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Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by NightRail, Jan 11, 2017.

  1. Duty Druid

    Duty Druid Resident of Nat Pres

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    Another warm but windy day atop the hill yesterday, and greeted by the sight of a Sealion & 3 Dogfish stabled in Bennett's siding, they of course being a source of much blood, sweat & swearing to get them up and running for the benefit of the railway & given they were used in the Alresford remodelling, we found it rather gratifying to see them. :)

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/51138295954/in/dateposted-public/

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/51136845697/in/dateposted-public/

    This time with 5 of us in attendance to advance things on the Gunpowder Van - it turned out to be a day of two halfs, good in the morning & not so good in the afternoon!!! :Banghead:

    The morning consisted of hanging the two door frames properly to see what & where needed tweaking before the rebate on frame #1 was cut - they now fit snugly. :D Another task was to replace the temporary bolts on the London end roof hoop with the permanent ones, along with cutting any excess on various bolts followed by applying red oxide to any surface that was bright & shiny - leaving one of the lads to do the oxiding, two of us nipped off to Alton to attend to a Palvan to try & sort out a vac cylinder that is not behaving as it should....... problem was solved by isolating the cylinder thereby making the van through piped & fit for traffic. ;)

    The afternoon was when the 'fun' began........ the two lads charged with fitting the door frames also had to weld some small holes on one of the doors....... turned out the steel is thinner than thought, and small holes got bigger instead of disappearing! :Arghh: Still, after much banging of heads, they have come up with a cunning plan, which should solve the problem. ;)

    On the other side of the van, it was time to hang door #3....... 1st job was to remove the hinge pins & clean off the rust before applying dollops of grease - then it was time to offer up the door........ you'd think hanging a door would be a walk in the park....... not this time, the hinges did not want fit snugly - all three put up a fight & about half way through, two of us who took doors #3 & 4 off remebered that they were absolute bugga's to remove & so it proved, even with the use of a lump hammer!!!!:Banghead: :Banghead: :Banghead:

    After the trials of the afternoon, over a brew, the screw holes in the southside roof were discussed, and we think we may have the solution.......

    Sorry, no pics this week as I completely forgot! But here's a couple of the service trains - it really is nice to see folks coming out to enjoy a trip on the line once again. :)

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/51137739733/in/dateposted-public/

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/51138298089/in/dateposted-public/
     
  2. Shoddy127

    Shoddy127 Well-Known Member

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    Finally caught up with the entertainment on here, some very interesting posts I have to say, be interesting to see if the threats made about not turning up are followed through.....?

    What I will say though is I took my 2 young sons to the railway on the 13th April and we had a great time. The one way systems in place for the carriages were easy to follow and it was very reassuring to see the staff cleaning the door handles etc at every opportunity. The new play area is a great addition which all the children seemed to love and 30925 was on great form too!

    As already mentioned, the extra trip to Medstead was a grand surprise and made the day great value for money!
     
  3. 21B

    21B Part of the furniture

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    Timetable for the enhanced timetable spring steam up we are operating this weekend.

    Tickets available in advance or on the day.
     

    Attached Files:

    jnc and D1002 like this.
  4. tom105

    tom105 New Member

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    Cheers for all the updates its really appreciated, cannot wait for Sunday! keep up the good work
     
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  5. Ben Jenden

    Ben Jenden Member

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    Going to start off...

    Thank you very much. Appreciated greatly.
     
  6. gricerdon

    gricerdon Well-Known Member

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    Indeed yes. Looks good
     
  7. AMP

    AMP Member

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    Thank you very much 21B.

    Is there parking at Ropley? I would think so as trains are starting there but best to check!

    Thanks

    Andrew
     
  8. Ben Jenden

    Ben Jenden Member

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    5526 just departed South Devon for the Mid Hants
     
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  9. martin1656

    martin1656 Nat Pres stalwart Friend

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    how far South was the furthest any GWR Prairie tank got in either BR, or GWR service, ? I would be thinking most likily it would be Yeovil .
     
  10. Matt37401

    Matt37401 Nat Pres stalwart

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    Weymouth?
     
  11. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    As Weymouth is roughly in line with Exmouth and Launceston, they must have gone further south and west than those - I'm sure I've seen pictures of Prairie tanks in Cornwall?
     
  12. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    Helston? (50.10° North). Certainly Penzance had an allocation of small prairies.

    Yeovil is 50.9° North ...

    Tom
     
  13. D1002

    D1002 Resident of Nat Pres

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    I’d go along with that. One of the Penzance allocation leaving Helston:
    8F875BC9-EA6C-4112-8B95-D50FED08516E.jpeg
     
  14. Andy Moody

    Andy Moody Member

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    Romsey, A picture of 4538 taken in 1955 in the book Eastleigh to Romsey and Salisbury by Nigel Bray.
    Apparently it had worked through from Cheltenham via the MSWJ !
     
  15. 21B

    21B Part of the furniture

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    Yes there is parking at Ropley. If you want to buy a ticket on the day then Ropley is the place.

    At present the Monday is the quietest day.

    Sent from my SM-A405FN using Tapatalk
     
  16. Matt37401

    Matt37401 Nat Pres stalwart

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    How far south did Bill Parker’s Prairie get when it went abroad? ;)
     
  17. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

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    Lovely. That's all that is needed. Thanks.
     
  18. gricerdon

    gricerdon Well-Known Member

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    Indeed but I won’t be rushing for the first train out of Alresford
     
  19. 5944

    5944 Resident of Nat Pres

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    I think Budapest is a few degrees south of Helston!
     
  20. 73129

    73129 Part of the furniture

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    I understand 34058 Sir Frederick Pile sales stand will be located on the down platform at Ropley over the gala weekend. Selling a large selection of merchandise.
     

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