Moseley Railway Trust - Latest News

Apedale Site Update

2009-11-08T18:44:00.006Z

As late Summer turns to Autumn, the devoted volunteers of the Moseley Railway Trust are making steady progress with completing Phase One of the Apedale Valley Light Railway. You will recall that this runs about 470 metres from a station at the Apedale Heritage Centre to Apedale Road. The Apedale Road terminus will have a run-round loop, and is located in an area colloquially known as Bermuda Triangle. A team are progressing steadily northwards with erecting fencing to protect the Innocent public from our vicious trains (or perhaps the other way around). The next step is the groundworks; as you can see in one of the photos, the need for land drains is obvious! Apedale Road, by the way, is marked by the electricity pole visible in the background.

Meanwhile, another team has been pre-fabricating the pointwork and track ready for installation once the groundworks are completed. The photo shows one of the rather splendid Alan Keef Ltd points (on the right) which will be installed at the "passenger" end of the loop, and another point which needs some rebuilding; this will go in at the north end of the loop. There's a lot to do, and all help, in any form, is greatly appreciated. Contact us here.

Hurrah for Hudswell!

2009-10-06T22:06:00.004+01:00

One of the more prolific, and long-lasting, of the British private locomotive builders was Hudswell Clarke & Co Ltd. From their Railway Foundry works in Jack Lane, Leeds, they turned out 1,851 steam locos. Moreover, they recognised the trend towards dieselisation early one, and did pioneering work in this field - but the inevitable came and the works closed in 1972. A good proportion of the output were narrow gauge and the Moseley Railway Trust is fortunate to have representatives of both diesel and steam narrow gauge Hudswells in its collection. The diesel representative is loco D558 of 1938. This loco worked at Beswick's lime works near Buxton; it was built with a McClaren engine, but now has a Dorman 4LB fitted. It has been recently returned to active service, albeit in need of a cosmetic make-over. The photo shows it hauling the MRT's restored WW1 tank wagon during the September 2009 open weekend. D558 is of considerable historic interest, as it was the first Hudswell diesel for the UK market. Hudswell didn't build many small diesels of the type which predominate in the MRT collection - after WW2, it focused on locos for the coal mining industry, and output included some monsters, such as a 300hp triple-unit.

The MRT's steam Hudswell is 1238 of 1916. This was exported to Ghana, from where the MRT repatriated it in 2008. This loco is currently on loan to the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway. We hope to be able to release some exciting news about this loco's future in the next few months - watch this space for information. Suffice to say that if you haven't seen this loco, a trip to Leighton Buzzard may be a good idea! As ever, contact us here.

Open day Retrospective

2009-09-17T18:31:00.005+01:00

Well, that was Open Weekend 2009. The visiting engines have all returned home, the site has returned to its normal self, and the organising team's blood pressure has dropped from the previous dangerous levels. We were certainly blessed by the weather, and it was could to see so many faces on the site - many friends, old and new. This will be the last open weekend in this format, because the next time we open the site up, the Apedale Valley Light Railway will be in its full passenger carrying glory. A highlight for me was the Sunday transhipment demonstrations using the Sentinel steam lorry - learning from Saturday, we timed this to get the sun in the right place for photos! So, enjoy my favourite photos from the event. This weekend, it's back to reality at Apedale, as the Moseley Railway Trust's volunteer team resume the task of railway building. If you fancy joining in, get in touch. If you came along to the open weekend, and have comments, positive or negative, let us know. Contact us here.

Open Weekend - halfway through

2009-09-12T21:31:00.008+01:00

We've got halfway through the Open Weekend at Apedale, and thus far it's going very well. The weather has been very kind to us, and we've seen lots of visitors, all of whom seem to have enjoyed themselves and gone home happy. Setting up the roadside photoshoots was a little tricky because the sun was in the wrong place - we haven't seen the sun at Apedale for some time, and we had forgotten where it appeared in the sky. But we got there, and everyone seemed to get the photographs they wanted. So, there's still another day of this to look forward to, so hopefully we will be inundated with visitors and their money tomorrow. See you there? Details are here.

Open days - Do YOU have this booked?

2009-09-03T21:43:00.006+01:00

Just a quick update - The Moseley Railway Trust's Open Days are getting close. The line up of visiting locos is now confirmed as the Orenstein & Koppel steam loco "Max" from Statfold, "Red Dwarf" which is a battery electric from the Shropshire Mines Trust, and finally the rather splendid Baguley "King Arthur" which will be having its first ever awayday from its home at Wicksteed park. There is also a possible last minute extra visitor - only time will tell on that one.

Then there's also the minor matter of the home fleet of 50+ locomotives. And you can even see Project genesix - provided your retina scan is accepted. We'll be running effectively two separate railways - the main line and the sidings - so there will be loads of opportunities for parallel running, double departures, all that type of stuff. We've got a 16mm live steam layout, a ride-on miniature railway, trade stands and model railways. All this for £4 admission. What an absolute billy bargain.

The Open Days are Saturday and Sunday 12 & 13 September, from 1100 to 1700. More details are here. What are you waiting for - form an orderly queue. Contact us here with any enquiries/comments/offers of money.

What do these things have in common?

2009-08-31T22:15:00.009+01:00

Probably more than you would expect. For the uninitiated, one is Class 55 "Deltic", a 100mph diesel electric loco used on BR's Eastern Region. The other is the Matisa tamping machine which the Moseley Railway Trust has on loan from the Tallylyn Railway. They both have a tendency to deafen their drivers, they both require ridiculous levels of maintenance, and they are both twin engined. I will be honest, the similarity end about there. So, where is this going? The tamper has been on site for a few weeks now, and we have had a few experimental tamps - but this Saturday was the first time we really went for it. And what a beast of a machine it is. The driver needs nerves of steel and the concentration levels of a jet fighter pilot, since the machine has a phenomenal number of levers and wheels and clamps and general gizmos. But once the driver enters a karma-like trance and becomes one with the machine, the rate of progress is truly amazing - especially for the gang aching from having manually tamped a set of points that morning. I should, by the way, explain that the objective of the exercise is to compact the track ballast under the sleepers, and therefore achieve the correct vertical alignment for the railway.

Simply Splendid Simplexes

2009-08-17T22:56:00.008+01:00

We've been focusing on infrastructure stuff in recent posts, so for a change, this week we will have a look at two locomotive projects which are on-going at the Moseley Railway Trust's Apedale base.

No.13 "The Pilk" is a 60S Motor Rail, their number 11142 of 1960. Fitted with a Dorman 3LA engine, it was delivered to Pilkingtons for use on the sand gathering railways which used to exist around the St Helens area. This powerful loco has been equipped with air brakes by MRT engineers and is planned to be the mainstay on non-steam passenger trains on the Apedale Valley Light Railway. It has finally had its cosmetic work completed, and now looks a treat, as I am sure you will agree.

On a slighter smaller Simplex scale, the now infamous Project Genesix (Motor Rail 7066/38) has made great strides since it first appeared here. The project team have abandoned their initial scheme for global terraforming (the tamping gang are managing that quite well) and instead have focused on painting the loco in a colour which is claimed to be authentic. So authentic that the man in the paint shop had to have a little sit down with the smelling salts after mixing it. The loco has advanced beyond being a rolling chassis, and has now had a Dorman 2JO engine fitted. This is a petrol unit, and was sourced from the Nene Valley Railway. The NVR had scrapped a standard gauge Hibberd loco, and the MRT were grateful recipients of the remains.

If you want to come along and see these locos, along with all their friends, the best opportunity will be our Open Days in September. As ever, contact us here.

Bermuda Triangle

2009-08-08T22:13:00.009+01:00

It's been a busy day at Apedale. The task of ballast tamping has (hopefully) been made somewhat easier by the arrival of a Matisa tamper on loan from our friends at the Tallylyn Railway (to whom we must express our sincere thanks). As with all tampers, it is clearly a complex and fascinating machine, judging by the number of admirers it swiftly attracted. Meanwhile, a small but noteworthy milestone was reached when a little ground clearance was carried out in an area at the north of the site known (for various reasons) as the Bermuda Triangle. This will be the limit of the Apedale Valley Light Railway phase one, and run-round loop will be provided. A sea of brambles and hawthorn was preventing vital surveying work from being carried out, so all the prickly stuff had to go. It is fair to say the 2009 blackberry harvest may be rather reduced. The railway will run approximately in the cleared area in the centre of the photograph. I should mention the work being done by our colleagues at the Heritage Centre, who are making good progress with building a reproduction of Silverdale station building on what will be the AVLR's platform at the south end of the line. Finally, some rather odd things have happened on site recently. We considered ourselves lucky to survive one particular explosion. If you want to more about this, you'll have to ask me nicely at the Open Days, 12 & 13 September. As ever get in touch here. I will consider no more Barry Manilow references in exchange for a donation to the Trust.

Open Days Update

2009-08-03T23:04:00.008+01:00

The Moseley Railway Trust is pleased to announce that the 2009 Open Days at its Apedale site in North Staffordshire will be held on September 12 and 13 2009.
This year’s visiting steam loco will be the Orenstein & Koppel steam loco "Max". This loco will be making its first visit away from its home at the Statfold Barn Railway, and the Trust wishes to express its thanks to Mr Graham Lee and all the team at Statfold for making the locomotive available. Built in Berlin in 1923, "Max" worked at the Sragi sugar mill in Indonesia until brought to the UK in 2004. Since then the team at Statfold have restored the loco to its current immaculate condition.
The Moseley Railway Trust is currently negotiating for a number of guest diesel locos to join the open day fun – who knows, there may be a few surprises on site.
The Open Days will be the main opportunity this year for the public to come to Apedale and see the progress being made on the construction of the 2’0" gauge Apedale Valley Light Railway. Although passenger rides will not be available, demonstration trains will be in use, and there will be a unique chance to see and photograph trains in areas which will be off-limits when the railway is open to passengers. The Trust’s huge collection of narrow gauge locomotives, rolling stock and other artefacts will be on display.
There will be a number of trade stands, model railways, a ride-on miniature railway and a 16mm live steam running track. There will also be visiting classic and vintage road vehicles and other machinery.
The Open Days are open from 11.00 to 17.00 both days. Admission is £4 adults, £1 child. A discount will be offered to anyone presenting a ticket from the Eastern European Car Rally at the Foxfield Railway on the same weekend - Foxfield will also a offer reciprocal discount. The Trust’s site is adjacent to the Apedale Heritage Centre, Chesterton, near Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffs – a few minutes from M6 Jcn 16. Check here for further details.
The Moseley Railway Trust would be pleased to hear from potential exhibitors, especially vintage and veteran commercial vehicles. The Trust can be contacted here.

The Wrath of Tamp

2009-07-26T22:46:00.008+01:00

Tamping and Lining a railway is one of the most important, but labour intensive, elements of the construction process. The Big Railway uses large and expensive yellow machines to do this, such as the one in the picture. These machines cost seven-figure sums, and are normally built in Austria. The Moseley Railway Trust, not having a seven-figure sum to spend, uses two kango hammers and, in this case, David and Alan to do the job. They aren't Austrian, but it is alleged that they did once see "The Sound of Music". The purpose of the operation is to establish the correct vertical alignment of the railway (having previously sorted out horizontals) and then pack ballast under the sleepers to preserve the vertical alignment. Jacks, spirit levels and experienced eyes are used extensively to align the railway. The kangos are easy to use, but quite physically demanding. Health and safety requirements limit the time any one person can use them, so a cycle of people taking turns is the only way to get the job done. It is fair to say that a trip to the gym is not needed after a few turns on the kangos. The improvement to the quality of the track after the tamping/lining is done is remarkable. Just to check, and for the benefit of a visiting party, we spent Sunday running heavy locos up and down just to check the track (or something). If you fancy a bit of track checking, or can't afford the gym in these straightened times, get in touch here. This year's chance to come along and see what we're up to is on September 12 & 13 - see here. The Edelweiss will be in full bloom by then, assuming that the fictional snake hasn't eaten them all.

To Seek Out New Life ...

2009-07-22T20:24:00.010+01:00

The Apedale Community Country Park has more than railways to interest the visitor. In addition to the popular Apedale Heritage Centre and underground mine tour, there is the country park itself, with its rich variety of wildlife to be found. Most of it stays in the country park, but some occasionally strays onto the railway and its associated infrastructure. Recently we have been home to a family of swallows, and we have got used to the parents flying past our ears as we entered the amenity block where they are nesting.

In recent years, some of our members have reported the presence of snakes on site. The shy nature of these animals is such that they rarely stay around to be seen or photographed. This lead to the denial of their presence by some of the more nervous members of the Trust. This year was quiet until recently when sightings increased on the occasional hot days. However, the photograph below now constitutes unequivocal evidence that the site is home to grass snakes. So, if you come on site and happen to see volunteers walking round with duck tape wrapped round the bottom of their trouser legs, you'll know why.

If you don't mind sharing the site with our feathered and scaly friends, contact us here.

Project Genesix

2009-07-11T21:00:00.017+01:00

This week, we have a rare opportunity to glance into the secret files of the MRT board of Trustees, as can be seen by clicking on the image below. If there is a short pause, this is simply because your computer is performing a security retinal scan prior to granting access.

Evidence of stage 2 of this hitherto classified project can be seen below on site at Apedale. Also shown is a rare historic shot of Number 6 in action at Moseley School in Cheadle in the late 70s. If you would like to join the Genesix team, contact us here.

.....where no Motor Rail has gone before

2009-07-04T20:02:00.007+01:00

It's official. The Gap is no more. After a few months with two disconnected railways, the Moseley Railway Trust now has one railway with a very high level of connectivity. The gap was about 40', and was closed with two more lengths of track. Sadly, the Starship Vanguard wasn't feeling too well - it seemed that it's dlithium crystals had run down, or something, so it had to be rescued by the Klingon Bird of Prey "Sludge" (yes, it's not a great name, it probably means something better in Klingon). So, after the gap was closed, Sludge & Vanguard went off to explore the second part of the railway, hitherto untarnished by locomotive wheels. And it was agreed to be good, albeit in need of some fettling to improve horizontal & vertical alignments, and a lot of ballast to be dropped - but that's for next weekend. It is this stretch which we will use as a roadside tramway for the Open Day weekend, September 12 & 13. Access to this area will not normally be possible once passenger trains start running, so it's a great opportunity to get some unique photos of vintage trains and vintage commercial vehicles together. See you there? As ever, get in touch here.

To Boldly Go......

2009-06-27T21:52:00.009+01:00

...where no Ruston has been before. These are the voyages of the starship "Vanguard". Actually rather a second rate starship; Captain Kirk's Enterprise was powered by Dilithium Crystals and had two warp nacelles, whereas Vanguard has a 20hp two-cylinder diesel engine. Nonetheless, Vanguard has indeed boldly gone where no Ruston has been before. For various reasons, the railway on the Moseley Railway Trust's site at Apedale has been in two disconnected sections. The push is now on to join these two sections, and this has entailed the rather delicate task of of track laying in the limited space between the new footpath fence and the Aurora North storage shed. The pre-assembled track panels were brought to site on a flat wagon using Vanguard. The Trust's crane, having been very careful threaded into place, was then used to lift the panels into place. What could be easier? And so the main line of the Apedale Valley Light Railway grew substantially today, and at the end of the day's work, Vanguard was able to set a new record for the furthest North travelled by an MRT loco at Apedale. The gap to link the two railways is now about 40', so two sections of track will now be built in-situ to close this. This will then finally allow rail access to the roadside tramway section, which we are hoping will be a prominent part of the September 12 & 13 Open Days at Apedale. If you fancy coming along and helping with this type of thing, come along or contact us here. The ability to confidently split infinitives is a definite benefit.

Off-Site Update

2009-06-21T21:27:00.010+01:00

One of the better aspects of narrow gauge preservation, when compared to our colleagues in the standard gauge world, is that it is possible to do reasonable amounts of restoration work in "domestic" premises. It is not normally possible to accomodate, say a BR Standard steam loco, on a domestic drive, as this can cause problems with the neighbours and reduce property values. Narrow Gauge locos are much more easily accommodated. This week, we'll have a quick update on two projects which are closely associated with the Moseley Railway Trust, but are happening away from the main Apedale base. Firstly, the Kerr Stuart Joffre class steam loco, no.3014/16. Many of you will remember this loco from its sojourn on a plinth outside Rich Morris' house on the Crimea Pass road (shown above). This project is now storming along. The frames are now wheeled, the motion has been restored and fitted - it's really beginning to look like the bottom half of a steam loco. The firebox outer wrapper and the front section of the barrel have been test fitted. Boiler manufacture is now proceeding apace, and completion? Well, 2010 looks possible.

Meanwhile, the world of Internal Combustion has also been proceeding with work on a member's 30DL Ruston, no. 237914 of 1946. This loco worked at the DSF Refractories works at Friden, in the Peak District. It's coming together nicely, and the UK economy has been significantly boosted by a recent paint purchase. We can't promise that either of these locos will be on site for our open day, but if you want further details, get in touch here.

Finally, this week's blog is dedicated to the memory of Richard Bowen. A gentleman railway enthusiast.

Stoned with friends

2009-06-16T22:52:00.013+01:00

If there is one lesson which I for one have learnt from building the Apedale Valley Light Railway, it is to not under-estimate that amount of ballast which needs to be deployed. We have recently completed a rather elegant series of sweeping curves, and it was apparent that we needed to ballast this as soon as possible such that the railway will hold its form. We have been employing the centre-discharge ballast wagon loaned to the Moseley Railway Trust by the Golden Valley Light Railway, and this does a fine job at dropping stone between the running rails. However, forming the shoulders on each side of the rails is equally, if not more, important. Until recently, this has been a slightly fraught process using two small side-tipping skip wagons. However, we now have another ballast wagon on load - this time a specialist side discharge wagon. This one has been loaned to the Trust by Graham Lee and his team at the Statfold Barn Railway - a big public thank you to Graham. The ballast trains have been shuttling back and forth along the railway, dropping tons of stone. It's beginning to look like a mighty fine railway - all that remains now is to tamp it all into place. So, if you fancy a bit of a tamp, get in touch here. And don't forget, you will get a chance to come along to the Open Days in 2009 - see here - and see all we have done.

A new industrial railway for Apedale

2009-06-07T20:38:00.008+01:00

Not often mentioned in these notes are the activities of our friends on the Apedale site who operate the Apedale Heritage Centre. Besides running a museum with an extensive collection of mining artifacts (and four Moseley Railway Trust locomotives), they also run regular tours into one of the drift mines on site. As you may have read in a recent post ("No Sleep 'til Apedale"), the area is honeycombed with drift mines. The AHC staff are currently working to re-open an old working which has been partially filled in. But how to dispose of the filling-in material? A glance in the direction of the Moseley Railway Trust's activities suggested the answer. MRT had a pile of portable track which was at rather a loose end - and thus a new railway was created. There's no loco haulage - but there is a rather splendid foot crossing where parties exiting the mine have to cross the track.

This is, of course, what the MRT is all about - recreating industrial narrow gauge railways - and here we have a new one, on our doorstep, doing a real job of work. It's an ephemeral line, but it MAY still be in place for our Open Day on 12 & 13 September. Meanwhile, progress is being made with the Main Line (the Apedale Valley Light Railway) with a large number of ballast trains being run. Mind, as with most railway operations, the civil engineers had to relinquish possession for the afternoon pick-up goods. As ever, contact us here.

Open Day 2009 - An Unmissable Weekend

2009-05-29T20:53:00.006+01:00

The Moseley Railway Trust is pleased to announce that the 2009 Open Days at its Apedale site in North Staffordshire will be held on September 12 and 13 2009.
This is likely to be the only opportunity which the general public will have to visit the site this year and view the extensive collection of narrow gauge locomotives and other artefacts which the Trust has collected on site. Although it is unlikely that passenger trains will be in operation, the Trust will operate demonstration trains throughout the day. The railway on site has been extended significantly since the events in 2008. It is planned to use the new sections to provide some exclusive and unrepeatable photo opportunities for enthusiasts - unrepeatable because the areas to be used and the scenes to be created will be out of bounds once passenger trains are in operation.
It is planned to have a range of exhibitors and trade stands, plus model and miniature railways.
Further details will be announced in due course, but for now this event should be noted as one not to be missed.
The Moseley Railway Trust would be pleased to hear from potential exhibitors, especially vintage and veteran commercial vehicles. The Trust can be contacted via its website.

A Grand Day Out

2009-05-26T19:38:00.004+01:00

The Bent Frame Motor Rail Owner's Association (and friends) held their AGM at the Stonehenge Works of the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway yesterday. Pride of place was taken by the newly restored MR1757, which was demonstrated by its justly proud owner and restorer, Nick Williams. Also on display was "Festoon", the resident bent-framer (MR 4570), and the relatively-recently arrived MR461, which was previously at the now deceased Museum of Army Transport at Beverley. The bodywork is a copy of the original, as it is believed that plywood did not offer too much protection against even the weediest enemy munitions. Really good news it that MR461 is to be restored by the Greensand Railway Museum Trust, fresh from their triumph with their Baldwin steamer. What's the common feature with all three Motor Rails? Not a compression-ignition in sight, all three being petrols. Another commonality between MR461 and MR1757 is that they were War Department locos from the First World War. The Moseley Railway Trust is in the early stages of planning an event for 2014 to mark the centenary of WW1, and perhaps, with a prevailing wind, MR461 might be a star visitor at that event. Time will tell.

Apedale Progress

2009-05-23T22:01:00.008+01:00

It's been a little while since I have reported on the progress being made on the Moseley Railway Trust's site at Apedale, Staffordshire. Most efforts are focused on building the passenger railway and preparing vehicles to run upon on it. Today has been no exception. Two major tasks were carried out. Firstly, a large, heavy and expensively-hired magnetic base drill was used to bore some large diameter holes through the bogie frame of one of our future passenger coaches. An easy task on most vehicles- except for this one, where the bogie is made from a single slab of steel some 3" thick. The holes were needed to accept a brake cylinder for the air brake equipment. The machine was then employed on drilling holes for the gearbox mounting on Motor Rail 5038, which needed new engine& gearbox mounting bearers after it was "restored" elsewhere and some years ago using an oxy-acetylene cutter.

Meanwhile, a second team set about extending the mainline. A number of track panels had been assembled previously, and these were brought to site on a bogie running on an adjacent track. The panels were then slid off the wagon and barred into place - which sounds easy, and to everyone's surprise, was (relatively) easy. Mind you, the Battle of the Fishplates was then fought and more-or-less won (although it was a close run thing). If you are an expert on fishplates, get in touch here. Or alternatively, come and see us at Apedale. Keep watching this space for a Big Announcement about Open Day 2009 (you must be simply bursting with anticipation).

No Sleep 'Til Apedale

2009-05-17T19:38:00.005+01:00

The Moseley Railway Trust has recently been loaned a few photos showing the Apedale buildings in their formal industrial guise. The first photo looks south; behind the classic car rally are the two buildings which form the core of the MRT workshops at Apedale. A modern photo from a similar viewpoint provides a comparison.

The site was riddled with small mines, known as Footrails locally. According to British Small Mines (South) published by the Industrial Railway Society, no less than seven drifts on the site were noted in the early 1980s. By 1995, under the auspices of the Aurora Mining Co, this has dropped to three drifts. Mining on site ceased in 1998. It is remarkably difficult to locate features from the old mines, since the site was largely cleared, and then levelled after the end of the mining era. Today, the exact location of some of the drifts is subject to some dubiety and speculation. It has been suggested that Lemmy, of Motorhead fame, worked as a miner at Apedale, but this has not been proven. Nonetheless, if you want to walk in such hallowed footsteps, get in touch here or come and have a dig at Apedale.

Special Guests

2009-05-09T19:58:00.002+01:00

One of the pleasures of hosting groups of specialist railway enthusiasts at our railway is that it gives us the chance to show off some of the more unusual members of the railway collection. The trust has an interesting story to tell covering the early days of successful internal combustion locomotives and how they replaced external combustion (steam) locomotives in their varied duties. However, some of these items are not really practical day-to-day working vehicles and thus they emerge from the sheds only on special occasions.

This weekend we were delighted to host the annual general meeting of the Narrow Gauge Railway Society, a group specialising in the history of narrow gauge industrial and passenger railways throughout the world. As such, we decided to exhibit some of the interesting and rarely-used items in the collection and over the last couple of weeks we have been checking them over to ensure they could be expected to perform reasonably reliably despite their age.

Firstly, we posed our recently-restored class H tank wagon next to the War-Department type Hudswell Clarke steamer repatriated from Ghana last year. We also operated a very early diesel loco from Hudswell Clarke, no D558 built in 1930. This was the second diesel locomotive produced by this major steam locomotive manufacturer. After a long industrial life at Beswick’s Lime Works at Hindlow near Buxton, it was preserved at the Cadeby Light Railway in 1971.

The former War-department 40HP Simplex was operating, as was the steam-outline Baguley locomotive no 1695 of 1928, based on a war-department design but built for pleasure use at the Lilleshall Abbey Woodland Railway.

... and finally a couple of ordinary-looking simplexes, but under the bonnets hide a pair of Dorman 2 cylinder petrol engines. One was built in 1936, the other, the last of its kind, in 1941. Ticking over they make an unmistakeable noise. Try the video below. Unfortunately we can't (yet) duplicate the unique smell online. You'll have to contact us to arrange a visit if you want the full sensory experience that the NGRS members received.

Specialist Skills

2009-05-02T20:13:00.009+01:00

One of the advantages of Moseley membership described in our membership leaflet is that volunteers can learn new skills. One of these is the long lost art of Simplex radiator tube fitting. A selling point of the Simplex loco was the Davies Patent Detachable Tube Radiator, which allows individual tubes to be removed and replaced when required due to damage or corrosion. Each is a brass tube fitted with brass or steel vanes to increase surface area for cooling. The tubes are held in with individual rubber seals at top and bottom.

After many years in service, the rubber perishes, the fins corrode and a rebuild is called for. This is the point at which the "individual detachability" loses its appeal, as there are approximately 70 tubes (and 140 little rubber seals) in a standard radiator. All the tubes need to be removed, the seals prised out and the top and bottom tanks thoroughly cleaned and de-rusted to give the new seals a good chance of fitting and working. After that comes the job of cleaning up all the reusable tubes, making sure that they actually pass water (a particular issue for locos from peat and clay works). Then it's simply a matter of fitting a new set of seals (usually pinging a few of them across the workshop in the process) and re-installing the tubes. This is done by inserting the end of the tubes upwards into the top seal, then using a twisting motion to get the bottom of the tube to sink into the bottom seal.

Years of bitter experience of this process with the Moseley fleet of Simplex locos has resulted in the following best practice hints and tips:

- Use soap solution (e.g. strong mix of washing up liquid) to ease the fitting of tubes into the seals.

- Rubber does not respond well to blows from a hammer.

- It is worth putting the effort in to ensure tube ends are cleaned up thoroughly, to avoid having to go through the process all over again.

- Use of an official Simplex tool (illustrated) avoids the complete loss of skin on your knuckles through contact with the sharp vanes on the tubes.

- The wearing of gloves is no protection against knuckle skin loss.

- Lack of the suitable twisting motion causes the top seal to drop out. This is very annoying.

- There's always one tube that leaks at the end of the process and it's usually on the innermost line of tubes.

Fancy your chances? Contact us here.

So after all this we can reflect on the advantages of the Davies Patent. It is certainly the case that a repair can be done quickly and without stripping the entire radiator. However, a proposed radiator rebuild is something to strike fear into the heart of the Chief Mechanical Engineer and also the Treasurer. Perhaps that's why Motor Rail favoured water cooled engines over air-cooled. As one ex-employee told me, "we did a roaring trade in radiator spares". Now that's what Sir Alan Sugar might just describe as "drop-dead shrewd!"

Toastin'

2009-04-19T21:26:00.007+01:00

Briefly mentioned in the blog entry for 14/12/08 was the Trust's Toastrack coach. This vehicle has been quietly progressing off-site, but its completed underframe has now arrived at Apedale (top photo). The vehicle will be a rebuild of a vehicle used on the Welsh Highland/Ffestiniog Railways in North Wales. The chassis of the Trust's vehicle was highly corroded upon arrival & has since been reconstructed, using the original as a pattern along with a few small salvaged parts. The bodywork will be all new to the original design and the 4 wheel bogies are substantially original. These Hudson toastrack coaches were supplied new to the Welsh Highland Railway in 1923 under the direction of Col. Stephens - allegedly they were built in just six weeks. The MRT may need a little longer to complete its vehicle. The bottom photos are the Hudson works photo of this type of vehicle, and one of the surviving Ffestiniog vehicles in use recently. The Welsh Highland had six such vehicles, but by the late 1920s four had their bodies removed and were being used to shift coal. Some of these survived into the preservation era, and the vehicle which the MRT acquired had been used latterly as a weedkiller wagon. The MRT vehicle will, when completed, be able to carry 32 passengers with the facility to carry two wheelchairs upon demand. As ever, we need your help with this and many other projects - contact us here.

AGM day at Apedale

2009-04-19T20:17:00.012+01:00

Yesterday was a big day in the Moseley Railway Trust's calender - the Annual General Meeting. This week's blog is image-heavy to give a flavour of the day. The format is basically that the membership come along, see what has been done by the workers over the last twelve months, and then grill the Trustees to within an inch of their lives. It's called democracy, and like most democracies, it kinda works. All things considered, the meeting went well, and the Trustees survived with only the expected minor injuries.

I've just re-read the blog entry from last year, and it really is remarkable just how much has been achieved in twelve months by a relatively small working team. Amongst many other things has been the completion of the Aurora North storage shed, and the top left photo shows an array of motive power outside the shed. The amount of track on site has at least doubled (maybe trebled) since last year, and we were able to run demonstration freight trains. The top right photo shows a loco which arrived on site last August, LBU Ruston 497542/63. This loco has spent a number of years in storage with a caving club near Alderley Edge, and arrived in a very poor state. Heroic efforts by the CME and his team have rendered it fit for at least limited service in a record time. On the rear of the train is yellow Hunslet 6007/63, another loco which has been resuscitated in the last few months.

Last year, I noted that Motor Rail 2197 was in use as a buffer stop, because the brakes were the only thing on it which worked properly. This year, the loco has been (almost) fully restored and was hauling trains - photo bottom left. It's owner just needs to sort out the bonnets and build a new cab (piece of cake!!).

Finally, one of the joys of the AGM is an opportunity to meet up with old friends. One of our members bought and restored 33/40HP Ruston 198297/39 and named it "Annie" after his grandmother. The member in question then became more interested in rubber-tyred vehicles, and kindly donated "Annie" (the loco, not the grandmother) to the Trust. We were delighted to be able to unite the member, his former loco, and his current Land Rover (bottom right). The AGM reported some good news about the footpath which has been delaying progress on the passenger railway, and the MRT is planning another open day in September, which MIGHT (only MIGHT) coincide with the opening of the passenger railway. Watch this space for details. In the meantime, get in touch here or come along the Apedale any Saturday - there's a lot more work to be done yet!!