In this photo found on the Bristol Railway Archive, ‘Henbury’ complete with full yellow end and bufferbeam, meets ‘Western Pride’ on Whapping wharf circa 1981.
The diesel loco is standing on what is now the long siding in the yard. This photo also illustrates the industrial backdrop of the early days of the Harbour Railway, quite a contrast to the contemporary view.
The green diesel shunter eases wagons onto the wharf earlier this morning.
A familiar sight has returned to the harbour in the shape of the MV Balmoral, back from dry dock with fresh paint shining in the morning sun.
As the housing at Sugar Quay is going up…
… Other buildings are coming down. The former coal office (Latterly the office for the car park managers) has been demolished, along with the partially-collapsed roof of the building on the right.
See this photo from February 2013 for a comparison
Over on the shed road, the old goods platform has been renovated and the entire wall treated to new paint. The remnants of the platform roof have been removed.
Compare this last photo with the view back in 2009
Likewise, this view back toward the shed has changed so much, and is due to change again, as the access road is to be built and will need to cross the two yard tracks.
This shot of the Ruston, taken from the same location, is about a year old.
The phrase ‘ship shape and Bristol fashion’ refers to the high tidal reach of the River Avon in Bristol, where ships would have to be strong to withstand being on the riverbed every 4 hours.
During the harsh tides this spring, the banks of the New Cut between Vauxhall Bridge and the Create Centre sagged a bit, requiring this section to be closed while repairs were carried out.
This photo shows the ‘sag’ in the track.
The rails in this section were duly lifted, and the sleepers repositioned to form a ramp for construction equipment to get in.
Within two weeks the operation was completed, allowing ‘Henbury’ to propel the first passenger trains across the repaired section. A speed limit of 5mph is currently in place here.
This bank holiday weekend, both ‘Henbury’ and ‘Portbury’ were in operation, with ‘Henbury’ on regular passenger duties, while her Bristol-built stablemate was to be found in the yard, where members of the public could have a go at driving it!
Pictures courtesy of Adrian Croshaw
This coming Fathers Day (Sunday 15th June), ‘Portbury’ will be on driver experience duties once more, as part of the ‘Fathers Day: A Grand Day Out’ offer from M Shed. At just £35, you can treat Dad to driving both a steam loco and two of the dockside cranes!
On Friday, ‘Henbury’ had prepared the yard by shunting most of the stock into the New Cut siding.
Henbury with a warming fire lit ahead of this bank holiday weekend’s services. Construction of the Sugar Quay development continues in the background, whilst in the foreground, the new square with map of Bristol inlaid, and new lighting overhead, is visible.
From the 24-27th May 1996, Bristol Harbour was host to the International Festival of the Sea. This was a huge event featuring many guest ships and attractions, and of course the BHR played a part. A shining and fully-lined out ‘Henbury’ was joined by LB&SCR E1 class 0-6-0T No.B110, then based at the East Somerset Railway (Now being restored to service on the Isle of Wight as No.W2 ‘Yarmouth’). The two locos operated a shuttle service between the station at Ashton Meadows and the Bristol Industrial Museum with 3 loaned coaches.
The following pictures appear with the kind permission of Geoff Hartland.
Number 110 was built at Brighton Works in 1877 and named ‘Burgundy’. It was withdrawn in 1927 and sold to a colliery in Rugeley, which resulted in it being the only member of its class to survive scrapping, being sold into preservation in 1963. It was in service on the ESR between 1993 and 1997, when it was withdrawn early due to firebox problems. She is now on display at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway’s ‘Train Story’ exhibition, and will be restored in due course.
‘Henbury’ on passenger duties while ‘Portbury’ stands over the pit . A bit of drizzle over the weekend didn’t dampen spirits, its good to be back in action!
(Photo appears with the kind permission of Adrian Croshaw)
‘Western Pride’ was a former Port of Bristol Authority loco, and from the 1970s to 1987, it took loaded coal wagons from Ashton Meadows to Wapping Wharf sidings and the Coal Depot (Western Fuels) there, and returned empty wagons to the sidings.
As loaded coal wagons left overnight had a tendency to get vandalised, there was a secure storage compound at the coal depot, where the loco and wagons were stored overnight.
Western Fuels ex PBA 0-6-0 D1171 standing at Wapping Wharf, July 1979 (Courtesy Kevin Redwood)
D.1171 made her last trip along the BHR in May 1987, on an overnight move to the coal depot at Filton. She has since been sold into preservation, and after a period in store outside at MOD Long Marston (As seen in this picture by Cliff Jones Photography), restoration has begun, as seen here (March 2013):
Image is property of Mike Cottam and appears here as a direct link to his flickr page
With the first running weekend of the year just around the corner (5-6th April), the two steam locos were out in the open to be inspected. Henbury has had new seals fitted over the winter, and Portbury is nearing the end of her running-in period.
The curtailed siding at M Shed has been re-filled.
Bristol Harbour Railway Blog 
