Railfest at NRM, York

Friday 8th June 2012

Todays main event was going to Railfest at the National Railway Museum in York.

Lots to see here and below are a number of photos of the exhibits there. It was raining a lot of the time so some photos are not that good.

mini Voyager

mobile advert for Railfest

bar selling Caledonian - Flying Scotsman

Mark inspects the shoegear of a Javelin

list of exhibits

a flashbutt rail welder

KOYLI

Prototype HST power car

Production HST power car

Cheltenham

A few photos taken inside the main museum

The Warehouse

And back outside for Railfest

Flying Scotsman

Then a couple of beers in York. First stop Brigantes for a half of each of Copthorne Gold and Elgoods Hound of the Basketballs.

 Brigantes

 Next pub was going to be The Maltings but as it was closed for a few days for refurbishment I went to my final pub for York, The recently opened York Tap on the station itself. 20 handpumps are available for real ale here and I settled for a pint of Sunny Republic - Huna Red

20 handpumps, 10 each side

And back to Leeds. Just outside the station is the Brewery Tap owned by Leeds Brewery. Here I had a half of Acorn - Newport IPA

Leeds Brewery Tap

Leeds Brewery

The next stop was the delightful Grove. A 4 roomed gem of a pub stood defiantly in an area of redvelopment.
Halves of Elland - Yorkshire Lager and Ridgeside Cascade were drunk here.

Grove

Keep building around the pub

The Midnight Bell for a half of Castle Rock - House Sparrow.

Midnight Bell

And almost next door to the Cross Keys for a half of Kirkstall - North Test Brew Prototype 4.

Cross Keys

Then back towards the city centre.

Looking towards Leeds city centre

To the Hop pub via the arches beneath Leeds station.

Underneath the arches

At the Hop I had a half of each of Salamander - Clean & Jerk and Fernandes - Rum For Cover

The Hop

Next stop was the Town Hall Tavern for a pint of Timothy Taylor - Golden Best and some food.

Town Hall Tavern

how my portion of chips was served

And the final stop of the day was the Fox & Newt. A numer of halves drunk here. Burley Street Brewhouse - The Brickyard, SPA Francochamps, Laguna Seca, IPA, Salamander - Tillerman.

Home of the Burley Street Brewhouse

4 beers brewed on the premises

Leeds and Wakefield pubs

Wednesday 6th June 2012.

Travelled first class (advance) once again from London Kings Cross to Leeds.

I had time for a quick half of Fullers - Hope &  Glory at the recently opened Parcel Yard in the recently opened western concourse of Kings Cross station. No photos this time.

At Leeds I had a10 minute walk and then I booked in at my hotel, then started my pub crawl.

First stop was the Veritas for a half of Kirkstall - Pale Ale, then Mr Foley's for a half of York - Diamond 52.

I realised I had broken my camera on the train journey so I bought a new camera in Leeds. Photos of first 2 pubs will appear in a later blog.

Then to Duck & Drake for halves of Roosters - Mild Mule, Slightly Foxed - Slightly Foxed and Howlin Fox, Pennine - Amber Necker and Great Heck - Voodoo Mild.

And then to the Scarborough for a half of each of Adnams - Diamond and Thwaites - Fine Reign. Oops, forgot to take photos here.

Next a train to Wakefield Westgate station. A short walk took me to the Six Chimneys (a Wetherspoons pub) for a quick half of Hambleton - Diamond Jubilee, and then to the Fernandes BreweryTap where I had a half of their Jackdaw Mild and Triple 'O'. I also had a half of Allgates - Kohatu.

Next pub was the Bull & Fairhouse for a half of Great Heck - Golden Bull

Followed by a half of Rat - Lab rat at The Hop.

Harry's Bar was next with a half of each of Copper Dragon - Nation's Pride and Bridgehouse - Jubilee Queen Bee.

This pub below had no real ale but i liked the look of it.

Final pub in Wakefield and the day was Henry Boons. The brewery tap of H B Clark's. There I had a half of their Euro Glory and 60 Diamond.

Train back to Leeds and then bed!

Whats happenning?

For anyone who has been following progress on this ex Alder valley Leyland National.

I have been informed by the owners that the planned repaint is now going to take place later this year. Much preparation work still needs doing and we are right in the middle of the bus rally season so there are less days available to work on  the bus.

It will still make some rally appearanes before then though.

And what to look forward on my blog in the next few months.

I will on holiday 6th - 11th June and will be visiting a few places up north. With a group of friends (WMTS as we are known) we plan to visit the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Railfest at the National Railway Museum in York, The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway and the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway. I will be staying in Leeds so I will have a few pubs to visit there. I will also visit Wakefield as i have never been to a pub there.

Possible visits to bus rallys at Weymouth, Stroud, Alton (working there), Newbury and Worthing.

A day trip to the SpaValley Railway.

Plus the usual beer festival and pub visits.

And finally Cyril.........

A bit of fun. Can you guess the location of this photo? No prizes though.

Alton Carnival with a Leyland National

Sunday 3rd June.

As part of the Alton diamond jubilee celebrations, the town council decided to reinstate the carnival after a gap of 15 years. My friend Claire decided it would be a good idea to enter a bus to promote the Alton Bus Rally.

So today a group of us walked in front of the decorated bus and handed out 1200 bus rally leaflets. Some photos of the bus are shown below:

red, white and blue balloons inside

at the yard before departure

front end at yard

the theme of our entry

side dispays in windows

arrival at Alton Butts Green

rear window with 3 A3 rally posters

frontend suitably enhanced for carnival procession