Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway Updates

Afternoon Folks

Thought i'd startup an embsay railway thread, so hopefully for those of us on here that don't have social media can find out what's going on & keep up to date with the railway's goings on.

I visited about 2wks back now for the 3rd or 4th time & found it as usual 1 of the top friendliest preserved lines i've visited. Thought it'd be best to split this thread into 3 maybe 4 different parts, namely loco department news, rolling stock & infastructure/expansion & signalling.

Loco Department News

AFAIK the current situation is:

08773 - Carrying on plodding along although apparently in need of some tlc in the nearish future. Operational & has run on the freight train days as had it up to bolton abbey.

08054 - IIRC this has had main genny repairs fairly lately & on way back to rude health.

CL04 - Operational as i've seen it mooching around the yard at embsay, however don't know if it ever ventures out on pway work etc.

D9513 - Operational & was shunting some locos & bits around the shed area last time I visited.

37297 - Operational & has had a couple of running days this year so far & appears to be performing well.

31119/435/47004 - All currently stored OOU at bolton abbey & awaiting developments although nowt seems to have happened in months. 31119 was apparently withdrawn with leaking cylinder liners, 31435 (aka D5600) is essentially a runner or was when it arrived a few years ago & was rumoured to be possibly returning to action again. 47004 IIRC needs new radiator elements, new batteries & a set of buffers to be fit for use. Although not a clue who owns any of the above, hopefully developments will be made soon.

STEAM

Nicked the following off wikipedia:

• Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST No. 68005 Norman built in 1943. On loan from Southern Locomotives Limited at the Swanage Railway.

• Hunslet 16 0-6-0ST Beatrice No. 2705 built in 1945.
• RSH 0-6-0ST No. 47 Moorbarrow built in 1955
  
• 5643 - Small prairie on loan from the ribble railway at preston.

Plus can't remember what else they've got steam wise but think there's 1 of their locos being overhauled at scunthorpe?

Rolling Stock

Currently in use is a rake of 4 mk1s that are in reasonable nick, few are starting to show some signs of rust/wear & tear which is to be expected as embsay don't appear to have any undercover carriage storage.

They've got a shed which is on the right hand side leaving embsay for bolton abbey which atm looks to be storage of stock waiting restoration. Also in use are a couple of vintage carriages plus an L&Y directors saloon that's used as the 1st class coach & sometimes coupled on the mk1 rake. They seem to have a lot of stock awaiting work at embsay which is difficult as it's quite a cramped site so most work is undertaken outdoors & i'm sure lately a pair of mk1s were away off site having repairs.

Infastructure & Expansion

On my last visit there was work ongoing at holywell halt to relay some of the platform. Bolton abbey is the biggest project however with an island platform being built at present opposite the station buildings, so my best guess is they'll probably use the island platform on event days etc as it'd be less convenient than having a platform right alongside the station.

Not sure if embsay have a footbridge in store as parts somewhere or if they intend to buy new or salvage an old one from another site possibly. ATM it's just the main platform base that's being constructed but will look brilliant once completed, that is judging by the quality of work they achieved rebuilding bolton abbey station from scratch. For some reason when I visited although it was a 2 train running day, they weren't running full length of the line up to bow bridge loop which gives an extra mile or 2. There's the capacity for services to pass at either stoneacre loop or embsay as it has 2 platforms, weirdly though 1 train running days bow bridge loop is used

Expansion wise, getting into skipton is the next big project apparently after the work at bolton abbey. P5 at skipton is still used by NR as a walking route, so as usual it's the funding side of things that are causing headaches & also getting permission from NR to use the station. Told by a member of the loco crew it only requires 2 track panels to be relaid in order for the mainline link to be re-established.

As for pushing back the other direction towards addingham, not sure if this'll ever happen obviously a helluva a lot of work to reinstate the line. According to wikipedia the embankment that supported the station at addingham was demolished years ago, wikipedia also states there are plans to rebuild 1 of the bridge abutments at the end of the embankment that's survived, & possibly build on the land next to & at the edge of the embankment. For now, a possible extension to a halt at wharfe riverside is being considered.

Signalling

There are signal boxes along the whole route, embsay station box is working as is the newest kid on the block at embsay, stoneacre loop. Bolton abbey has the red & yellow example, along with another box at the end of the platform. The yellow box apparently does have it's frame inside, although not visible through the windows as the box is currently used for storage. Guess is it'll start being commissioned when the island platforms are nearer to completion.

Also at bolton abbey are some rather attractive & rare (ish) searchlight signals which I believe are similar to those once used on the london underground network. They all appear to be wired up, albeit at current not connected to anything, all signalling at bolton abbey & associated pointwork currently controlled by ground frames.


All in all the embsay railway is a cracking little line, very friendly & welcoming atmosphere with some wonderful volunteers & a good bookshop as well. A quite steeply graded line in places which bodes well as particularly for their austerity tank it's a good workout. Brill line to visit all year round (nearly) as by god in winter it gets just a tad vicious with it being quite an open area. I visited for a freight train day last year early in the year, around feb IIRC & with torrential rain & a 40mph gale blowing thermals were most definitely needed

 

Unfortunately the 'Wackypedia' quote is incorrect. 5643 isn't a "small prairie" but an 0-6-2T owned by the Furness Railway Trust and based at the Ribble Steam Railway.
Ray.

 

The ex-Guisley box at the West (Embsay) end of Bolton Abbey station has a miniature lever frame which is gradually being set up to control the searchlight signals and the points - the latter by electro-pneumatic point machines, making it a unique installation! The box at the East end of Bolton Abbey is ex-Slights Sidings East, and is to be restored as a demonstration box so members of the public can be shown how mechanical boxes work. I was allowed access a couple of years ago when visiting from St Albans South box, but am uncertain of exactly how far work has progressed since then.

 

marshall5 - sorry about that, i'm not entirely clued up on steam locos. Being born in 85 meant I was mainly brought up with diesels & electrics!

After chatting with the crew on 5643 weekend before last, it's apparently staying until some point in 2017 at least, but they weren't sure if it'd be hanging around longer. Feeling was is that the owners may want it back at preston at some stage. Never known (or at least rare) for a full size signalbox to have a miniature frame installed, with the exception of the epping & ongar who are currently in the process of installing 1. From my experience they're mainly confined to the underground network etc.

Having the pointwork controlled by electro-pneumatic point machines as used on the mainline will definitely make it a unique installation. AFAIK there aren't any other preserved railways that are using the same setup, the guisley box looks nice & colourful in it's current paint scheme. Hoping it carries this when in use too, it looks bigger than it is up close but I suspect that'll be due to when you look at it you're generally nr the end of the platform ramp making it look taller than it actually is. The east end box looks to be just a shell at the current moment.

Embsay is definitely worth a visit & is a line i'll visit again in the future on numerous visits. Purely with it being such a friendly line & also from where I live in macclesfield it isn't a million miles away & a load of travelling either. Star taxis in skipton generally do returns for about £12 & considering they'll take dogs as well makes them quite handy. If embsay are running any freight train days over the winter period i'll deffo be going again, although it's near arctic temperatures on certain days, being able to stand on the veranda of a brake van & sampling a steam loco working uphill towards bolton abbey is worth the trip & at 12 quid for a day rover ticket in my books you can't go far wrong!

 

Isn't that what they've now installed at Kingscote on the Bluebell Railway?


Kingscote Signal Box 29/07/16 by Aron Stenning Photography, on Flickr

 

The Kingscote frame is a Westinghouse 'L' frame. I believe it works the more usual electric point motors - either type can be operated from such a frame as they only have to react to the electrical signal sent from the frame.

 

Christopher125 - Apologies for that, I didn't know about kingscote box having a mini frame fitted. Be interesting when bolton abbey box gets working & controlling the searchlight signals should make it interesting to see.

Hopefully NR & the embsay railway can work out some sort of agreement for them to use P5 at skipton, a mainline link would open up the possibilities of them being able to welcome guest locos & railtours like other lines are doing. However extending westwards beyond bolton abbey i'd say is unlikely as I think they simply want to concentrate on improving what they've already got.

 

Luke, I can see a "wouldn't is be nice" to extend to an Ilkley Parkway type station but like you said, concentrating on what they have got is more important than pipe dreams.

 

Again, is the cost of the mainline connection really balanced by the occasional railtour or mainline loco arrival? I don't see how the numbers add up.

Richard

 

Southernman99 - ilkley will never happen as looking at maps etc ilkley viaduct went years ago. Wharfe riverside I hope gets the go ahead.

Bolton abbey once the island platform is completed will look a lot better. Their cafe is brill & the mjnjature railway is worth a look in too. Anybody know why at embsay are the platforms so low? They appear to have some kind of arches underneath that run along their length, without the steps it's about 3ft down to platform level from the stock.

 

Hi Luke.

Great to hear positive feedback about Embsay! Keep it up and a few volunteers may be tempted to re-start posting information

The platform height at Embsay is due to it being of 100% original Midland Railway 1885-8 construction (bar Tarmac of cause!). Consideration has been given to given to raising the height but unfortunately it is not as simple (as ever!) to just add a few courses of stone due to the proximity of the building, and therefore the severity of the new gradient towards the platform edge. Nor is lowering the track an option due to the proximity of the cross-over at the Bolton Abbey end and the under-bridge at the Skipton end of the platforms! I would disagree regarding 3ft height though, it's not a ground level platform!!! Although many, if not all, pre-grouping carriages were built with steps as platforms were generally lower back in't day.

The arches are due to the station being build on an embankment - Bolton Abbey's were originally of timber construction for a similar reason.

Further reading here - http://www.embsayboltonabbeyrailway.org.uk/oldsite/historyo.html

PS: I'd take most of the wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embsay_and_Bolton_Abbey_Steam_Railway) article with a pinch of salt ;-)

Will

 

Unique in preservation perhaps. Plenty of EP point machines on London Underground (and EP shunt signals too).
Personally I have a 'WIBN' dream for EP points and signals at another preserved line but unless (a) I can convince others and (b) the necessary kit turns up it will probably remain a dream. I'd be interested to know more about the Embsay installation though, particularly with regard to the installation of the compressed air system & what hoops were jumped through to get this approved, as that seemed to be the main objection when I suggested the idea!

I've never been to Embsay but it is on my list of places to visit one day. Sounds like I may need to prioritise it when this gets commissioned.
Phil

 

Sorry - did mean 'unique in preservation'. I'm uncertain what 'hoops' the E&BAR may have had to work through to use compressed air; provided the installation meets the appropriate Regs on pipework and pressure vessels, I would have thought there would be few problems in using this form of power supply.

 

Pmh_74 - Embsay is highly worth a visit, for me the fact they run regular freight train days is an appeal in itself.

Being on the brake van veranda heading up to bolton abbey is good fun. Also it looks as though beyond stoneacre loop to bolton abbey was built for double track as the trackbed alongside the running line looms wide enough to accommodate it.

If you're planning to visit embsay from end of october - march period WRAP UP!!! I've visited during the winter season before, very open bit of the world. 40-50mph gales & with the rain lashing down it gets a bit nasty at tines, also bolton abbey unless you're in the station buildings there's as yet no shelter outside.

Brilliant line although a bit cramped for work space at embsay with just the main shed on the same side as the station buildings being their main undercover area. They could also potentially do with another rake of stock besides the vintage stuff for galas etc, there's a load stored, & also what looks like an old BR compartment suburban coach (but it's a fair bit earlier built) that looks to have potential.

 

The whole line from Skipton to Ilkley and on to Bradford and Leeds was built as double track by the Midland Railway; it was an important secondary main line. See Martin Bairstow's book "Railways through Airedale and Wharfdale", ISBN 1-871944-28-7, published in 2004, for considerable detail of the history of the line and photos before closure.

 

By 'hoops' I was referring to the pressure vessel regs inasmuch as they apply to distributed air systems (not sure to what extent they do, this isn't my area of expertise!) but also safety case, insurance and so on. I know that LU are wanting to get rid of theirs (although this is probably years away) so it's good that someone is going the other way and installing similar kit. Also wondering if the pressure is maintained 24/7 or just pumped up on running days. I can imagine there is quite a lot to think about so a chat with their S&T dept would probably prove interesting.
As for visiting, it (along with Keighley) are in completely the wrong place for me to get to so won't be any time soon I'm afraid. Would need to be bolted onto some other excuse to be up that way.

 

I'd imagine, the air tanks required for the point motors would probably need safety testing yes. Locos have to have theirs tested/insurance inspected annually so would guess the same rules apply.

Extending beyond wharfe who knows, addingham would be a brilliant idea if they decide in future it'd be worth the investment. Loco crew I chatted to on my last visit & apparently a few other volunteers felt it would definitely be worth pushing it. Bolton abbey will really look the part when the island is completed & give more options for gala days etc for driver for a fiver turns etc around the station & a more complete look.

 

Branchline weekend, 27-29 May, featuring Illingworth, Beatrice, Norman, 5643 and diesels.

No timetable or roster as yet sadly.

 

Illingworth?

Edit: Eventually found something on Facebook. Nothing about it on the website.

 

http://mailchi.mp/embsayboltonabbeyrailway/i8akm7tbos-20577?e=84db89ea80

probably not advertised on website until loco fully certified (hopefully) this week! Wouldn't want to see any grown enthusiasts cry if she doesn't appear!!!