My Dad and I arrived from home in Darlington at 08.15 and parked in AV Dawson Car Park 'B' as directed. It was a freezing cold morning and, wrapped up warm, we then walked the short distance to the AV Dawson reception and were checked in by Paul Stewart / Steward. We were pleased to find that complimentary hot drinks and biscuits were available, with something for everyone's taste. I chose a Bourbon biscuit pack. We had some time to spare, so had a look around the offices and watched a video of 08600 on its journey to be plinthed on a roundabout near the AV Dawson site. We had a nice sociable chat with some friends also watching the video, then went back downstairs to take pictures of the 'Branch Line Society' headboard with my model Class 08 and 'Molly' wagon in front.

We then had a chat with other friends who had just arrived. Before we knew it, it was time to enter the Automotive Steel Storage Terminal where we could take pictures of the train, from a set of stairs and also at platform level. 08410 was to lead the first leg of the trip, with 08774 on the rear and 'Molly' sandwiched in the middle, full of Society members. We then climbed aboard Molly; pretty much the last people to board, as we had taken lots of pictures! After the whistle was blown, we departed but almost immediately stopped again as 08774 on the rear seemed to have its brakes on. This was quickly fixed and 08410 on the front made a shaky start out of the shed as we ran up to the Network Rail boundary.





















08774 then took us back to Tees Riverside Intermodal Park (end of the inner siding). I observed that we then returned to the Network boundary, on a different track, the one nearest Middlesbrough station. Next, we went to the North Sea Supply Base Wharf on the River Tees, including crossing the road outside AV Dawson (Martyn Brailsford was the level crossing keeper), with many spectators watching us.
























Some spectators had arrived early for the next trip. At the wharfside, we saw 'Leonardo Da Vinci', a ship from Napoli - the largest cable laying vessel in the world, an impressive sight. Here, we noticed that, although we were cosy and warm in our winter coats, one passenger from Sunderland was in a T-shirt! The temperature in Molly was just right, not too warm or too cold. Remembering 'Molly' is an old mess-wagon, we had our breakfast at this point, like British Rail staff would have done all those years ago!

Next, we proceeded back off the wharf to the Cobra Terminal (new track for most on the tour, as AV Dawson had taken this area over after our previous tour on 1 Jul 2018), where huge piles of rock salt are delivered by rail and road. We went through the loading terminal to the end of the line here. Our tour later went round to the Warehouse area, via another level crossing to reach this, again lots of people watched us cross over the road, once more supervised by Martyn Brailsford (or his identical twin).

Then, there was an unfortunate incident when a participant felt ill. A First Aid trained steward promptly helped the person who quickly recovered and was able to complete the trip; great work everyone!

Charlie Nettle, Managing Director of AV Dawson, came to speak with the passengers on board. We asked him lots of questions and had a really good chat. At the end of the trip, our train terminated in the climate controlled coil storage shed where we'd started from. I took a picture with my model Class 08 positioned on the real Class 08 loco, before then leaving the site. We were given a friendly farewell by our Society stewards. Dad and I decided to take some lineside pictures of the second trip, from Metz Road Bridge and the level crossings dotted around the site. We met a few others with the same idea and also some old friends who came especially to photograph the train. A few passers-by stopped to enjoy the Class 08s travelling under Metz Road bridge and seemed to really enjoy the spectacle!






Not quite finished yet! We then drove the short distance to the now famous roundabout where Riverside Park Road meets Ironmasters Road, Middlehaven, to see and photograph 08600 at its new home. This is to celebrate Railway 200 and the railway heritage of the area. We also had a chance to say 'hello' to two horses who live next to the roundabout and saw the main line trains passing by. Dad and I had a lovely time courtesy of the BLS and AV Dawson, so thank you to everyone involved, you did a great job. A press release






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A longstanding member considered 08600 was his most difficult BR loco to 'cop' as it spent virtually the whole of its operational life as the Slade Green Depot shunter. That Depot is in the middle of nowhere, so 08600 was his last BR loco for sight. He finally copped it - and filled his 1976 Ian Allan book - during our first BLS visit to AV Dawson on 5 May 1989. Our three most recent AV Dawson Railtours (2017, 2018 2025) have accumulated almost total coverage of their rail system - see marked up plans.









The three fully booked 2025 AGM trips (two 'track & traction', the third traction) carried 156 members and contributed to the £5,500 donated to the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway as a result of our AGM weekend. It will be used towards restoration of the original Heighington station building, now owned by the Friends, which has a strong case as the world's first railway station. Another BLS first followed, a working lunch, kindly provided by AV Dawson in their conference centre lecture theatre with balcony views of Leonardo Da Vinci (the ship!), the River Tees and Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge.

It was accompanied by an illuminating, amusing and well-illustrated talk about the Stockton & Darlington Railway by Caroline Hardie, Author, Editor and Trustee of the Friends. https://tinyurl.com/4xttre9x is the presentation (377MB) - well worth looking at. This was followed by our AGMs, at probably the best AGM venue and facilities that we have had in our 70 year history.

Following the AGM, our Treasurer, Ian Mortimer, gave a fascinating two-part presentation. First was '50 Years of Manchester Railways', covering 1973 to 2022, with the emphasis on the earlier years. After a high quality buffet (provided by AV Dawson), Part 2 was '20th Century BLS fixtures', again starting in the mid-1970s, when Ian joined our Society. It showed the wide variety of fixtures that the Society has arranged, a few not involving railways. Many images included members taking part and some in the audience recognised themselves and the locations, a few present had even organised some of the fixtures. A great end to another superb day - with thanks to Ian - and the weekend was not yet over…