Yesterday was a big day in the Moseley Railway Trust's calender - the Annual General Meeting. This week's blog is image-heavy to give a flavour of the day. The format is basically that the membership come along, see what has been done by the workers over the last twelve months, and then grill the Trustees to within an inch of their lives. It's called democracy, and like most democracies, it kinda works. All things considered, the meeting went well, and the Trustees survived with only the expected minor injuries.
I've just re-read the blog entry from last year, and it really is remarkable just how much has been achieved in twelve months by a relatively small working team. Amongst many other things has been the completion of the Aurora North storage shed, and the top left photo shows an array of motive power outside the shed. The amount of track on site has at least doubled (maybe trebled) since last year, and we were able to run demonstration freight trains. The top right photo shows a loco which arrived on site last August, LBU Ruston 497542/63. This loco has spent a number of years in storage with a caving club near Alderley Edge, and arrived in a very poor state. Heroic efforts by the CME and his team have rendered it fit for at least limited service in a record time. On the rear of the train is yellow Hunslet 6007/63, another loco which has been resuscitated in the last few months.
Last year, I noted that Motor Rail 2197 was in use as a buffer stop, because the brakes were the only thing on it which worked properly. This year, the loco has been (almost) fully restored and was hauling trains - photo bottom left. It's owner just needs to sort out the bonnets and build a new cab (piece of cake!!).
Finally, one of the joys of the AGM is an opportunity to meet up with old friends. One of our members bought and restored 33/40HP Ruston 198297/39 and named it "Annie" after his grandmother. The member in question then became more interested in rubber-tyred vehicles, and kindly donated "Annie" (the loco, not the grandmother) to the Trust. We were delighted to be able to unite the member, his former loco, and his current Land Rover (bottom right). The AGM reported some good news about the footpath which has been delaying progress on the passenger railway, and the MRT is planning another open day in September, which MIGHT (only MIGHT) coincide with the opening of the passenger railway. Watch this space for details. In the meantime, get in touch here or come along the Apedale any Saturday - there's a lot more work to be done yet!!
