Happy New Year

Happy New Year from the Moseley Railway Trust! 2016 has certainly been a year to remember, some good things, some less agreeable things. We have finished 2016 with a private charter for a family gathering - what better way to see the year out than a gentle trundle on a 2'0" gauge train? There's lot to anticipate in 2017 at Apedale. The May gala - 13 and 14 May - is shaping up to be a cracking event; more details will be announced in the new few weeks. We will be starting a new loco restoration project soon - again, more details in due course, but the photo is a pretty big clue. Hopefully, the FR coach will be in traffic for the start of the season. But don't forget that we do lots of little projects along with the big ticket items; one such is the restoration of a Hudson wagon from RAF Fauld. It was once, many years ago, used in the passenger train at Cadeby - it's the wagon next to the steam loco in the black and white photo. The intervening years have not been kind to the woodwork, but the underlying structure looks sound. So, keep looking in here, and we will try to keep you informed about goings on down the Apedale Valley.

Christmas Quiz 2016

OK, folks, here it is. Your challenge this year is related to stations and other railway-related locations. For each location, you need to determine if it is real or fictional. 

If you think it's a real place, tell us where it is located (with some degree of accuracy). Extra points will be allocated for wit and verve rather than obsessive accuracy. 

If, on the other hand, you think it’s a fictitious location – then in what film/book/song does it exist? Again, correct amusing answers will score higher than correct dull answers.

So, for example, Apedale Road is a REAL station and is one terminus of the Apedale Valley Light Railway.

The vast majority of the locations are in the UK (note careful choice of words).

As noted above, extra points will be allocated to amusing and educational answers; this therefore makes the concept of “winning” rather an arbitrary one, which is the way it is intended to be and hence differentiates this quiz from the Boxing Day game of Monopoly. OK? Brace yourselves:-

     1.  North Pole

2. Lake, The Lake and Lakeside Loop (three places)

3. Crouch End

4.    Hobbs End 

5.    West Ashfield  

Bonus question:- 4 & 5 can be found in close proximity. Where?

6.    Junction Road Junction

7.    North Haverbrook (bit of a clue - not actually a railway as such....)

8.    Westbourne Oak

9.    Mobil Avenue

10. Bungalow

11. Gorsafawddacha'idraigodanheddogleddollônpenrhynareurdraethceredigion

Bonus question:- What would this score in Scrabble?

12. Milford

13. Hatley

14. Hollerton Junction (which is also served by which heritage railway?)

15. Grumbly

16. Pen Cob

17. Decoy

18. Arlesburgh West 

19. Vauxhall Cross

20. Mornington Crescent

Answers will be published here in a couple of weeks time. Exam papers may be e-mailed to info@mrt.org.uk or to Mr L's e-mail address for those who know it. Good luck!

Santa Restrospect

Well, folks, that's pretty much the Santa Season wrapped up for 2016 - not quite, as we have a charter day later this week for local schools. It's been by far our busiest Santa Season ever, with the trains sold out, and a few additionals crammed in where we can. We've moved well over 2000 people, which ain't bad for a little railway with little coaches! We have checked with Santa and reviewed his log sheets for the weekend, and can therefore confirm that a record 98.7% of children seen were on the Nice List. And he thinks the remaining 1.3% can redeem themselves this week if they try hard.

Certainly on the Nice List are all the people of the Moseley Railway Trust who make all this happen. It's worth taking a moment to remember the people who are on site at 0615 each morning to get the steam loco from the shed and light the fire. And the people still locking up late in the evening. The shop staff who are front and centre with all our visitors. The people who spend the day inflating balloons which are treasured by young ones. The team who designed and created the best-ever Grotto. The Guards and traincrew, and those who restore and maintain the trains and tracks. Did I mention those who spend every evening doing admin work? So, to you all - WELL DONE and HAPPY CHRISTMAS. When you get bored with watching Mary Poppins for the nth time in ITV4, have a look at the MRT Christmas Quiz which will be appearing here in just a moment.....

Santa - First Weekend

We've completed the first weekend of the Santa Campaign at Apedale - lots of visitors, lots of presents distributed by Santa, and hopefully lots of children going home and trying ESPECIALLY HARD to be good between now and Christmas. Our volunteers will now be going home for a well earned break - but we're back on the case next weekend, with a couple of mid-week charters for school parties thrown in for good measure. Many thanks to everyone who came along, and we look forward to next weekend's guests.

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.