Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters

I'm aware that there were/still are three boilers from S15s (excluding 828) that came to the MHR from 506, 499 and 825. Is anyone in the know able to summarise the timeline for each and which boiler is now being used or restored for 506 & 499?

Edit - what I think is so.....
Boiler 451 came with 30506 and is still unrestored at MHR?
Boiler 799 came from 30825 and was initially used to return 506 and will next be used for 499?
Boiler 755 came with 30499 and has been used for 506 and is currently in service.

 

Yesterday atop the hill was a refreshing change for Muggin's 'Ere & Me Mucker........ not only was it dry and warm, and for a change we weren't drilling holes & bolting things down! Instead we seemed to have volunteered ourselfs to bring the roof hoops on LMS van M517317 up to scratch!!!

We soon wished we hadn't, as we are up against badly rusted bolts and screws stubbornly refusing to budge....... a sense of deja vu, given what we encountered when we first started taking this van apart two years ago......... plus we were inside on a nice dry day, whilst the majority of the seven others were outside armed with paint brushes bringing the underside of the van into undercoat, internal cladding planks into second undercoat, and also the south side door runner, along with the cross shaft and brake rigging on the meat van up to spec........

Still, undeterred, we cracked on determined to get at least one of the hoops off, derusted & into red oxide by the end of the day......... it soon became obvious that we'd have 'fun' getting the rusted bolts off........ there's no room to get an angle grinder into the space, and a gas axe is a no-go, unless we want to flat pack the van given the amount of timber around the bolt!! And so it was a case of using a junior hacksaw and a ring spanner to seperate to bolts from the hoop....... surprisingly by the end of the day. we'd managed to get two of the hoops off, derust them and get them into red oxide........ The next problem to tackle, will be how to remove whats left of the bolts, given they're badly rusted dome heads, that have been counter sunk, and also have a roof baton partly infront of them preventing them from dropping out!

But that is a job for next week..........

It was good to see trains back running, and well patronised - some pics .......

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53579159120/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53578931743/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53577852062/in/dateposted-public/

The south side door runner into undercoat.



The underside of the van finally into unercoat.



The first two roof hoops cleaned up and into red oxide.



The crossshaft and surrounds of the meat van cleaned up and into red oxide.

 

In an news piece in Trackside about Green Arrow, it suggests that it is still intended for 850 to be overhauled at Ropley, it doesn't say when but presumably after one of 35005, 92212 or perhaps 75079.

 

I don't think anything has been suggested differently. It is one of the reasons Cheltenham supposedly wont be because 850 has yet to have even been started.

 

It was mentioned in the same piece prior to the bit about 850, that a new home was being sought for 30925, but a suggested possibility in Barrow Hill wouldn't be happening.

 

Send it to the Glos Warks so Cheltenham can run out of Cheltenham?

 

But that would mean sending "Swanage" to Swanage...

 

That might well happen , anyway, if the ownership situation remains unsettled and the claimed major shareholder turns out to not be a friend of the railway,

 

Swanage or Bluebell?

 

I think that Cheltenham should be overhauled first, and 850 put into storage possibly at Margate, and the black 5 returned to the railway, Cheltenham is better suited to the future needs of the line,the black 5 is owned by the railway, so even if it means open storage, at Ropley, thats not so big an issue, 850 will be undercover, 925 overhauled, and the 5 will sometime find a slot in the queue,

 

I partly agree. Although overhauling 850 gives the MHR a USP with the Lord Nelson which can be hired out for galas ect. There will likely be two Schools Class locomotives in operation soon, one not more than 60 miles from the MHR, so adding a third at this time may not necessarily be the best option, even if it is a bit more economical to operate than the Nelson.

 

I'd really love to see 30850 back in service, but the Mid Hants will certainly know far better than me if and when they want it back in service. In the meantime I suspect 35005 running again may not be that far away. . . . . . . . . . . .

 

I think the Nelson, will be very expensive, its last active spell was not exactly successful, it had a multitude of issues that had to be addressed, before it became reliable. the engine i think will need a lot of work, and its taking up room, Cheltenham, is a known condition, and was largely trouble free, sending 850 to Margate, to me makes better sence, for now, it frees up space, even if the black 5 has to go into open storage, to make room, get CP out, then 92212, 75079, then bring 925 in, 499 should be nearly done by then, 53808 can then join 925 in the workshop, being overhauled, then at that point a decision can be made when to recall 850, possibly when 925, and 53808 are nearing completion.

 

I agree that overhauling Cheltenham makes more sense that LN in many ways. However hasn’t the decision already been made, with the MHR telling the NRM that it wishes to hand back Cheltenham?

 

It makes more sense to hand back 850, I hope that it's not a decision that might bite the MHR on the bum, I remain of the opinion that 850 is not going to be an easy restoration, and not an ideal loco for the line,

 

Most unlikely the Bluebell would be interested in bidding to take on 'Cheltenham', since it has 'Stowe' and the Q-class already under overhaul, and the Maunsell Loco Society plans to overhaul U-class mogul 1618 after that.

 

I think I remember reading (many moons ago) that the crews working 850 in the North West found it OK if treated like a Scot grate. No idea whether or not that it is another of those myths that circulate from time to time.
Pat

 

A compilation video of my visits to The Mid Hants railway (Watercress Line).

Locomotives featured:

Merchant Navy 35028 Clan Line,
West Country 34046 Braunton,
West Country 34007 Wadebridge,
‘Jubilee’ 4-6-0 No. 45596 ‘Bahamas’,
Schools Class No 925 Cheltenham,
SR 'U' Class No. 31806,
Somerset & Dorset 7F No. 53808,
BR Standard Class 4MT No. 76017,
LMS Ivatt Class 2MT No. 41312.
Class M7 No. 53.
Black Five No. 45379.
No. 850 Lord Nelson.
Metropolitan Railway No. 1.

 

Nice YouTube video. Great to see M7 30053 in the opening scene of your video. Here’s my take on the 2012 spring gala of 30053.