Stalwart loco ‘Portbury’ is set to go on a small outing, on the weekend of 15th and 16th October, to the BHR’s neighbours, the Avon Valley Railway at Bitton.
The AVR is hosting its traditional end of season gala, also featuring Polish Ferrum TKh 4015 and Hunslet Austerity WD 132 ‘Sapper’.
Sister loco to Portbury, Avonside No.1798 is based at the Avon Valley and is currently undergoing major restoration.
Here’s a couple of photos of Portbury, snapped by the intrepid George Aldridge a few weeks ago.
There’s plenty going on at M Shed at the moment. Henbury is in the shed being dismantled for overhaul.
If you are visiting M Shed and would like to make a donation to help Henbury steam again, there is a donation box in front of the viewing window. All donations are welcome!
The TOAD brake van, meanwhile, is outside the workshop receiving new boards and a lick of paint on the door.
Much further down the line, Ashton Avenue Bridge is inside its cocoon, being repaired for use by MetroBus.
The harbourside is looking rather festive with the cranes’ booms lit up!
Up North at Beamish, ‘Portbury’ has been given a glowing review, along with the hire period extended into 2016. These photos were published on the Beamish Transport Online blog, taken during a sudden flurry of snow!
What a nice weekend! The weather was good and the crowds turned out to both the Docks Heritage Weekend, and on Saturday evening, the Crane Dance. The dance, featuring live music and choreographed lighting and movement, was devised by Laura Kriefman and was a collaboration between:
M Shed, Underfall Yard, RSVP Bhangra, The Balmoral, Bristol Pilot Gig Club, Bristol Channel Social Rowers, Watershed, Studio 360.
Here’s a few clips:
Jamie Corbin put together this timelapse of the crane dance:
In the daytime, there were dockside loading and unloading demonstrations, actors from the Show of Strength Theatre Company, mosaics, the steam crane in operation, rides on the tug John King, and the chance to drive Judy for £10, and more…
Here’s an example of one of the mosaics made by Mosaic Madness
The steam crane had quite an unusual load…
Henbury was on display in the yard. She is in need of 149 new boiler tubes for her overhaul and any and all donations towards this are very welcome!
This delightful Bristol bus was busy ferrying people between M Shed and Underfall Yard.
After a particularly cold and wet summer, the weather has taken a turn for the better, giving us some glorious days and incredible sunsets.
Here’s a (bad camera phone quality) snap I took of the golden sunset glimpsed beneath the Cumberland Road bridge.
Up North, Portbury has been kept busy at Beamish. In this photo reproduced from the Beamish Museum facebook page, she is seen in the company of WW1-era Gordon Highlanders re-enactors at the Agricultural Show event.
Back in Bristol, there have been multiple engineering projects in the railway’s environs. The Metrobus development has cleared a large area of land at Butterfly Junction and Ashton Meadows, and new drainage has been installed.
One of the most conspicuous developments has been the ongoing repair work to Prince Street Bridge. This is adjacent to the platform at M Shed and has involved the construction of a large temporary bridge. The girders on the swing bridge are corroded and need replacing, so it will be closed to all traffic for 6 months.
Also pictured is Kaskelot, a Bristol-based ship, taking the usual mooring point of Balmoral while the latter was at sea.
The pictures below were taken the weekend before last, with Judy on passenger duties and Teddy once again offering ‘Driver fora Tenner’ experiences in the yard. These photos were taken by Tim Symons, who has given permission for them to be reproduced here.
Youtube user Slam Door Media uploaded a video showing ‘Teddy’ on ‘Driver for a Tenner’ duties whilst Kilmersdon was running passenger services at the weekend. ‘Kilmersdon’ has now departed and ‘Teddy’ will be running passenger services