In the.....errr.....sludge

One of the occasional dubious joys of a site like Apedale is the discovery of the legacy of the building's previous owners - Aurora Mining (hence Aurora Works). That legacy has recently manifest itself in, without being indelicate, certain issues when flushing the works lavatories. The indelicacy was caused by a rather poor piece of plumbing which we inherited, which has now become a completely failed piece of plumbing. It is to be hoped that the Miners were better at coal mining than they were at plumbing. Since, as far as we know, they didn't all meet gruesome deaths beneath the surface, then we can be confident that this was the case. Although this is reassuring, it doesn't help with the toilet indelicacy. So, two of our more resilient members set to and cleared out the system. You will be pleased to note that there is no photograph of them at work - in the interests of our more delicate readers. So, instead, please settle for a photo of the loco "Sludge" at Minworth Sewage works, and you'll get the general idea. You can enjoy the photo whilst we look forward to a couple of weekends rebuilding the works sewage system. Visitors will be relieved (groan) to hear that the public toilets are unaffected. Besides the heroics with the drains, it's been a busy weekend in general at Apedale, as the photo of the line up outside the works suggests. The Ailsa-engined Motor Rail was used to shunt the steam loco. This was the MRT's entry in the Least Appropriate Shunting Locomotive of the Year awards contest. As ever, get in touch here. Jokes about puppies with toilet paper not appreciated.
 

All kinds of everything

A very pleasant spring day has seen a wide variety of things going on at Apedale. Passenger trains have been ambling up and down the Apedale Valley Light Railway, with both passenger diesels seeing action today for driver training and assessments. Elsewhere, the rarely seen Motor Rail dumper had a trundle around the site to its new parking place. Having reminded oneself of what it's like to drive, one can only breathe a sigh of relief that not too many were built. The S&T department does not normally feature large in the Apedale organisation, largely due to the almost complete absence of both signals and telecommunications. However, the solitary signal was in need of a top coat of paint which is has duly received. You may also recall that AGM day, less than a month ago, was greeted by deep snow and a general air of Siberia. The day also saw the big Hudswell diesel run prior to restoration commencing. Restoration has now begun in earnest. Investigations revealed that one of the problems with engine starting was due to a meerkat obstructing the exhaust system. This has now been removed, along with the loco radiator. If you want to compare the meerkats -  well tough luck, we only have one, so there's nothing to compare. But if you want to get in touch, click here.

Lesser Spotted Locomotives

As with any railway, some of the loco fleet at Apedale are the stars, whereas some lurk in the corners, waiting with hope that one day their moment in the limelight will come. Just briefly this weekend, two of the lurkers thought that Simon Cowell had finally discovered them (on the new "Britain's Got Narrow Gauge Diesels" talent show). As part of a site shift around, one of the storage containers had to be emptied of its residents. One of these was the very unusual Motor Rail 5821. The vast majority of Motor Rails are fitted with Dorman engines - but 5821 is a little different. It has a mighty 16hp Ailsa Craig RFS2 engine at its heart. Despite which, it actually runs quite well. The cab is a little aesthetically challenged, and would provoke panic attacks amongst the claustrophobically inclined. Somewhat predictably, a certain steam loco just HAD to sneak into the background of the photo - just like an annoying sibling, really.
Meanwhile, Lister Blackstone 52610 also had an outing; it has been sulking since a minor accident damaged its sandpipes, but a very kind donation of some very nice original replacements meant it could be made a Happy Lister again. The ones which were damaged were home made, so the loco has also climbed a little up the Authenticity Ratings. A big thank you to Pete and Andrew Briddon for their assistance with this. As ever, get in touch with us here.

Out and About

We don't often feature railways other than the Moseley Railway Trust's home at Apedale. But just for once, we'll make an exception. The baby O&K, finished just in time, has had a day out at the Abbey Pumping Station, Leicester. The event was to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Cadeby Light Railway. The O&K was restored at Cadeby, coming to Apedale after Cadeby closed in 2005. The team at Leicester acquired another of the Cadeby fleet - a petrol Lister, which ran at the New Star brickworks, not far from the Abbey Pumping Station. The steam loco at Leicester is a very close cousin of Cadeby's famous "Pixie". They are both from the same batch of 6x9 Bagnalls, and are just three apart in the works number sequence. The O& behaved impeccably, which is most unusual for a petrol loco - these are frequently the most temperamental of beasts - which was a real testament to the work of the late John Lucas, who carried out the original restoration of the Baby at Cadeby in the 1980s. And yes, before you ask, that is a space rocket in the background - the National Space Centre adjoins the APS site. So, a big thank you to all at APS!!

New Build Project Announced

The team at Apedale proudly announce that they are launching a new-build project. This ambitous, five-year mission will boldy go where no-one has been before. The mission is to recreate a missing link in the history of narrow gauge diesel locomotives - the legendary six-wheel Motor Rail. This loco was originally built in 1930 and was an utter failure, never actually leaving the Works. A spokesman said "We're not going to let minor details like a previous disaster stand in the way. We believe that the driver probably didn't read the manual properly.  It's a type of Motor Rail which we don't have, and that cannot be allowed. Besides, it seems that every other extinct loco type is now being re-created by some scheme or other, and we felt a bit left out". The group has already acheived the two key project milestones for any new build project. Firstly, a Facebook page for the project has been established. Secondly, there has been bitter internal strife within the group on what shade of green the loco should be painted. Confidence is high that the actual design, fundraising, manufacture and approval phases of the project will be just as easy. With the additional tractive effort which the six wheel design provides, the new loco will be more than able to cope with the gradients of the railway at Apedale. The group expects that the locomotive will be completed for 1st April 2018.