October is a bit of a steam mini-gala down at the Apedale Valley Light Railway. We're running with two steam locos on the 9th & 10th, and then on the 16th & 17th, from 1100 to 1630 both days. The reasons for this are many and varied, but mostly involve a foul-up within the publicity department - for which the guilty have been promoted out of harms way, and the innocent shot. Harsh but fair. It has also been observed that, given that we are running from a coal mine, it may be cheaper to run steam locos than diesels. Unfortunately, that's not quite true, as a bizarre restrictions means that coal cannot be extracted from the coal mine. Yes, I know, don't ask. We're also taking the opportunity to train some new people on the steam locos. It would seem that the controls are a little more challenging than on the diesels. Also, the starter motor is rubbish - it took two hours to start "Stanhope". Why not come down and have a look? We'll be gently chuffing up and down the valley, trying to remember the lyrics to the song in Chigley. Get in touch here.
