778 in France Robin.m4v

Outside of music, one of my other interests is working on narrow gauge steam locomotives at the Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway. This is a clip I took from the footplate of Baldwin Steam locomotive WD778 on Le pétit train de la Haute Somme during its visit to the Somme in June 2011.

Originally this locomotive was ordered by the War Department as one of 495 locomotives ordered from the Baldwin Locomotive works for service on the allied forces military railway, built to service the trenches, during World War 1. Fortunately this locomotive never quite made it into service during the war, but one of its many sisters may have worked on the lower part of the surviving railway Between Foissy Pont and Cappy Port. The Lower part of the railway was built and used by the French and allied forces, whilst the railway at the top of the Plateau was part of the German military railway. The Tunnel and the zig-zag (which is only partically shown) was built after the war when the railway worked as an industrial railway serving two sugar factories, transporting goods from the factories to Cappy port where the goods were transferred onto canal boats.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Steam
• Locomotive
• Baldwin
• WD778
• Leighton
• Buzzard
• Narrow
• gauge
• railway