At the Foxfield Railway’s 2008 gala, Portbury paid a visit and was given the chance to attack the famous 1-in-19 to 1-in-26 Foxfield Bank, the climb away from Foxfield Colliery itself.
Youtube user ‘Pennysteam’ was there to capture the event (If you like railway videos, be sure to subscribe to pennysteam as their footage is spectacular)
Part 1:
Part 2, Portbury ascends the gradient again at around 5.20:
After lovely weather Saturday and Sunday, today is a bit of a wash-out so sadly no train services are running.
Portbury has been put back in the shed.
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.
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.
Bristol Harbour Railway Blog 