Seasons Greetings

Seasons Greetings and Best Wishes for 2010 from the Moseley Railway Trust at Snowy Apedale.

Work goes on

It's been a tab nippy down in the deepest reaches of the Apedale Valley over the last few days. Our trusty max/min thermometer indicated a low of -10 deg C, which is comparable to Moscow at this time of year. There cannot be many occasions on which Apedale has been compared to Moscow, although the inhabitants of both (some of them, at least) have a liking for daft woollen hats. Despite this, we have maintained steady progress on site. A key event this week has been the arrival of the Trust's air-braked replica Penrhyn Coach, which has been giving sterling service at the Open Days of Alan Keef Ltd for the last few years. The time has now come for it to be used for the purpose for which it was built - carrying happy punters up and down the scenic Apedale Valley. Meanwhile, the track gang have continued, with the workshop headshunt being extended. This runs down a ramp beside the Aurora North storage shed; spurs off it will lead to a pit road, where cunning re-use of an old weighbridge structure will provide pit access (for working on locos running gear etc) but without the drainage issues often associated with pits. The headshunt will ultimately then have another kick-back, which lead to the bottom yard area; this will form the demonstration industrial railway, recreating locos picking their way through the weeds. As can be seen, with all this to be built, work has continued at all hours.

Finally, this being Christmas, and in response to underwhelming public demand, you can once again enjoy one of the Trustees making a fool of himself on skates. On behalf of the Moseley Railway Trust, can I wish everyone reading this a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

The final push

Hopefully, as I write this, the Moseley Railway Trust's groundworks contractor is getting a nice early night in preparation for sorting out drainage and other soil-related issues in the Bermuda Triangle - the area which will form the initial northern terminus of the Apedale Valley Light Railway. Once he's sorted out the paddy fields, then it will be down with ballast, and out with the track laying team. There's two points and a stack of pre-assembled panels all built and waiting to be craned into place. Meanwhile, we have been progressing various loco and coach projects ready for the railway - the top photo shows the Hudson brake van, now air braked. The winter days are short, and in the Apedale Valley VERY dark, but work still goes on. When will the railway open? We'll have to see, but Easter 2010 is looking promising currently. Watch this space, or get in touch here.

Take a Bow

Every so often, I've updated the blogworld about the activities of the Moseley Railway Trust Elite Fencing Team. Like building the Channel Tunnel, eventually they would finish - and that day has arrived. They have built the fence virtually the entire length of the Apedale Valley Light Railway, enduring a combination of either hard-as-concrete ground or marsh and sometimes both. Above we see the EFT admiring their handywork having reached Apedale Road. Gentlemen, we salute you.

The on-coming headlight which is at the end of the tunnel is now in sight for railway construction at Apedale. All of the necessary pre-fabricated track has been built, and we're just waiting for the groundworks man to turn up. It's been a bit wet, and we understand he has to hire some special plant to assist. The second shot shows a view across the Apedale Road, which we will cross in due course. One can only hope that the owner of the white van returns by then, otherwise it will be a rather unequal contest with a 60S Motor Rail. There's still plenty to keep us out of mischief; if you fancy having a go at mischief, or just a chat, contact us here.