End of 2011!

The blog (well, me!) will be taking a break for the next week or so. I'd like to thank everyone for following these musings and ramblings and can assure you all that 2012 holds much of interest, excitement and development regarding all of the Transport & Industry activities at Beamish!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!

Lewin - Painting the frames

Below: Not Lewin but relevant as it is the same workshop - this is the crankshaft from the Ruston portable seen on a lathe at Vince Allen's premises. It has been cleaned, painted and is now receiving attention prior to fitting of a new flywheel plus new eccentric straps (for which Dave Young has made the pattern and which were seen in an earlier posting).

Below: I'm trying to spend some time with Lewin at the moment. With the New Year likely to bring an influx of bits, including boiler, tank, bunkers and cab (so quite big bits!) I thought we ought to start painting the bottom end. After cleaning and de-greasing it has received a coat of grey primer (as seen here)...

Below ... and is now receiving the undercoat layers for the final livery - the green will be much less lurid! The frames are a rich brown/plum/maroon shade beloved of north east industrial locomotive painters and follow evidence in colour photographs of Lewin that they were various shades of red at various times in its life. Work will continue over the holidays...

Depot Road 4 - Trackwork completed

Below: A superb effort by the track team with assistance from other members of the Facilities department saw the concrete to encase the new depot Road 4 rails laid on Monday. This was poured, dressed off then left to set.

Below: The first tram to venture along the new depot tracks was Sheffield 264 which was slid across on its traverser plates and re-railed. It is seen here going where no Beamish tram has gone before...!!!

The wonder of the internet: Gateshead 10 and the Forcett coach.

Below: I was recently trawling the Internet looking for background information or any new photographs of trams/locomotives/rolling stock in the Beamish collection when under the search 'Grimsby & Immingham' this picture turned up. It was taken by Bill Wright on the 18th October 1965 from a train passing through Clay Cross. As has been seen on these pages before, for some time in the 1960s G&I No.26 was stored there following its withdrawal from service on the Grimsby & Immingham Electric Railway in 1961. It was, of course, previously Gateshead 10, one of a number of similar cars sold in 1951 when the system closed. 26 was listed by the British Transport Commission (BTC) as of national significance and was earmarked for a future railway museum of the nation's railway (and transport) history. Clay Cross served as a store for many of the items for this collection (later to become part of the NRM/National Museum of Science & Industry) as well as being the National Tramway Museum's off-site store.

What is terrific about this photograph is that not only does it show 26, but next to it, under the tarpaulin, is the body (on underframe) of the Forcett Coach! This shows clearly that it was mounted on its original underframe but sans W irons, axleboxes and wheelsets. This adds to our knowledge of the Forcett Coach (No.179) at this period of its life.

This leads me to a thought - 2013 is the 40th anniversary of the Beamish Tramway and the workshop schedule is planned to allow for some work to ensure Gateshead 10 is in fine condition for some planned celebrations. This will inevitably involve a repaint. It is therefore possible that we might be able to consider running 10 in BR green as 26 once again...
There has been some suggestion of this idea before, and ideally we would be looking for sponsorship to help towards the costs of the repaint which would be timed to allow for a debut at the 2012 Power from the Past event on September 1-2 2012 and then some running through the autumn in that guise. This really is a maybe but it would seem to be an ideal opportunity to recreate this lost identity. If anyone is in favour of this, and could even offer some support, then they can contact me via the comments section on the blog...

As 26 it would need to have the advert boards and destination boxes removed as well as the repaint into green. A finishing touch would be to fit lamps on the roof at each end as carried on the G&I. Such a repaint would form the basis of the later repaint into Gateshead livery - rather like the process that was carried out on Blackpool 31 when it temporarily masqueraded in its engineering car guise as No.4.

General News Roundup

Below: To start this post here is a morning photo of Sunderland 16 heading into service - quite nice weather, unlike this evening!

Below: The Rowley Station volunteers have completed the path leading up from the level crossing and have done a superb job. Guided by a professional street mason the work has produced a durable and accessible path on what was previously quite difficult terrain for visitors with mobility impairments. The group now have several other jobs lined up...

Below: While at the station there was time to admire the NER serpent bench recently restored by the Friends.

Below: Undergrowth clearance is going well, making excellent progress given that it is one volunteer working as and when he can on this mini-project. The effect makes an enormous difference to the railway in this area.

Below: David Young has completed the patterns for Lewin's injectors, as seen here. The core is also marked out with painting still to be completed (black for core material, yellow for machined areas and red for the rest).

Below: Dave has also completed a pattern for new eccentric straps on the Ruston Proctor portable engine.

Below: Meanwhile, inside the tramshed the rails are laid and are now being bonded and fastened down before concrete is poured to complete the work (planned for next week). 264 can then regain the rails and what would be Road 5 be cleared for buses etc.

Below: Friends projects continue apace, with lettering of the second shipping box underway.

This will provide for fuel storage at the Fairground.

Below: A couple of views showing progress on the Hodbarrow side tipper...

Below: Impressive dismantling work on the street watering cart! As can be seen below the tank requires quite extensive plate repairs but this implement is in otherwise generally good order.

I'd be very interested to hear from anyone with information on H. Bushell & Son, its manufacturer...

Gateshead 52

Readers and followers of other forums, blogs and internet sites, as well as those who are members of the Tramway Museum Society and in receipt of 'Contact' will no doubt be aware that there have been some discussions regarding the future of Gateshead No.52, which is a part of the TMS collection and currently in store at the TMS' Clay Cross site. I thought it would be worth confirming what the current situation is regarding our part in this...

The facts are these: We have had some discussion with representatives of the National Tramway Museum and the TMS board with a proposal for No.52 to be transferred to the collection at Beamish, for restoration (as 52) and to form part of our fleet here. The components for latterly similar car No.51 are kept in store at Beamish and may well form the basis of a restoration of 51 or (more likely), Gateshead 45 (which was rebuilt to create 51) as there would be little benefit in having two near identical single deck enclosed trams from the point of view of operational flexibility if 52 were to join the fleet. The two will not be combined.

The TMS will consider the matter at their AGM in July 2012 and the matter will require a special resolution to be proposed, to the membership. It should be remembered that the decision is entirely theirs and that it is by no means a foregone conclusion. We are extremely grateful to the TMS and its board and members for considering the idea.

A long term plan and strategy for the transport collections at Beamish forms part of a wider Museum development plan and in due course I will explain some of the aspirations for the tramway and fleet. In the short term we will be tackling 196 this winter/next spring thereafter we will attend to worn tyres on Sunderland 16.

Below: As built the car (52) was numbered 7 in the original fleet and operated with open platforms. It is seen here at Bensham terminus with the crew posed for the photograph (note the direction of the trolleypole!). This version was in turn a rebuild of an earlier form which had included a combination-type body (very much like Manchester 765 which visited us earlier in the year), though the open sections were later enclosed. Such was the versatility of the tramcar as a basic platform for modification, customisation and reconstruction. Of course many 'rebuilds' were in fact accountancy tricks to cloak construction of new vehicles (therefore obviating the need for capital expenditure and all that this entailed) - the Blackpool Standard fleet is a particularly well known and illustrative example of this. It also occurred on the railways and no doubt throughout industry and commerce.

Below: The car was later rebuilt (following a severe accident on the notorious Bensham Bank) and became one of the two 'Teams' cars (used on the route of that name). Essential differences included and enclosed platform and longer truck. It is seen here at Sunderland Road Depot.

Forcett Coach Progress - December 2011

Ian Yates has reported on progress on the Forcett Coach's restoration...

Below: A reminder of a previous restoration, being undertaken in 1974 at Shildon Wagon Works. The coach body had been stored at Clay Cross as part of the BTC Collection and was due to be broken up when Frank Atkinson stepped in to take it on loan for Beamish.

Below: With the incentive of the S&DR 150th anniversary in 1975 the coach was restored and later returned to Beamish where it was used at Rowley Station until the NER Composite was restored. It is seen here with the J21 - rather overpowered for such a short train!

Below: So, to the present. These views show the side frame pieces being installed. A lot of new material has had to be incorporated in these sections, which are being done piecemeal to avoid removal of the roof (which is by and large in good condition). As can be seen, some quite complex joints are required to accept the profile of the timber sections. This does give a very good idea of the high quality of work being undertaken however, work that should ensure the longevity of the coach and which, with careful recording, adds to the historical knowledge of this vehicle. Timber sections that have been replaced are not wasted, and can often be incorporated elsewhere on shorter, thinner or narrower components.

Below: This view shows how far out of alignment some sections are! The new piece of timber to the right is true-vertical!

For more information on Stanegate's projects (including links to their own Flickr photo pages), see their website at: http://www.stanegaterestorations.co.uk/currentprojects.html

Nocturnal Transport...

Last Friday night (and this Friday coming) Beamish held its nocturnal Christmas events. Andy was out and about with his camera doing what makes him happiest (that he admits to anyway!) - taking photographs in the dark. Many of these have appeared in the past on this blog, but if you like them then do look on the Beamish Flickr pages for many more examples of his work. I really rather like the ghostly Y7 departing Rowley - something out of 'The Signalman' starring Denholm Elliot...

Sawbench in action!

The latest film on Beamish's Youtube pages shows the wood sawing display at the Power from the Past event last September. Thanks to an ultra-compact camera the view, from the log, of approaching the blade is one of the superb shots within the short film made by Andy Martin.

Worth a look!

General News Roundup

Below: The concrete for the base of the tram depot Road 4 rails was poured this morning, as these three views show...

Below: The core box for Lewin's Peckett style injector has been delivered. Made from a high density foam and cut by automated machine to CAD drawings, this complex design has been superbly rendered. The outside of the injector 'shape' has been made along more traditional lines by Dave Young.

Below: Not really transport or industry, but interesting all the same, the Church rebuild is progressing well and can be followed on its own blog accessed from the main Museum website...

Engineering Heritage Skills Initiative

During 2011 we have benefited from the contributions of four placements under the Engineering Heritage Skills Initiative scheme, and in turn these placements have benefited from being paired with various members of the Facilities team at Beamish. The scheme continues in 2012 and new recruits are being sought. One of the team this year had found full time work at Beamish so there really is value to this. If you are interested in this, see the adverts below for how to obtain more details and make contact with EHSI...

Hodbarrow Side Tipper - Historic Film

In 2009 I posted on the blog a short film made in the late 1960s by Jon Marsh. Having checked back on this I realised it was no longer visible on the site so here it is again...

The film shows operations at Hodbarrow and features an iron side tipper in the train as well as one stored alongside the line. The grab wagon also appears to be based on the same underframe. It is worth absorbing the atmosphere of this film - it is exactly what I would like our own Colliery Railway to feel like - and we are now well on the way to getting that sensation!

Jon made extensive films of industrial railways through the 1960s and has made his film available through the B&R range as well as his own Industrial Railway DVDs - a Google search will soon bring you to the material and it forms a wide ranging and important archive. Jon also filmed the Lewin at work and this is of particular interest to those of us who have lived with the restoration project over the last six years! Our thanks to Jon for allowing us to use the film on this site.

Dunrobin's mystery hooks...

On a number of visits to Bridgnorth we have on several occasions pondered the purpose of four hooks mounted on each corner of Dunrobin's bufferbeams. There was some speculation that it could be snowplough related, but they didn't suggest anything very solid, and wandering snowploughs could be considered both an operational nuisance not to mention being rather hazardous!

However, Ray Nolton of the Highland Railway Society has kindly shed some light on this and confirmed they are for mini-snowploughs. The HRS archivist also pointed out some images showing ploughs both fitted and stored and these have enabled me to make something of a rough and ready sketch of what might have been fitted to Dunrobin...

The view below shows the wooden plough which is hung by chain to the bufferbeam hooks. The all important stiffness is provided by a stay rod which is fitted to the top of the plough and which is linked onto the drawgear, taking the place of the coupling. This is a stage 1 sketch, but as Dunrobin will be in demand at Beamish all year round, a snowplough would be a very useful asset...

Depot Road 4 - as the freeze comes work moves inside!

Below: An unusual site for a winter Monday is to see a large proportion of the tram and bus fleet outside. Basking in the sun on what is an otherwise icy and frozen site are Sunderland 16 and Leeds 6...

Below: The reason for this temporary exile of the fleet can be seen here, as Darren and Mark have moved the Depot Road 4 project indoors and are rapidly removing the concrete sections required to enable a new concrete base and then rails to be laid within the existing floor. This phase should be completed today enabling concrete to be poured over the next few days. Once set the rails will be laid, secured and bonded before this is then backfilled and concreted to restore the smooth surface, complete with a new and usable depot track within it.