Autumn Sun (and rain!)

With just 3 operating weekends left in the season, here are a few photos from today’s workings. The weather was good for the most part, with only one trainload of passengers getting the full ‘goods’ experience during a heavy shower!

Coming off the pit with steam to spare

Coming off the pit with steam to spare

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There was a march organised for Saturday evening to raise awareness for cancer on the dockside

There was a march organised for Saturday evening to raise awareness for cancer on the dockside

Ominous clouds

Ominous clouds

Newly-repainted Thekla in the distance

Newly-repainted Thekla in the distance

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Raising steam at M Shed

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The day’s work done

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Note the new sleepers installed when this section of track was relaid

Coaling up

Coaling up

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Larry empties the last of the coal into 34’s bunker

Creeping back to the shed

Creeping back to the shed

Ready for another day

Ready for another day

 

Here’s a bonus .gif of Portbury heading to the shed after a hard day’s work.

Docks Heritage Weekend 4th-5th October

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.

Docks Heritage Weekend

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)

The museum’s Bristol lorry during a loading demonstration in 2013 (Photo copyright Stu Chapman)

A Clean Railway

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:
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Today:
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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:
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After:
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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.
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Driver for a fiver

A little animated gif of Henbury propelling the passenger train past Portbury, on ‘driver for a fiver’ duties, in the yard.

You still have the chance to drive Portbury on the next two operating weekends this year! After that, Henbury’s boiler ticket will expire and she will be withdrawn, with her stablemate taking over passenger duties.

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