Strictly Kango

A busy day at Apedale has seen a lot of track maintenance carried out. A key part of the track maintenance programme has been tamping the ballast to ensure firm support for the railway. The length of the railway now mandates the use of generators to provide power for the Kango hammers. It's hard going, and the team can perhaps skip tonights trip to the gym. See, we're all heart. Meanwhile, back at the workshops, an uber-shunt took place to allow Stanhope to be converted to a temporary 040 for a boiler inspection. Who knows, we might decide we like it and it can stay like that. Our neighboring shotblasters had dealt with a WDLR bogie frame for a wagon project. Unfortunately, the forklift is hors-de-combat currently, so more innovative means had to be used to get the bogie back onto the railway for work to continue. All part of the rich tapestry which is a day at Apedale. You don't have to be good at tapestry to come along and help - just get in touch here. Finally, a blatant advert for a publication which we advertise in - follow this link.

The changing of the seasons

When I was at school....Before we go on, let me clarify two points. 1:- It wasn't THAT long ago (really), and 2:- It was NOT a famous/infamous Grammar school in the Cheadle area of Manchester. Anyway, when I was at school every so often an enormous Bell & Howell film projector would be hauled into the in the main hall. It was a big thing, and I always imagined the scene was a bit like dragging the stones used to build Stonehenge. The teacher would throw a switch and the bulb would start to warm up. All over the area street lights would dim due to the current draw. Drax power station would light extra boilers - you get the idea. Eventually, a Disney wildlife documentary would be screened. This would create the lasting impression that Lemmings commit mass suicide.Of course, we now know that to be rubbish - it is (of course) Meerkats which commit mass suicide. Simples. At some stage in the film, a gravelly voice would say "...and the eternal cycle of the seasons, spring follows winter....". We finally saw some signs at Apedale that Spring may be seriously considering following Winter this year. Firstly, we've got the snowplough out, thereby guaranteeing no snow for the next ten years. Secondly, it was actually sunny yesterday. This allowed us to finish brake testing on the Baguley Drewry and therefore permit its entry into passenger service this season. These days, there's no reassuring man from HMRI to sign everything off; in the ROGS era, one has to verify for oneself that the thing is safe. Hence we tend to be pretty thorough. The final test was with the loco, all the passenger coaches and a five-ton Motor Rail on the back simulating the weight of the passengers - the whole ensemble making a pretty impressive site with the mighty Perkins diesel fighting to the upper reaches on the power curve as it fights to reach 10mph downhill. So, with seven weeks to go to start of passenger service, we now have two passenger diesels. Thankfully, we also now have a crest for the railway. Thanks to an international design competition, we have produced what you see below. Nice isn't it? If you think it's nice, get in touch here. If you don't like it, then please remember what happened to the Lemmings.

Up periscope

As you can see from the above film, the Motor Rail dumper (no.8389 of 1947) has managed to move under its own power. It lacks a few minor refinements currently, such as any forward visibility for the driver. However, we're planning an outing to Barrow in Furness where apparently there's something which may provide the answer. In the case of the dumper, the operational time is limited by how long the tyres stay inflated rather than such mundane matters as fuel and driver's hours. Meanwhile, some work has actually been done on the railway, including another Motor Rail, number 5038. The photos show it in the early 1970s at Ashchurch and as it is currently. The bonnets hide a multitude of ills - not least a mechanical conundrum with the clutch, which is hopefully now solved. Offers of redundant submarine equipment should be sent here, please.

No, really, you're too kind.....

We're all getting out the penguin suits and polishing the best shoes. Why? The opening of the Apedale Valley Light Railway has been voted "Best Narrow Gauge Moment 2010" by the users of the National-preservation.com website. The runner up was some operation in North Wales - the opening of the Welsh Highland Railway or some such. We've got Gwyneth Paltrow to write an acceptance speech; strangely, the invitation to the glittering ceremony has yet to arrive, but it can only be a matter of time. Of course, such awards are always down to teamwork, and the team has been hard at work again down at Apedale. The team of happy carriage cleaners have been making the passenger train fit for the hoards of paying passengers who will be descending on us from the start of the season - which is April 2nd, by the way. The Road Motor division achieved a first start on the Motor Rail dumper engine after installation into the vehicle. As you may see, some minor adjustments are still needed to achieve Euro III emissions compliance. And the Baguley Drewry loco has started on the test programme needed to allow operation on the passenger trains. The photo shows the brake van being set up with just some of the huge range of sophisticated instrumentation used for this process. Not many people appreciate that NASA is largely funded through e-bay sales. I wonder who will give the award? I hope it's not Sam Fox and Mick Fleetwood. Get in touch here (unless you represent Sam Fox or Mick Fleetwood).

Remembering things past

It has been said that the Moseley Railway Trust is a bit like some of the better regiments in the British Army; it really does matter where you went to school. We were reminded of this when, during some work on MR7066 this weekend, two of the "old boys" of the Grammar School posed on the loco, recreating the days of the Moseley Industrial Tramway at Cheadle, in Manchester. The number of active members still directly associated with the School era is still considerable, but their numbers are being overtaken by people who never knew the delights of the Margaret Danyers college and its precursors. In those halcyon days, portable railways were rather less bound by red tape than today, and the second photo shows such an operation at the Hayfield Show some considerable number of years ago. The loco in the B&W photo is now a resident of Cornwall. What such scenes should remind us of is that today's Trust has its roots back in the last 1960s. A curiosity with the restoration of No.6 is that it is being done to a Preservation condition, not as it was in Industry. More than a few preserved locomotives have now spent longer in preservation than in industry - so perhaps we should be thinking about how we recreate some of the early preservation era? Get in touch here. Early Moseley Memories and especially photos are always welcomed.

Back to Reality

After all the Santa jollifications and the excitements about Joffres and all that stuff, it was back to earth at Apedale this weekend. The former Elite Fencing Team have now been retrained and released back into the community as the Elite Fishplate Greasing Team. Meanwhile, wagons were mended, engines tinkered with and containers painted.The first wagon gingerly entered the C&W container for a little TLC to its floor, and the WDLR Water Tank wagon had an outing down the mainline to check that some modifications to the underframe set-up had been successful after a minor earth fault some while back. Get in touch here.

Joffre Announcement

The owners of Kerr Stuart steam locomotive no.3014 are delighted to announce that the restoration of this locomotive has now entered its final phase. The locomotive will soon be moving to the Moseley Railway Trust site at Apedale, where it will be used to haul trains on the 2’0” gauge Apedale Valley Light Railway.

It is entirely appropriate that the locomotive is based at Apedale, which is just a few miles from the Kerr Stuart works where the locomotive was constructed in 1916. No.3014 was ordered by the French Commission for their artillery railways, and was delivered new to Nantes, France during WW1. Kerr Stuart built 70 locos of this type, known as the “Joffre” – named after the famous French General. After the war, it was sold from Verdun to a dealer, Brunner & Marchand of Borray, Seine & Oise. In October 1930, it was sold on to a stone quarry - Societe Anonyme des Carrieres de la Valee Heureuse et du Haut Banc, Marquise Rinxent in the Pas de Calais area of northern France. By August 1956, the locos on this site were derelict. In 1974, 3014 and four similar “Joffres” were repatriated to the UK onboard the ferry "Free Enterprise VII" on 11/10/74.

3014 and three of the other locos eventually resided at the Gloddfa Ganol slate quarry museum complex, near Blaenau Ffestiniog. Here, it was mounted on a plinth alongside the museum operator's house. It became a familar site to passing motorists as they struggled up the lengendary Crimea Pass road out of Blaenau to the north. Following closure of the Gloddfa Ganol museum, the loco was acquired by the 3014 Society. The locomotive has been restored at a number of sites, and was recently test-steamed for the first time in fifty years.

The key remaining activity on the locomotive is to complete the work on the side tanks, followed by detail finishing and testing. It is expected that the locomotive will be completed and moved to Apedale during Spring 2011.

Gareth Roberts of the 3014 Society said “This locomotive has been restored from a scrapyard condition, and it will be marvellous to bring it home to Staffordshire. The Moseley Railway Trust has a growing collection of vehicles from the First World War military railways, so 3014 will complement and add to this collection considerably”.

It is planned to hold a “launch day” for 3014 at Apedale; the date for this will be announced in due course. The Moseley Railway Trust is hoping to determine if there are any surviving Kerr Stuart employees – the company closed in 1930, so it’s JUST possible! Any leads in this regard would be appreciated.

The photographs are a Joffre works photo, 3014 approaching completion and when it was displayed at Gloddfa Ganol. Get in touch with the MRT here.