Working Against the Elements

Well, what a Winter it's been. Rain, Snow, Freezing temperatures. We've had to deal with swamps, burst pipes, reluctant diesel engines, show tunes and broken rails. But the hardy Moseley Membership has eagerly turned out in force to progress the railway building. We've drained the Bermuda Triangle (easier than catching all the Alligators), drilled hundreds of sleepers, cut and bent rail, rebuilt points, unseized point levers and even joggled the odd fishplate. But Saturday finally saw the last piece of the run-round loop put in place, hence completing the railway (except of course for the ballasting, tamping, the odd point lever and point lock, etc.). No sooner had our gang of volunteers completed the loop than they were itching to give it a try. You can see the historic first engine to run-round its train at Apedale Rd here.


Meanwhile the Station construction continues and most of the brickwork is now complete, with work due to start on the roof. So, now comes the final push to complete the outstanding infrastructure (for instance, we don't have a surfaced platform yet) and get it all into a state fit for final inspection. Hopefully by then the weather will be a little kinder and our members a little less frozen. Keep watching our website for the latest news.

The Golden Track Screw

The Moseley Railway Trust has passed a major milestone in the construction of its new 2’0" gauge railway at Apedale, Staffordshire.
The railway, which will be known as the Apedale Valley Light Railway, is being constructed in phases. Phase One runs from a station at the Apedale Heritage Centre to Apedale Road, a distance of around 500 metres. Further phases will see the railway running on a former mineral railway trackbed further into the Apedale Community Country Park.
Tracklaying has been carried out by volunteers from the Moseley Railway Trust. The main running line is now complete, although there is still plenty of further work to be completed, such as fitting point levers and locks, ballasting and tamping.
The Moseley Railway Trust expects to open the Apedale Valley Light Railway during 2010 – the exact date will depend on the completion of the railway, crew training and achieving the necessary approvals. Further announcements will be made when a firm date is set. In any case, the "formal" opening ceremony will take place at the September 2010 Gala, on September 18 & 19.
Phil Robinson, the Trust Chairman fitted the Golden Track Screw. He said "The Moseley team of volunteers has worked through the hardest winter for 30 years. Their dedication and camaraderie is reflected in this railway, which will make a major contribution to tourism in Staffordshire and the regeneration of the local area".
Keep watching for further news updates, or visit here for the latest news on this exciting development.

Link Up

Both regular readers will recall where we left it last week; a small gap in the Apedale Valley Light Railway was all that remained to allow our hero (the Ruston "Vanguard") to reach Apedale Road, terminus of Phase One of the Moseley Railway Trust's passenger railway. I'm sure you will be relieved to hear that the gap, 4880mm to be precise, is now no more. A train has now been seen at the buffer stops at Apedale Road. This allowed us to get wagons loaded with track panels for the platform loop into place, and the panels were then carefully, and gracefully, slid into place with the assistance of gravity. There was just time for a quick team photo. Meanwhile, did you see Apedale on the telly? Our colleagues at the Heritage Centre provided their mine for the BBC's Survivors series, which was broadcast on Tuesday. The blog from 8 August last year shows the programme being filmed. As ever, get in touch here.

Track Blitz Day 2 - Almost There

A somewhat reduced workforce has continued the work to create an iron road from the Apedale Heritage Centre to Apedale Road. Today has been the "fiddly bits" - the closure rails and the curves. The closures are non-standard rail lengths which have to be measured, cut and drilled to fit specific places. The curves are produced using the Jim Crow rail bender, which was not designed for easy handling or air mobility. When we collapsed with exhaustion, there was one closure left to build - about 12 feet. There was a brief speculation about whether the Trust's faithful Ruston, No.29 "Vanguard" would be able to leap the gap if going fast enough, but we decided against this. It would probably upset someone, somewhere. So, for this week, "Vanguard" was left to gaze wistfully towards the new railway. Despite the impending link up, there's a huge amount left to do, so as ever, get in touch here. And, by the way, don't forget to check out the main website here for the AVLR pre-opening flyer.

Track Blitz

It's been a day of high drama and rapid, visible, progress at Apedale. After months of preparation and weather-caused frustration, the Moseley Railway Trust has finally been able to start the final track-laying push. Our tame groundworks contractor spent the week sorting out the drainage and running in the base ballast layer (more than 200 tons of the stuff!), and then we were able to start putting into place the pre-assembled track panels and points. Despite the odd fraught moment where we explored the outer limits of the MRT crane's performance envelope, the operation has gone smoothly and safely. By close of play, we had installed two sets of points and 12 panels of plain track - over three hundred feet of new railway. The next steps are to construct the in-situ closure sections - these are the bespoke sections needed to close the gaps. After that, there are the minor issues of installing point levers, facing points locks, ballasting, tamping. So, as you can see, there's still plenty to do and we continue to invite your support - both physically and monetary. Get in touch here.