Transport & Industry News at Beamish

Forcett Coach Progress - January 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:16:00 +0000

Here are the latest views of progress on the Forcett coach's restoration at Stanegate Restorations & Replicas, as sent through by Ian Yates who leads the team there...

Below: This is a close up of a dry fitting of one end replacement cill.

Below: This view shows the cill from the other angle, with the corner post removed for repair.

Below: This dramatic view showing the guard's end with end removed - including the headstock.

The roof is supported by the new sides. This graphically emphasises the extent of the work being carried out as part of this restoration.

Below: An idea of the condition of some elements of the coach! This shows the disintegrating headstock with the buffer to the left.

Below: This is the replacement cill end, shown against the original which is being used as a pattern.

Lewin latest - week ending 20th January 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:19:00 +0000

Below: Another productive week on Lewin! On Tuesday I called in on Alton Engineering who are rapidly bringing to a conclusion the restoration of the boiler. This had originally been overhauled by another contractor, but since then a number of areas of work had been identified which required additional attention (including repairs to grooving on both inside and outside of the firebox plus replacing some quite inappropriate boiler fittings and dome cover, the latter with the original!). A new smokebox (of rivetted pattern) and chimney have also been made, a spare clack pad blanked off and numerous other smaller jobs carried out. The boiler is now ready to test before being submitted for statutory inspection and testing and then returning to the north east. Exciting times indeed!

Below: The face of Lewin! The smokebox handrails remain to be fitted (using components made by Dave Young) but there is now no mistaking the identity of this engine! The original dome cover, which was discarded during the 1990s overhaul, has been resurrected. The reason for its previous replacement was that the top 'flare' was perforated upon arrival at Beamish in 1975 and later appears to have completely broken off. Rather than repair this, it had been seen as easier to replace the dome cover. This was done as a turning rather than casting, welded to a flange. In this overhaul, the original has been machined to create a flat top then a pattern made and casting produced and machined to exactly fir the dome and thus restore, completely safely, the original shape and profile. It also restores the proportions of the Salter safety valve balance and arm in this area. Photos of the casting and pattern appeared in an earlier Lewin posting.

Below: A view of the backhead. Note the Salter spring balance for the safety valve. New try cocks have also been fitted.

Below: A close up of the steam turret/fountain (or steam manifold, depending on your favoured terminology). The safety valve is within this casting, the arm providing the leverage from the spring which is contained within the brass tube to the left. This arrangement is known as the 'Salter' type, after Salter springs and balances who manufactured the scaled components. The manifold casting is a new component, itself replacing a replacement component which had been fabricated in the past and wasn't suitable for this restoration. The manifold not only contains the safety valve but also supplises the two injectors, steam brake, blower and pressure gauge.

Below: Meanwhile, Dave Young has, in one week flat, repainted all of the motion for Lewin, done extensive work on the oilways and then fitted the oil pots. The latter has not been without difficulty - see the last post on this subject. These items can now be returned to Vince for fitting onto the locomotive once the frame painting has been completed...

Volunteer Projects update

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:11:00 +0000

Below: Colin Slater, who assists in coordinating the work that the Friends workshop volunteers do at Beamish, send through these photos of a 'typical' Saturday's work (this is by no means it in its entirety however!).

Here work on the buffer straps for the side tipping waggon are being worked on.

Below: There is generally at least one cycle project underway in the workshops, something that looks likely to remain the case in the future and thus provides a steady stream of work as well as an outlet for the expertise in this field.

Below: Test brackets (as shown in earlier posting) are offered up to the DoS saloon 58A. This photo amply illustrates the work required to reconstruct the lower step on the coach.

Below: Work has started on assembling the Adams Car Elevator, with two of the angled castors being fitted to the new channels in which the wheels sit.

Below: Some time ago a small cannon (!) was obtained from another museum. Whilst the cast barrel is in good order, the carriage was not and an entirely new one has been made out of oak and is seen here being assembled prior to painting. Needless to say this is one of the few exhibits for which we don't have aspirations of operating it!

Lewin Latest (week ending 13/01/12)

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:07:00 +0000

As the work to complete Lewin accelerates towards its conclusion (I hope!) in the late spring, I thought I would cover the progress on the restoration on a searchable thread within the blog, titled 'Lewin Latests (date)'. Hoepfully this will assist those wishing to follow this project specifically and who can use the search facility on this blog to more quickly locate what they are looking for. So, what happened on Lewin last week...

Below: Davy Sheen has repaired the original ashpan for No.18 (to give the Lewin it's more correct identification), which has included extensive patching of the front end as well as straightening the ashpan door and providing a more suitable location for the damper lever to locate onto. It is seen here pending painting (which will smarten it up but inevitably burn off in time - I can't think of many ashpans that aren't a red rust shade after a few years work).

Below: Meanwhile, over at Hetton, the first coats of NER (well, LNER!) apple green colour have been applied to the wheels, disguising the rather vivid high build undercoat shades. The frames should receive their first colour, 'Morrocco Marroon' next week.

Below: Vince has made replacement cylinder cladding as the original was pretty bent and battered and had been affixed to the loco using some very rough and ready welding (this probably dates to the 1977 'restoration' but may reflect later 'keep it running' practice at Seaham Docks). These will be removed, probably home, for painting and application of at least the first stages of the quite elaborate lining on these items.

Below: Dave has been busy in his workshop, trial fitting the rather lovely lubricating pots which he made, and discovering that they were something of a 'rattling' fit! Hal Weetman, Lewin's former driver, recalls requesting the oil pots be replaced by grease lubricators during the loco's last few years at work (so late 1960s). He admits that he realised that this wasn't a progressive move and that within days he regretted asking as the grease would not follow the oil ways and so he had to still apply oil anyway! He also adds that he hadn't the heart to ask for the oil pots to be refitted and so Lewin ran with grease 'stauffers', something it retained in the 1977 restoration. Thanks to Dave's skill at making the patterns and machining a full set of oil pots (of Black Hawthorn design, from a drawing by Graham Redfern who re-equipped Black Hawthorn 'Wellington' at the Tanfield Railway with a set) Lewin now has not only better looking and more accurate lubrication, but will also have a better supply of oil for these important moving parts.
Dave has approached the fitting of these parts in two ways. In some cases he is able to make a bush that has an oversize outside thread to fit into the worn threaded holes in the rods. This has an internal thread of correct proportion for the oil pot:

Below: Dave's second approach to the problem has been to silver solder the pots into place where this is possible. This example is shown below (in fact this is the other end of the coupling rod also shown above).

So, much still to do and a narrowing window to do it in! On Monday I will be visiting the boiler and hopefully shortly afterwards the superstructure fabrication will be agreed and work on that will commence at Hunslet's works at Statfold Barn. The foundry has the patterns for the injectors and our new Regional Heritage Engineer will produce the timber buffer beams. Once the boiler arrives at Vince's then reassembly of the engine can make much more progress and the myriad parts already prepared can be fitted. Next Friday afternoon is earmarked for another painting session, so I will report next weekend on another week of Lewin restoration progress...

(Note - I prepare these notes on my laptop at home, which seems to have a fundamental disagreement with Blogger resulting in numerous additional spaces and rather wide gaps between text and photos - I have tried to edit these out but, as in so many other aspects of our lives, apparently computers know better than us and we are but their servants...!!!)

From Dave Young's workshop...

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:27:00 +0000

Below: The latest addition to the Steam Mule 'assemblage of steam bling and ornamentation' (!) is this small water pump. Dave Young built it from scratch for a project he had in mind many years ago but recently unearthed it and overhauled it as a potential candidate for the Steam Mule. It might be used as an additional (fourth) means of delivering water to the boiler, though an alternative idea is to use it as a means of drawing water into the main tank. Either way it adds a steam pump to the engine enabling further training elements to be incorporated into the Mule. There is no urgency to fit it but Dave did carry out a steam test, as shown here...

Below: Meanwhile, a large (and heavy!) assemblage of rods are scattered around Dave's workshop, these constituting pretty much all of the valve gear, connecting rods and coupling rods from Lewin. Whilst work can progress on painting the frames at Vince Allen's works, Dave can progress in the comfort of his own workshop on these items. They have been overhauled in anticipation of reassembly, but are rather easier to paint when off the engine than on it! This view shows the connecting rods (to the fore) and coupling rods (to the rear). They are nice wrought iron lumps, one of the connecting rods bearing the scars (and repairs) following an altercation with a large rock on the north beach at Seaham in the 1960s. Hal Weetman was the driver and recalls the day. The rod was removed and taken to the blacksmiths at the Seaham works for repair, meanwhile, as Lewin was rather short of water and immobile on the beach the tank was filled with seawater! Hal recalls that once the rod was refitted, they beat a retreat to the main docks to fill with fresh water, the engine priming dreadfully and frothing all of the way!

It is nice to know a little history behind one of Lewin's many battle scars!

From the workshops...

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:35:00 +0000

Below: The restoration of the water cart by the Friends volunteers has taken a great step forwards after they rapidly dismantled it and dispatched the tank, which had areas of heavy corrosion and perforation (not conducive to water retention!) evident. The repairs were carried out by a local contractor and are superb, as the photo below shows. The patches are almost invisible from the outside and are amazingly neat inside.

Below:The area around the lid was also removed and new metal welded in to create a new edge and firm base for the casting and lid to be secured to.

Below: Elsewhere in the workshop a jig has been made to trial the brackets repairs for the Duke of Sutherland's coach, No.58A. As may be recalled, the step brackets were rather brutally modified in 1950 so as to ensure the coach ran 'in gauge' from the Scottish to the Southern region when Dunrobin and 58A moved to New Romney. The upper brackets survived and will be repaired to include the lower leg and fork to support the bottom footboard. This will be replicated once the brackets are all overhauled, repaired and replaced upon the coach.

Below: The Friends team working on the Hodbarrow side tipper have made good progress on the chassis and it is seen here complete with the axle pedestal castings fitted in place - this is now a very heavy lump! The pedestals include a block of resilient rubber to act as a crude damper/spring (something widely used on Robert Hudson built wagons after the First World War). In February I hope to order the final bits of metalwork needed for the tipper body, which will enable its completion and hopefully its appearance at our showcase event, the GNSF in April.

Daimler CC Replica Bus Overhaul

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:17:00 +0000

Few visitors to Beamish lately will have failed to notice how hard the bus fleet is working. There are some long term plans to expand it, but in the meantime a programme of work has begun to overhaul and improve the existing trio of vehicles.

First off for this year is the now quite aged Daimler CC bus, built in 1987 and showing signs of 24 years hard work at Beamish! If this is compared with what an original's actual working life was, it can be seen we have done very well with this bus as very little has been done to it over the years. The chassis donor was a Renault normal control truck, and a spare chassis is held in stock 'just in case'. The engine off the spare is now installed in the replica but otherwise it is pretty much as built. The condition is sound, though the paintwork is poor and there are various small defects to remedy. A mechanical overhaul, particularly of the braking systems, has commenced and a full repaint will follow, probably in March. The livery, like the trams, has been chosen to create some interest and will be the 1914 onwards 'Northern' scheme of all over crimson/maroon with gold leaf lettering - per the SOS bus. Northern celebrates its centenary in 2013 so maybe the Daimler and the SOS can find some role in those celebrations.

Below: A view of the Daimler a couple of years ago. As part of the overhaul it will be returned to its solid tyre wheels, which will vastly improve its appearance. These were originally fitted for the buses launch in 1988 but were later removed and replaced with pneumatic tyres to cope with the then very poor road conditions on the Museum site. Now that these are much improved, a return to solids will follow. The Daimler should be in action in its new livery for Easter (and the following weekend at the Great North Steam Fair...).

Below: This shot from the Museum archive shows a similar Daimler in Northern livery. The company had its origins in the Gateshead & District Tramways Company, who began a number of bus routes to serve its tramway termini. These proved so successful that a separate company was formed, the Northern General Omnibus Company. As a result the buses were repainted into the new livery, as seen below, and as will be recreated at Beamish this spring.

Also receiving attention this winter is the Access bus. In 2012/13 the other replica bus, currently in London General Omnibus Company livery will receive a similar overhaul to the Daimler, and also be re-liveried into an appropriate local scheme...

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:06:00 +0000

Happy New Year to all blog followers! After a break I have returned full of ideas for the year ahead, which certainly looks to be a promising one.

What can we expect in 2012? Well, two big events (April and September - the latter reinstated as a four day event after initial thoughts reported here that it would be reduced to two days).

Both will feature visiting railway locomotives, narrow gauge locomotives, trams, traction engines, cars, cycles etc. etc. There is also the return of the Lewin to steam to look forward to (I hope for April, but looking less likely at the moment - we will try though!), possibly the Ruston Portable

and maybe a few other interesting arrivals in the year ahead (on all forms of rail...). The Forcett Coach should be completed in the spring, we are now gathering our energy for a major redevelopment of the workshops which should greatly improve both output and self sufficiency.

Later in the year we should be able to reveal something of our long term planning strategy, see progress on Dunrobin and the DoS coach 58A, commence the improvement of facilities at Rowley Station and continue to increase the transport activity across the whole Museum. So, certainly exciting times ahead and as ever, you can read it here first!

I should also add that the blog can be considered definitive - I do occasionally have quite odd conversations regarding the transport at Beamish and this blog - as the Keeper of Transport I do take quite seriously the idea of reporting the news from the Museum to those who are interested, and also producing something that can be relied on for the historical record. It is an official blog and one that I keep as part of my role here - there have been some who have informed me of what we are doing or going to do (in their opinion) that has come as news to me and I can assure readers that what you read here really is the truth! That said, here are some photos taken over the Christmas holidays to start of the new year...

Below: Whilst visiting the January Sales in Manchester I called in at MOSI where Agecroft No.1 was in steam and operating over the Y shaped demonstration line there.

Below: I also had a recreational visit to the Severn Valley Railway - very wet and pretty cold, so very atmospheric! Here is visiting BR Standard Class 4 2-6-4T 80072 at Kidderminster Town station.

The Christmas season has been exceptionally busy at Beamish (or maybe this is the norm when it doesn't snow?!) and the clear up is now in full swing. We are still open (closed Mondays and Fridays) and whilst Rowley Station operations have stopped until Easter, the Tramway is still running everyday and more than likely you will see the Balloon or Gateshead 10 in action (these now being the favorite winter trams as I hear it from the operating department).

End of 2011!

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 10:46:00 +0000

The blog (well, me!) will be taking a break for the next week or so. I'd like to thank everyone for following these musings and ramblings and can assure you all that 2012 holds much of interest, excitement and development regarding all of the Transport & Industry activities at Beamish!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!

Lewin - Painting the frames

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:42:00 +0000

Below: Not Lewin but relevant as it is the same workshop - this is the crankshaft from the Ruston portable seen on a lathe at Vince Allen's premises. It has been cleaned, painted and is now receiving attention prior to fitting of a new flywheel plus new eccentric straps (for which Dave Young has made the pattern and which were seen in an earlier posting).

Below: I'm trying to spend some time with Lewin at the moment. With the New Year likely to bring an influx of bits, including boiler, tank, bunkers and cab (so quite big bits!) I thought we ought to start painting the bottom end. After cleaning and de-greasing it has received a coat of grey primer (as seen here)...

Below ... and is now receiving the undercoat layers for the final livery - the green will be much less lurid! The frames are a rich brown/plum/maroon shade beloved of north east industrial locomotive painters and follow evidence in colour photographs of Lewin that they were various shades of red at various times in its life. Work will continue over the holidays...

Depot Road 4 - Trackwork completed

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:31:00 +0000

Below: A superb effort by the track team with assistance from other members of the Facilities department saw the concrete to encase the new depot Road 4 rails laid on Monday. This was poured, dressed off then left to set.

Below: The first tram to venture along the new depot tracks was Sheffield 264 which was slid across on its traverser plates and re-railed. It is seen here going where no Beamish tram has gone before...!!!

The wonder of the internet: Gateshead 10 and the Forcett coach.

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:32:00 +0000

Below: I was recently trawling the Internet looking for background information or any new photographs of trams/locomotives/rolling stock in the Beamish collection when under the search 'Grimsby & Immingham' this picture turned up. It was taken by Bill Wright on the 18th October 1965 from a train passing through Clay Cross. As has been seen on these pages before, for some time in the 1960s G&I No.26 was stored there following its withdrawal from service on the Grimsby & Immingham Electric Railway in 1961. It was, of course, previously Gateshead 10, one of a number of similar cars sold in 1951 when the system closed. 26 was listed by the British Transport Commission (BTC) as of national significance and was earmarked for a future railway museum of the nation's railway (and transport) history. Clay Cross served as a store for many of the items for this collection (later to become part of the NRM/National Museum of Science & Industry) as well as being the National Tramway Museum's off-site store.

What is terrific about this photograph is that not only does it show 26, but next to it, under the tarpaulin, is the body (on underframe) of the Forcett Coach! This shows clearly that it was mounted on its original underframe but sans W irons, axleboxes and wheelsets. This adds to our knowledge of the Forcett Coach (No.179) at this period of its life.

This leads me to a thought - 2013 is the 40th anniversary of the Beamish Tramway and the workshop schedule is planned to allow for some work to ensure Gateshead 10 is in fine condition for some planned celebrations. This will inevitably involve a repaint. It is therefore possible that we might be able to consider running 10 in BR green as 26 once again...
There has been some suggestion of this idea before, and ideally we would be looking for sponsorship to help towards the costs of the repaint which would be timed to allow for a debut at the 2012 Power from the Past event on September 1-2 2012 and then some running through the autumn in that guise. This really is a maybe but it would seem to be an ideal opportunity to recreate this lost identity. If anyone is in favour of this, and could even offer some support, then they can contact me via the comments section on the blog...

As 26 it would need to have the advert boards and destination boxes removed as well as the repaint into green. A finishing touch would be to fit lamps on the roof at each end as carried on the G&I. Such a repaint would form the basis of the later repaint into Gateshead livery - rather like the process that was carried out on Blackpool 31 when it temporarily masqueraded in its engineering car guise as No.4.

General News Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:22:00 +0000

Below: To start this post here is a morning photo of Sunderland 16 heading into service - quite nice weather, unlike this evening!

Below: The Rowley Station volunteers have completed the path leading up from the level crossing and have done a superb job. Guided by a professional street mason the work has produced a durable and accessible path on what was previously quite difficult terrain for visitors with mobility impairments. The group now have several other jobs lined up...

Below: While at the station there was time to admire the NER serpent bench recently restored by the Friends.

Below: Undergrowth clearance is going well, making excellent progress given that it is one volunteer working as and when he can on this mini-project. The effect makes an enormous difference to the railway in this area.

Below: David Young has completed the patterns for Lewin's injectors, as seen here. The core is also marked out with painting still to be completed (black for core material, yellow for machined areas and red for the rest).

Below: Dave has also completed a pattern for new eccentric straps on the Ruston Proctor portable engine.

Below: Meanwhile, inside the tramshed the rails are laid and are now being bonded and fastened down before concrete is poured to complete the work (planned for next week). 264 can then regain the rails and what would be Road 5 be cleared for buses etc.

Below: Friends projects continue apace, with lettering of the second shipping box underway.

This will provide for fuel storage at the Fairground.

Below: A couple of views showing progress on the Hodbarrow side tipper...

Below: Impressive dismantling work on the street watering cart! As can be seen below the tank requires quite extensive plate repairs but this implement is in otherwise generally good order.

I'd be very interested to hear from anyone with information on H. Bushell & Son, its manufacturer...

Gateshead 52

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:17:00 +0000

Readers and followers of other forums, blogs and internet sites, as well as those who are members of the Tramway Museum Society and in receipt of 'Contact' will no doubt be aware that there have been some discussions regarding the future of Gateshead No.52, which is a part of the TMS collection and currently in store at the TMS' Clay Cross site. I thought it would be worth confirming what the current situation is regarding our part in this...

The facts are these: We have had some discussion with representatives of the National Tramway Museum and the TMS board with a proposal for No.52 to be transferred to the collection at Beamish, for restoration (as 52) and to form part of our fleet here. The components for latterly similar car No.51 are kept in store at Beamish and may well form the basis of a restoration of 51 or (more likely), Gateshead 45 (which was rebuilt to create 51) as there would be little benefit in having two near identical single deck enclosed trams from the point of view of operational flexibility if 52 were to join the fleet. The two will not be combined.

The TMS will consider the matter at their AGM in July 2012 and the matter will require a special resolution to be proposed, to the membership. It should be remembered that the decision is entirely theirs and that it is by no means a foregone conclusion. We are extremely grateful to the TMS and its board and members for considering the idea.

A long term plan and strategy for the transport collections at Beamish forms part of a wider Museum development plan and in due course I will explain some of the aspirations for the tramway and fleet. In the short term we will be tackling 196 this winter/next spring thereafter we will attend to worn tyres on Sunderland 16.

Below: As built the car (52) was numbered 7 in the original fleet and operated with open platforms. It is seen here at Bensham terminus with the crew posed for the photograph (note the direction of the trolleypole!). This version was in turn a rebuild of an earlier form which had included a combination-type body (very much like Manchester 765 which visited us earlier in the year), though the open sections were later enclosed. Such was the versatility of the tramcar as a basic platform for modification, customisation and reconstruction. Of course many 'rebuilds' were in fact accountancy tricks to cloak construction of new vehicles (therefore obviating the need for capital expenditure and all that this entailed) - the Blackpool Standard fleet is a particularly well known and illustrative example of this. It also occurred on the railways and no doubt throughout industry and commerce.

Below: The car was later rebuilt (following a severe accident on the notorious Bensham Bank) and became one of the two 'Teams' cars (used on the route of that name). Essential differences included and enclosed platform and longer truck. It is seen here at Sunderland Road Depot.

Forcett Coach Progress - December 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:37:00 +0000

Ian Yates has reported on progress on the Forcett Coach's restoration...

Below: A reminder of a previous restoration, being undertaken in 1974 at Shildon Wagon Works. The coach body had been stored at Clay Cross as part of the BTC Collection and was due to be broken up when Frank Atkinson stepped in to take it on loan for Beamish.

Below: With the incentive of the S&DR 150th anniversary in 1975 the coach was restored and later returned to Beamish where it was used at Rowley Station until the NER Composite was restored. It is seen here with the J21 - rather overpowered for such a short train!

Below: So, to the present. These views show the side frame pieces being installed. A lot of new material has had to be incorporated in these sections, which are being done piecemeal to avoid removal of the roof (which is by and large in good condition). As can be seen, some quite complex joints are required to accept the profile of the timber sections. This does give a very good idea of the high quality of work being undertaken however, work that should ensure the longevity of the coach and which, with careful recording, adds to the historical knowledge of this vehicle. Timber sections that have been replaced are not wasted, and can often be incorporated elsewhere on shorter, thinner or narrower components.

Below: This view shows how far out of alignment some sections are! The new piece of timber to the right is true-vertical!

For more information on Stanegate's projects (including links to their own Flickr photo pages), see their website at: http://www.stanegaterestorations.co.uk/currentprojects.html

Nocturnal Transport...

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:27:00 +0000

Last Friday night (and this Friday coming) Beamish held its nocturnal Christmas events. Andy was out and about with his camera doing what makes him happiest (that he admits to anyway!) - taking photographs in the dark. Many of these have appeared in the past on this blog, but if you like them then do look on the Beamish Flickr pages for many more examples of his work. I really rather like the ghostly Y7 departing Rowley - something out of 'The Signalman' starring Denholm Elliot...

Sawbench in action!

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:20:00 +0000

The latest film on Beamish's Youtube pages shows the wood sawing display at the Power from the Past event last September. Thanks to an ultra-compact camera the view, from the log, of approaching the blade is one of the superb shots within the short film made by Andy Martin.

Worth a look!

General News Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:15:00 +0000

Below: The concrete for the base of the tram depot Road 4 rails was poured this morning, as these three views show...

Below: The core box for Lewin's Peckett style injector has been delivered. Made from a high density foam and cut by automated machine to CAD drawings, this complex design has been superbly rendered. The outside of the injector 'shape' has been made along more traditional lines by Dave Young.

Below: Not really transport or industry, but interesting all the same, the Church rebuild is progressing well and can be followed on its own blog accessed from the main Museum website...

Engineering Heritage Skills Initiative

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:53:00 +0000

During 2011 we have benefited from the contributions of four placements under the Engineering Heritage Skills Initiative scheme, and in turn these placements have benefited from being paired with various members of the Facilities team at Beamish. The scheme continues in 2012 and new recruits are being sought. One of the team this year had found full time work at Beamish so there really is value to this. If you are interested in this, see the adverts below for how to obtain more details and make contact with EHSI...

Hodbarrow Side Tipper - Historic Film

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:33:00 +0000

In 2009 I posted on the blog a short film made in the late 1960s by Jon Marsh. Having checked back on this I realised it was no longer visible on the site so here it is again...

The film shows operations at Hodbarrow and features an iron side tipper in the train as well as one stored alongside the line. The grab wagon also appears to be based on the same underframe. It is worth absorbing the atmosphere of this film - it is exactly what I would like our own Colliery Railway to feel like - and we are now well on the way to getting that sensation!

Jon made extensive films of industrial railways through the 1960s and has made his film available through the B&R range as well as his own Industrial Railway DVDs - a Google search will soon bring you to the material and it forms a wide ranging and important archive. Jon also filmed the Lewin at work and this is of particular interest to those of us who have lived with the restoration project over the last six years! Our thanks to Jon for allowing us to use the film on this site.

Dunrobin's mystery hooks...

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:41:00 +0000

On a number of visits to Bridgnorth we have on several occasions pondered the purpose of four hooks mounted on each corner of Dunrobin's bufferbeams. There was some speculation that it could be snowplough related, but they didn't suggest anything very solid, and wandering snowploughs could be considered both an operational nuisance not to mention being rather hazardous!

However, Ray Nolton of the Highland Railway Society has kindly shed some light on this and confirmed they are for mini-snowploughs. The HRS archivist also pointed out some images showing ploughs both fitted and stored and these have enabled me to make something of a rough and ready sketch of what might have been fitted to Dunrobin...

The view below shows the wooden plough which is hung by chain to the bufferbeam hooks. The all important stiffness is provided by a stay rod which is fitted to the top of the plough and which is linked onto the drawgear, taking the place of the coupling. This is a stage 1 sketch, but as Dunrobin will be in demand at Beamish all year round, a snowplough would be a very useful asset...

Depot Road 4 - as the freeze comes work moves inside!

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:46:00 +0000

Below: An unusual site for a winter Monday is to see a large proportion of the tram and bus fleet outside. Basking in the sun on what is an otherwise icy and frozen site are Sunderland 16 and Leeds 6...

Below: The reason for this temporary exile of the fleet can be seen here, as Darren and Mark have moved the Depot Road 4 project indoors and are rapidly removing the concrete sections required to enable a new concrete base and then rails to be laid within the existing floor. This phase should be completed today enabling concrete to be poured over the next few days. Once set the rails will be laid, secured and bonded before this is then backfilled and concreted to restore the smooth surface, complete with a new and usable depot track within it.

A winter Saturday at Beamish

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 16:54:00 +0000

Below: We have quietly aimed for having enhanced activity for the Transport & Industry department on the first weekend of the month through 2011 and this has, by and large, worked well. This weekend is the last of them for 2011 so to mark the event we had no less than eight engines in steam plus other vintage vehicles from the Beamish collection. I took Coffee Pot out for a 'play' - it being nice to not be shunting as part of a delivery or departure! Whilst cold, the early part of the day was bright, as seen below.

Below: An opportunity was taken to use the new extension and run-round loop. Here Mike Holden and Coffee Pot contemplate the future route eastwards...

Below: Heading west along the loop, much of which has been relaid but not yet used!

Below: A chance to pose some of the engines in the Pit Yard - from left to right we have Fowler 'Rambler' (Beamish), Coffee Pot (Beamish), Marshall 'Mary Margaret' (Michael Davison), the Sentinel (Guy Rutter) and Clayton 'Rambler' (Yes there are two with the same name! Owned by Trevor Wrench and joining us for the next season). Not shown is the Wallis 6ton Advance, the Y7 and the Savage Centre engine. Various cycles performed as well as the Matchless motorcycle and sidecar combination.

Below: A close up of the Clayton with the Sentinel behind.

So - for 2012 we intend to make every first weekend of the month (from February) something special in terms of exercising the resident vehicles and collections, something I hope will grow and grow! This doesn't preclude operation of any of these at other times and in time I hope we will also add horse performance using some of the superb collections of horse vehicles we have in the collections here.

Tram 196 Dismantling begins...

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:45:00 +0000

Below: 196's truck was removed this morning to enable the wheelsets and motors to be stripped out and receive overhauls and wheel re-profiling. The truck frame will also be inspected, cleaned and painted as part of this work.

Below: Whilst tramway profiles are much finer than railway ones, this is pretty much on the limit, whence 196's withdrawal earlier this season. The tyres have plenty of metal on them to enable turning (and further turnings in the future) so this aspect of the work is expected to be quite straightforward.

Below: Meanwhile, outside Road 4 advances and is filled in, so as to preserve access to the green/hardstanding to the right of the view below.

New Look Blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Beamish Museum Curator of Transport) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:34:00 +0000

To ring the changes the blog has been given a bit of a makeover and thanks to Andy Martin's efforts it now looks much sharper and more professional (I hope). To reflect the increasing breadth of the work reported it is now the 'Transport & Industry' blog and I hope that as we develop there will be even more to report. Otherwise I will continue to try and update it regularly as has been the case up to now. Andy has also created some buttons at the top to click on, which take you to the stocklist (new one due in January and this time without the computer gremlins that caused some lines to be omitted) and links to useful articles etc. I hope to increase this particular aspect of the blog so that it becomes a useful reference point for the Museum's transport and industry collections.

Any feedback will be gladly received!