FR Coach bogies

Back in May/June time, we covered the dismantling of the ex-South Africa bogies which were acquired to go under the Ffestiniog Coach no.117. You may recall that the FR coach was only available without its Welsh bogies - these have been re-used under Boston Lodge's latest masterpiece. The SA bogies had two real issues. Firstly, the wheelsets were a bit tight on the back-to-back dimensions and clouted the check rails on some points. Secondly, the bogies are going under passenger carrying rolling stock and hence need to be spot-on in terms of condition; the idea of finding some long-forgotten assembly error when the coach is in passenger service at Apedale is not appealing. So, three bogies thus far have been dismantled with varying mixtures of cunning and brute force. The wheelsets have been machined to sort the back-to-back issue, and all the bogie components have been inspected and repaired as needed. Re-assembly of the bogies has proved to be fairly straightforward, and we now have two shiny black bogies. The next step is to install the air brake cylinders on them, and then they're ready to go back under the coach. There's a bit of an issue on the coach underframe which will delay things slightly, but the coach continues to make good progress. As ever, get in touch here.

Co-Op Community Fund

Co-Op Community Fund supports Moseley Railway Trust

The Moseley Railway Trust is delighted to announce that they are the recipients of a grant from the Co-Op Community Fund.

The Co-Op Community Fund allows communities to support local good causes. Every time a Co-Op member buy Co-op branded products and services - from buying a loaf of bread to planning a funeral - 1% of their spend goes to a local cause.

The Moseley Railway Trust will be using the money from the Community Fund to support the overhaul of a new coach for the Apedale Valley Light Railway. The railway is a 2’0” gauge narrow gauge railway which is operated by volunteer members of the Trust. The coach was acquired in 2015 from the world-famous Ffestiniog Railway in North Wales. However, the coach has needed extensive work to allow it to operate at Apedale. This work is continuing, but it includes overhaul of the running gear, a new braking system, a new electrical system and a really good clean! This coach will be first fully-enclosed passenger vehicle to operate on the Apedale Valley Light Railway. All of the work will be carried out by volunteer members of the Moseley Railway Trust, thus providing useful learning and training opportunities, particularly for the younger members.

Phil Robinson, Chairman of the Moseley Railway Trust, said “We are really grateful to the Co-Op for their support. Our customers have told us that they would like an enclosed coach for the journey, and hopefully we can provide that for them. So, we need local people to register as Co-Op members and select the Moseley Railway Trust as their chosen Good Cause”.

The Apedale Valley Light Railway will be operating Santa Special trains on December 10, 11, 17 and 18 2016, and will then open for the 2017 Season on 1^st April 2017.

Winter Maintenance

Despite the rather damp weather, a good start has been made on the Winter Maintenance Plan at Apedale. A selection of "past their prime" sleepers have been changed out, and various points cleaned, gauged and greased. The buffer stop at the extreme north of the railway (Apedale Road) was in need of a new timber baulk. This was not due to a serious misjudgement by a train driver, but it seems the timber became involved in a difficult-to-explain incident involving a takeaway pizza. There are times when the Trustees know it's best to stop asking questions.

Today was also notable for the being the first time that the ex-Ffestiniog Railway PWay van has been deployed to Apedale PWay duties following its overhaul and refurbishment. Interior fitting out continues, but it really is quite homely. Just needs a few scatter cushions and a lava lamp to finish.

Member's Day

It was member's day at Apedale yesterday for all members of the Moseley Railway Trust. It was the opportunity for a bit of introspection about the 2016 season - what went well, what didn't and how we can improve. The Trustees presented about plans for the future, both long term and immediate, and there was healthy debate about many areas. Despite the date, there weren't really any fireworks. After lunch, the opportunity was taken for members to operate some of the lesser seen members of the loco fleet. The grey Motor Rail "Lord Austin" demonstrated its considerable turn of speed by coming up behind a passing jet fighter and flashing its lights in a rather passive-aggressive sort of way. It's time to knuckle down to winter maintenance next week!

Catherine of Aragon moves on

More progress with carriage and wagons on a pleasant autumn day down the Apedale Valley. A Young Members project has been to refurbish one of the ex-Woodhead flat wagons. This, it will be recalled, was described previously as the Tudor Class.

It has been decided that this will be used to convey various generators around the site for next weekend's Halloween event - this gave a considerable impetus to finishing the wagon. After all, it doesn't do to keep the undead waiting. Meanwhile, the Trench Tramway wagon is now basically complete. Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, this wagon is typical of the vehicles which would have been on the very "last mile" of the WW1 railway operations - on the bits where it was too dangerous, or the track was too light, to send a locomotive.

Finally, the ex- Ffestiniog coach continues to progress. The project team have been fighting a bit of a battle with the drawgear - it needed to be lowered to match our locos and reflect the use of different bogies. The drawbar will now emerge under the vehicle headstock, rather than through a "letterbox" in the end of the vehicle. The next stage is to start assembly the bogies, and then we can find out if it will fit through the shed doors again!

Santa Claus is coming to town

Santa Claus is coming to town! Our Santa trains are now open for booking at here. We are running on December 10, 11, 17 and 18. Trains depart at 1000, 1100, 1200, 1330, 1430, 1530 and 1630 on each of the days. It costs £7 for children, £4 for adults if you book in advance. The trains are extremely popular, and we strongly recommend booking in advance - the last thing we want to see is any disappointed little ones on the day. If space is available on the day, the fares are children £8, adults £5. You will join the train for a round trip, and Santa normally pops up during the journey - it just depends where he's parked the sleigh. After the train ride, everyone follows Santa to the Grotto, where Santa has the all-important chat and finds out what he should be loading on the sleigh on the 24th.There's a good-quality gift for all the children and plenty of photo opportunities. Our Santa trains get busier each year - so please book ahead. You can book online here or call into our shop at the Apedale Valley Light Railway, Apedale Community Country Park, Loomer Road, Chesterton. The shop is open every Saturday until Christmas plus Sundays 9th and 30th October. We look forward to sharing the magic of Christmas at Apedale with you.

Boldly going where no man has been before......

We've hosted a private charter day for the Branch Line Society today; two trains were run, each full to capacity, and they set off to explore the more exotic parts of the railway system at Apedale. Before anyone thinks we do this sort of thing on a whim, several days planning and a nine-page method statement and risk assessment supported the whole operation. But good planning always pays off, and both trips passed off without a hitch. Participants got to ride on all the mainline trackage, most of the yard sidings (excepting a couple where the long-wheelbase coach is banned) and the Field Railway. Nobody in their right mind would take the coach down the Trench Tramway, so the passengers transferred to a small manrider to allow rides on that bit. This is very much NOT the sort of thing we do regularly, and it's unlikely we'll repeat this operation in the foreseeable future.

BUT next weekend will see trains on most of this network because it's the Steam Centenary weekend, with three locos in steam and demonstration trains running all over the place. It's looking like being a good do, so we'll be seeing you?