Seasons Greetings

Seasons Greetings and Best Wishes for 2010 from the Moseley Railway Trust at Snowy Apedale.

Work goes on

It's been a tab nippy down in the deepest reaches of the Apedale Valley over the last few days. Our trusty max/min thermometer indicated a low of -10 deg C, which is comparable to Moscow at this time of year. There cannot be many occasions on which Apedale has been compared to Moscow, although the inhabitants of both (some of them, at least) have a liking for daft woollen hats. Despite this, we have maintained steady progress on site. A key event this week has been the arrival of the Trust's air-braked replica Penrhyn Coach, which has been giving sterling service at the Open Days of Alan Keef Ltd for the last few years. The time has now come for it to be used for the purpose for which it was built - carrying happy punters up and down the scenic Apedale Valley. Meanwhile, the track gang have continued, with the workshop headshunt being extended. This runs down a ramp beside the Aurora North storage shed; spurs off it will lead to a pit road, where cunning re-use of an old weighbridge structure will provide pit access (for working on locos running gear etc) but without the drainage issues often associated with pits. The headshunt will ultimately then have another kick-back, which lead to the bottom yard area; this will form the demonstration industrial railway, recreating locos picking their way through the weeds. As can be seen, with all this to be built, work has continued at all hours.

Finally, this being Christmas, and in response to underwhelming public demand, you can once again enjoy one of the Trustees making a fool of himself on skates. On behalf of the Moseley Railway Trust, can I wish everyone reading this a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

The final push

Hopefully, as I write this, the Moseley Railway Trust's groundworks contractor is getting a nice early night in preparation for sorting out drainage and other soil-related issues in the Bermuda Triangle - the area which will form the initial northern terminus of the Apedale Valley Light Railway. Once he's sorted out the paddy fields, then it will be down with ballast, and out with the track laying team. There's two points and a stack of pre-assembled panels all built and waiting to be craned into place. Meanwhile, we have been progressing various loco and coach projects ready for the railway - the top photo shows the Hudson brake van, now air braked. The winter days are short, and in the Apedale Valley VERY dark, but work still goes on. When will the railway open? We'll have to see, but Easter 2010 is looking promising currently. Watch this space, or get in touch here.

Take a Bow

Every so often, I've updated the blogworld about the activities of the Moseley Railway Trust Elite Fencing Team. Like building the Channel Tunnel, eventually they would finish - and that day has arrived. They have built the fence virtually the entire length of the Apedale Valley Light Railway, enduring a combination of either hard-as-concrete ground or marsh and sometimes both. Above we see the EFT admiring their handywork having reached Apedale Road. Gentlemen, we salute you.

The on-coming headlight which is at the end of the tunnel is now in sight for railway construction at Apedale. All of the necessary pre-fabricated track has been built, and we're just waiting for the groundworks man to turn up. It's been a bit wet, and we understand he has to hire some special plant to assist. The second shot shows a view across the Apedale Road, which we will cross in due course. One can only hope that the owner of the white van returns by then, otherwise it will be a rather unequal contest with a 60S Motor Rail. There's still plenty to keep us out of mischief; if you fancy having a go at mischief, or just a chat, contact us here.

Museum gets Go-ahead

The Moseley Railway Trust is delighted to announce that it has obtained full planning consent for the construction of a museum building on its site at Apedale, Staffordshire.
The museum will mark a further step towards realising the Trust’s mission statement of preserving, conserving and interpreting industrial narrow gauge railways. With a floor area of more than 430 square metres, the building will give ample space in which the Trust will be able to display its collection of narrow gauge locomotives, rolling stock and other artefacts.
This will, however, not be just another static museum. Included in the plan is a re-creation of a "real" industrial railway – with lightweight, weed-grown track and locos picking through the undergrowth with trains of skip wagons. By necessity, the passenger-carrying line at Apedale has been built to the very highest standards – consequently, it doesn’t show visitors what industrial railways looked like. The Apedale industrial railway aims to allow the museum exhibits to have outings into an environment typical of their working lives.
Phil Robinson, the Chairman of the Moseley Railway Trust, said "Since arriving on the Apedale site in 2006, we have made great strides. We are confident that the passenger-carrying railway will open in 2010 – this was phase one of our development plan. Phase Two is the museum, and achieving full planning consent achieves a key milestone. Now the real challenge begins – fundraising to realise the dream. We have started dialogue with the Heritage Lottery Fund, but we are also very keen to hear from anyone else who may wish to help. The museum will, when opened, play a major role in the continuing regeneration of Apedale, Chesterton village and the surrounding areas".
Watch the press for details of the opening of the passenger railway – known as the Apedale Valley Light Railway.

MRT Heritage Railway Museum Building V2 -

What's the point?

Well actually it's the large thing loaded onto the wagon seen in this week's photos. The more observant will have noted that, in last week's photos, one of the two points for the Apedale Road loop was more of a self-assembly kit than the finished product. Indeed, if IKEA ever start doing components for 2'0" gauge railways, then this is the sort of thing they would sell. Only with an included Allen key and instructions in Swedish. Unfortunately, we had neither Allen key nor instructions in Swedish, so we had to do our best. So, some of this weekend has been spent making the kit into one lump; we have also changed out all the bolts and generally fettled the component parts - the point will, in time, form part of the passenger running line, so we need to be 100% sure of the condition of all its parts. The subject of the photos has been heard to concede that he may be getting a "tad thin" on top. If you know of a miracle hair restorative, or just want to get in touch, we're here.

Apedale Site Update

As late Summer turns to Autumn, the devoted volunteers of the Moseley Railway Trust are making steady progress with completing Phase One of the Apedale Valley Light Railway. You will recall that this runs about 470 metres from a station at the Apedale Heritage Centre to Apedale Road. The Apedale Road terminus will have a run-round loop, and is located in an area colloquially known as Bermuda Triangle. A team are progressing steadily northwards with erecting fencing to protect the Innocent public from our vicious trains (or perhaps the other way around). The next step is the groundworks; as you can see in one of the photos, the need for land drains is obvious! Apedale Road, by the way, is marked by the electricity pole visible in the background.

Meanwhile, another team has been pre-fabricating the pointwork and track ready for installation once the groundworks are completed. The photo shows one of the rather splendid Alan Keef Ltd points (on the right) which will be installed at the "passenger" end of the loop, and another point which needs some rebuilding; this will go in at the north end of the loop. There's a lot to do, and all help, in any form, is greatly appreciated. Contact us here.

Hurrah for Hudswell!

One of the more prolific, and long-lasting, of the British private locomotive builders was Hudswell Clarke & Co Ltd. From their Railway Foundry works in Jack Lane, Leeds, they turned out 1,851 steam locos. Moreover, they recognised the trend towards dieselisation early one, and did pioneering work in this field - but the inevitable came and the works closed in 1972. A good proportion of the output were narrow gauge and the Moseley Railway Trust is fortunate to have representatives of both diesel and steam narrow gauge Hudswells in its collection. The diesel representative is loco D558 of 1938. This loco worked at Beswick's lime works near Buxton; it was built with a McClaren engine, but now has a Dorman 4LB fitted. It has been recently returned to active service, albeit in need of a cosmetic make-over. The photo shows it hauling the MRT's restored WW1 tank wagon during the September 2009 open weekend. D558 is of considerable historic interest, as it was the first Hudswell diesel for the UK market. Hudswell didn't build many small diesels of the type which predominate in the MRT collection - after WW2, it focused on locos for the coal mining industry, and output included some monsters, such as a 300hp triple-unit.

The MRT's steam Hudswell is 1238 of 1916 (photo courtesy Leighton Buzzard Light Railway). This was exported to Ghana, from where the MRT repatriated it in 2008. This loco is currently on loan to the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway, where it is seen smartly turned-out by LBLR staff. We hope to be able to release some exciting news about this loco's future in the next few months - watch this space for information. Suffice to say that if you haven't seen this loco, a trip to Leighton Buzzard may be a good idea! As ever, contact us here.

Open day Retrospective

Well, that was Open Weekend 2009. The visiting engines have all returned home, the site has returned to its normal self, and the organising team's blood pressure has dropped from the previous dangerous levels. We were certainly blessed by the weather, and it was could to see so many faces on the site - many friends, old and new. This will be the last open weekend in this format, because the next time we open the site up, the Apedale Valley Light Railway will be in its full passenger carrying glory. A highlight for me was the Sunday transhipment demonstrations using the Sentinel steam lorry - learning from Saturday, we timed this to get the sun in the right place for photos! So, enjoy my favourite photos from the event. This weekend, it's back to reality at Apedale, as the Moseley Railway Trust's volunteer team resume the task of railway building. If you fancy joining in, get in touch. If you came along to the open weekend, and have comments, positive or negative, let us know. Contact us here.

Open Weekend - halfway through

We've got halfway through the Open Weekend at Apedale, and thus far it's going very well. The weather has been very kind to us, and we've seen lots of visitors, all of whom seem to have enjoyed themselves and gone home happy. Setting up the roadside photoshoots was a little tricky because the sun was in the wrong place - we haven't seen the sun at Apedale for some time, and we had forgotten where it appeared in the sky. But we got there, and everyone seemed to get the photographs they wanted. So, there's still another day of this to look forward to, so hopefully we will be inundated with visitors and their money tomorrow. See you there? Details are here.

Open days - Do YOU have this booked?

Just a quick update - The Moseley Railway Trust's Open Days are getting close. The line up of visiting locos is now confirmed as the Orenstein & Koppel steam loco "Max" from Statfold, "Red Dwarf" which is a battery electric from the Shropshire Mines Trust, and finally the rather splendid Baguley "King Arthur" which will be having its first ever awayday from its home at Wicksteed park. There is also a possible last minute extra visitor - only time will tell on that one.

Then there's also the minor matter of the home fleet of 50+ locomotives. And you can even see Project genesix - provided your retina scan is accepted. We'll be running effectively two separate railways - the main line and the sidings - so there will be loads of opportunities for parallel running, double departures, all that type of stuff. We've got a 16mm live steam layout, a ride-on miniature railway, trade stands and model railways. All this for £4 admission. What an absolute billy bargain.

The Open Days are Saturday and Sunday 12 & 13 September, from 1100 to 1700. More details are here. What are you waiting for - form an orderly queue. Contact us here with any enquiries/comments/offers of money.

What do these things have in common?

Probably more than you would expect. For the uninitiated, one is Class 55 "Deltic", a 100mph diesel electric loco used on BR's Eastern Region. The other is the Matisa tamping machine which the Moseley Railway Trust has on loan from the Tallylyn Railway. They both have a tendency to deafen their drivers, they both require ridiculous levels of maintenance, and they are both twin engined. I will be honest, the similarity end about there. So, where is this going? The tamper has been on site for a few weeks now, and we have had a few experimental tamps - but this Saturday was the first time we really went for it. And what a beast of a machine it is. The driver needs nerves of steel and the concentration levels of a jet fighter pilot, since the machine has a phenomenal number of levers and wheels and clamps and general gizmos. But once the driver enters a karma-like trance and becomes one with the machine, the rate of progress is truly amazing - especially for the gang aching from having manually tamped a set of points that morning. I should, by the way, explain that the objective of the exercise is to compact the track ballast under the sleepers, and therefore achieve the correct vertical alignment for the railway.

Simply Splendid Simplexes

We've been focusing on infrastructure stuff in recent posts, so for a change, this week we will have a look at two locomotive projects which are on-going at the Moseley Railway Trust's Apedale base.

No.13 "The Pilk" is a 60S Motor Rail, their number 11142 of 1960. Fitted with a Dorman 3LA engine, it was delivered to Pilkingtons for use on the sand gathering railways which used to exist around the St Helens area. This powerful loco has been equipped with air brakes by MRT engineers and is planned to be the mainstay on non-steam passenger trains on the Apedale Valley Light Railway. It has finally had its cosmetic work completed, and now looks a treat, as I am sure you will agree.

On a slighter smaller Simplex scale, the now infamous Project Genesix (Motor Rail 7066/38) has made great strides since it first appeared here. The project team have abandoned their initial scheme for global terraforming (the tamping gang are managing that quite well) and instead have focused on painting the loco in a colour which is claimed to be authentic. So authentic that the man in the paint shop had to have a little sit down with the smelling salts after mixing it. The loco has advanced beyond being a rolling chassis, and has now had a Dorman 2JO engine fitted. This is a petrol unit, and was sourced from the Nene Valley Railway. The NVR had scrapped a standard gauge Hibberd loco, and the MRT were grateful recipients of the remains.

If you want to come along and see these locos, along with all their friends, the best opportunity will be our Open Days in September. As ever, contact us here.

Bermuda Triangle

It's been a busy day at Apedale. The task of ballast tamping has (hopefully) been made somewhat easier by the arrival of a Matisa tamper on loan from our friends at the Tallylyn Railway (to whom we must express our sincere thanks). As with all tampers, it is clearly a complex and fascinating machine, judging by the number of admirers it swiftly attracted. Meanwhile, a small but noteworthy milestone was reached when a little ground clearance was carried out in an area at the north of the site known (for various reasons) as the Bermuda Triangle. This will be the limit of the Apedale Valley Light Railway phase one, and run-round loop will be provided. A sea of brambles and hawthorn was preventing vital surveying work from being carried out, so all the prickly stuff had to go. It is fair to say the 2009 blackberry harvest may be rather reduced. The railway will run approximately in the cleared area in the centre of the photograph. I should mention the work being done by our colleagues at the Heritage Centre, who are making good progress with building a reproduction of Silverdale station building on what will be the AVLR's platform at the south end of the line. Finally, some rather odd things have happened on site recently. We considered ourselves lucky to survive one particular explosion. If you want to more about this, you'll have to ask me nicely at the Open Days, 12 & 13 September. As ever get in touch here. I will consider no more Barry Manilow references in exchange for a donation to the Trust.

Open Days Update

The Moseley Railway Trust is pleased to announce that the 2009 Open Days at its Apedale site in North Staffordshire will be held on September 12 and 13 2009.
This year’s visiting steam loco will be the Orenstein & Koppel steam loco "Max". This loco will be making its first visit away from its home at the Statfold Barn Railway, and the Trust wishes to express its thanks to Mr Graham Lee and all the team at Statfold for making the locomotive available. Built in Berlin in 1923, "Max" worked at the Sragi sugar mill in Indonesia until brought to the UK in 2004. Since then the team at Statfold have restored the loco to its current immaculate condition.
The Moseley Railway Trust is currently negotiating for a number of guest diesel locos to join the open day fun – who knows, there may be a few surprises on site.
The Open Days will be the main opportunity this year for the public to come to Apedale and see the progress being made on the construction of the 2’0" gauge Apedale Valley Light Railway. Although passenger rides will not be available, demonstration trains will be in use, and there will be a unique chance to see and photograph trains in areas which will be off-limits when the railway is open to passengers. The Trust’s huge collection of narrow gauge locomotives, rolling stock and other artefacts will be on display.
There will be a number of trade stands, model railways, a ride-on miniature railway and a 16mm live steam running track. There will also be visiting classic and vintage road vehicles and other machinery.
The Open Days are open from 11.00 to 17.00 both days. Admission is £4 adults, £1 child. A discount will be offered to anyone presenting a ticket from the Eastern European Car Rally at the Foxfield Railway on the same weekend - Foxfield will also a offer reciprocal discount. The Trust’s site is adjacent to the Apedale Heritage Centre, Chesterton, near Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffs – a few minutes from M6 Jcn 16. Check here for further details.
The Moseley Railway Trust would be pleased to hear from potential exhibitors, especially vintage and veteran commercial vehicles. The Trust can be contacted here.

The Wrath of Tamp

Tamping and Lining a railway is one of the most important, but labour intensive, elements of the construction process. The Big Railway uses large and expensive yellow machines to do this, such as the one in the picture. These machines cost seven-figure sums, and are normally built in Austria. The Moseley Railway Trust, not having a seven-figure sum to spend, uses two kango hammers and, in this case, David and Alan to do the job. They aren't Austrian, but it is alleged that they did once see "The Sound of Music". The purpose of the operation is to establish the correct vertical alignment of the railway (having previously sorted out horizontals) and then pack ballast under the sleepers to preserve the vertical alignment. Jacks, spirit levels and experienced eyes are used extensively to align the railway. The kangos are easy to use, but quite physically demanding. Health and safety requirements limit the time any one person can use them, so a cycle of people taking turns is the only way to get the job done. It is fair to say that a trip to the gym is not needed after a few turns on the kangos. The improvement to the quality of the track after the tamping/lining is done is remarkable. Just to check, and for the benefit of a visiting party, we spent Sunday running heavy locos up and down just to check the track (or something). If you fancy a bit of track checking, or can't afford the gym in these straightened times, get in touch here. This year's chance to come along and see what we're up to is on September 12 & 13 - see here. The Edelweiss will be in full bloom by then, assuming that the fictional snake hasn't eaten them all.

To Seek Out New Life ...

The Apedale Community Country Park has more than railways to interest the visitor. In addition to the popular Apedale Heritage Centre and underground mine tour, there is the country park itself, with its rich variety of wildlife to be found. Most of it stays in the country park, but some occasionally strays onto the railway and its associated infrastructure. Recently we have been home to a family of swallows, and we have got used to the parents flying past our ears as we entered the amenity block where they are nesting.



In recent years, some of our members have reported the presence of snakes on site. The shy nature of these animals is such that they rarely stay around to be seen or photographed. This lead to the denial of their presence by some of the more nervous members of the Trust. This year was quiet until recently when sightings increased on the occasional hot days. However, the photograph below now constitutes unequivocal evidence that the site is home to grass snakes. So, if you come on site and happen to see volunteers walking round with duck tape wrapped round the bottom of their trouser legs, you'll know why.



If you don't mind sharing the site with our feathered and scaly friends, contact us here.

Project Genesix

This week, we have a rare opportunity to glance into the secret files of the MRT board of Trustees, as can be seen by clicking on the image below. If there is a short pause, this is simply because your computer is performing a security retinal scan prior to granting access.



Evidence of stage 2 of this hitherto classified project can be seen below on site at Apedale. Also shown is a rare historic shot of Number 6 in action at Moseley School in Cheadle in the late 70s. If you would like to join the Genesix team, contact us here.

.....where no Motor Rail has gone before

It's official. The Gap is no more. After a few months with two disconnected railways, the Moseley Railway Trust now has one railway with a very high level of connectivity. The gap was about 40', and was closed with two more lengths of track. Sadly, the Starship Vanguard wasn't feeling too well - it seemed that it's dlithium crystals had run down, or something, so it had to be rescued by the Klingon Bird of Prey "Sludge" (yes, it's not a great name, it probably means something better in Klingon). So, after the gap was closed, Sludge & Vanguard went off to explore the second part of the railway, hitherto untarnished by locomotive wheels. And it was agreed to be good, albeit in need of some fettling to improve horizontal & vertical alignments, and a lot of ballast to be dropped - but that's for next weekend. It is this stretch which we will use as a roadside tramway for the Open Day weekend, September 12 & 13. Access to this area will not normally be possible once passenger trains start running, so it's a great opportunity to get some unique photos of vintage trains and vintage commercial vehicles together. See you there? As ever, get in touch here.

To Boldly Go......

...where no Ruston has been before. These are the voyages of the starship "Vanguard". Actually rather a second rate starship; Captain Kirk's Enterprise was powered by Dilithium Crystals and had two warp nacelles, whereas Vanguard has a 20hp two-cylinder diesel engine. Nonetheless, Vanguard has indeed boldly gone where no Ruston has been before. For various reasons, the railway on the Moseley Railway Trust's site at Apedale has been in two disconnected sections. The push is now on to join these two sections, and this has entailed the rather delicate task of of track laying in the limited space between the new footpath fence and the Aurora North storage shed. The pre-assembled track panels were brought to site on a flat wagon using Vanguard. The Trust's crane, having been very careful threaded into place, was then used to lift the panels into place. What could be easier? And so the main line of the Apedale Valley Light Railway grew substantially today, and at the end of the day's work, Vanguard was able to set a new record for the furthest North travelled by an MRT loco at Apedale. The gap to link the two railways is now about 40', so two sections of track will now be built in-situ to close this. This will then finally allow rail access to the roadside tramway section, which we are hoping will be a prominent part of the September 12 & 13 Open Days at Apedale. If you fancy coming along and helping with this type of thing, come along or contact us here. The ability to confidently split infinitives is a definite benefit.