Tag Archives: locomotive

40th Anniversary Celebrations (Video)

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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.

First operating weekend of 2018 – 10th/11th Feb

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The BHR will be in operation tomorrow and Sunday! An early start for an exciting year, and the public debut of the newly overhauled TOAD.

Portbury was out on Thursday shunting the passenger train together.

A railtour to Avonmouth Docks – 1963

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YouTube channel Unseen Steam recently posted this video of a railtour visit to Avonmouth in the days of steam.

On 21st July 1963 the RCTS ran what has been described as a “chaotic” railtour (not their fault) from Paddington to the Bristol area behind ‘Grange” class no. 6841 “Marlas Grange” which got the train to the Docks almost bang on time after a good run down the GWR main line to Swindon and then the connection to the Docks at Hallen Marsh Junction. In the Docks the train was worked by one of the Port of Bristol Authority’s tank locomotives, no S11 “Bristol”. All went well until the train was due to leave the Docks which took place around half an hour late. Further troubles ensued, with the train returning to London some one and a half hours late – many passengers had detrained at Stroud to try and find a quicker train home! (Information from http://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk, with thanks to Gary Thornton)

Docks Heritage Weekend 30th Sept-1st Oct

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It’s Docks Heritage Weekend tomorrow and Sunday, featuring a variety of attractions, one of the most varied weekends of the year.

Portbury was warming up outside the shed earlier this week.

Take a look at Will Stratford’s video of last year’s event showing some crane and goods action on the quayside:

 

More photos from the night shoot

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Alistair Grieve took these great photos at the recent night photo shoot with Portbury, and has kindly given permission for them to be reproduced here.

You can see all of Ali’s photos on his smugmug site.

Night Shoot with Portbury

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Last night the BHR was host to another of the popular photo charters organised by 30742 Charters and M Shed Museum.

This time it was a night shoot on the quayside, where Portbury shared the limelight with the museum’s Bristol lorry.

Here’s a video posted by Martin Creese on the 30742 facebook page:

and a couple of snaps from the evening from the same page:

TBT – Ashton Gate Station – 1970s/1980s

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RMweb user Kevin aka Rivercider has tracked down some photos of the then-closed Ashton Gate Station site, with Ashton Meadows sidings on the BHR in the background.

This one is from flickr user emmdee and shows an 08 shunting the yard.

Ashton Meadows – 1970s

Flickr user Blue_Pelican_railway uploaded this one dated 1977, showing that the warehouse on the right has now had its rail connection severed. Nature is starting to take hold of the platforms.

Ashton Meadows – 1977

Blue_Pelican_railway also uploaded this shot from May 1984 with a Billy Graham train in the foreground, and a BR Class 37 in the yard. The engineers depot was still in use at this time. The growth of surrounding foliage in the intervening years is evident.

Ashton Meadows – 1984