Santa Claus is coming to town

Santa Claus is coming to town! Our Santa trains are now open for booking at here. We are running on December 10, 11, 17 and 18. Trains depart at 1000, 1100, 1200, 1330, 1430, 1530 and 1630 on each of the days. It costs £7 for children, £4 for adults if you book in advance. The trains are extremely popular, and we strongly recommend booking in advance - the last thing we want to see is any disappointed little ones on the day. If space is available on the day, the fares are children £8, adults £5. You will join the train for a round trip, and Santa normally pops up during the journey - it just depends where he's parked the sleigh. After the train ride, everyone follows Santa to the Grotto, where Santa has the all-important chat and finds out what he should be loading on the sleigh on the 24th.There's a good-quality gift for all the children and plenty of photo opportunities. Our Santa trains get busier each year - so please book ahead. You can book online here or call into our shop at the Apedale Valley Light Railway, Apedale Community Country Park, Loomer Road, Chesterton. The shop is open every Saturday until Christmas plus Sundays 9th and 30th October. We look forward to sharing the magic of Christmas at Apedale with you.

Boldly going where no man has been before......

We've hosted a private charter day for the Branch Line Society today; two trains were run, each full to capacity, and they set off to explore the more exotic parts of the railway system at Apedale. Before anyone thinks we do this sort of thing on a whim, several days planning and a nine-page method statement and risk assessment supported the whole operation. But good planning always pays off, and both trips passed off without a hitch. Participants got to ride on all the mainline trackage, most of the yard sidings (excepting a couple where the long-wheelbase coach is banned) and the Field Railway. Nobody in their right mind would take the coach down the Trench Tramway, so the passengers transferred to a small manrider to allow rides on that bit. This is very much NOT the sort of thing we do regularly, and it's unlikely we'll repeat this operation in the foreseeable future.

BUT next weekend will see trains on most of this network because it's the Steam Centenary weekend, with three locos in steam and demonstration trains running all over the place. It's looking like being a good do, so we'll be seeing you?

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived

Another busy day at the Apedale Valley Light Railway has seen a number of projects progressed. A broken rail had been noted some time ago on one of the lesser-used extremities of the Field Railway - at the the point known as Loos Loop. Repairing it had become a priority as we have a visit from the Branch Line Society next weekend, and they are keen to visit all the extremities (Debacle Railtours proudly present the Apedale Explorer II). So, with judicous use of the welder and a much improved set of fishplates and new bolts to carry the load, the rail was duly repaired. Meanwhile, Ruston No.29 has been having some attention to its hand start equipment. Unusually for a Ruston, this one is electric start, hence the hand gear had fallen into disuse. However, with 74 locos on site, there are never enough batteries to go round, so it's useful to be able to hand start the loco. Not sure why quite so many people found this so fascinating, but that's life. Some of the younger members have been overhauling the wagons we inherited from National Grid at Woodhead. The plan is that these will be used as sleeper carriers when we start extending the railway. We are quite taken by the half-timbered Tudor House look of the new paintwork, doubtless inspired by our neighbours at Little Moreton Hall; in view of the Tudor vibe, it has been decided that the wagons will be named after Henry VIII's wives. So, meet Catherine of Aragon. I'm sure it's just the memorial she would have wanted. Get in touch here (unless you are Tudor monarchy).

All dressed up and somewhere to go.....

All dressed up and somewhere to go - Stanhope polished to within an inch of its life and with Penrhyn couplers fitted, ready to head back to Penrhyn for next weekend's jolly. Hopefully it will emerge from Penrhyn afterwards in a slightly better state than when it left previously. Behind Stanhope is the Hayfield coach, which is off to Alan Keef Ltd's Open Day on the 17th, where it will once again be used as the passenger coach on their demonstration line.
Meanwhile, the Hudswell is home from Leighton Buzzard and licking its wounds slightly; all things considered, it performed admirably on what is almost certainly England's most demanding narrow gauge railway. Please read that last sentence carefully before complaining.

Michelangelo comes out of retirement

It's been a busy few weeks at Apedale with a variety of projects being progressed. One project which very rarely sees much limelight is the continuing programme of repairs and reurbishment on the buildings which we occupy. Some of these are seriously old, probably dating back to the Apedale Ironworks, and one suspects that's about the last time that they had any real TLC. The main workshop block has had a new roof in the last year, but it could still be somewhat cold in the winter. It's tempting to say that we should just out a thicker woolly on - but we need people to be comfortable if they are going to support us by volunteering. Also, it's difficult to produce decent finished work in a poor environment. So, a new ceiling is being installed. This will be painted and insulated. The project leader was seen to be looking at pictures of the Sistine Chapel with some interest.
Elsewhere, a couple of wagon projects have been progressing nicely. An explosives wagon is just about finished - the lads pushing it around did check it was empty first, and a wooden Trench Tramway wagon is also nearing completion. This arrived as a kit of parts, and was immediately compared to an IKEA bookcase, leading to some speculation as to what daft name IKEA would have given it were they to move into selling railway rolling stock.
Next weekend it's steam both days with the Joffre having an outing. The Hudswell is enjoying a stay at Leighton Buzzard, and the Stanhope has been prepared for a trip to the Penrhyn Railway, complete with Penrhyn couplers - so it cannot couple to the passenger train at Apedale at the moment.

Classic Cars

Just a reminder that this coming Bank Holiday weekend will see steam trains at Apedale on all three days from 1130 to 4pm. And the weather forecast, by August bank holiday standards, isn't too bad. As if that wasn't good enough, Sunday sees the Classic Cars and Steam Trains Day. Break out the chrome polish and the fluffy dice cleaning kit as the site fills up with cars of yesteryear. And we've even got a real ale bar courtesy of our friends at the Titanic Brewery. What's not to like?

Olympic Games

It's been a training day at Apedale. Three of our brightest and best members have been coming to terms with the most common loco types in the collection - a Small Motor Rail, a Small Ruston and a Battery Electric. All have their own unique challenges (the locos, not the trainees) but the team did well. It's a bit like the Olympic Games; we have 100 yard sprint, the Hill Climb and the Weightlifting. In this case, the Weight was the rather massive (carved from a block of cast steel) 48DL Ruston - used to give the trainees experience of actually hauling a worthwhile load. We also held the "Who Will Be the First to Stall the Engine" contest. Discretion prevents us from disclosing the winner. Sadly, one of the contestants was disqualified after failing a test for banned substances. It was either the Blue Smarties on his Cornetto or the oatcakes. Also worthy of record - and taking place on a previous weekend - was the visit of the Hayfield Coach to hitherto unexplored (by passenger stock) parts of the Apedale railway system. This has been done as part of testing prior to a visit planned by the Branch Line Society later this year. All will be revealed in due course. As ever, get in touch here.