Shivering

It's been a bit cold down the Valley again, and it's fair to say that I think we've seen the last of the alleged snake for a while. That said, we did take advantage of the conditions for a quick photo shoot for next year's Santa Special leaflet. Which does remind me that there are still a few seats to be had on this year's Santa Special trains - 11 and 12, and 18 and 19 December. Check out the main website for full details. Meanwhile here's a little teaser for you. Here's the CME violating the Working at Height safety procedure. Fortunately, he wasn't doing this at Apedale, so that's OK then. But what is he so excited about? Watch this space..... Contacting us here won't get you an answer, but we'd still like to hear from you!!

The Amazing Revolving Wingrove

The project to connect up the Container which will form the Carriage & Wagon workshop to the railway at the Moseley Railway Trust's Apedale site has continued unabated. The track in the container is off-set, to create a bit of space. So, one doesn't have to be a genius to realise that the access to one side of the wagons will be better than on the other side. What's the answer? A turntable, of course. Previously, both readers will have seen it being pushed into place. It's now bolted down, and track connected. For some reason now lost to my memory, the construction of the turntable was likened to that of am Avro Shackleton. Which is pretty tenuous, but at least we can have a picture of a Shackleton. Returning to reality, it was inevitable that the turntable needed to be test-run, so one of the Wingrove battery locos was placed on the deck and given a spin. And, despite the dire predictions of one member, it all passed off without such much as a hitch.

Meanwhile, some serious tinkering has taken place with the fuel system on the RL1B Orenstein & Koppel in an attempt to increase the engine top revs. A day's spanner twirling was suitably rewarded by an increase in maximum speed from 4mph to 4.001mph. Such is life. If you fancy having a twirl or a spin, you have two options. Strictly Come Dancing, or coming down to Apedale. Sequins and fake tan are optional for Apedale. Get in touch here (unless you're trying to sell sequins and fake tan).

Positive Progress

Last weekend saw some interesting developments at the Moseley Railway Trust site at Apedale. Our friends at the Apedale Heritage Centre are continuing their project to rebuild Silverdale station building. This, you will recall, was a late-surviving North Staffordshire Railway structure. It survived because it provided a convenient bothy for traincrews whilst loading MGR trains at Silverdale colliery next door. The big recent development has ben putting on the roof trusses, which makes it look MUCH more finished. The end finally seems to be in site for this project, and hopefully next season, we will be able to part visitors from their cash from a station building (and obviously drink tea, that being the main purpose of any station building). Meanwhile, at the other end of the site, an interesting new arrival. This is the mortal remains of a War Department Light Railways Ambulance Van. This has been in storage for some years at the South Tynedale Railway, but has now come to Apedale to join the growing collection of WDLR equipment in the care of the MRT. As you can see, it's a bit of a fixer-upper, but this holds no fears for the team who built the Apedale Valley Light Railway's Toastrack coach.

As ever, get in touch here. Did I mention that there's till time to book for Santa Specials at Apedale (if you've been good all year, that is)? Check the main website for details!

Turntables and Dormans

Been a bit busy of late, so apologies for the late post. All being well, we'll have two updates this week. Weekend of the 6th saw a couple of interesting achievements at the Moseley Railway Trust's Apedale site. A cast-iron wagon turntable, late of the Cadeby Light Railway, was extracted from the storage area, and loaded onto a wagon. Hindsight suggests that a slight more fit-for-purpose wagon would have been wise, but that's life. As can be imagined, being cast iron, it's a weighty lump. It's final journey to position was accomplished by sliding it down an existing siding, pushed by the 40HP Simplex "Sludge". It will now form part of a siding to be used to connect to a container. In turn, this will form a carriage and wagon workshop. This will become important, as an identified priority over the next year or so is to improve the condition of the wagon fleet. The origins of the turntable are rather lost in time, but has been suggested that it originated at Maenofferen quarry in North Wales.

Meanwhile, down in the bottom yard, something stirred. The something was a Dorman 2DWD engine which is for the Motor Rail dumper. Running on a cone of fuel and a block of water, the engine managed to prove to the CME's satisfaction that there was nothing seriously wrong with itself. Considering that it last ran in 1975, that's not too bad. The radiator, fuel tank and brakes on the dumper have been dealt with, so it's making steady progress.

As ever, get in touch here.

A Voyage Into the Unknown

It is fair to say that the Moseley Railway Trust is a Northern organisation. Whilst few of our members own whippets, there are a smattering of flat caps (aren't there, Phil?) and someone was once heard to comment that they "quite liked" black pudding. So it with some trepidation that we answer the annual call to the South East which is EXPO-NG. This show is organised by the Greenwich and District Narrow Gauge Railway Society. After an epic trek south, including crossing the biggest canal I've ever seen on a humpback bridge where you have to pay (what on earth was all that about, I still wonder), the joint MRT/NGRS task group set out its wares and dealt with the throng of willing (ish) customers. And we all had a really good day. I'm not into model railways, since I have held the view that if it can't be fixed using a welder or chisel then I don't want to know. But the craftsmanship that goes into these models is truly amazing. Moreover, being an exclusively narrow gauge show, it's like seeing models of the Moseley fleet all around - check the photos. Hopefully, we may be able to get or two of these talented people to bring their models to Apedale for next year's September event - 10&11 September 2011. Put that one in your diary - NOW! So, it's a big thank you to Hazel and the GDNGRS team - we'll see you next year. Meanwhile, it's back to big trains next week at Apedale. Get in touch here.