Moseley Railway Trust announces line-up for Stoke Steam Special weekend

Plans are well advanced for the Stoke Steam Special weekend at the Apedale Valley Light Railway, operated by the Moseley Railway Trust (MRT). This weekend will be the 14 and 15th of September. This weekend will be a celebration of all things narrow gauge railway. An intensive service of steam trains will run on the Apedale Valley Light Railway. In addition to the resident steam locomotive “Stanhope”, a visiting engine is expected to be “Jack Lane”. This locomotive will be visiting from the Statfold Barn Railway, and the MRT wish to express sincere thanks to Graham Lee and the Statfold team for providing this locomotive.

Demonstration freight trains will be in operation, and the popular Field Railway, debuted in 2012, will once again be running.
The Aurora North shed will be packed with model railways and other displays – more than ever before. An innovation this year is that the entrance ticket will include unlimited train rides. Entrance will be £6 adults, £3 children.
The Stoke Steam Special will also see the launch of the run-up to the Tracks to the Trenches event in 2014 – this will be a major event marking the centenary of the start of the First World War, a conflict which changed the world, and one in which narrow gauges railways played a key role. As part of this, the Trust will be launching a new publishing venture in partnership with Railway Gazette International.
The popular “Access all Areas” passes will be repeated – these allow interested railway enthusiasts unprecedented levels of access to non-public areas of the site and outside normal opening hours – get in touch here for details.
Sadly, the second Apedale resident steam locomotive – the Kerr Stuart “Joffre” – will not be operational at the Stoke Steam Special. During preparation for a visit to the Golden Valley Light Railway in Derbyshire, cracks were noticed in one of the two steam cylinders. Recognising that the locomotive is almost a hundred years old, the decision was taken that the best interests of the locomotive would be served by taking it out of traffic for these cracks to be attended to. The locomotive owners are currently considering the best course of action, but a complete new cylinder is one option currently being explored. The “Joffre” will be available for public viewing at the Stoke Steam Special weekend, and provides an unusual sight as it currently has the affected cylinder removed.
The Stoke Steam Special promises to be another great event at Apedale. It will be open from 11am to 5pm on Saturday 14^th and Sunday 15^th September.