The answer to Life, The Universe and Everything.....

....is, according to Douglas Adams, 42. It feels unlikely that he was thinking of a Motor Rail diesel loco as he wrote, but who knows? No. 42 is very much the Apedale loco of the moment; it is currently making a return trip to Leighton Buzzard, where it worked for much of its existence. Built in 1942 as Motor Rail No. 7710, it was actually new to a quarry in Derbyshire, before moving, in 1958, to Leighton Buzzard. It was one of the "main line" locos on the Leighton Buzzard system, being 40HP and fitted with a three speed gearbox which was to prove its ultimate undoing. It would work trains down from the quarries to the interchange with British Railways' Dunstable branch. The large white diagonal cross painted on the cab allowed identification from a distance, and hence the loaded train could be directed to the correct destination, depending on whether it was an Arnolds or a Garside train it happened to be working. One sad day in the 1970s, the loco suffered a massive gearbox failure - said to be the result of a driver trying to reverse the loco at speed. A sliding dog gear essentially exploded and punched its way out of the gearbox. So, the loco languished at the Billington Road workshops, until rescued for preservation in 1979. The workshops manager was keen to see locos going to good homes, and needed some persuading that the new owner could repair the gearbox. The new owner reassured him that the resources of BREL Derby Locomotive Works would be brought to bear. Whether the management of Derby Loco Works knew about this arrangement is lost in time. The loco moved to the Cadeby Light Railway in May 1979. After a thorough restoration, it became the primary loco for working passenger trains when the steam loco "Pixie" was unavailable for any reason. It was popular because, being heavy, it had the braking power to stop a loaded train on the fearsome gradient at the end of the Cadeby main line.  It moved to Apedale in April 2006. It doesn't see as much use these days, because it sits between the easy-to-start and drive small Motor Rails and Rustons, and the mega-grunt of the 60S Motor Rail and the Baguley-Drewry. Nonetheless, it has plenty of outings, and is a popular loco with the drivers. Its visit to Leighton Buzzard has been compared to the British Museum sending the Elgin Marbles back to Greece. Only time will tell if it ever returns back North........

Winning the peace

Back to relative normality down at Apedale this weekend; we won the war, now it's time to win the peace. Although the peace was thoroughly shattered by a photo charter on Sunday which saw all four steam locos out - the three residents, plus the West Lancs Joffre, which is still with us.. Events like this give us the chance to play for the cameras, and run formations not normally seen. Hopefully, our visitors got lots of good pictures - certainly it seemed as though many pixels were being sacrificed. In between times, two locos were loaded onto road transport, off to participate in the Simplex Centenary event at Leighton Buzzard. Finally, the 2'6" arrival from Scotland - an Andrew Barclay diesel-hydraulic - was subject to extensive restoration effort (the battery was put on charge for a bit) and then it started first time. The 2'6" line at Apedale isn't long, but it is scenic. There's a view of a container, followed by a view of a container......

Tracks to the Trenches - retrospective

Tracks to the Trenches 2016 in retrospect - a great weekend. A big thank you to all our volunteers, exhibitors, traders, re-enactors, visitors........we hope you all enjoyed it. Now it's time to tidy up, count the pennies, learn the lessons and plan for the future. Keep watching.

Tracks to the Trenches - Day Two

That's Day Two completed - an amazing day. The only problem we have encountered have been some difficulties with car parking. Unfortunately, we were unable to use one of usual car parks; if this caused you any issues, then we apologise. Sunday looks like being even busier, especially because our neighbours at the Speedway track have an event. There area couple of alternatives to the usual parking on Loomer Road. They are the Park carparks off the B5367 High Street, and then walk through the Park. Alternatively, park at Apedale Road (for locals, past the Eagle and Child pub), and then walk through the park alongside the railway. It is not possible to join trains at Apedale Road station during the event. Both options are only really suitable for the able bodied; we will do everything in our power to facilitate parking for the less able-bodied as close to the event as possible.

Tracks to the Trenches - Day One

That's Day One of Tracks to the Trenches over - really good day, lots of visitors and good weather. See you tomorrow (or Sunday, you can decide).

Massed arrivals

It's been a bit manic down the Valley today. Two of the stars of the Tracks to the Trenches event this weekend have joined us - the Baldwin from Leighton Buzzard and the Hesketh Bank Joffre. Apparently our local coal merchant heard that we now had two Joffre-class locos on site and was seen reaching for the holiday brochure.

The horse people have been with us, rehearsing for the horse haulage demonstration using our newly-manufactured swingletree.

Finally, we had a slightly unexpected visit by what seemed to be the entire loco fleet of a Scotrtish peatworks; one loco was unloaded and the rest disappeared as quickly as they arrived!

So, 36 hours to go the the big event opening - see you there?

Getting ready - and a new arrival

Work is full swing on preparing the site for next weekend and the Tracks to the Trenches 2016 megabash. In addition to the various vehicle projects which were reviewed last week, there have been various infrastructure projects coming to fruition. We have carried out a small platform extension, which will make the operation of trains using all four passenger coaches easier and safer. Coupled to this is the creation of a ramp exit from the station platform, which will aid circulation in this area.

The ever-expanding Field Railway has continued to expand with a southern extension to a new loop. The loop won't be finished - it will be two tracks and a single set of points - but it will operationally interesting and useful. There's been a bit of a debate as to the name of this new loop. Loopy McLoopface was popular for a while, but sense has prevailed and now it's officially Loos Loop - named for the 1915 battle.

Finally, we have a new arrival on site. This is a Baldwin tractor, of the type very popular with American and Canadian forces; the locos is currently standard gauge, having been regauged from 2'0" gauge at some stage in its life. When built, this loco and the Ffestiniog's Moelwyn would have been similar if not identical. A group of Trust members have imported this loco from a scrapyard in Switzerland. So, Tracks to the Trenches will offer a unique opportunity to see the UK's only two Baldwin tractors. The event will also be the only chance to see the Apedale Baldwin before restoration commences - which could be a long road ahead. As ever, get in touch here.

Whenever we have an event....

......we always seem to restore more wagons!

This year is no exception. The first photo shows the progress with the Class A wagon. The Class A, B and C wagons were the first standard types specifically produced for the British force. They were introduced from 1916, when the official orders finally came through to use tactical light railways. This restoration follows the important restoration in 2014 of the similar Class B wagon (LR5008 in the photo).

In recognition of the 100 year anniversary of the British Army formally adopting light railways in preference to other transport in forward areas, we are proud to be the only UK railway to be able to demonstrate an authentic 1916 train from that moment. Watch out for these Class A & B wagons being paired with a 1916 Simplex or our 1916 Hudswell Clarke steam locomotive during the event.

The third photo shows the rapid progress with the 1888 dated Pechot well wagon. The Pechot wagon was delivered to Apedale, and partially restored in advance of Tracks to the Trenches 2014. However, although usable, it still required further attention to the body and replacement of missing bits! Ad ever, get in touch  here, or visit the event website here.