Avon Valley Railway Updates and Videos

Seems to be no slouch on haulage. Probably not the fastest thing on six wheels but the AVR route and loadings probably won't trouble it.

 

Three Mark 1s (105 tonnes) and a 20mph line speed will suit it nicely. Albeit the 1 in 90 out of Bitton means it will need chuff away nicely!

 

When it's run in, it's expected back at Rolvenden to face the 1 in 50 of Tenterden bank!

 

Smashing, I'll be down to you for that and a trip behind the loco.

 

And with four mk1's, at that!

 

The hope is for a period of use once running in is complete, though nothing concrete at present, filling in for currently out of service 6695. 'Grumpy' has been doing a good job of filling in for the short term, though is not ideal due to its limited haulage capacity, being limited to three Mk1s. Class 08 D3462 arrived mid-week from the Mid Hants to assist in covering services, with many thanks to them for helping us out in our time of need. 31130 left site this morning for repairs to be carried out, with a hopeful return to service in the not too distant future.

Our fundraising appeal to help with the purchase of a Class 117 DMU has also now gone live to the public following a great response from our membership. Any funds raised will go towards the purchase and transporting of the unit to the AVR. Please do support if you are willing and able! More details and how to donate can be found here > avrht.org/dmu

 

What's happened to 08663? It says on the website it was bought for £1. Has the warranty expired?

 

08663 is still here think it is airbraked so cannot haul carriages

 

Is it still on hire or back at the Avon Valley?

 

Is 6695 out of ticket?

 

6695 has firebox issues and 08663 is at Bitton

 

As said by another user, 08663 is air brake only, so is unable to be used on passenger services.

 

Do they have any dual braked stock?

 

No we don't. Ironically when in my 3o year role as Guard at Bitton, we had air only passenger vehicle arrive and it was converted back to vacuum.

 

Yeah, apparently that was because the agreement for hiring the Coffee Pot included the obligation to hire in a set of 'vintage' (presumably four-wheel/wooden bodied) coaches to run with it for its debut; DFR didn't manage to do this for whatever reason and so Parker pulled the hire agreement for both locos, with the Coffee Pot making its debut instead at Beamish with their vintage carriages.

On a more positive note, I'm enormously excited to discover that it is in fact Charwelton at AVR. I've been looking forward to news of this one returning for a while, and the red paint looks fabulous and rather more cheerful than the previous brown. Unfortunately I'm 200 miles away and not due to be down there any time soon so probably won't be able to see it in service. Hopefully plenty of videos and photos will follow.

 

Think Charwelton is only there for running in after overhaul at the Flour Mill

Dmu appeal still open any donations gratefully received