Early Christmas Present

Exactly one month early, Santa has been to the Apedale Valley Light Railway and delivered us a large new toy. To be honest, we were rather disappointed that it wasn't gift wrapped with a nice ribbon bow, but that's life. FR117 is our first fully enclosed coach, and should be very useful once overhauled and converted to meet our needs. As it will be by far our best coach, it will have to be allocated a Pullman name. Pullman Car Cathartidae was popular amongst those who unloaded it. In all seriousness (for once), we should record a big thanks to Paul Lewin and the FR; they didn't have to make these coaches available, and by doing so, they offering a big help to the minnows of the narrow gauge world.

Filming and Freezing

The weekend has seen some unusual goings-on for this time of year. The replica WW1 trench has hosted a film crew from the University for the Creative Arts. Some of the people working on the railway thought they were pretty hardened to the weather - but this lot camped overnight through the first snow of the Winter. Now, that is quite impressive (or mad, delete as you see fit). They also brought some quite impressive pyros and a real Armourer, another first for the site.

In closely related news, the dates for the Driver Experience for 2016 have been released - have a wander over to here for the list. Just the ticket as a Christmas present with a difference. No discounts for Black Friday, but we won't mandate camping on site the night before.

Impermanent Way

With the running season behind us, attention has switched to the winter maintenance programme. An intensive burst of activity took place today. It's a good job it was active, otherwise we'd either drown or freeze. Or both. Various sleepers past their sell-by date were changed - quite a quick job with the right kit and team. During this task, an eagle-eyed member of the team spotted what seemed to be a flaw in a rail; on closer examination this was a crack in the foot and web, probably emanating from a historic flaw. Although this was not going to pose an immediate threat to safety, it was a case of "We can't leave that". So, the rail had to be changed. Just to add to the jollity, it was a curved rail of non-standard length, meaning the rail had to be curved, cut and drilled on site. None of which is terribly good fun in the rain. It was at this point that our PWay engineer complained that the rain was only vertical; he trained on the Ffestiniog Railway, where the rain has a significant horizontal component. Get in touch here (unless you are from the Met Office).

Military Memories

After the general insanity which is the Halloween weekend, we all put our sensible heads back on for the end-of-season Military Memories weekend. Open from 1130-1600 on Saturday and Sunday, we will have two locos in steam (Joffre and HC1238), the Trench open for tours (with the Gordon Highlander re-enactment group), shed visits and various diesel locos performing with suitable military-themed freight trains. What's not to like?

Progress on many fronts

It's been a weekend of distinctly mixed weather down at Apedale. Saturday was extremely wet, with visitor numbers to match. Sunday was much better, albeit cold. However, the antidote to cold is to work hard. Progress has been made on a number of different projects. The cosmetic restoration of the modern Hunslet "Cat C" has been progressing apace, and the loco is beginning to loook quite good. This loco, from the Bishopton munitions works, is mechanically pretty good - apart from annoyingly squealy brakes - and will hopefully soon look the part as well. Work on the ex-Ffestiniog Railway van has continued, with the roof patches being made and welded in. We're awaiting delivery of the steel floor; when that's fitted, the worst of this project will be over. Just need to clad the vehicle and then fit-out. Finally, the unique Howard petrol loco is coming close to its moment of glory. The overhaul of the gearbox and transmission has been a big job, but that's done now. The remaining key areas are the drive chains and - particularly - the radiator. Hopefully, though, the end of this project is now in sight.

Driver Experience

Last Friday saw us entertain our first paying guest for the Tracks to the Trenches driver experience. The customer, who is apparently undertaking scholarly research into the use of light railways during the First World War, seems to have thoroughly enjoyed the day. This driver experience is unlike anything else in the heritage railway world. When you come to Apedale, you sign-up as a member of a Light Railway Operating Company in Northern France in 1917. As an operational member of the 6th LROC, you have just arrived in Bapaume and have reported for the days duties at the Company’s HQ. The Traffic Orders are communicated to you throughout the day, in the form of telegraphs. It is your responsibility to shunt and operate the trains to complete the assigned tasks, using both steam and diesel locomotives, to keep the lads at the front line supplied. If you really like, you can even have lunch in the Trench - but most seem to prefer the cafe, for some reason. Unfortunately, and despite the imminence of Back to the Future Day, we have neither a De Lorean nor an actual Time Machine - but this driver experience comes pretty close. In case you are wondering, we do not actually shoot at participants - and the day is a lot of fun for everyone. Visit here for more details and booking information - this really is the ideal Christmas present. Dress code - Khaki, complimented by Khaki. It really is this season's colour.

By Van to Apedale Road

The FR van has made a Giant Leap Forward by being re-united with its bogies this weekend. The bogies were dismantled for overhaul and to have the wheelsets machined, since FR wheelset dimensions are different to our own. Consequently, the van - when first delivered - had never seen much of the railway at Apedale. There was a teeny, weeny, nagging doubt that the steps may have been out of gauge. A quick trip up and down the line showed that there was nothing to worry about. A passenger, seeing the vehicle arriving in the station platform, asked how much extra he needed to pay to get a floor, sides, roof and seats. We had to explain that, to fall in line with the fares policy on other UK railways, the ticket is only for the journey and that such things as seats cannot be guaranteed. He seemed happy with that state of affairs. So, the van duly trundled back to the workshop where a start was made on the roof - the only major poorly bit left. The roof has always been something of a conundrum, since parts of it looks like a lace curtain, yet one cannot see the sky. A few minutes with Mr Angle Grinder indicated that the vehicle actually has a double-skinned roof. It looks like the original roof was welded on, and then a new skin rivetted on top of that at some stage. Double-skinned roofs were popular on locos to be supplied to tropical climates, so one can only assume that the FR adopted this roof construction in anticipation of post Global Warming climate change.Their foresight is awesome.

Meanwhile, two of the fleet have been on yet another awayday; Motor Rail No.21 and Ruston Pluto were loaned to the team at the Amerton Railway for their diesel gala - and all concerned seem to be agree they they ran very well. It seems that returning No.21 in particular is going to be a tough moment for at least one of the Amerton team, but return it must, because it's in our stockbook.
Finally, a quick reminder - steam trains next weekend at Apeale, probably using Stanhope, so reliable operation is assured. Ashere.

ever, get in touch