Workshop Updates

Baldwin No.46699

Work on the Baldwin has been continuing steadily with the engine starting to come together, for the final time. 46699’s boiler has passed its hydraulic test and been test steamed before fitting in the frames. The rolling chassis is complete, the boiler lagging is being fitted and work on fittings and final plumbing will commence shortly, and it will be in steam for the first time in many years during 2023.

Carriage 12

The fitting out of the handcrafted interior of our second first class carriage has been gathering pace with it due to enter traffic in the spring. This second carriage will have a few unique features that will differ from our other first class carriage, one being another unique painted ceiling by the famous wildlife artist Terence Lambert.

Diesel No.11

Throughout the summer work was undertaken to adapt the recently acquired diesel No.11 to make it more suitable for our use. This work has seen the fitting of a large compressor for the air braking system, fitting of external brake hoses to connect with our stock and adapting the coupling to match the system used on our line. Once this work was complete the engine was repainted to match the livery of diesel 10, a rather fetching colour scheme which suits their profile well. This now provides the railway with a second diesel able to perform all duties required on the railway.

Other Projects

Our engineers have as always been busy with lots of external engineering work. We have been undertaking a chassis overhaul of Talyllyn Railway’s carriage No.4. We have been turning and profiling the wheelsets from the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway’s diesel. Work has also been continuing on the overhaul and improvements of a pair of unique bogies from the Isle of Man Steam Railway. For our own stable of engines our winter maintenance is well underway; routine mechanical maintenance and boiler washouts are complete. The cold boiler exams have been carried out and work will start on reassembling ready for steam testing early in February. Our fleet of carriages have had their thorough mechanical winter inspections and maintenance completed, this included NDT testing of all the axles, and all the coaches have been deep cleaned inside and out ready for next season.

DMU’s on the Mainline. The above photo courtesy John Reeves Collection. The below photo courtesy Simon Reeves, taken in October 2022.