rd ANNUAL QUAINTON BUS RALLY 28/5/07 [By Frank Brown]

Quainton is primarily a railway preservation centre, home to several unusual artefacts.  These include an Egyptian National Railways Sentinel steam railcar and perhaps the largest locomotive on display in the UK, the gigantic South African Railways class 25NC 4-8-4 No.3405 'Janice'.  Unbelievably this engine ran on a narrow gauge of 3 feet 6 inches compared to a standard gauge of 4 feet 8 inches over here.

Two little LSWR tank engines 30585/30587 provided the passenger steam action up and down the centres' long sidings either side of the former mainline from London [Marylebone] to Nottingham, nowadays only used by the rubbish trains from South Ruislip to the landfill site at Calvert and the odd rail tour.  Industrial Peckett 2087 'Gibraltar' recreated a 'mixed goods' running between passenger shuttles.  Behind the scenes several longer term restoration projects are ongoing, the largest being that of GWR 6989 'Wightwick Hall' almost completed.

Unfortunately true to tradition the late May Bank Holiday turned out to be very cold and very wet putting a damper on the 23rd annual bus rally.  Never the less around twenty vehicles braved the elements including green RML2440 with the Amersham & District trip.  Classmates RML2412 and RMC1476 plus red RTs 2177, 3251 along with GS 17/32, RF48 and BN45 represented LT/LCBS types.  Thames Valley Bristol K6A/ECW 446 [DBL 154], resplendent with authentic fleetname, completed the 'local' scene.  Out of towners were a Crosville RE, Leicester Metro-Scania, Lincolnshire FS and newer Stagecoach FLF amongst a host of coaches.  Village circular tours were hampered by road works and poor patronage, however several ran using a GS.

Full marks though to The Buckinghamshire Railway Centre for organising a varied programme for both road and rail exhibits on the day. Plenty to see in the many out-buildings which include an excellent second hand bookshop full of elusive treasure.  The site centre is the former Oxford Rewley Road station building, [painstakingly moved brick by brick from Oxford circa 2000] full of indoor interest and a warm/dry refuge from the elements!

The Buckinghamshire Railway Centre's 30585 and visiting 30587 [NRM], both LSWR 2-4-0WT Beattie Well Tanks dating from 1874, run together at Quainton Road in appalling Bank Holiday weather conditions on Monday 28th May 2007

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