With the introduction of new barriers to deter cyclists from the front of the museum (where the operating lines make it dangerous for bike wheels), a section of the temporary fencing along the quayside has been moved to bring back the authentic dockside look and feel.
Will Stratford has put together two videos from the Docks Heritage Weekend – the first includes some unusual angles not often seen, courtesy of a cleverly-mounted GoPro.
The second features a fluffy pink horse going for a ride around the docks!
Plenty of action on the dockside. 3 cranes in operation, along with the electric capstan shunting wagons. Actors from Show of Strength Theatre Company in character, loading demos, the Bristol Lorry, Portbury in Steam, and rides on tugboat John King to boot!
Here’s a video of the electric capstan winch shunting demonstration:
Don’t forget this weekend is Docks Heritage Weekend at M Shed!
Featuring vintage commercial vehicles on display (Including the museum’s own Bristol 8-wheel lorry), both steam and electric cranes in use unloading cargo from ship to shore, and the rare sight of the working electric capstans being used to shunt wagons on the quayside.
See the quayside come to life with dramatic re-enactments by Show of Strength theatre company.
Plus, see the amazing city of Briswool in all its woolly splendour.
The newly-outshopped MOGO van will also be on display, and the Tug John King will be giving rides around the harbour.
Lots to see and do, it should be a cracking weekend!
The museum’s Bristol lorry during a loading demonstration in 2013 (Photo copyright Stu Chapman)
Make sure to get your hands on a copy of this month’s Heritage Railway Magazine! The BHR has a feature from Juliet Eden, who took the fantastic photos showing both Portbury and Henbury in service.
A few snaps from the weekend’s operations. Really nice to have all three steam exhibits in operation. Lots of happy, friendly passengers, the sun shone, and steam was in the air.
Never camera shy, the railway’s operational steam fleet made a cameo appearance on Channel 5’s ‘Emergency Bikers’ programme last week.
The staff and volunteers have removed the point from the shed road, formerly used as the coal wagon siding. This has now been relayed with plain rail. The access road’s new formation will go straight on here and round the back of the olive shed.
One of the main aims of 2014 has been to tidy up the overall look of the railway. This has ranged from the restoration of the MOGO van, to weedkilling and cutting back branches.
Even the simple things such as picking up litter can make a huge difference. From the small area next to the river siding came enough rubbish to fill 2 large sacks.
Here is the river siding earlier this year:
Today:
The PBA brake van has also had a clean. The North side of the wagons, facing away from sunlight, can get very dirty and covered in moss.
Before:
After:
One of the biggest challenges of having a railway in the inner city is graffiti. Bristol has a proud history of famous graffiti and street artists, such as Banksy, 3D and Inkie, however it is less helpful when someone puts their tag on museum stock. Sometimes this could be due to the perception that the stock is out of use, or more generally, trains are daubed so that particular tag can be seen all around the country.
Regardless of the reasoning, the best response is to clean it off quickly, showing that the trains are in fact in use by the museum and that people care about their appearance.
The passenger train was tagged in April this year. This was cleared off almost straight away.
Adjacent to the yard at Whapping Wharf, Bristol City Council have been trialling a cobbled surface design.
Beautiful though they are, old cobblestones can be a hazard and difficult to navigate if you are on a wheelchair or pushing a pram. Instead of replacing the cobbles along this section of path with granite setts in a fan pattern, this method reuses the existing cobbles, sawn in half and relaid to the original pattern.
The council is holding a consultation on this, so the residents and visitors to Bristol can give their opinion on the matter. You can get involved (and read the Council’s reasoning behind the trial) at the following link:
https://www.citizenspace.com/bristol/city-development/sawn-setts-trial-1/consult_view
Here are a couple of photos of the ‘new’ cobbles alongside the old ones
Bristol Harbour Railway Blog 