The Wrath of Tamp

Tamping and Lining a railway is one of the most important, but labour intensive, elements of the construction process. The Big Railway uses large and expensive yellow machines to do this, such as the one in the picture. These machines cost seven-figure sums, and are normally built in Austria. The Moseley Railway Trust, not having a seven-figure sum to spend, uses two kango hammers and, in this case, David and Alan to do the job. They aren't Austrian, but it is alleged that they did once see "The Sound of Music". The purpose of the operation is to establish the correct vertical alignment of the railway (having previously sorted out horizontals) and then pack ballast under the sleepers to preserve the vertical alignment. Jacks, spirit levels and experienced eyes are used extensively to align the railway. The kangos are easy to use, but quite physically demanding. Health and safety requirements limit the time any one person can use them, so a cycle of people taking turns is the only way to get the job done. It is fair to say that a trip to the gym is not needed after a few turns on the kangos. The improvement to the quality of the track after the tamping/lining is done is remarkable. Just to check, and for the benefit of a visiting party, we spent Sunday running heavy locos up and down just to check the track (or something). If you fancy a bit of track checking, or can't afford the gym in these straightened times, get in touch here. This year's chance to come along and see what we're up to is on September 12 & 13 - see here. The Edelweiss will be in full bloom by then, assuming that the fictional snake hasn't eaten them all.

To Seek Out New Life ...

The Apedale Community Country Park has more than railways to interest the visitor. In addition to the popular Apedale Heritage Centre and underground mine tour, there is the country park itself, with its rich variety of wildlife to be found. Most of it stays in the country park, but some occasionally strays onto the railway and its associated infrastructure. Recently we have been home to a family of swallows, and we have got used to the parents flying past our ears as we entered the amenity block where they are nesting.



In recent years, some of our members have reported the presence of snakes on site. The shy nature of these animals is such that they rarely stay around to be seen or photographed. This lead to the denial of their presence by some of the more nervous members of the Trust. This year was quiet until recently when sightings increased on the occasional hot days. However, the photograph below now constitutes unequivocal evidence that the site is home to grass snakes. So, if you come on site and happen to see volunteers walking round with duck tape wrapped round the bottom of their trouser legs, you'll know why.



If you don't mind sharing the site with our feathered and scaly friends, contact us here.

Project Genesix

This week, we have a rare opportunity to glance into the secret files of the MRT board of Trustees, as can be seen by clicking on the image below. If there is a short pause, this is simply because your computer is performing a security retinal scan prior to granting access.



Evidence of stage 2 of this hitherto classified project can be seen below on site at Apedale. Also shown is a rare historic shot of Number 6 in action at Moseley School in Cheadle in the late 70s. If you would like to join the Genesix team, contact us here.

.....where no Motor Rail has gone before

It's official. The Gap is no more. After a few months with two disconnected railways, the Moseley Railway Trust now has one railway with a very high level of connectivity. The gap was about 40', and was closed with two more lengths of track. Sadly, the Starship Vanguard wasn't feeling too well - it seemed that it's dlithium crystals had run down, or something, so it had to be rescued by the Klingon Bird of Prey "Sludge" (yes, it's not a great name, it probably means something better in Klingon). So, after the gap was closed, Sludge & Vanguard went off to explore the second part of the railway, hitherto untarnished by locomotive wheels. And it was agreed to be good, albeit in need of some fettling to improve horizontal & vertical alignments, and a lot of ballast to be dropped - but that's for next weekend. It is this stretch which we will use as a roadside tramway for the Open Day weekend, September 12 & 13. Access to this area will not normally be possible once passenger trains start running, so it's a great opportunity to get some unique photos of vintage trains and vintage commercial vehicles together. See you there? As ever, get in touch here.