General News Roundup

30th September 2011

Having wondered what had happened to the summer, it has appeared this week with glorious (almost tropical) weather all week. As usual there has been a lot of progress on a lot of fronts.

Boringly, from the blog point of view, little of this features here because it is either paperwork or not yet ready to be unveiled, however, we should get back into the swing of regular updates here later in October.

In the meantime, here are some of the things that have been going on:

Below: The work on the Colliery Railway has reached a temporary end with the installation of a buffer stop at the end of the now usable running lines to the north of the system. This is purely a temporary measure and the aim is to extend along the cutting as and when time/materials permit. Here are a couple of views showing the work.

Below: The main reason for finishing the Colliery work where we have is to enable the track team to move on to remove the siding on the Tramway at Pockerley. Little used this has no real use for the operation but its removal will liberate a very good set of right hand points of Ri60 profile to be installed outside the depot to create a fourth road into the shed. This work, phased into four sections, will commence shortly... The siding itself may see further use in the Colliery, enabling a headshunt to be installed and the buffer stop seen above to be moved eastwards.

Below: A new station volunteer group is making good progress as they establish themselves (more welcome!). A retired street mason has been leading the construction of a rather better pedestrian route from the tarmacced station path to the level crossing, as seen here. There is still some way to go but progress is good. Elsewhere the team are cleaing, pointing and painting as well as preparing the GW goods van for repairs and a repaint to use as their base. Anyone interested in joining this team is invited to contact the Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Leach at sarahleach@beamish.org.uk

Below: 101 is nearly there! Brian Williams is seen here working on the spring supporting bracket which required welding (by Davy Sheen) to enable the tram to operate here. With Brian, Tom and the Beamish Tramway Group progress on the final stages has been completed (though there will always be something left to do!) and the tram will begin work with the operations team next week for driver training.

Below: Blackpool 31 has also re-entered service (just in time for this weather!) and is seen in a couple of photos taken this morning. It is still carrying the 'Circular Tour' headboards (which I happen to like!) and will do so for a little while longer...

Beamish - further east!

26th September 2011

Below: David Jordan kindly sent through this image of our 513 and 501 together at the East Anglian Transport Museum - the photo I hadn't managed to take during their recent trolleybus event!

More on the bogie well wagon...

26th September 2011

Further digging into the history of the bogie well wagon reveals it to have been ex British Steel Corby, No.66, which moved to Buckinghamshire Railway Centre in 1982 as one of five bogie bolster wagons sold to be used in an ITV series called 'Jewel in the crown'. No.66 was subsequently converted at BRC to carry boilers, moving to the North Norfolk Railway in 2010. It seems certain to be a GWR Macaw B (or BR built derivative). The link below may be of interest to those wishing to read more on this wagon:

www.brc-stockbook.co.uk/bolster.htm

News round-up

23rd September 2011

Here is a quick summary of some of this weeks happenings....

Below: Coffee Pot No.1 in steam to shunt the well wagon for the 'Polar Express', the wagon being newly repainted. It is believed to be a GW/BR Macaw B which has had the centre section cut and then dropped to create the well.

Below: The I beams are in place and the chiller unit has been delivered ready for unloading.

Below: Shunted into place adjacent to the ice rink. In time we'll paint the chiller unit black to disguise it a little. When not in use the intention is to sheet it over.

Below: Dave Young has delivered more Lewin bits, including the reversing lever, reversing lever quadrant, handbrake column and reverser link rod.

Below: Meanwhile... the track team has been fastening down the remaining track in the Colliery and will shortly spread the crushed tarmac chippings (visible in the distance) as ballast in order to preserve the industrial appearance of the track in this area. One day the line will extend along the cutting towards Pockerley tram stop in the far distance...

Also in progress is the preparation of tenders for Dunrobin, progress on various projects seen in these pages and also a few others besides. I'm drafting a new stocklist with the aim of having it professionally printed and also covering such items as stationary engines, static boilers etc. etc.

Today's news...

19th September 2011

Below: The LNER/BR derived well-wagon has been cleaned, primed and painted and tomorrow should take up its new role as part of the ice rink infrastructure. As ever I will post images here...

Below: It's back! NER Clerestory coach No.3071 (which carries the incorrect number 818) returned this afternoon after its spell of absence. It was first loaned to Tanfield around five years ago when there seemed little hope of it being required at Rowley - how times change! It has visited the Tanfield, NYMR and Kirby Stephen in the time it has been away but will now be put into store to enable a report on what is required to return it to passenger use to be prepared and costed. There is a fair bit of woodwork requiring attention, interior roof panels need replacing and repainting, the coach needs a deep clean (it smells damp) and of course a full repaint is required. Mechanically it has been investigated at the NYMR and we have a list of jobs to do based on this. For this reason the GER Saloon will be kept on hire for 2012, hopefully to be joined at some point by the DoS saloon. We can then look in detail at 3071 and carrying out the required overhaul to bring this superb coach back into passenger use. It has double the seating capacity of GER 5 which may be appreciated by crews during busy periods!

Dunrobin Developments 6

12th September 2011

Below: The final stage of Dunrobin's exploratory work is now all but complete with the inner firebox having been removed last week. This is now being cleaned up to enable thorough inspection which is due to take place later this month. I am presently writing a Conservation Management Plan and preparing tender documents as, this being a significant capital project, we will have to work through the channels laid down by Sunderland Council for procurement of such work. The first stage of this, a Pre-Qualification-Questionnaire, has been completed (a PQQ being a scoping document prepared for us to determine the suitability of potential contractors, it is not the tendering document which is a separate and later stage in the process and will deal with the locomotive specifically). We have received board support for the project so I hope to begin the next stage of the paperwork process later this month. Meanwhile a site inspection is due on Wednesday to view what has been revealed by this latest stage of dismantling...

Latest Photos following visit...

Below: The upturned inner firebox following removal. Clearly visible are all the threaded holes into which the stays are screwed. The lower half of the side facing the camera reveals the tube nest.

Below: Dunrobin's boiler, inverted, to enable removal of the inner box.

Below: The foundation ring, which is located at the base of the firebox between the inner and outer boxes.

Below: These are the six girder stays which are fitted to the top of the inner firebox (crown) and which provide stiffness against the downward pressure inside the boiler. These are probably cast and are considered life expired. The one nearest the camera has been cleaned up for inspection.

Below: A view inside the boiler barrel. This is looking from the front (where the tubeplate has been removed) and the cavity to the rear where the inner firebox has been withdrawn is readily apparent, likewise the firehole door and removed stays through which the light can be seen. In the bottom (but actually the top of the boiler!) are the longitudinal stays, which do exactly what their description suggests, the copper take off pipes to the dome (where steam is collected at the highest point of the boiler for items such as blower, injector steam supply etc.) and the feed water delivery pipes from the injectors, which come from the backhead (where the injectors are located) and deliver cold water to the coolest part of the boiler (i.e. furthest away from the firebox) to reduce the thermal shock of delivering water at less than boiler temperature (though remember the water is hot from the process by which it is delivered using live steam).

Apedale Valley Railway Gala

12th September 2011

On Sunday (after the long cross country run from Lowestoft!) I made it to Apedale near Newcastle under Lyme/Stoke on Trent. This is the home to the Moseley Railway Trust and their Apedale Valley Railway. The annual late summer weekend event was in full swing and the theme was 'Made in Staffordshire' and featured examples of Kerr Stuart, Bagnall and Hunslet (Statfold Barn, near Tamworth) engines in steam.

Below: A well known exhibit is the restored WW1 'Tin Turtle' petrol locomotive, identical to our own example seen in an older post on the collection at Duxford. It is seen here complete with WW1 'D' class wagon and soldiers!

Below: 'Statfold' is a Quarry Hunslet type locomotive built by the present Hunslet company based at Statfold Barn. On the right is newly restored Kerr Stuart 'Joffre' class 0-6-0T No.3014 and which was making its public debut.

Below: Another fabulous WW1 survivor is this WDLR H Class tank wagon, fully restored using a recovered and restored chassis and a water tank that had survived on the Nocton potato estates in Lincolnshire. It was in use, as it was designed for, for watering locomotives.

Below: Another visitor - 'Isabel', a Bagnall visiting from the Amerton Railway and seen here on a rake of Hudson wagons of various types.

Below: This Kerr Stuart 0-4-2ST 'Stanhope' was once used on the Durham County Water Board contracts above Burnhope, which saw a chain of reservoirs built to serve the populous of Durham and Sunderland etc. It later found itself on the Penrhyn Quarry Railway system and was restored from very few remaining components in the mid 1990s.

Below: A view inside the storage building at Apedale, which housed various exhibitions and model railways during the event.

Below: A temporary peat railway had been laid and this Lister railtruck was at work on an appropriate rake of peat wagons. Such railways were used as they offered very low ground pressure, ideal on the soft peat, and extensive systems can be found in Ireland where the peat is extracted for burning in power stations there.

Below: A view of the yard throat, with main line to the right.

Below: Two close up views of the two Kerr Stuarts, Stanhope and 3014, of the Tattoo and Joffre classes respectively. Hopefully at some point in the future these might make an appearance at one of our Great North Steam Fairs...

Below: The latest development at Apedale is the near completion of the reconstruction of the former Silverdale Station building. In front of this are the passenger coaches in use, including reconstructions of three originals (ex Ffestiniog and Penrhyn Quarry) as well as an MOD Hudson brakevan. The use of original passenger vehicles is particularly noteworthy and further developments along these lines are planned.

Another site well worth a visit!

EATM Gala

12th September 2011

On Saturday I was at the East Anglian Transport Museum in Carlton Colville near Lowestoft, home of Blackpool 11 which recently visited us and the current base of our own Sheffield 513 and Newcastle trolleybus 501. The occasion was the trolleybus weekend which saw the launch of their Newcastle 628. The Newcastle system closed in 1966 and the last time two NCT vehicles of this type are believed to have met is 1965, so having 501 and 628 together made for a very exciting occasion! One feature of the event is the operation until 9pm on the Saturday evening, meaning that the vehicles could be seen in the dark (if that isn't a contradiction in terms!). Here is a selection of photos of the event, starting with a view of Blackpool 11 emerging from the woodland section of tramway and onto the street.

Below: An Armstrong Whitworth steam roller, called Stormer, was in steam and is one of two residents at the EATM. On the right is an ex Lowestoft Council Aveling. To the left is the roadmaking exhibition hall, some interior views of which follow this one.

Below: Resident trolleybuses were on display when not in operation on the circuit.

Below: Here was the moment many were waiting for - 628 leads 501 along the street and past the tram depot.

Below: Blackpool 11 heads up the street after leaving the woods. The buildings to the left house the trolleybuses on the site.

Below: 11 and Blackpool 159, a Standard car. 501 to the right.

Below: 159 seen at the woodland terminus.

Below: On the other side of the depot is a parallel street complete with various items of street furniture, being passed by this ex Derby trolleybus.

Below: In the evening Sheffield 513 was brought into service for the nocturnal shuttles.

Below: 513 and the moon! Also a number of views taken at a rather brutal iso of 1600 showing the various movements and operations around the site.

This is a superb museum and collection and is well worth visiting. There are some exciting plans for events in 2012 so it is worth looking out for these on the EATM website. 501 will remain there until April, 513 for much longer. My thanks to all of the folks at Carlton Colville who made me so welcome and have clearly taken so much delight in having two items from the Beamish collection to operate!