Santa has come early at Apedale. Actually, we;re not completely convinced it was the Real Santa, because it seems he has swapped the sleigh for a hi-ab lorry. But no matter, we tore off the wrapping paper, and it's just what we asked for in our Santa Letter - a batch of ex-South Africa wagon bogies. I bet Santa's sleigh goes a bit quicker now he's unloaded that lot. They won't all be staying at Apedale; a pair are for the Golden Valley Light Railway, and two are headed back to the Ffestiniog Railway. The main use for us (and our our friends at GVLR) will be to fit under the ex-Ffestiniog coaches to replace the "temporary" set currently in place. All this goes to prove is that it's worth being Nice, not Naughty.
The Trust's aim is to build a museum and a railway to display its collection of industrial narrow gauge equipment that has been gathered from various industries around the UK in the last 30 years, and in doing so we aim to educate and entertain both the general public and the railway enthusiast.
The Industrial Narrow Gauge Railway is an unusual aspect of British Industrial Heritage that is now almost extinct. These small, self-contained railway systems were often hidden away from the general public and served such diverse industries as brickmaking, sewage works, munitions factories, mines, civil engineering and many more.
Santa has come early at Apedale. Actually, we;re not completely convinced it was the Real Santa, because it seems he has swapped the sleigh for a hi-ab lorry. But no matter, we tore off the wrapping paper, and it's just what we asked for in our Santa Letter - a batch of ex-South Africa wagon bogies. I bet Santa's sleigh goes a bit quicker now he's unloaded that lot. They won't all be staying at Apedale; a pair are for the Golden Valley Light Railway, and two are headed back to the Ffestiniog Railway. The main use for us (and our our friends at GVLR) will be to fit under the ex-Ffestiniog coaches to replace the "temporary" set currently in place. All this goes to prove is that it's worth being Nice, not Naughty.
