For a couple of days in ‘Have a Go Week’, Henbury was out on the quayside as the kinks are ironed out.
Thanks to Bob Edwardes for these two pics! Very nice framing through the cranes.
Aaand here are a few I took including a trip up in the crane.
It’s been a week since the first public outing for the working exhibits in over a year, Docks Heritage Weekend. What a blast! So great to have the volunteers working with the public again. Both Portbury and Henbury were on display and the capstan was back in operation both days, and crane 30 was kept busy loading and unloading the lorry.
Quayside operations were bolstered with audience interaction from the Show of Strength Theatre company.
Thanks for Bob, Bruce and the M Shed social media channels for these photos of the weekend.
Thanks to Archie Beale for these photos of Portbury ex-works in either 1988-89 or the 1990s doing passenger trips on the harbourside.
Nicholas Tozer published this rather lovely video of a blue ‘Portbury’ operating trains in the early 1990s. It’s amazing to see the differences in the background, like the old sidings, the sleeper wall where the flats near SS GB halt now are. Also note the W.Vincent wagon being used for passengers, these days it is back to being a coal wagon.
The newest video on the Railway Mania Channel features a snippet of info about the museum’s capstan, seen in action at Docks Heritage Weekend.
Full video here:
Some rather excellent news to round off the year, Henbury’s boiler passed its steam test this week. Next comes the task of reassembly.
Thanks to Bill Drewett for the photos.
Good news as Henbury’s boiler has arrived back at M-Shed. I believe this boiler dates from 1955 as it was a new one fitted to ‘Mackenzie’ which had the winged smokebox front typical of earlier Pecketts. In or around 1960, the boiler was fitted to ‘Henbury’ which previously had a straight smokebox front.
Lots of steps still to go through on re-assembly but the boiler is one of the biggest hurdles in any overhaul!
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.
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 These are fantastic as historical references as they show the extent of track on the quayside and the difference to the present-day.
On Saturday March 24th 2018, the Bristol Harbour Railway celebrated 40 years of operation on Bristol’s Harbourside, accompanied by the Lydney Town Band and of course a cake to commemorate the occasion! 101-year old ‘Portbury’ did the honours, pushing and pulling the freshly-refurbished passenger train up and down all day. What started as a group of enthusiasts, one locomotive (Henbury) and a brake van has seen dozens of changes on the harbourside, with the disused industrial area changing into a vibrant tourist hotspot. Long may it continue to bring delight to passengers, giving a unique experience in UK preservation.
Portbury was in action last weekend, despite the weather on Saturday lots of people were out! Sunday saw some sunnier climes.
All being well, trains should be operating this weekend too!
Bristol Harbour Railway Blog 