Moseley Railway Trust announces final line up of visiting engines for Tracks to the Trenches 2016 – The Baldwin Returns!

The Moseley Railway Trust is pleased to announce the details of the steam locomotives which will be visiting the Apedale Valley Light Railway for the Tracks to the Trenches 2016 event.

In addition to the previously-announced Kerr, Stuart Joffre from the West Lancashire Light Railway and Hudswell Clarke 1643 from Statfold, Baldwin 44656 of 1917 will make a very welcome return visit from its normal base at the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway.

Owned by the Greensand Railway Museum Trust, the Baldwin – No.778 – has just completed a major winter overhaul. These locomotives were supplied en-masse from their American builder to the British War Department from 1917 onwards, eventually totalling nearly 500 by 1918. They were the most common steam locomotive operated by the War Department Light Railways during  World War One. After the War, No.778 was one of a batch of 50 locomotives identified for further service on the North West Frontier between India (now Pakistan) and Afghanistan. By the early 1970s, this war veteran had been re-discovered  at an Indian sugar works by adventurous British railway enthusiasts. In March 1985, the loco returned to the UK. After a major restoration  project, No. 778 was finally launched into public service in August 2007.  2014 saw No.778 star at the Tracks to the Trenches event at Apedale before withdrawal for a boiler overhaul. This has been completed in double-quick time – a testimony to the quality of the original restoration.  

Phil Robinson, the Chairman of the Moseley Railway Trust, said  - The Baldwin No.778 was a hit with our visitors at the 2014 Tracks to the Trenches event, and we very much look forward to a repeat performance in 2016!

Additionally to the visiting steam locomotives, various visiting internal combustion locomotives will be at Apedale for the event, complementing the extensive collection of War Department Light Railway material which is resident on site. All of these will be operated in an authentic environment, moving supplies to a re-creation of a Western Front trench. Living History groups will be on site to add authenticity, as will the replica Tank which provided a backdrop to many memorable photographs in 2014.

Tracks to the Trenches 2016 will be open 1230-1730 on Friday May 13 2016 and 1030-1730 on Saturday & Sunday 14 & 15 May 2016. Admission prices are Adult £9, Child £4, Family (2 + 2) £20. A limited number of Access All Areas passes will be available, priced at £30. The event has a dedicated Facebook page and its own website, Tickets are available in advance via this website.

The Trust would still be delighted to hear from potential exhibitors with suitable period vehicles or other exhibits – get in touch via the above website, or the main Trust site.

By way of exchange, the Moseley Railway Trust’s Hudswell Clarke steam loco no.1238 will be visiting the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway’s event marking the War Department Light Railways Centenary. This event is on August 28, 29 & 31 and September 1st, 4th & 5th. This will be a return visit by Hudswell 1238, which previously visited Leighton Buzzard in 2008 prior to the locomotive being restored. This visit is particularly appropriate, because the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway had two steam locomotives of the same type as Hudswell Clarke 1238 when it first opened in 1919 – sadly, the two Leighton Buzzard locomotives were scrapped many years ago.

AGM Day - and Thank you Mel

It's been AGM weekend at Apedale, where - once again - the Trustees subject themselves to close scrutiny from the membership. Fortunately, this year at least, no rubber gloves were needed. Once the mighty machineries of Democracy and Accountability had run their course, it was time to have a bit of play. It seems to be a bit of an AGM day traditional that the more obscure members of the loco fleet have an outing. So, the Deutz had a run. A gaggle of the youunger members decided to try hand starting it. Once again, experience and laziness triumphed over youthful energy, and it ended up being tow-started. The World War One Motor Rail MR1369 had an outing, as did the SMH G class loco. The G class is heading for an outing at Leighton Buzzard later in the year, hence its being awoken from a long slumber in the Red Shed. Possibly the highlight of the day came when both the Deutz and MR1369 managed to find themselves incapacitated at the far end of the running line, with only the G class available to go and rescue - perhaps the biggest load it has moved for donkey's years.

We don't usually namecheck people - but the driver of the G class rescue mission in the photo is Mel Roberts, who stepped down at the AGM having been Treasurer for 21 years. Apparently, his opening line at his first meeting as Treasurer was to denounce Decimalisation as an unnecessary complication. The Trust owes Mel a huge debt of gratitude.

The Power of the Horse:- Moseley Railway Trust celebrates £10,000 National Lottery win

The Moseley Railway Trust has received a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant of £10,000, it was announced today. This money will be used to develop the Trust’s interpretation of the role of the horse with both civilian industrial railways and in delivering supplies to the front lines during the First World War.

 During the 1914-1918 conflict, both sides used horses not only for direct combat (cavalry regiments and the like) but also as a means of moving the huge weights of supplies which a fighting army needs to sustain itself. Light Railways were laid as a means of increasing the amount which a horse could haul, and also to spread the weight of wagons in the infamous mud of Flanders Fields and elsewhere. Frequently, supplies would be hauled by steam or petrol-powered locomotives to a point near the front lines, and then horses were often used for the last mile to the front – the so-called Trench Tramways. Using the Heritage Lottery Fund grant, the Moseley Railway Trust will replicate these operations and demonstrate them to visitors.

Thanks to National Lottery players, the Trust will now be able to fulfil two key objectives. Firstly, it will enhance the displays which will be available to the public at the forthcoming Tracks to the Trenches 2016 event at the Trust’s Apedale Valley Light Railway site. During this event, part of Staffordshire is transformed into the Western Front in 1916 – including a replica trench for visitors to experience. The event will include displays of working horses, mules and horse-drawn vehicles. This event takes place on May 13, 14 and 15 2016, and further details can be obtained here.

Secondly, the grant will allow permanent improvements to the facilities and exhibits at Apedale. These will be constructed by volunteers at the Apedale Valley Light Railway, and will include an extension to the existing demonstration railway and an interpretative panel. These will further enhance the Industrial Railway Trail which was initially funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2014. A Trench Tramway wagon will also be constructed – these vehicles were hauled by horses on the very lightly-built railways which spanned the vital last yards to reach the troops fighting at the front.

Commenting on the award, Phil Robinson, Moseley Railway Trust Chairman said “We are once again delighted that the HLF have rewarded the efforts which our dedicated team of volunteers have made. Working with the HLF, this grant will not only transform the Tracks to the Trenches event in May 2016, but also allow permanent improvements to the visitor facilities at Apedale. We are very grateful to HLF for their continued support”.

Vanessa Harbar, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund West Midlands, said: “The impact of the First World War was far reaching, touching and shaping every corner of the UK and beyond. The Heritage Lottery Fund has already invested more than £70million in projects – large and small - that are marking this Centenary. Our small grants programme is enabling even more communities like those involved in The Power of the Horse to explore the continuing legacy of this conflict and help people in particular to broaden their understanding of how it has shaped our modern world.”

The Moseley Railway Trust is a registered charity. It exists to preserve, conserve and interpret narrow gauge railway locomotives and other artefacts. This work is carried out at the Apedale site by a team of volunteers. The volunteers are a very diverse group of all ages and backgrounds – the Trust prides itself on having an active group of younger members, who are able to learn genuine skills as they carry out work on the site. The Trust arrived on the Apedale site in 2006, and opened a passenger carrying railways, known as the Apedale Valley Light Railway, in 2010. The key current development on site is the construction of a large museum to fully display the Trust’s collections.

Glamping

This year, the Tracks to the Trenches event organisers have been able to develop a plan to allow limited numbers of people to be part of the event for the weekend.

Instead of staying in a motel or Travelodge (hotel room only), why not spend a night or two in a First World War tent? This is not only an experience to be remembered, but should be cost effective too!

The “Glamping” package includes;

Option to stay both on Friday 13th AND Saturday 14th May 2016

All weekend “Access All Areas” passes (valued at £30 per day per person) for all occupants

Pre-prepared WW1 style Tents with traditional camp bed

Use of Showers/toilets onsite

Access to after hours entertainment.

What more could you want! Just bring a sleeping bag & any food (although food/drink is available on-site separately)….

The offer is currently provided on a “per tent” basis – although if there is demand, we may be able to provide a “per-bed” communal tent too. These large (approx. 14’ ridge or bell) tents can easily accommodate 4 to 5 people on the camp beds.

For the weekend (yours on the Friday & Saturday nights) inclusive of all passes for those resident in the tent, the costs are:

The cost per tent based on 2 people sharing is £200

The cost per tent based on 4 people sharing is £350

Please contact us here for more details & reserve your tent

The Moseley Tramway

By way of a departure, this time we'll show some photos which have recently come to light courtesy of Mr Alan Graham. Alan says:-

I was at Moseley Hall in the 60's and during my spell in the sixth-form, Colin Saxton became our new Art teacher. To cut a long  story short, I helped to build the original horse-tram which started it all and took a few photos of it, which have recently come to light. The track and  first chassis which became the tram came from Jackson's brick works at Adswood, near Stockport, now a landfill site.  However, the side-tipper came from somewhere else and I have a photo of that in its original surroundings but can't remember where it was. Unfortunately, I never took one of it in horse-drawn action, as that was at a school fete and I had a Saturday job which kept me out of the way. By the look of these, everything looks fairly complete, which would date them to around May/June 1969. 

.....which just goes to remind us all that, although Apedale is something of a newcomer to the UK's population of heritage railways, the Moseley organisation will celebrate its Golden jubilee in the next few years. We still have a few members who hark back to the earliest years. Obviously, things have changed beyond all recognition in the interim. For example, we now insist that the younger members wear long trousers and something better than sandles when we give them a pick-axe to swing at the track. A big thank you to Alan for sharing these photos with us.