Tag Archives: henbury

The BHR in 1978/1979

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As the 40th year of the BHR’s operation enters Autumn, here’s a look back to 1978 and 1979.

These photographs were taken by Tim Venton, to whom I am very grateful for allowing them to be reproduced here.

The first two are from May 1978 and show ‘Henbury’ and the TOAD brake van at rest outside the Bristol Industrial Museum.

27th May 1978
The first two items of rolling stock to operate BHR services, 27th May 1978

The second batch of photographs were taken on 16th September 1979. These are fantastic as historical references as they show the extent of track on the quayside and the difference to the present-day.

Almost everything visible in this photo has now changed but the location can be identified by the previous photo. The sidings on the left (and the wall of sleepers are the site of the SS GB car park). 16th September 1979 (Tim V)
Amazingly most of the buildings in this photo are still extant. The TANTRA building is derelict and covered by sheeting as of 2018. The line on the left heads toward Albion Dockyard, and bits of track in the concrete can still be seen today. 16th September 1979 (Tim V)
At this time, the branch off towards the New Cut on the Left was double track under the bridge. Apartments now occupy the site of the sidings. 16th September 1979 (Tim V)
A brake van on the New Cut line. In the distance is the site of the Lloyds Building. 16th September 1979 (Tim V)
A familiar scene to many is the crossover. The buildings on the far end now form Brunel’s Buttery. 16th September 1979 (Tim V)
The line for the Western Fuel Co.’s is off to the right. Just visible is ‘Western Pride’ the Hudswell Clarke diesel. 16th September 1979 (Tim V)
The yard. Some of the stone setts on the left are still extant as part of the cycle path. 16th September 1979 (Tim V)
The weigh bridge in the sidings. This area is now the yard for the BHR, where the goods stock is kept. 16th September 1979 (Tim V)
The sidings. This area is now the yard for the BHR, where the goods stock is kept. 16th September 1979 (Tim V)
The buildings on the right now form the Olive Shed and the Art Gallery. The track layout here has been simplified but the area is easily recognisable. 16th September 1979 (Tim V)
‘Henbury’ in action pulling the TOAD loaded with passengers. 16th September 1979 (Tim V)

 

 

Toad brake van repainted

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The Bristol Harbour Railway is 40 years old this year!

In 1978 a group of keen and like minded people began operating steam train rides on Bristol’s harbourside. They had one working locomotive and an ex-GW brake van.

Henbury and the TOAD outside M Shed in 1979 (Courtesy John Law)

Since then, the van has given thousands of passengers rides up and down the line. It is essential to the running of the railway, becoming the leading end of the train when being propelled, and the large veranda gives a good field of vision for the guard.

Over the winter of 2017-2018, the van has been taken into the shed and been given a makeover. Rotten wood has been repaired, the whole vehicle has been sanded down and repainted, and it now sports a ‘Bristol’ allocation.

It looks very smart and is a credit to the volunteers and employees at M Shed.

I am trying to find out more information on the history of this brake van before it came to the BHR. If anyone does know of its past life, please do leave a comment below.

Henbury’s Overhaul Progresses

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Instagram user Alex_4472 took some photos of Henbury under overhaul. This shows the progress being made by the volunteers and staff at M Shed.

The wheels have been scraped back and are in the process of being painted, the tank and frames are also receiving attention.

The last photo shows the chimney used for donations!

Uploaded here with permission.

Henbury Overhaul Progress (October 2016)

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Work on Henbury’s 10 year overhaul is progressing well.

The boiler has now been lifted from the frames (courtesy of Crane 32 with shunting assistance from Portbury). The boiler has been placed on a trolley and taken back to the engine shed, while the frames were lifted and turned 90 degrees, then placed on a temporarily-laid piece of track so they could be pushed into the workshop. The cab and other items are also inside.

During certain running days, visitors to M Shed can see work taking place and even make a donation to the overhaul. There are photographs of the boiler lift on display to show the process.

The above sequence shows the lift.

Above: The boiler, cab, frames and tank all separated out.

Meanwhile, Portbury is running the scheduled services. This weekend is the last operating weekend of the season, with trains running from M Shed and alternating down the branch to Vauxhall Bridge and the quayside line to SS Great Britain.

Here are a few shots of Portbury at work last weekend.

Overhauls and Maintenance

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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.

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Crane Dance/Heritage Weekend Photos and Videos

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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

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The steam crane had quite an unusual load…

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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.

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Docks Heritage Weekend and Crane Dance

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This coming weekend  is the excellent Docks Heritage Weekend. Here’s a couple of pics and videos from last years event in case you missed it.

Freshly painted MOGO

Freshly painted MOGO

Here’s what the Official M Shed Website has to say about the event:

A weekend of activities across two sites exploring the history and working life of the old City Docks.

Stroll around the fantastic Underfall Yard as its restoration programme gets into full swing and take part in activities at M Shed including boat trips, crane visits, have a go experiences and performances.

Events at M Shed

  • Mosaic Madness will be helping visitors create mosaics inspired by Bristol’s working docks and the river Avon
  • Screenings of historic films about the port
  • Dramatic interludes from Show of Strength Theatre Company exploring characters from the dock’s past Saturday and Sunday at 11am, 11.30am, 2pm and 2.30pm
  • Visit an electric crane (charges apply)
  • Cargo handling demonstrations
  • Trips on the tug John King (charges apply)
  • Visits to Balmoral, once part of the P & A Campbell fleet
  • Visit the Fairbairn steam crane
  • Drive a steam locomotive (charges apply)

Events at Underfall Yard

  • Demonstrations of traditional skills
  • Pop on a hard hat and take a look behind the scenes of the restoration works
  • Visit the viewing platform for spectacular harbour views
  • Family activities
  • Dramatic interludes from Show of Strength Theatre Company exploring stories from the yard’s past, Saturday and Sunday at 12.30pm and 3.30pm
  • Guided walks to Brunel’s Other Bridge, Sunday 1pm and 3pm
  • Explore reuse and recycling stories from Bristol’s boating communities and make your own floaty boaty (run in partnership with Bristol Green Capital), Sunday 2-4pm

 

A special event will also be taking place on Saturday evening. This is the Crane Dance performance, devised by Laura Kriefman. Starting at 8pm, this will combine  lights, boats, choirs, live bhangra band music, and choreographed synchronised cranes!

This event is completely free and best viewed from the Arnolfini or Lloyds Amphitheatre.

Exciting stuff!