Tag Archives: Bristol Harbour Railway

Steam trains running this Easter Weekend!

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It’s the first BHR operating weekend of the year, with 3 days of steam-hauled train rides planned.

Saturday 4th April

Sunday 5th April

Monday 6th April.

Visiting Bristol-built Peckett 0-4-0st ‘Kilmersdon’ will be providing motive power.

 

Kilmersdon working a charter train at the BHR in the 1990s (Author unknown)
Kilmersdon working a charter train at the BHR in the 1990s (Author unknown)
(Geof Sheppard, C/O Wikipedia)

‘Kilmersdon’ was built by Peckett in 1929 and numbered 1788. It worked at the NCB’s Kilmersdon Colliery in Somerset and now belongs to the Somerset and Dorset Railway Trust.

She has previously visited the BHR and worked photo charters, and was a former stablemate of ‘Portbury’ and ‘Henbury’ at Radstock.

Butterfly Junction Redevelopment – 1

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In this first look at the changing face of the Butterfly Junction area, you can see the extensive clearance of foliage that has taken place. Surveyors have been working in the area over the past few weeks.

 

Further down the line, the area around the Cumberland Road Bridge siding has also been cleared. The spare wagon wheelsets have been moved out of the way. The plans for the bridge indicate that the path here will be raised up to platform height in order to meet the new bridge.

Toad in the works

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The ‘Toad’ brake van is receiving some attention this winter. The rather tired door is being renewed, and the van has been jacked up, the springs removed, and packing wood in place.

Pictured here is the former harbour plug, used from 1804-1935 when it was replaced by one made of rubber. The harbour needed to be drained fully to allow the plug to be removed, restricting navigation for 2 days.*
IMG_8613

*This is not true, just a joke!

Portbury at Beamish – In Steam

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Paul Jarman of Beamish Transport Online has posted updates on Portbury’s arrival at Beamish. Shunted off the lorry siding by departing hire loco ‘John Howe’ (An Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST), Portbury was in steam the next day and immediately put to work shunting the yard at Rowley station.

(Paul Jarman)
(Paul Jarman)
(Paul Jarman)
(Paul Jarman)
(Paul Jarman)
(Paul Jarman)
(Paul Jarman)

These photos appear here with Paul’s permission

The Fox, Walker sees daylight

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In May 2014, a shunting move to get rolling stock out of the Smeaton Road shed and into the rebuilt ‘Barn’ saw Fox, Walker and Sons No.242 (NCB No.3) out in the open air. This loco had new bearings fitted before the rebuild of M Shed in 2006, so is a rolling chassis and can be moved around.

The photos also give an indication as to the condition of the loco, and the scale of any restoration that might take place.

These pictures were taken by Michelle Scoplin of the Create Centre and appear here with her kind permission.

The Coles crane is moved out first as part of the shunt
With the crane out of the way, the Ruston couples up
‘For Sale’ – very funny!
Pinholes in the tank give an idea as to the thickness of the metal
The view from the Ruston’s footplate as it drags the Victorian locomotive out
Gently eased out on to the running line
Out on the New Cut – the furthest the loco has been in a long time

TBT – Henbury Makes History – Coal Trains in 1981

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As previously mentioned on this blog, in 1981, the Western Fuel Co.’s diesel shunter Western Pride was in need of an overhaul. This locomotive was used to shunt wagons on the dockside and into the WFC compound, as well as trip workings along the New Cut to Ashton Meadows sidings, from where a BR loco would take the wagons onto the main line.

So it was that Henbury was hired as the first preserved steam loco to pull scheduled goods trains for British Railways (BR having stopped using steam traction in 1968). She crept onto the Western Fuel Co.’s site at 7am on Monday 28th September 1981 and worked for the next three weeks hauling coal trains of up to 450 tons.

This cinefilm was captured by Bob Edwardes and appears here with permission.

Points of particular interest include running on the main line to Bristol Bath Road engine shed to use the turntable (creating quite a contrast to the BR Blue mainline diesels at Bristol Temple Meads!) and double heading with the PBA Rolls-Royce Sentinel No. 41 (10220) that took over duties from Henbury.

Taking loaded wagons up to the Wharf (John Stanford)
October 1981, in between shunting moves (John Stanford)
About to go under Vauxhall Bridge (John Stanford)
Bringing the trucks into the yard (John Stanford)

 

Portbury is going to Beamish!

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As announced on the Beamish Transport Online blog, in early 2015, Portbury is going further North than she has ever gone before. For the first part of the 2015 season, IW&D 34 will be the steam loco in use at Rowley station, part of the Beamish open air museum.

As the loco was built for the war effort in 1917, it is an apt choice of motive power as the museum will be themed around the First World War during February half term.

Very exciting news!

Steam in action at Beamish’s Rowley Station