The Christmas Quiz

For some unaccountable reason, the annual Christmas Quiz has built up quite a following. This year, we have literally one person asking when it will appear. So, faced with that sort of fanbase, we have had a bit of think for this year. Brace yourselves.

The answers to all the questions are the names of narrow gauge locomotives. Almost all are steam locomotives, all still exist, and "preservation era" names are GENERALLY avoided. To give you a fighting chance, we tell you the name of the loco builder in brackets - except for a few cases where that would be far too much of clue. One could therefore divine that the absence of this clue is a clue in itself.   What we want is the name of the loco, and the railway on which it is normally to be found. So, let's do a simple example:-

Market town in Weardale (Kerr Stuart) - the correct answer is, of course, Stanhope and Apedale Valley Light Railway.

In the words of That Meerkat - Simples. OK, here goes:-

1. An Post delivers this (Hunslet).
2. Initially named for the railway promoter's daughter; had a famously short and precipitous operating life (?).
3. Author who owned a narrow boat called Crecy (Barclay, sort-of).
4. Robin Hood’s girlfriend (Hunslet)
5. A nymph of Greek mythology and a character from The Faerie Queene (Hunslet)
6. French General, most known for regrouping the retreating allied armies to defeat the Germans at the strategically decisive First Battle of the Marne in 1914 (Kerr Stuart)
7. Name shared by a Kerr Stuart Wren and a Bagnall saddle tank.
8. Basil’s wife (Hunslet)
9. Part of an Abbey or Cathedral (Hunslet)
10. Prime Minister  twice over, died in 1865 (?)
11. Only Manchester-born Welshman to have been Prime Minister (?)
12. Yet another Prime Minister twice-over (Yorkshire Engine)
13. Creation of J.M.Barrie (Kerr, Stuart)
14. Friend of the above (Bagnall)
15. Pussy Cat in the Archers (Hunslet)
16. First Letter of the Greek alphabet (Bagnall)
17. Appropriately named Bagnall Fireless which worked with the above ....why is it appropriate?
18. Built at BAE Warton (amongst other places) (Paxman)
19. A street in south Leeds (Hunslet)
20. Titular character of an 1869 book set in Devon (Kerr Stuart)
21. Not a Scottish Horse – it’s a?  (?)
22. 1938 film starring the 40^th President (Kerr Stuart)
23. Happened on August 11, 1999 especially in Cornwall (Not Steam – now!)
24. One of the six in the North (Peckett)
25. Song by Barry Ryan, covered by The Damned (OandK)

Next, the Tie Breaker - which is nothing whatsoever to do with the above theme!

Tie Breaker:- What connects a small town near Huddersfield with the Tannhäuser Gate (where c-beams glitter in the dark)?

If it is STILL a tie after the Tie Breaker, then the non-existent prize will be awarded based on the usual combination or prejudice and/or spite. Get in touch here with your quiz answers or requests for help (which will probably be ignored).

Finally, and most importantly, it just remains to thank everyone who has been to see us at Apedale in 2014, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and we'll see you in 2015.

Sorting the Naughty from the Nice

Santa has paid his first visit to the Apedale Light Railway for 2014. It all seems to have gone jolly well, with lots of well-laden trains and rather less presents left in the Grotto at the end of it all. The Hudswell steam loco has made its debut on this duty. It can be confirmed that the footplate - with no cab back - is a tad on the chilly side, especially towards the end of the day. Stanhope - all is forgiven! Fortunately, Santa seems to have been fairly forgiving, even to the Children who began "well, it's like this - Santa, I can explain everything....."- so all seem to have received a present in the end. Whether Santa will be so forgiving to the MRT Trustees remains to be seen.
Next Sunday - 21/12/14 is now sold out, but there are a few seats remaining on the Saturday 20/12/14 -  especially on the first and last trains. The book-ahead deadline has now passed, but the site here shows which trains still had space.
But remember - Sata has elves everywhere. You are being watched. Get in touch here and tell us if you are naughty or nice.

Here comes Santa Claus....

Yes, only six sleeps until the Man in the Red Coat lands the sleigh at Apedale Road and hoardes of bright eyed and eager children look forward to unburdening their present wish list on him. The Grotto is built and looks better than ever, and the train has so many fairy lights on it that we're getting letters of complaint from aircraft approaching Manchester Airport. Stanhope and the Joffre have been put to bed for the winter, so the honour of hauling the trains will fall to the Hudswell. We still have some seats available for the first weekend - we've passed the booking cut-off date for that, so it will be on a "turn up" basis now. Booking finishes for the second weekend on the 11th - and there are only a few seats available for that - so please book NOW here if you want to join in the fun.

Yet another Hudswell update

Both regular readers will have followed the trials and tribulations of the two parallel Hudswell Clarke restoration jobs at Apedale with something close to disinterest. You will therefore be pleased to hear that both jobs are now close to completion. The last major job on the diesel - D558 - was to rebuild the front coupling block which had suffered rather badly in the gentle care of the stone quarry where the loco operated. A new block has been fabricated and has now been trialled on the loco. All looks good, just need to source a couple of huge bolts, and then there's a few minor cosmetic jobs left (on the optimistic assumption that the radiator leak has cured).
On the external combustion front, HC1238 has had a lot of tinkering and fiddling going on to resolve some teething issues, but there did seem to be some success today. This led to the loco being transferred to the Operational section of the Loco Availability board in a brief, but somehow tear-jerking, ceremony. All being well, the loco will now be used to operate the Santa Trains, which means the crew are hoping for a winter more like those in Ghana than those we sometimes see down t'Valley. As ever, get in touch here.

Winter maintenance

With the Pilk now officially back on its feet and looking towards an early discharge from the casualty unit, other winter maintenance jobs have been occupying the volunteers of the Apedale Vally Light Railway. Coach maintenance and greasing fishplates isn't particularly photogenic, but welding up holes in steam locos is. The Hudswell Clarke steam loco made its triumphant return to steam in September. Inevitably, there is a small snag list of minor problems which emerged during early running. One of these was the need to re-route the oil pipes from the displacement lubricator to the cylinders; this involved sealing the previous hole used to penetrate the smokebox. Hence the welding. Another minor job has been fixing the replica "AngloGold Ashanti No.9" plates, which have doubled.the weight of the loco, but do give a nice "finished" air. Not sure yet which loco will work the Santas - time will tell if this new upstart will displace the old-faithful "Stanhope" on this prime job. Mentioning Santa - don't forget, still time to book here. Get in touch here.

Poorly Pilk

Visitors to Apedale may have noticed that the diesel passenger service has, in the latter part of the season, been operated exclusively by the yellow Baguley Drewry. This is because the other air braked diesel, No.13 (Motor Rail 11142) has been distinctly unwell. This loco used to work for Pilkington Glass - hence known to one and all at Apedale as "The Pilk". There had been a little concern about the clutch earlier in the year, but some minor adjustments seemed to resolve the problem. Then, one Saturday mid-season, the driver found it was emitting the most horrendous noises of mechanical trauma. The driver sensibly stopped the engine - fortunately with the train stood safely at Silverdale Station, called for assistance, and that was that for The Pilk for the time being. The need to prioritise other matters - like the Tracks to the Trenches event - meant that the repair had to wait its turn. That turn is now with us.
When Motor Rail locos are built, the first thing to be added to the basic frame is a gearbox. Then the clutch. Then everything else. Hence, getting into the clutch means almost everything else has to come off the loco, leaving it with a rather stripped-down, racy look. The failure appears to be due to a cracked outer race in a clutch bearing deciding to finally let go completely. The bearing has now been replaced, and the loco is at the re-assembly stage. Hopefully this will be complete by the time we reach the Santa Season, details of which can be here. As ever, get in touch here.  

Prometheus gets its railway back! Moseley Railway Trust accepts track donation from National Grid

In 2013, the Moseley Railway Trust took receipt of a battery powered electric locomotive following donation by National Grid. This locomotive was used at the National Grid’s cable tunnels at Woodhead, high in the Pennines.  The Woodhead tunnels were originally built to carry mainline trains from Sheffield to Manchester. This led to the battery locomotive being nick-named “Prometheus” by Trust members – after one of the mainline locomotives which used to operate through the Woodhead Tunnel.

“Prometheus” is now a popular member of the Trust locomotive fleet. The National Grid has continued its project in the Woodhead cable tunnels, and this led to the railway track upon which “Prometheus” operated also becoming available. The Moseley Railway Trust is therefore delighted to have taken delivery from Woodhead of some 500 metres of 2’0” gauge track and three sets of points from Woodhead. This track, in good condition, will be used by the Trust when it commences construction of the next phase of the passenger carrying Apedale Light Railway further along the Apedale Community Country Park.
Phil Robinson, MRT Chairman said “Once again, we are indebted to National Grid and their continued support of our work to develop the site and railway at Apedale. It’s unusual to have a locomotive in preservation operating on the same track which it used when in industry – it’s just that both loco and track have moved 60 miles from the Peak District to North Staffordshire. Our volunteers are very much looking forward to putting this track to good use”.
David Smith, who is looking after the Woodhead Tunnels for National Grid said “This track and loco have served us well for many years and we are very pleased that they can continue in useful service … hopefully for many years to come.”

As ever, get in touch with us here.