Bye, Bye Justine

This Saturday has seen us bid a fond farewell to the Jung steam loco Justine after an extra day wiorking the passenger train at Apedale. Justine is a cracking little engine, and fitted in very well at Apedale - so a big thank you to the team from the North Gloucestershire Railway at Toddington for the visit. She's gone back home now for their own October steam-up.
Meanwhile, steady progress has been made on the refurbishment of the ex-FR van which is destined for the Permanent Way department. After a considerable battle, the last remnants of the steel floor and the welds holding it in place have now been removed. If there's one thing the FR is good at, it's welding - we are confidently expecting a Customer of the Year aware from our supplier of cutting and grinding discs. The now fully exposed underframe is actually in surprisingly good condition; there are a few places where repairs will be needed, but only a few. The solebars and centre members are pretty much as-new. The only problem areas are the transomes to the bogie centre, where a closure plate seems to have fulfilled the sole purpose of trapping water and debris. The closure plates are now history. A couple of our younger members have done sterling work removing the loose paint and surface corrosion on the underframe, and it is now resplendent in red oxide. We'll damage a bit of that paintwork when we do the weld repairs, but nothing a few minor touch up can't deal with. The next stage is to get the thing back on its bogies and round to the workshop where Mr MIG Welder lives. As ever, get in touch here.

An old warrier

We still have two more events in the main season at Apedale - Halloween on October 31st/November 1st and the Military Memories weekend on November 7th & 8th. For the latter event, we're planning to deviate from our sometimes WW1-centered approach to these things. The plan is to run trains which are in-period for WW1, WW2 and the Cold War, using suitable locos and wagons for each. The WW2 contingent is led by the large 48DL Ruston, No.48. This loco, Ruston 235725 of 1944, worked at the Naval armaments depot at Broughton Moor, Cumbria. As an aside, this is a place which will associated in the mind of your author with Freddy Mercury - but that's another story. The last time No.48 had an outing, it started making alarming Unhappy Axlebox noises. So, the axleboxes were duly investigated, a problem found and fixed, and the loco reassembled. Hopefully, it will be good to go in November.
Elsewhere on the site, we seemed to have made a start towards entering the bulk oil transport business.
Finally, there's a last chance to see the visiting Jung steam loco Justine operating at Apedale - it will be in steam next Saturday 26th September, and will operate all trains before it returns back home to Toddington. As ever, get in touch here.

Steam-up in retrospect

We're just about recovered from the September Steam-Up now. Although this wasn't an official gala, it felt like one. We had three engines in steam, and loads of the IC fleet pootling around the field railway. A modest platoon was entrenched in the Trench, and we got to officially open the Industrial Railway Trail - using a steam loco to unveil the display boards! The weather on the Saturday was really bad, so visitor numbers were a bit low, but not to worry - it's quality rather than quantity, isn't it? The next events at Apedale are the Halloween Trains on October 31/Nov 1st, and the Military Memories event on the following weekend. And then there's the Santas to look forward to (for those who have been Nice, not Naughty). As ever, get in touch here.

Steam-up Day One

Despite the weather, we've had a pretty good day at Apedale. It's been Day One of September Steam-up, with three locos in steam and lots of the more obscure IC locos exploring far-flung bits of the network. Our visitor from the Heritage Lottery Fund seemed to like opening the Industrial Railway Trail - unveiling the new display panels using a steam loco! We have particularly enjoyed seeing the visiting loco - Justine - from the North Gloucestershire Railway. It's a much better forecast for Sunday - so we look forward to seeing you.

September Steam-Up

Just a quick reminder that this weekend is our September Steam-up. Three locos in steam, including the visiting Jung Justine from Toddington. There's been a shed megashunt (no wheel left unturned), and that's lined up some of the lesser-seen IC locos to have an outing on the Field Railway. Drive a Loco with various Rustons, and the WW1 Trench open for visits (bring your own Mustard Gas). Entry is simply by buying a train ticket, so it's a bargain day out. 1100 - 1600 both days.