It's been a little while since I have reported on the progress being made on the Moseley Railway Trust's site at Apedale, Staffordshire. Most efforts are focused on building the passenger railway and preparing vehicles to run upon on it. Today has been no exception. Two major tasks were carried out. Firstly, a large, heavy and expensively-hired magnetic base drill was used to bore some large diameter holes through the bogie frame of one of our future passenger coaches. An easy task on most vehicles- except for this one, where the bogie is made from a single slab of steel some 3" thick. The holes were needed to accept a brake cylinder for the air brake equipment. The machine was then employed on drilling holes for the gearbox mounting on Motor Rail 5038, which needed new engine& gearbox mounting bearers after it was "restored" elsewhere and some years ago using an oxy-acetylene cutter.
Meanwhile, a second team set about extending the mainline. A number of track panels had been assembled previously, and these were brought to site on a bogie running on an adjacent track. The panels were then slid off the wagon and barred into place - which sounds easy, and to everyone's surprise, was (relatively) easy. Mind you, the Battle of the Fishplates was then fought and more-or-less won (although it was a close run thing). If you are an expert on fishplates, get in touch here. Or alternatively, come and see us at Apedale. Keep watching this space for a Big Announcement about Open Day 2009 (you must be simply bursting with anticipation).
