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General Nene Valley Discussions

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by chrishallam, Aug 4, 2015.

  1. chrishallam

    chrishallam Member

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    There is quite a lot going on at the Nene Valley at present, so rather than start individual threads, as with a number of other heritage railways, I felt it made sense to start a general discussion thread.

    On the steam loco front there's a lot of variety over the next few months:
    Austerity no. 22 soldiers on as a mainstay of the motive power
    Ring Haw: Long term visitor from the NNR: Stay extended
    Pannier 1501: On hire from the SVR. Touched down yesterday and due in traffic this weekend. Due to remain until mid Sept
    LNWR Coal tank: On hire from KWVR/Bahamas loco soc - Steam gala
    N2 1744: On hire from the GCR - Late August - November
    Tornado - From late August
    Black 5 5337 - October - Jan

    On the overhaul side of things, Hudswell Clarke, 1800, Thomas was rewheeled last week. The boiler is currently at Waybourne receiving attention to the firebox as part of a heavy general overhaul.
    92 squadron is progressing well. The boiler has been steamed out of the frames. No doubt @Spamcan81 can give more details.
    45 ton LMS Steam crane - boiler being retubed at present

    There are a number of events coming up

    A weekend Tornado - August Bank holiday weekend ft. Tornado and the N2
    Steam gala - 12th/13th Sept - 'Small Engines, Big Gala' ft The coal tank, N2, pannier, and the 2 industrials
    Mixed Traffic Gala 10th/11th October - Ft 5337, the N2, industrials, class 31, class 14s, shunters and the Swedish Railcar

    On a buildings front, the railway is now the proud owner of the old station building and funds are rapidly being raised to help secure and stabilise it.

    At Ferry Meadows, 2 columns have been installed for a cannopy to the GNR station building, and 2 more are in the process of being repaired to go in. We recieved a donation of a few hundred tons of asphalt shavings, which have enabled the yard to be surfaced, and further donations of time and materials by Colas and private individuals have seen a new siding and headshunt laid in the last 3 or 4 weeks. The Ferry Meadows site has its own Facebook page, viewable to all at https://www.facebook.com/ferrymeadowsstation

    I will hopefully keep this thread updated as I can, and there are a number of other NVR volunteers on here who will hopefully be able to chip in with their own areas.
     
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  2. chrishallam

    chrishallam Member

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    Tornado is due to arrive after services tomorrow. Times are at: http://uksteam.info/tours/t15/t0812p.htm

    It could be a busy evening, as I also believe that The Royal Scotsman is due in for servicing and an overnight stay that tomorrow evening.

    Tornado's first public duty will be a fish and chip train on Friday evening.

    At Ferry Meadows, the opportunity has been taken to dig the holes for the two remaining canopy columns last week, whilst an excavator was on site. The volunteers are in the process of welding up the framework for the top of the canopy. I'm down this weekend, so will hopefully get some snaps.
     
  3. B17 61606

    B17 61606 Member

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    Well done Chris for setting this up! I hope you are happy for the NVR Wagon Group to add our contributions. As per the NVR Wagon Group thread quite a lot has been happening with various wagons over the last couple of months or so. One of the MoD opens has received a replacement section of floor (and should therefore be able to return to traffic), and two BR 'Vanfits' in the bookshop-coach platform at Wansford have received a much-needed cosmetic tidy up.

    The first two OOU vans have also now been brought into the yard for restoration work to begin, in order to bring them back to running order as part of the future NVR 1950's BR van train - our "Express Freight" project. A small start has been made with cleaning back rust on the underframe and obliterating some unsightly graffiti on B761651, which otherwise appears to be in generally good condition.

    As a fundraising venture for the Wagon Group we are holding a steam driving and shunting experience course at the NVR on Friday 4th September - this is a full day, 'hands on' experience a little different to the 'usual' driving courses. Details can be found on the Official NVR page here. As a bonus, you even get to meet us!

    Recent updates and photos of all the work mentioned above can be found on the 'news' section of our website here.
     
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  4. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    Any plans for fixing the canopy on the Barnwell building?
     
  5. chrishallam

    chrishallam Member

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    I believe it's being looked at by the civil engineers, but in essence a solution is neither cheap nor simple.

    The problem is that the weight of the canopy is tearing the building in two.

    My understanding is that an anchor would have to be placed in the yard with cables to the building. Then metal ties need to be constructed certainly in the roof space, if not the whole building before removing said anchor. This would shut off the turntable road, and owing to the track layout with the single slip in the yard mean road 1 and the old 'dirty' pit would be out of use whilst works took place.

    Whilst the acro-props are unsightly, monitoring has shown they are at least stabilising the building

    Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
     
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2015
  6. B17 61606

    B17 61606 Member

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    I know this is probably not ideal, but has any consideration been given to sourcing some genuine/replica canopy supports with LNWR spandrels? Admittedly not authentic to the Barnwell building itself, but might be an easier long-term solution and look the part? Certainly better than the acros!
     
  7. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    I guessed it would be neither cheap nor easy but thanks for the explanation.
     
  8. Bramblewick

    Bramblewick Member

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    I see that Austerity "Swiftsure" has been secured on a five year hire agreement. Is this as a replacement for the Scunthorpe Austerity, or for the still-absent S160?
     
  9. Martin Perry

    Martin Perry Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator Friend

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    Are there plans to overhaul any of the European locos (Apart from the Polish 0-8-0) or is that a closed chapter now?
     
  10. Bramblewick

    Bramblewick Member

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    A recent comment on the IRPs Facebook page suggests that the Swedish B is next in the queue after the Standard 5 (for what a Facebook post is worth), and presumably work is continuing on 656 and 1178. I understand that the IRPs also hopes in due course to overhaul Railworld's Danish pacific. The German diesel shunter and Swedish railcar are of course both in service. No idea about the German prairie or the Cockerill tram however.
     
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2015
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  11. 5944

    5944 Resident of Nat Pres

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    The 64 tank needs a hell of a lot of boiler work, plus asbestos removal, so it won't be cheap to get it overhauled sadly.

    45337 has arrived and is now in traffic, but is due to put on the jacks over the winter to allow its driving wheels (at least, maybe some others) to go away for retyring.
     
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  12. Bramblewick

    Bramblewick Member

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    I was pleasantly surprised to learn from the Beano that the 0-8-0T is to return after overhaul at the Flour Mill. I understood that it had gone for good.
     
  13. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    Has someone stumped up the cash for it?
     
  14. Martin Perry

    Martin Perry Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator Friend

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    Not many other places it could go ... maybe Poland? :)

    Is the German 2-10-0 still there?
     
  15. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    Yes, and we've got to move 34081 out of the new shed to make way for it. :mad:
     
  16. Bramblewick

    Bramblewick Member

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    That's the thing - I'd heard that a Polish enthusiast had bought it.

    Went to Belgium a couple of years ago.
     
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  17. Bramblewick

    Bramblewick Member

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    It was a very short piece, but the indication was that work was under way.
     
  18. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    Not unless it's well hidden.
     
  19. chrishallam

    chrishallam Member

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    I hadn't realised it had been 2 months since I last updated this thread. Time flies!

    To give a bit of a run down on the steam locos on the line. These are no means official policy, but is my understanding at present:

    Under overhaul
    • Hudswell Clarke - 1800 - Thomas - Approaching the end of overhaul. Boiler is due back within the next 6 months from NNR. Should return to traffic either Feb half term or Easter next year.
    • 34081 - 92 Squadron - Boiler placed back on last week. Tender rewheeled this week. It can't be a million miles away now.
    • 656 - Tinkerbell - Danish F Class 0-6-0. Dismantled at present. Majority of work on the chassis is completed. The main outstanding issue is the boiler and it is currently being decided if this is contracted out or done in house
    • 1178 - Swedish S Class 2-6-2 - Stripped in the main shed. No work being undertaken at present due to a lack of manpower. Pretty much everything on the loco from top to bottom is very tired so a lot of work is required.
    Stored locos
    • 73050 City of Peterborough - Stored pending overhaul. Likely to begin works once Squadron and Thomas are back in operation. £100,000 has been allocated by the LA for the overhaul. Beyond this there are no firm overhaul plans.
    • 101 - Swedish B 4-6-0. Cosmetic overhaul undertaken around 4-5 years ago.
    • 64305 - German 64 2-6-2 Tank - Boiler very tired and blue asbestos in the lagging. An overhaul would be very expensive.
    • Belgian Cockerill tram - Bought by a new owner a number of years ago who was looking to convert it to a replica GER tram. This has since all gone quiet
    • Hunslet Jacks Green - Under cosmetic restoration to smarten the site up by the Small Loco Group. Following the visit of Ring Haw, interest has been sparked in the loco so her time to shine may come sooner or later
    • Derek Crouch - Cosmetically overhaulled with a number of areas of work undertaken that mean restoration would not be impossible. Size of the loco would prevent its regular use on services however. A potential volunteer/younger members project going forward
    • Austerity 75006. Stored in the sheds at WF
    Note directly an NVR loco, but Danish Pacific 996 is under cosmetic restoration at Railworld primarily by the IRPS youth group. Engineers from the Danish Railway Museum have had a look at the loco and confirmed it is in good mechanical and boiler condition so there is a strong desire to overhaul the loco in a number of quarters.

    The below photo is of the Kreigslok on display outside a logistics depot in Belgium (Not my photo.)
     

    Attached Files:

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  20. JEB-245584

    JEB-245584 Member

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    Steady on chaps, let me put the record straight, 45337 is not having new tyres. The tyres need turning at some point in the next few months and one of the options I considered in order to do the job involved the hiring of the jacks and shed space if at all possible.

    While we have agreed this in principle nothing as of yet is finalised, that decision will be made in the next few weeks after all options have been considered.


    John Bennett
    Director
    26B Rly Co Ltd
     
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