The Hole Story

We seem to have been developing holes in things this week. First we had to investigate the radiator on one of our Ruston diesels. No 37 came from ICI at it Shevington explosives works near Wigan. Although otherwise in working order, since arrival at Apedale it has refused to hold water. Having stripped the radiator down and then shovelled out the thick layer of sand that seems to have got in there (we assume it's sand although we were careful not to go too near it with a match) we discovered that the bottom tanks were not very healthy at all. One of our recent recruits, Kev, set about making a patch and brazing it all back together.



We have also resolved to do more work on our fleet of wagons, which have been somewhat neglected in recent years. We have a container on site that was specifically acquired for use as a wagon workshop, so we decided to clear this out and give it a good coat of paint. Hence, a quick go over with the needle gun to get the loose paint and rust off. This revealed a further set of holes, this time in the roof. No wonder it has seemed a little damp in there at times. A quick repair and it was then time to get some primer on. You can see this work in the picture, which gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "a box of Terrys".



Meanwhile, today was the last day of the running season and thoughts have turned to planning events for 2011. However, there are still Santa Specials to look forward to. Don't forget to book here.

Last Chances and new beginnings

For the Apedale Valley Light Railway, there's just one operating day left in this year's season - next Saturday 30/10/10. If you've not had a chance to savour the scenic vistas of the Apedale Community Country Park, then why not come and see us? After that, we're running for Santa Specials on 11 & 12 and 18 & 19 December - see booking details here. The running season, after a start rather later than hoped, has gone very well, with the railway, the people and the equipment all performing as the Trust had hoped. Most days - even the wet ones - have seen a steady flow of visitors wanting their rides, so it's all been worthwhile.

Meanwhile, out in cyberspace, we've made some tentative steps into social networking - see our Facebook page here. It's early days with this yet, so be gentle. This is also linked into something called Twitter. I imagine Stephen Fry is shaking in his boots. As ever, get in touch here (even if you're not Stephen Fry).

Another Sunny Day

This weekend has seen the second of the Steam & Industrial Trains sessions. The Apedale Valley resonated to the sounds of two steam locos - "Paddy" and "Stanhope". The observant will notice that the loco was running minus nameplates, displaying its class name "Tattoo". We also managed to run a number of demonstration freight trains using the large Ruston "Annie". This is a 33/40HP Ruston, number 198297 of 1939. It spent most of its working life at an explosive works at Croesor, North Wales - a former slate mine. Hence, it seemed appropriate to use it to haul the train of restored Dinorwic slate quarry wagons.

Meanwhile, a couple of fine photo collections have come to our attention - check these here and here.

We're running trains, with a diesel loco, until the end of October, and then it's Santa Specials in December - see here and a booking form here. As ever, get in touch here.

Steam mini-gala

October is a bit of a steam mini-gala down at the Apedale Valley Light Railway. We're running with two steam locos on the 9th & 10th, and then on the 16th & 17th, from 1100 to 1630 both days. The reasons for this are many and varied, but mostly involve a foul-up within the publicity department - for which the guilty have been promoted out of harms way, and the innocent shot. Harsh but fair. It has also been observed that, given that we are running from a coal mine, it may be cheaper to run steam locos than diesels. Unfortunately, that's not quite true, as a bizarre restrictions means that coal cannot be extracted from the coal mine. Yes, I know, don't ask. We're also taking the opportunity to train some new people on the steam locos. It would seem that the controls are a little more challenging than on the diesels. Also, the starter motor is rubbish - it took two hours to start "Stanhope". Why not come down and have a look? We'll be gently chuffing up and down the valley, trying to remember the lyrics to the song in Chigley. Get in touch here.

Hello, Goodbye

After all the excitement of the Opening Weekend, it's back to reality at the Apedale Valley Light Railway. Today has seen the departure of the Hunslet steam loco "Edward Sholto" back to its base at the Statfold Barn Railway, moving on Hunslet Steam's rather splendid lorry. The lorry arrived with three Dinorwic slate wagons, which had been restored in the last days of the Cadeby Light Railway, and then placed on loan to Statfold for operation with their new-build Hunslet quarry tank steam locos. In addition to "Edward Sholto", a side-discharge ballast wagon went back to Statfold. We're all very grateful to Graham, Henry and the team at Statfold for their help with this. Meanwhile, we have a Mini Steam Gala to look forward to. As a consequence of the need to train crews on steam locos, and also as a consequence of a typo in the publicity department (we all make mistakes), we will be running steam locos next weekend 9 & 10 October AND 16 & 17 October - four days in total. We will be running the Kerr Stuart "Stanhope" and also the visitor "Paddy", still with us after the Opening Weekend. We also hope to let the heritage diesels stretch their legs with freights down the mainline. What more could you want - and let's face it, there's not much else to do in October, is there?? As ever, get in touch here.