Goods Train at Wormit

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• This viewpoint was from where, as boys in the sixties, we used to watch the trains. The goods trains would pull up in the yard and the wheel tappers would walk the length of the freight wagons tapping the wheels listening for the tell-tale dull ring of a suspect wheel. If the wagon was full its load would have to be lifted off. Meanwhile the fast freights would pass on the mainline. The evening fish trains heading south would come off the bridge in a hurry; the driver opening up the regulator as the first few wagons passed the signal box. The smoke plumes erupting from the locomotive as it picked up speed. The boisterous, squealing wheels from the protesting trailing vans shouted out but the train rushed past below us with purposeful intent. By early morning the fish would be on sale in Billingsgate!

  By Nigel Clark (18 November 2020)