Photo copyright George Aldridge
Youtube user Slam Door Media uploaded a video showing ‘Teddy’ on ‘Driver for a Tenner’ duties whilst Kilmersdon was running passenger services at the weekend. ‘Kilmersdon’ has now departed and ‘Teddy’ will be running passenger services
In addition to the Father’s Day Steam Up, the opportunity was taken to run a photo charter, organised by 30742 Charters and featuring ‘Teddy’ and ‘Kilmersdon’ in action, as well as ‘Henbury’ on static display.
Will Stratford was there to capture the occasion in these great photos.
Steam trains will be in operation this coming Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday. Kilmersdon will be doing the honours, seen here looking very smart.
Note: I do apologise for previously publishing inaccurate information regarding operating days this year, this was a mistake which has now been corrected by linking through to the official M Shed page. Please note that this is an unofficial blog site maintained by a volunteer, and that the best place for information on opening times and events is the M Shed website.
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’ 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.
Paul Jarman has posted this image on Beamish Transport Online, it is the work of Dave Hewitt and shows Portbury with a rather lovely wooden-bodied coach and Tram 196 in operation on Valentine’s Day.
Joseph Stuart captured this footage:
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.
This Saturday and Sunday are the last two days of operation on the BHR for the 2014 season, and possibly the last services to travel to Butterfly Junction in its present form before the remodelling in anticipation of the Metrobus route construction.
Come down and take a ride!
It’s a Steam-Filled September Weekend!
Portbury, the Fairbairn Steam Crane, and Mayflower the Steam Tug are all in operation, so come on down.
Harbour Festival is always busy down at Bristol Docks. I was volunteering on the Sunday (Saturday had seen torrential downpours, we were lucky on Sunday).
A couple of views from 8am before the crowds arrived.
The ever faithful ‘Henbury’ was on duty today.
As steam was raised outside the shed, I was tasked with polishing up some of the brasswork, including climbing up on the saddle tank to do the whistles, safety valve cover and chimney cap.
Then Driver Bob eases her over the pit for oiling.
The harbour area was packed full of interesting vessels and activities, and the museum’s own fleet was out in force.
The main challenge of the day was traversing the extremely busy area on the wharf. Trains proceeded along this section at a snail’s pace. Museum volunteers in high-vis made sure members of the public didn’t stray on to the running line.
Services were between M Shed and the SS Great Britain halt. The rain did eventually come, thankfully only toward the end of the day.
‘Henbury’s fire was dropped and she backed into the shed after another day’s work.
Bristol Harbour Railway Blog 