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Mountsorrel Heritage Centre

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by Johann Marsbar, Sep 21, 2018.

  1. Flying Phil

    Flying Phil Part of the furniture

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    The big timbers for the Lift Bridge appeared to be having their ends trimmed ready for installation in the foundation sections. IMG20221109103642s.jpg

    The Narrow Gauge line will have a nice gradient to test the locomotives!
     
  2. Musket The Dog

    Musket The Dog New Member

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    Always nice to see the work that goes on during the week :)

    I think our volunteer is preparing one of the two large side beams of the bridge deck in preparation of receiving some steelwork from our friends at Tarmac. The plan (at the last time of hearing) is to get the deck put together first as unless we're doing a lifting demonstration, the deck will rest on the concrete slab and we can manhandle the parts into postition. The first of Tarmac's parts will be the straps that cover the end of the beams (where the counterweights lift from) and some internal brackets to tie the various deck sections together. The originals of these still exist but are beyond reasonable salvage considering they will be supporting the estimated 5 tonnes(!) of wooden deck.

    With the deck put together the siding can be completed and the lifting framework built around it as progression allows. There's a number of specialist repairs that will need to be done to the remaining metal work before it can be used in any capacity other than being purely decorative. After that, all that is left to do is simple task of lift the remaining 3 tonnes of timber and the steelwork into place. The two large beams in the foreground of the picture are 14" x 14" and 28' long and their final position will be 15' in the air. If anyone knows any friendly crane drivers feel free to drop me a PM ;)
     
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  3. Flying Phil

    Flying Phil Part of the furniture

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    Thanks for those details Ricky. I was there a couple of days ago and indeed there now is some steelwork straps on the end of some beams and the other beams are strapped together for further work.
    IMG20221115134137s.jpg
    The whole site is a credit to the volunteers and it is great to see that the Granite cafe is well used. It has a very interesting display area as well.
     
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  4. Johann Marsbar

    Johann Marsbar Well-Known Member

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  5. Kingscross

    Kingscross Member

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    Sorry if I’ve missed this, but when are the next trains operating onto the Mountsorrel branch from the GCR? I haven’t been to the GCR for a few years, but I’d like to go when the branch is operating.
     
  6. Flying Phil

    Flying Phil Part of the furniture

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    I think the intention is to have running on the branch about 6 times a year (Plus shunting demonstrations). There has been a problem with a damaged trap point (?) plus covid, which has meant no through running recently.
    I believe it is scheduled to be in operation for the January Gala and in March - when the main GCR line is closed around Quorn to allow for two bridges to be repaired/replaced. If you check on the GCR website, it has the running days in more detail.
     
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  7. Kingscross

    Kingscross Member

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    Thanks Phil. I wasn't aware of the Quorn closure, so will plan a visit later next year when all lines are open.
     
  8. Johann Marsbar

    Johann Marsbar Well-Known Member

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    Someone had posted a link to this YT video on their FB page, which might be of interest....

    It's a "our day out at" type film, but gives a good view of what's there.
     
  9. Flying Phil

    Flying Phil Part of the furniture

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    As reported in the GCR thread, the Mountsorrel branch should be in operation at weekends Feb 25th to March 25th, operating as a Leicester North, Rothley, Mountsorrel shuttle using DMU sets and "Iris". There are more details on the GCR website.
     
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  10. Johann Marsbar

    Johann Marsbar Well-Known Member

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    On the subject of the Heritage Centre, the Supporters Newsletter received before Christmas confirmed that a small admission charge is going to have to be introduced to visit the site (beyond the cafe patio) in a couple of months time due to the huge increase in running costs for the Centre.....

    Our aim has always been for the site to be free for our visitors to enter and enjoy. Over the past seven years we have worked very hard to achieve this, depending entirely on donations from visitors and the income generated through our “Not For Profit” Granite’s Coffee Shop to pay the operational costs of the site. We receive no grants nor income from local councils or other organisations to help with our running costs.
    Over the last 12 months we have seen huge cost rises such as the servicing, repair and replacement of equipment, and meeting our legal requirements such as fire, safety, security and insurance. As an example our electricity costs have increased from £12,500 to a staggering £42,000 per year.
    There have also been large increases in the cost of ingredients and the products we buy in to sell in Granite’s. For Granite’s to stay affordable for our customers we have avoided passing most of these rises on and have had to absorb the majority of the increases ourselves - This greatly reduces Granite’s ability to support the site.
    The cost of living crisis means that visitors have reduced the donations they make and have cut back on what they spend in Granite’s. For example, in August, 78% of visitors didn’t buy anything from us nor did they leave a donation, so it's a perfect storm of rising costs and reduced income. Everything is working against us and means that we can no longer afford to cover the costs of operating the site.
    This was becoming clear at the beginning of the summer and we have spent the past six months trying to find alternatives. Reluctantly we have been left with no other choice but to introduce a small entrance fee for visitors to access the site beyond the Granite’s patio. Visits to Granite’s, the heritage rooms in the main building, the patio and the play area will remain free. We’ve set the entrance fee at the very low rate of just £2 for adults and £1 for children aged 2-15. Under 2’s remain free.
    Introducing an entrance fee has been a difficult decision for us to take as we are very much aware of how the cost of living crisis is affecting everyone, but we simply have no choice if the Heritage Centre is to survive into the future.
    The entrance fee will come into effect from February 2023 and the exact date will be determined and announced early in the New Year.
     
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  11. Johann Marsbar

    Johann Marsbar Well-Known Member

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    Lifted off the Heritage Centre FB page......

    327268608_3467751840126184_4228526531774229435_n.jpg

    Wonder if anyone had thought of selling copies of that poster??
     
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  12. Flying Phil

    Flying Phil Part of the furniture

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    There has been more progress on the Lift Bridge. It looks as though the deck, with it's white side timbers, has been made and the corner posts are waiting to be erected. DSC02340.JPG
     
  13. MAPLE CHRIS

    MAPLE CHRIS Member

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    i would buy one
     
  14. Johann Marsbar

    Johann Marsbar Well-Known Member

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  15. M59137

    M59137 Well-Known Member

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    Now that's a very clever and attractive modification of a classic BR poster that both incorporates the Mountsorrell Heritage Centre and the current visit of the Derby Lightweight to the GCR. Instantly recognisable but with a local twist, points to whoever made it!

    Sent from my moto g(8) power using Tapatalk
     
  16. Musket The Dog

    Musket The Dog New Member

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    The poster artwork was painted by one of the volunteers, apparently one has been done every time that trains have run to reflect the rolling stock used on the line. I would quite like one for my own wall too but when I asked about it, when they were first done a batch of prints was made but they took a very long time to shift and in the end barely covered their costs. A shame really, because they are really very nice pieces of art.
     
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  17. Johann Marsbar

    Johann Marsbar Well-Known Member

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    Looks like the GCR Mountsorrel service has been confirmed as extended to include 25/26 March now, according to a FB posting they made this morning.
     
  18. Flying Phil

    Flying Phil Part of the furniture

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    According to the latest "Main Line" magazine, the Mountsorrel Railway will be operating on the last Saturday from April to August, each Thursday July 20th to August 24th and the weekend 30th Sept/1st Oct. So plenty more opportunities to sample this delightful GCR branch line in 2023.
     
  19. brmp201

    brmp201 Member

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    Had to take daughter to a university open day in Nottingham yesterday, so managed to sneak off to Rothley and take an unexpected round trip to Mountsorrel (with the dog). Both trains well loaded. Very enjoyable - something I had been wanting to do for a long time!

    mountsorrel2.jpg mountsorrel3.jpg mountsorrel1.jpg
     
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  20. Flying Phil

    Flying Phil Part of the furniture

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    I enjoyed my trip on "Iris" as well yesterday!
    DSC02502.JPG DSC02509.JPG
     
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