Middleton Railway: Last Coals to Leeds 29/30 September 2018

From the website:

May 1968 was a significant month in the history of the Middleton Railway, as it saw the closure of Middleton Broom Pit, after more than 200 years of mining coal and transporting it into the centre of Leeds. To mark the 50th anniversary of this closure, the railway will be running a special event on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th September 2018, but activities surrounding this event will not just run for that one weekend. Rather, it will be the focus of a much larger project, which is aimed at providing a proper commemoration of this change in the industry that had been key to this area of Leeds.

This event is supported by Leeds City Council and Love Where You Live

More Info to Follow....

 

The Middleton Railway is delighted to announce details of our main event for 2018.

Last Coals to Leeds commemorates the 50th anniversary of the closure of Middleton Broom Colliery in 1968 and is sponsored by Leeds City Council under their “Love where you live” project which is intended to bring communities closer together and to respect & appreciate the areas in which they live.

Middleton has produced a children’s history of the colliery entitled “Broom Pit – Canaries and Ponies”, which will be distributed free of charge to every primary school child in Middleton Ward, where the colliery was located. Each child will also receive a bookmark, which incorporates a detachable ticket for them to ride on the railway.
There will also be an “adult” version of this book, giving details of the colliery and those who worked there, along with its impact upon the community over the years, and also its legacy, which includes the railway.
In addition, a small photographic exhibition has been produced, which shows the colliery and its legacy. This will tour the city before coming back to Moor Road for the main event in September.

An event book will also be produced for the weekend, along with commemorative T-shirts.

Two of the railway’s wagons are being repainted for the event. Our 5-plank “Middleton Colliery” wagon is being repaired and repainted into its “Middleton Colliery” livery, whilst our “Dogfish” ballast wagon, which was damaged by the fire in July 2018, is to receive a repaint. This wagon is to be repainted in NCB Black livery and lettered as a Middleton Broom Colliery internal user.

The Locomotive Line-up​

Manning, Wardle 0-6-0ST “MATTHEW MURRAY” will, if time permits, be repainted green and renamed “FORWARD”, a locomotive which worked for the NCB South Yorkshire Area.

Hudswell, Clarke 0-6-0ST “SLOUGH ESTATES No 3, will be given vinyls to re-create “BLENKINSOP NINETEEN FIFTY FOUR”, the last steam locomotive ordered, and indeed used, at Broom Colliery. This is by kind permission of the Slough & Windsor Railway Society, owners of the locomotive.

Resident Fowler 0-4-0DH “HARRY” will also be used on the day to represent the prototype Fowler diesel [423001/57] which followed the Bi-Centenary train in 1958. This train, celebrating Middleton’s Bi-Centenary, sparked the preservation of the railway and thus the Fowler is a link back to that day.

Our guest locomotive will be 0-6-0ST WIMBLEBURY [HE 3839/56] from the Foxfield Railway. As an ex-NCB locomotive, built in Leeds, it is an ideal visitor for this particular event and we are very grateful to the owner for the loan of this locomotive.

(All locomotives subject to availability).​

For the two day event, all trains will be using the Balm Road Branch of the railway and all will be stopping at Moor Road in both directions to allow visitors to choose which parts of the railway they wish to travel on. It is intended that different locomotives will be used on each stage of the journey, with Balm Road being run in top and tail mode.

First train will be at 0930, the last at 1700.

Prices and timetable to follow....

 

Matthew Murray's transformation as of today. First top coat of a few on.

 

Update
John Fowler "Harry" . Will not be running at the event unfortunately repairs needed from the vandalism attack will not be completed in time. It'll be replaced by Hudswell Clarke MHDB no.45 .
Timetable has been signed off last night and will be available to view here soon.

 

Update
Two wagons being repainted for the gala by the younger volunteers has now been completed .

 

Timetable is now available here

 

Have a good event ...

Those waggons look good.

 

Anyone for Burgers?? A burger van will be on site Saturday and Sunday serving hot food, with bacon butties available in the morning.
Tempted?

 

The weather forecast is for dry weather

 

I had planned to drop in, on the way to visiting the oldest Hunslet apprentice in the TLC of Wales. (Now 99 1/2) but I have a lurgy so not travelling anywhere !

 

Wimblebury has arrived and being steamed today for acceptance trials I believe.

 

Indeed it has. Ventured out light engine this afternoon.
Less than a mile away from where it was built. The owners rep made a pillramage to Jack Lane this afternoon.
It's been cleaned as I type for tomorrow.

 

Pleased to hear all that !