Down t'pit

The major winter engineering project at the Moseley Railway Trust site at Apedale is the conversion of what was, at one time a weighbridge, into an inspection pit. This project has taken on a certain degree of urgency with the realisation that the newly-commissioned Joffre steam loco needed a pit in order to be able to carry out the annual boiler exam. Hence no pit would lead to the loco being newly de-commissioned. It's been a big job so far, with a new retaining wall built, and then the land built up by backfilling behind the wall. A slight hitch was encountered just before Xmas when it was noticed that the existing sheet-piled wall alongside the weighbridge was bulging in places where bulges should not be. Although not on the scale of the Chicken Curve and being completely unrelated to poultry, action was needed. The root cause was the land slipping into the pit, particularly ballast from an adjacent siding. As a first step to curing the problem, concrete sleepers have been placed and then pinned into place to reinforce the top of the bank. The next step is to reinforce the sheet piling, and hopefully that will solve the problem. As ever, get in touch here.

Happy New Year

1. Firstly, the second part of the Quiz. I've seen three correct sets of answers, and I have to say I'm most impressed. I didn't think anyone would get all of them. The 2012 Xmas quiz is going to have to be really fiendish - "Spot the Fishplate" or something. Anyway, the answers are:
2. 6:- WHHR Porthmadog
3. 7:- Welshpool and Llanfair, Llanfair Caerinion
4. 8:- Cappy, Froissy, Dompierre, France
5. 9:- Durango (Durango and Silverton), Colorado, USA
6. 10:- Kelmsley Down, Sittingbourne & Kelmsley
7. 11:- Jenbach, Austria - home to the Zillertalbahn and the Achenseebahn.
8. It's been a funny end to the year, with big "Ups" and big "Downs". The Santa trains at Apedale were extremely successful, with very full trains loaded with happy, and fare-paying, passengers. Even the Treasurer was heard to be muttering positive comments about cashflows and business models and the like. But then we heard of the death of a long standing and much respected member, John Lucas. John is seen in characteristic pose at Amberley in 2008 (thanks to Cliff Thomas for the photo). John will be greatly missed within the railway family. Hopefully 2012 will see plenty of Ups and not many Downs. We re-open to the public on Saturday 31/3/12, and look forward to seeing you then. Keep checking in here for all the latest news and Apedale happenings, and maybe the odd giggle. Get in touch here.

Christmas Quiz Part Two

A few of you got the answer to Part One. They were:-
1 – Ffestiniog Railway Boston Lodge
2 – Statfold Barn Farm
3 - Leighton Buzzard Light Railway Stonehenge works
4 – West Lancs Light Railway, Hesketh Bank
5 – Our twin museum, the Frankfurt Fedbahn Museum

Some of the more over-confident said they wanted something more challenging. So, we've sent the MRT SR-71 out again, and it's come back with another batch of photos. Set your sherry and mince-pie addled brains working on this lot. Get in touch here with your answers and/or pathetic cries for help.

Number 6



 

 

Number 7

Number 8

Number 9




Number 10

Number 11

 



Christmas Quiz - Part One

To challenge your brain cells whilst eating brussel sprouts and watching James Bond or the Queen or whatever on the telly, the Moseley Railway Trust proudly presents the Christmas Quiz. Using the awesome technology of Google Earth, we have satellite reconnaissance photographs of a number of locations of interest to those knowledgeable about narrow gauge railways. All you need to do is identify the places. Simples. The first four are a gentle warm-up exercise, with the fifth being rather more challenging. There's no prize, but if you want to check your answers, get in touch here (Meerkat-obsessive CMEs need not apply). I'll publish the answers and Part Two in a few days.

No.1 & No.2

No.3 & No.4

No.5

As darkness falls....

As darkness falls, the Apedale Valley Light Railway springs into life. We don't normally operate during the hours of darkness, because the Apedale Valley is a little remote from civilisation, and it is VERY dark (barely a photon or Higgs Boson to be seen). However, we ran a few trains tonight for a pre-boooked party. Doing the risk assessment took longer than we actually ran for, but that's life. With the train all lit up with fairy lights, and seriously powerful headlights on the loco frying anything which flew into their path, it was rather a magical evening. As ever, get in touch here.

Santa Claus is in the building

The Santa Special Season is in full swing at Apedale - and we've certainly been busy. Full trains full on excited kids, excited mums & dads and seen-it-all-before older siblings. Saturday was very bright and very cold - the first train arrived at Apedale Road with a distinct bow-wave as the wheels broke through the layer of ice on the railheads. Returning trains were greeted by a very odd cornucopia of characters - monkeys, elves and Fairy Godmothers. Anyway, it was all good clean fun, and we're doing it all next weekend as well. Some trains are now very full, so it would be best to check beforehand if you plan to come any distance. Check here or by e-mail here.

Santa Claus is coming to town

All over the Apedale site, Moseley Railway Trust members have been getting ready for the Santa campaign 2011. Booking are significantly ahead of this time last year - which was our first year of visits by the Bearded One - so it looks like we're going to be busy. Finishing touches have been applied to the Grotto by a team who really cannot be described as Elves. Perhaps a bit more like those funny Goblin things that they had in Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter or something. This will be the first year we've has the use of Silverdale station, so work has been progressing with making that all seasonal, including commisioning of a coal burning stove. It was a bit of a struggle but I think the pyromaniac in charge got a flicker of life out of it in the end. There's still space on a few of the trains - but booking are coming in thick and fast. If you fancy roasting your chestnuts by the station stove, check here for booking - or here to get in touch.