There were always new tank locomotives to be seen at Barry up until 1959, in the form of engines entering the works for repair or overhaul. They were not just South Wales based engines but examples from all over the Western Region. The works also undertook the maintenance and repair of dockside machinery, one of the metal turning lathes had a bed length of 39 feet and had been brought to Barry by the contractors Price & Wills, during the construction of the railway, having previously been used on the Manchester Ship Canal project. This huge machine was used mainly for turning rams for the lock gates. Likewise, one of the large pillar drills had a 40 foot bore hole beneath the spindle, so that the rams, once machined, could be lowered into the hole and the coupling flange drilled.

Visits to the works were made on a regular basis but, not once, did I manage to get round without having to sign the visitors' book. After engine repairs finished at the end of 1959, the works were given over to the repair of wagons until 1964, after which the building was gradually vandalized. By this time, I had become interested in bringing home as much of the railway as I could, much to my parents' displeasure, and I often think back to the time I turned up at the front door, with two hessian sacks of engine repair cards from the works!! In the Coppersmiths Shop were handlamps marked GWR, TVR, BR Co. etc. and, seeing as I already had a handlamp marked BR Co., I couldn't see the point of bringing home any more, so left them there.

The sheds at Barry were closed to steam in 1964 and wagon repairs were transferred from the works in the October. I was at the sheds one day in the summer of that final year, when building work was being carried out ready for the shed's new role and the staff were hunting round for hardcore, to enable concrete to be poured. Lumps of rock had been tossed in, steel, old firebars, cabside number plates - yes, cabsides!!! Two, three and four figured cast iron and brass cabsides from beneath the bench in the fitters shop, at least twenty of them and none broken, just thrown in the foundations. The point was, at that time, hardware was everywhere you looked and we all knew that it would be around forever, plus it was a good mile walk from the shed to home - and those cabside plates were a bit grubby.

The first cabside I actually paid for was in 1970-ish. Industrial railways still had steam locomotives at work and Merthyr Vale Colliery had 0-6-0PT No.9600 on its books. A visit was made on a Sunday and the only employee on site was a boiler man who enquired what I was up to. Anyway, we got talking and I was informed that if said employee had enough money for two pints of beer in the local Working Men's Club, he wouldn't be on site for a good half hour AND, if he had money for a pasty, he would leave behind a spanner to fit the nuts on the back of the cabside plate. Talk about driving a hard bargain. 6/- shillings (30p) quickly changed hands and now, left alone, it was found that I'd been caught. With the bad track conditions, vibration had slackened the nuts and they were just finger tight, which meant that 1/- (5p) could have been saved on the purchase price. The driver's side plate was left in situ, as it had cracked in half. If only we had known then what we know now.

Another source of traffic to bring foreign engines to Barry were the excursions for Barry Island, with anything from Panniers to Pacifics at their heads, though admittedly the latter were fairly rare birds, only three sightings of WR Britannias being recorded. From the Valleys, trains were usually hauled by 56xx 0-6-2Ts; Newport trains could be double headed panniers, while from the Sirhowy Valley former L&NWR 0-8-0s allocated to Tredegar were regular visitors, wheezing their way across the causeway to Barry Island station with a far from syncopated beat. Not a very good choice of locomotive as far as the footplate crews were concerned, as the brakes left a bit to be desired. It being reckoned that brake application would have to start at Cadoxton, if they wanted to stop at Barry Island, which was still three miles distant. From further afield came Moguls, Castles, Halls, Standards, etc. The array of locomotives to be seen was quite staggering, inbound trains and ECS workings ran, in most cases, with military precision. In the evenings, return excursions would leave Barry Island station at five minute intervals. From my vantage point at Barry High Level, one excursion would be approaching, whilst another would be setting out across the causeway between the Island and Town stations. Apart from occasionally being allowed on the footplate, while the engine was turned via the West Pond triangle, the opportunity for footplate trips was nil however.

From the late 1950s, Geest had been importing bananas into Barry and these trains were a different ball game altogether. The banana boats ran a scheduled service to the West Indies from Barry, a three week round trip, vessels arrived back in South Wales usually on a Sunday and departed the following Thursday, after discharging their cargo. The only speedy option for moving several thousand tons of bananas at this period was by rail, which necessitated Barry men learning the road to Gloucester, Hereford, Bristol and Swindon. Three trains a day, sometimes four, were run Monday to Thursday, tender engines being supplied initially by Cardiff Canton and later East Dock during the steam era. Locomotives not normally associated with the area began appearing from the outset, in the form of LMR allocated examples - Jubilees, Black 5s, 8Fs, WDs, 9Fs and, on one occasion, Royal Scot No.46120. These were engines that had worked into the South Wales area and were then returned to the LMR on the Northern bananas, which left No.2 dock in the evening; if an extra Northern was run, it was at lunchtime. As for WR engines, Castles, Halls, Counties, 28s and Granges were the regular fare; the County Class being held in very high esteem and regarded as being ideally suited to the job.

With these trains starting from No.2 dock, well away from the eyes of the shed master and station staff, illicit footplate trips weren't that difficult to come by and arrangements would be made with the crew the day previous, the only criteria being that I had to wear overalls, a jacket and grease top hat which I still have. The reason for looking the part was not to look too conspicuous passing through Cardiff General Station or, if on a London, not to draw attention during the stop at Severn Tunnel Junction Up Yard and, seeing as the return journey was "on the cushions", there was a free trip home as well, plus cheap or free tea in the refreshment rooms, by mentioning the magic OCS (on Company service). Some excellent trips were had on these trains, also some very poor ones as well, due to the rundown state of much of the BR steam fleet. At 50mph, being on the footplate of a rough riding engine, as it bucked and swayed its way along the main line, was definitely no joke.

Next time we'll wander a bit further afield and collect some more railway relics.