Grass Cutting

The spring weather means that the grass cutting season is almost upon us. Wrestling with a recalcitrant petrol 'mower inevitably leads some of the Moseley Railway Trust's older members to reminisce about the halcyon days at the Cheadle school. At the School, grass cutting was done not by unreliable and noisy petrol power, but by clean, silent and efficient electricity. As you can see in the photo, the School ground staff used a GreenBat to cut the grass. Made in a manufactory in Leeds, the GreenBat range of mowers got its name as a portmanteau of Green Grass and Battering Ram. This reflected the remarkable  power of the GreenBat to penetrate even the heaviest and longest grass with ease. Eventually, as with so much of British industry, the GreenBat company came to a sad end; a large order was placed by a West Yorkshire treacle mining company which then folded, leaving GreenBat with a large quantity of machines and a sticky hole in its cashflow. The Cheadle GreenBat was a unique survivor. After the school railway closed, the GreenBat moved to Cornwall, where it is now preserved next to the Wheal Jane Patent Underground Sundial (for measuring the passage of time after a roof cave-in in Tin mines).

Annual General Meeting Day

A very pleasant spring day at Apedale greeted a throng of Moseley Railway Trust members for the 2012 Annual General Meeting. The meeting duly held the Trustees to democratic account, but everyone seemed to emerge relatively unscathed and most people were still talking to most people at the end. It was observed to have been the shortest meeting on record, which perhaps speaks volumes for the sheer stamina needed for some meetings in the past. It is said that the 2004 AGM went on for seven hours and only ended when a Trustee keeled over through lack of sustenance. You will be pleased to hear he made a full recovery after an emergency Pot Noodle infusion. Today was a very tame affair, and the worst thing to happen seems to have been that the CME managed to break his favourite coffee cup. Shame. After the meeting, the opportunity was taken to run-up a few of the locos which had spent the winter in hibernation. Two battery locos, a petrol Motor Rail and at least seven diesels strutted their funky stuff. Lesser railways would call that a Diesel Gala.  A few members expanded their loco driving skills, and a few got their first chance to test their mettle against a Ruston or a Motor Rail. Next weekend marks the start of regular train services - 1130 to 1600 every Saturday and some Sundays & BH Mondays. We can hardly wait. If you can hardly wait, get in touch here.

Apprentices - old and new

The reasonable (ish) weather this weekend has seen progress on several fronts down at Apedale. Project Pluto was the centre of attention for the Apedale Apprentices, although it would appear that some apprentices are older than others. Try as I might, I have yet to find a photo of the CME doing anything other than drinking coffee and looking mildly bemused. Still, it now has a set of brakes. In the words of the railway engineering adage "Your right to speed is your ability to stop". Speed is a relative concept with Rustons, but when the engine goes it, we shall see. The B&W photo, BTW, shows what it will look like in the not-too-distant future. The photo is at the little-remembered Wey Valley Railway - so obscure it doesn't even have a Wikipedia entry. Meanwhile, some slightly older members carried on with adding the body to the WDLR "D" class wagon - a project which has not troubled the pages of this blog before. It's looking good now, and should be available for traffic to transport troops to the front lines of Apedale Road.  It's AGM weekend next time, so after the Democratic process has been observed (with special thanks to our advisor on these matters), we'll try to have a bit of a ply with some of the more exotic members of the fleet. Get in touch here (unless you're trying to flog us missiles again - we said no, and we meant it).

Easter Enigma

The Apedale Valley Light Railway will be having its first ever Easter Egg Hunt over the holiday! Steam trains will run from 1130 to 1600 on Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday. Children will need to keep their eyes peeled if they are to spot all the clues to solve our Easter Enigma. There will be an egg for each child who can solve the puzzle. And all for the bargain fare of £2 adults and £1 for children, with a family ticket (2 adults and up to four children) for just a fiver! The Apedale Valley Light Railway is located next to the Apedale Heritage Centre, in Apedale Community Country Park, off Loomer Road, Chesterton, Newcastle-under-Lyme.