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May 3rd 1965 |
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Epitaph to a train driverMy engine now is cold and still,No water does my boiler fill; My coke affords it flame no more, My days of usefulness are o’er. My wheels deny their wonted speed, No more my guiding hands they need; My whistle, too, has lost its tune, Its shrill and thrilling sounds are gone: My valves are now thrown open wide, My flanges all refuse to guide, My clacks also, though once so strong, Refuse to aid the busy throng. No more I feel each urging breath, My steam is now condensed in death; Life’s railway o’er, each station passed In death I’m stopped, and rest at last. Farewell dear friends and cease to weep, In Christ I’m safe, in Christ I sleep. This touching epitaph to an engine driver was at one time on a stone near to the station at Dalnspidal. It is certainly not there now and was not there even in 1910 which is as far back as local recollections go. Dalnaspidal Station, 1,400 feet above sea level, was finally closed on May 3rd 1965 as part of the Beeching cuts. |