Last month, we attended the 'Greatest Gathering' at ALSTOM, Derby, UK. It is the largest exhibition of vintage and modern railway vehicles. It was a nice morning, as we caught the complimentary vintage shuttle bus service that took us to ALSTOM, the company that makes trains. Most buses and trains had printed information saying what they were.
We had a look around the Routemaster buses that first came on the scene in 1954, with 4 prototype buses built for London Transport. I particularly like the red iconic London buses. They really stand out and are very photogenic.
Next were the Crossley buses that had manual transmission, and were often used for training new drivers in the 1960s. They were later withdrawn in January 1970. The CRC 911 was only saved because enthusiast Michael Howarth bought the bus and used it for rallies for several years. After Mr Howarth's death, the current owner bought it back to Derby in 2008.
The Delaine Bus Company was founded in 1890 by George Delaine. They started with a horse-drawn service for goods and parcels. The first motor bus was introduced in 1919.
After looking at the buses we made our way to the trains. There were allsorts of trains, deisel, steam, electric, battery and hydrogen.
We saw Class 50 deisel locomotives that were built by English Electric at the Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows between 1967 and 1968.
The FX8715 is a 1924 Aveling & Porter E Type model. The steamroller manufacturer, Aveling & Porter, was founded back in 1862.
There was a lot of activity in the Model Railway Village with various layouts and trade stands and 5 inch gauge trains.
Overall, it didn't matter whether you were a train or bus enthusiast, the 'Great Gathering' was an interesting event. With the number of vehicles on display, it must have taken a lot of work by hundreds of people to put a show on like this, and for me, it was a good blast from the past.
The highlight for me though, was a guest appearance of Titan the Robot. I have seen him once before in my home town. He's pretty cool yet a bit intimidating!
