A little reminder that the railway’s final operating weekend of 2013 is coming up! If you want to come down and see this unique steam-operated line in action this year, do come down this weekend and have a ride!
The Barn has now been dismantled and stored on wagons in the yard, allowing the headshunt to be reconnected to the shed road once more.
Down at A Bond, site clearance has taken place with a view to the proposed remodelling.
The war between the pro and anti bus route campaigners has spilled onto the paths.
Finally, a giant lottery ball hit L shed.
A lot can change in a week! There is a hole in the sky as ‘The Barn’ is dismantled. In the current redevelopment plans, the siding on the right will be reconnected to the shed road on the left, forming a loop into the yard again. The stone setts on the right (under the telehandler) are to be replaced with an access road, which will cross both lines roughly where I am standing to take the picture. This will take traffic away from the current choke point around the front of the Olive Shed.
Just a little compilation of photographs and video from 14th-15th September 2013, when Port of Par twins ‘Alfred’ and ‘Judy’ worked trains together with resident ‘Portbury’.
Here’s a few videos on Youtube of the trio in action:
Saturday’s operations by 47840chaser
theonlyadzrulz recorded Sunday’s workings
Sunday saw Portbury develop a small steam leak which should be fixed soon.
Shunting taking place on Friday in the pouring rain (A large roof hatch is good for visibility but not ideal for stopping drips!)
Lastly, some photos from Sunday’s workings.
A huge thanks must go out to all those involved in arranging for the twin engines’ visit.
Bagnall locomotives ‘Alfred’ and ‘Judy’ took part in a photo charter with resident Avonside ‘Portbury’ on Thursday 12th September. Martin Creese of 30742 charters took the following images and has kindly given permission for them to be reposted here.
You can see all the pics on Martin’s flickr set here:
Additionally, flickr user ‘Mangotsfield Mike’ took some pictures of the prep, visible at the following link:
Finally, here’s a small clip of the two locos parallel running on the dockside.
The diminutive Port of Par twin engines ‘Alfred’ and ‘Judy’ have arrived in Bristol.
Thursday September 12th will see them operating photo charters, and as an added bonus, they will be operating service trains in conjunction with the BHR’s own ‘Portbury’ this coming weekend.
The charter and the visit has been organised through 30742 Charters with the Bristol Harbour Railway, the Locomotive’s owners, and the haulage company.
To find out more about these locomotives follow the link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagnall_0-4-0ST_%22Alfred%22_and_%22Judy%22
August Bank Holiday Weekend saw the re-introduction of Avonside 0-6-0ST ‘Portbury’ into service. She top and tailed services with Peckett ‘Henbury’ all weekend.
All photographs are reproduced here with the kind permission of Rob Skuse.
Morning prep, shunting and down the branch
Stalwart locomotive ‘Henbury’, and the two stablemates at the end of the day.
In order to rearrange the two saddle tanks, and to get ‘Henbury’ over the inspection pit, it was necessary to do some shunting using the Ruston diesel shunter, not often seen on the line.
The Ruston itself was in the ‘Barn’, behind the line’s self-propelled crane.
The crane shunts the coal wagon back out of the way.
With a growl and a puff of smoke, the Ruston creeps out of the barn, collects the two vans (Which double up as a good way of preventing people falling into the pit), and deposits them back outside the shed before heading down to M Shed.
Dragging the two steam locos out, Portbury deposited in the siding while Henbury heads to the pit.
Henbury is pushed back into the shed first….
and Portbury basks in the sun
This week, she’s been treated to warming fires to test the boiler for any leaks. Sunday saw her courting attention on the quayside.
I was lucky enough to take some holiday last week and have spent the days down at the railway. ‘Portbury’ has been the main focus of attention as she is prepared for her steam tests.
Here’s a few pics I’ve taken over the course of the week.
Firstly, lining in progress (During Harbour Festival)
Painting up the inside of the frames
and the coupling links (red oxide first)
Smokebox front rubbed down and first coat applied
The obligatory front three quarter view
More to come…
Google maps’ view of the area around M Shed is now outdated, but does give an interesting insight into how the landscape around the railway has and continues to evolve. I cobbled together a few images to give a bigger picture.
You can see how M and L shed were formerly much more separate, with rail access to the workshops in L shed behind.
Also visible are the old reclamation yards to the South, now a building site for Umberslade’s housing project.
The end of the loop where the temporary ‘barn’ was constructed is to the West side of the picture.
Bristol Harbour Railway Blog 