Orienteering

Yesterday - Saturday 11th - was Member's Day at Apedale. This is an informal day which is intended to give Moseley Railway Trust members an opportunity to hear about how 2013 went, review plans for 2014 and be kept generally informed about what the Trust is up to. What it isn't is a formal meeting! In the afternoon, a group of members took the opportunity to head North across Apedale Road. This is a fabled area, marked on many maps with the words "Here Be Dragons" and the like. However, in a few years time, it will be graced by Apedale Valley Light Railway trains. Hopefully the trains will face less mud than did yesterday's explorers. Once the trains cross Apedale Road, they face a steady climb to an intermediate station at Birley Shales. The first photo shows the site of the Birley Shales station. From here, trains will go on to a final terminus at Miry Pools, just over a mile from the current railway terminus at Silverdale. The first-time visitors to this area (and your author was one of them) took away many impressions. Amongst those what there are  few civil engineering issues, certainly as far as Birley Shales. Secondly, the gentle climb should make a nice challenge for the engines, but not so much as to be scary - typically, the climb is around 1 in 50. Thirdly, the landscape changes rapidly from the rather "post-industrial" environs of Apedale to rolling countryside; from Miry Pools, we could see hills which - a knowledgeable individual informed us - were in Wales. One member claimed he could see a train climbing to the top of Snowdon, but we didn't believe him because - as everyone knows - the Snowdon Mountain Railway doesn't run in January. The issue of curvature of the Earth wasn't on his side, either. As ever, get in touch here.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from everyone at the Moseley Railway Trust. It is promising to be a Big Year at Apedale, with the return to traffic of the Joffre loco, the first entry into traffic of the ex-Ghana Hudswell, further progress on the museum, and the Tracks to the Trenches mega-event in September. But the thing you've all been waiting for is, of course, the answers to the Quiz. We have had two winners - you know who you are, so well done Alan & David. The answers:-

 1a) 9 3/4
  b) Hogsmeade Station (for Hogwarts School)
  c) Euston - JKRowling said that she had pictured the station as Euston, but actually wrote (in error) Kings Cross. Platforms 9 and 10 at KX are the undistinguished suburban platforms, so this does make some sense.

2) The Train

3) Trans-Europe Express. As an aside, the episode of Father Ted "Think Fast Father Ted" where four Irish priests impersonate Kraftwerk is probably one of the greatest TV moments ever.

4) Chris Rea and Deltics. I am told that F88 is a reference to the name of another band  managed by Chris Rea's manager, and involving musicians with whom Chris had collaborated. And not the predecessor the the F101 "Voodoo" as I thought.

5) The Fugitive

6) The Blues Brothers. If you don't believe me, look for the scene where Carrie Fisher confronts Jake with an assault rifle. The 1950 film was "Union Station".

7) Source Code. Explanations as to what on earth is actually going on welcomed.

8) Homeward Bound.

9) Neverwhere

10) Eric Lomax was a Japanese P.O.W. who worked on the Thai-Burma railway. Hence his involuntary employer was the Japanese government.

Christmas Quiz - Round Two

The first Xmas quiz rounds seems to have been, frankly, embarrassingly easy. It lasted only a couple of hours before a full set of answers were received. For the record, the answers are:-

1 Stoke on Trent - including the site of Kerr Stuart's works

2. Edinburgh

3. Stafford - Bagnall's premises are visible

4. Crewe

5. Cheadle Hulme

6. Manchester Piccadilly

7. York

8. Carlisle

9. Cologne - The Deutz works is just off the photo to the right, across the Rhine. 

10. Blackpool

I am not going to let this setback defeat me. Round Two is based on Movies, Songs and Books - the full Amazon product range. However, there is a railway theme throughout. Ready? Okey Dokey.

1:- Book. "A Scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people......Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowds....Owls hooted to each other in a disgruntled sort of way"

A:- What platform did this train leave from? B:- What was the destination? C:- From what London station did the Author THINK it would leave from?

2:- Film. A 1964 film starring Burt Lancaster saw the destruction, for real, of a French marshalling yard. Name of the film?

3:- Song. What was Kraftwerk's song about long distant trains?

4:-  Song. "Deltics and steamers and F88s in full flight". Artist and Album, please. Also, why on earth did he choose one of the Cold War's most obscure aircraft?

5:- Film. This, and the next two question, take Chicago as a common theme. Which 1993 film, based on a 1960s TV serial, saw a train demolishing a prison bus and the Chicago Elevated Railway as key plot points?

6:-  Film. Which 1980 cult film also had the Chicago Elevated Railway almost as a cast member, had a scene short in the remains of the 2'0" gauge Chicago Tunnel Railway and saw the cast singing about the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad?

For a bonus point, name the 1950 movie which uses the 2'0" Chicago Tunnel Railway as a key part of the film climax?

7:- Film. Which rather bewildering 2011 film sees the hero repeatedly making the same journey on a Chicago commuter train?

8:- Song. A plaque on the waiting room wall at Widnes station commemorates the writing of which Simon and Garfunkel song?

9:- Book (and TV serial and radio play). By Neil Gaimen, this book saw the hero meeting people who took their names from London place names, including many Tube stations. The TV serial included a sequence shot on the 2'0" gauge Post Office Railway. What is the name of the book?

10:- Book (and now film). My namesake was a RailwayMan. Where did he work and who was his involuntary employer?

Answers to here - and a happy Christmas to everyone reading.

Time for Santa to crack on with the main job

It's time for Santa to leave Apedale and get on with the preparations for the Big Day. You can follow his progress here if so inclined. The Santa campaign at Apedale this year seems to have been a great success - almost 100% train occupancy - from what I saw, somewhat in excess of 100% in a few cases. Not quite at Indian Railways levels, but not far off. So, if you are reading this and came to see us as a visitor, a BIG THANK YOU - every penny you spend with us goes towards continuing the work of the Trust. If you are reading this and helped out - even just as an armchair member of the Trust - an EVEN BIGGER THANK YOU - this Trust is nothing without its members. So, it only really remains to wish everyone a happy Christmas, and we can reflect on what marvellous things 2014 holds for the Moseley Railway Trust and the Apedale Valley Light Railway. Get in touch here.

It must be Christmas

It must be Christmas, for three reasons. Firstly, Santa has been seen at Apedale. Secondly, we have had the Trust Xmas meal (thanks to Terry for organising it) and the CME was seen with a ridiculous dancing Meerkat toy. Thirdly, and most relevant, we have once again sent the Trust SR71 on a tour, and produced aerial photos. This time, they are well known (to be honest "not totally obscure" might be closer to the truth) railway stations. All you have to do is to identify the ten railway stations. Simples. Either a major clue, or for bonus points, is to identify the sites of well-known loco builders which are visible in two of the photos - and for the Smarty Pants award - who is the builder whose site is just off the edge of one of the photos? Good Luck, and get in touch here with your answers.

Station 1

Station 2

Station 3

Station 4

Station 5

Station 6

Station 7

Station 8

Station 9

Station 10

Hudswell Clarke progress

We've had quite a few posts on here about progress on the restoration of the Moseley Railway Trust's diesel Hudswell - but it's been a while since we have heard of the steam Hudswell. This loco, imported from Ghana in 2008, has been out of the public eye for some considerable time. It has been away from the Apedale site undergoing the major overhaul required to return it to steam. This restoration has recently taken a major step forward with the delivery of the new boiler. As can be seen the loco is almost unrecognisable from the rather challenging project which we found in Africa. Last weekend, a Works Open Day was held for Trust members to see how far the loco has progressed. It wasn't quite like a traditional Railway Works Open Day as apparently there was no stall selling railway videos and the Works brass band hadn't turned up. Despite these flaws, a good number of members made the visit, and everyone seems to have left well impressed. The Hudswell is very much on the last leg of the restoration journey now, and - barring disasters - we should see it hauling trains at Apedale during 2014. Keep watching here for more news on this, and get in touch here.

Bursting out of the ground

It's been a while since we have seen much tangible progress on the Apedale museum project. The reason for this is money. After Lehmann Brothers and Fred Goodwin managed to loose it all (presumably in a washing machine or a very large sofa) it's been even more difficult to come by than before. And building buildings involving deep piled foundations ain't cheap. But, we have managed to scrimp, save and raid corporate piggy banks to allow the next phase of the project to proceed. This is to build the walls which sit on top of the cast concrete beams which in turn are connected to the steel piles which The Mole from Thunderbirds put in a couple of years ago. Mr Builder has been busy, because bags of sugar in the local co-op have doubled in price, and the large piles of blocks are depleting nicely. Most of what you can see in the picture will be, eventually, underground. The next phase will be to complete the foundations, and lay a concrete slab into which the track will be set. This will be a key acheivement, because we can then use the area between building blitzes, rather than it simply being a large hole in the ground. We are aiming to get that complete by the September 2014 "Tracks to the Trenches" event - as we want the trenches elsewhere on site, thank you very much.
As ever, get in touch here.