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IPA News

Full Steam Ahead Lawrence Wright , Chairman No. 8 Region, East Anglia.

It was “Full Steam Ahead” for members of the Cambridgeshire Branch on 25th April. They visited the Nene Valley Railway at Wansford near Peterborough. Their day started with a coffee. After purchasing their tickets they boarded the train for the seven mile trip along the Nene Valley to Yarwell and then onto Peterborough. The locomotive for the day was a GWR Tank 5619. A 0-6-2 Tank engine introduced in 1924 for service the Welsh Valleys. With a weight of just over 68 tons it was well capable of hauling its train along the Nene Valley. The party settled in their coach and enjoyed the sounds and smells of their train. At Peterborough, the locomotive ran round its train and hauled the train back to Wansford. The chatter of the group was about historical memories of their childhood on trains and of course trainspotting. Once back at Wansford, the group was taken from the station to the locomotive yards, sheds and maintenance depot. Their guide showed them locomotives undergoing maintenance and those stored. Many parts of locomotives were scattered around including the boiler of BR Standard Class 5 – 73050 and the famous loco No. 1 “Thomas”. This actual loco was chosen by the local author Reverend W. Awdry to be “Thomas” in the children’s book series, so is the original. Other railways had their own version of Thomas but this was the very first! It was having a complete overhaul. In March 2018, the steam locomotive 60103 Flying Scotsman was given attention at the Nene Valley Railway at Wansford following a problem on the East Coast Main Line. On our visit, we saw the 4-6-2 locomotive 60163 Tornado receiving attention at Wansford. Very often, these main line locomotives pass through Peterborough. With our trip around the yards and sheds complete, we retired to the restaurant for a lunch and a long chat – of course on railways. It was an interesting trip, one which no doubt will be repeated.

Support, Equality and Wellbeing Allan Montgomery , Glasgow Lomond & Clyde Branch Over the past couple of years, Police Scotland have been holding Support, Equality and Wellbeing events, mainly at the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan. There have been others held at other locations in Falkirk and Stirling. All of these events were very well attended and No1 Region I.P.A were privileged to be invited to have a stand at all of them. At the most recent event held at Tulliallan, DCC Livingstone attended and took some interest in our display. The result of our efforts has been a few new members and a lot of interest shown by the Probationary Constables who were due to pass out. Two of the items on the table, (one of the helmets and the French Police hat), were given on loan by Alastair Dinsmor MBE the Curator of the Glasgow Police Museum and IPA member. As long as we are invited, we will attend and fly the flag for I.P.A. at these events. As a point of interest, the City of Glasgow Police was formed 30 years before the Metropolitan Police, and the museum covers the long history of the force from beginning up to the formation the now defunct Strathclyde Police. The museum is free to enter but donations always welcome, and it is well worth a visit. The website for the museum is, www.policemuseum.org.uk.

Royal Mint Some members of the Staffordshire Branch on their visit to the Royal Mint Nr Cardiff. (No free samples were given). They then went on to spend the afternoon in Cardiff City. Bob Lea . Treasurer Staffordshire Branch.

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POLICE WORLD Vol 63 No. 3, 2018