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Spring Outdoor Week 2010 - Work at Brynglas

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The Brynglas Occupation Crossing was completely dug out and a new concrete crossing was put in.

Thank you to L. Garvey for the pictures and information.

Thanks to the farmer the digger does most of the hard work!

Reinforcement, rails and shuttering in place

Meanwhile, relaying continues beyond the crossing

The finished job ready to be covered to protect against overnight frost

The weighbridge house with window and door fitted by the end of the week

Source: Latest News

Posted by Peter Bowyer on 12 March 2010

Pendre News - March 6 & 7

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As you may have seen in the latest edition of Steam Railway, No 2 Dolgoch has had the boiler removed and is pretty much stripped down. Work has started on degreasing and cleaning the usually inaccessible parts of the engine.

No 1 Talyllyn has had some broken pony truck springs replaced.

No 4 Edward Thomas has been busy hauling trains, including the reasonably full service train on Sunday.

No 7 Tom Rolt was in light steam to test a replaced stay in the firebox.

Down at Wharf work has continued on the Weigh House. The roof is now nearly complete.

Thanks to Ray Reid for the pictures.

No 2's boiler ready to go to the Severn Valley Railway

No 2 in Pendre shed - the eccentrics and bits of motion laid on the running plates

No 7 Tom Rolt outside Pendre Shed - in steam for testing

Work progresses on the weigh house at Wharf

Source: Latest News

Posted by Peter Bowyer on 10 March 2010

Canadian travel writers visit the TR

Last Friday, 5th March, the TR hosted a group of Canadian travel writers who travelled to Nant Gwernol on a special train.

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It was a glorious day and they enjoyed the scenery of the Fathew valley in ideal conditions.

No 4 Edward Thomas and the train at Rhydyronen

The group stands by the train at Nant Gwernol

Source: Latest News

Posted by Peter Bowyer on 10 March 2010

Spring has sprung

Deep in the Apedale, there are the first signs that spring has sprung. To be honest, given how it’s been so far this year, the absence of snow for a fortnight is being seized on as evidence that it’s time to break out the sunblock and daft hats. But we have to cling onto some hope, don’t we? As a reminder of what the winter has been like, we though you may like the attached photo. The Hunslet 460, number 1215, owned by the War Office Locomotive Society is shown on the mainline with the MRT’s WDLR water tank wagon. It’s going to be a few years before the Hunslet steams for real, but I am sure that WOLS would be pleased to here from you. In the meantime, we continue to develop the railway at Apedale – keep watching this space for details of when we are opening to the public. Contact us here.

Source: Moseley Railway Trust – Latest News

Posted by Peter Bowyer on 8 March 2010

Talk about awkward...

If our regular reader has been observant over the last few months, he/she may have noticed the absence from our news page of the once regular appearances of “Sludge”. Sludge got its name from Severn Trent Water’s Minworth sewage treatment plant at which it spent all of its working life. The reason for the absence is that the loco suffered an engine failure last Summer, when part of the governor mechanism fractured, leaving the engine permanently on tick-over with no means of increasing the speed. Since then, Sludge has been sulking at the back of the shed, leaving its older relatives to shoulder the duty of completing the railway (and taking the glory of being the first to traverse the entire length of the first phase of the railway).

Apart from the priority of completing the railway, one of the reasons why it has taken so long to get round to sorting this out has been our Chief Mechanical Engineer’s uncertainty about how to remove the fuel pump from its Deutz engine without completely dismantling the loco. However, not one to be easily defeated, he finally set about the job armed with a variety of mirrors, lamps and spanners bent to unusual angles. Soon surrounded by curious observers, there was much pondering and scratching of heads. The pump is held on by four nuts and studs on the back of the timing gear cover. Only two of these were clearly visible from any angle. The remainder had to be assumed to exist and, remembering Sludge’s roots, the CME declared that he would have to remove them “by sense of smell.” The most difficult required one 17mm socket, three extension bars and two universal joints to get sufficient purchase to loosen the nut. Once undone, there came the no less tricky job of getting the pump out from behind the bodywork. Fortunatley, the later 40SD Simplexes had a modification to the transverse cross-members, allowing a little more room below the engine covers, which was just enough to ease the pump out for it to be cleaned and then whisked away to PF Jones Ltd in Manchester, who always work wonders with our fuel injection equipment. Let’s hope the CME can remember how to get it back on when the time comes. If you’d like to come down and make helpful suggestions, contact us here.

Source: Moseley Railway Trust – Latest News

Posted by Peter Bowyer on 6 March 2010

Working Against the Elements

Well, what a Winter it’s been. Rain, Snow, Freezing temperatures. We’ve had to deal with swamps, burst pipes, reluctant diesel engines, show tunes and broken rails. But the hardy Moseley Membership has eagerly turned out in force to progress the railway building. We’ve drained the Bermuda Triangle (easier than catching all the Alligators), drilled hundreds of sleepers, cut and bent rail, rebuilt points, unseized point levers and even joggled the odd fishplate. But Saturday finally saw the last piece of the run-round loop put in place, hence completing the railway (except of course for the ballasting, tamping, the odd point lever and point lock, etc.). No sooner had our gang of volunteers completed the loop than they were itching to give it a try. You can see the historic first engine to run-round its train at Apedale Rd here.

Meanwhile the Station construction continues and most of the brickwork is now complete, with work due to start on the roof. So, now comes the final push to complete the outstanding infrastructure (for instance, we don’t have a surfaced platform yet) and get it all into a state fit for final inspection. Hopefully by then the weather will be a little kinder and our members a little less frozen. Keep watching our website for the latest news.

Source: Moseley Railway Trust – Latest News

Posted by Peter Bowyer on 27 February 2010

The Golden Track Screw

The Moseley Railway Trust has passed a major milestone in the construction of its new 2’0” gauge railway at Apedale, Staffordshire.
The railway, which will be known as the Apedale Valley Light Railway, is being constructed in phases. Phase One runs from a station at the Apedale Heritage Centre to Apedale Road, a distance of around 500 metres. Further phases will see the railway running on a former mineral railway trackbed further into the Apedale Community Country Park.
Tracklaying has been carried out by volunteers from the Moseley Railway Trust. The main running line is now complete, although there is still plenty of further work to be completed, such as fitting point levers and locks, ballasting and tamping.
The Moseley Railway Trust expects to open the Apedale Valley Light Railway during 2010 – the exact date will depend on the completion of the railway, crew training and achieving the necessary approvals. Further announcements will be made when a firm date is set. In any case, the “formal” opening ceremony will take place at the September 2010 Gala, on September 18 & 19.
Phil Robinson, the Trust Chairman fitted the Golden Track Screw. He said “The Moseley team of volunteers has worked through the hardest winter for 30 years. Their dedication and camaraderie is reflected in this railway, which will make a major contribution to tourism in Staffordshire and the regeneration of the local area”.
Keep watching for further news updates, or visit here for the latest news on this exciting development.

Source: Moseley Railway Trust – Latest News

Posted by Peter Bowyer on 21 February 2010

11 February - Rolt Centenary

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On Thursday 11 February, 100 years after the birth of Tom Rolt, there was a special gathering at Tywyn Wharf for invited guests to witness the opening of an Exhibition in the Museum, travel on a special train and share in a buffet lunch on their return.

The guest of honour was Tom’s wife Sonia Rolt, who opened the exhibition which features aspects of his life and also displays some of his many books.

Tom Rolt was one of the pioneers of railway preservation – he was one of the driving forces which led to the Talyllyn Railway becoming the world’s first preserved railway, inspiring the preservation scene to become what it is today. His book ‘Railway Adventure’ describes the first two years of the preservation society and is well worth a read. Tom was also well known for his interest in canals and industrial machinery.

The train was hauled by No 4 Edward Thomas and took the invited guests up to Nant Gwernol and back. No 7 Tom Rolt was in light steam down at Wharf – the loco is waiting a visit from the boiler inspector so unfortunately wasn’t able to haul the train.

Thank you to C. White and D. Mitchell for the photographs and information.

Sonia Rolt opens the exibition while TRPS President Richard Hope looks on

Loco No 7 Tom Rolt was in light steam for the special occasion

Sonia Rolt in front of the special train which carried guests up the line after the opening

Source: Latest News

Posted by Peter Bowyer on 14 February 2010

Link Up

Both regular readers will recall where we left it last week; a small gap in the Apedale Valley Light Railway was all that remained to allow our hero (the Ruston “Vanguard”) to reach Apedale Road, terminus of Phase One of the Moseley Railway Trust’s passenger railway. I’m sure you will be relieved to hear that the gap, 4880mm to be precise, is now no more. A train has now been seen at the buffer stops at Apedale Road. This allowed us to get wagons loaded with track panels for the platform loop into place, and the panels were then carefully, and gracefully, slid into place with the assistance of gravity. There was just time for a quick team photo. Meanwhile, did you see Apedale on the telly? Our colleagues at the Heritage Centre provided their mine for the BBC’s Survivors series, which was broadcast on Tuesday. The blog from 8 August last year shows the programme being filmed. As ever, get in touch here.

Source: Moseley Railway Trust – Latest News

Posted by Peter Bowyer on 13 February 2010

Track Blitz Day 2 - Almost There

A somewhat reduced workforce has continued the work to create an iron road from the Apedale Heritage Centre to Apedale Road. Today has been the “fiddly bits” – the closure rails and the curves. The closures are non-standard rail lengths which have to be measured, cut and drilled to fit specific places. The curves are produced using the Jim Crow rail bender, which was not designed for easy handling or air mobility. When we collapsed with exhaustion, there was one closure left to build – about 12 feet. There was a brief speculation about whether the Trust’s faithful Ruston, No.29 “Vanguard” would be able to leap the gap if going fast enough, but we decided against this. It would probably upset someone, somewhere. So, for this week, “Vanguard” was left to gaze wistfully towards the new railway. Despite the impending link up, there’s a huge amount left to do, so as ever, get in touch here. And, by the way, don’t forget to check out the main website here for the AVLR pre-opening flyer.

Source: Moseley Railway Trust – Latest News

Posted by Peter Bowyer on 7 February 2010

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