Mountsorrel Heritage Centre

68067's hire to Llangollen is due to end in April, so that seems a likely contender.

 

I’d been told on shed at Christmas that it was returning in the first part of 2024, so that’s my expectation as well.

 

Was told yesterday that there are 25 branch operating dates planned initially for 2024 - and there might be more - but didn't spot that some of them were steam until I picked up a copy of the 2024 GCR "Whats on" leaflet at the Gala today.....

 

A few shots of the current state of the lift bridge project........






The metal tower will hold the manual operating mechanism for raising and lowering the bridge. All being well, the rebuilt bearings should be being delivered to the Heritage Centre next week, which means they can then be mounted in place.
In the foreground of the last shot, a concrete base for the operating/interpretation building should be being poured in a fortnights time which means that construction of that building will follow in the near future.

There are some potentially very interesting "happenings" being lined up for when the Bridge Project is complete and Officially launched, so you'll have to watch out for details of those nearer the time........

 

Steve Cramp sent me this photo of the lift bridge this morning, with more of the operating mechanisms in place, together with the concrete base of the operating/display building now cast.......

 

Another "widescreen" production, courtesy of Steve Cramp, shows the construction work currently under way on the operational/display building for the lift bridge.....

 

Thanks for these update Johann. There is lots happening this year at the Heritage Centre.

 

There was a bit of a change of plan with the operational/display building for the lift bridge as it was originally understood that it was of corrugated-iron construction on a wooden frame, but on examining some photos taken towards the end of its life, it was found to be clad in wood rather than metal - so that's what is now being constructed!
The "tower" section is based on the original structure, but an extra section has been added on to it to display the history of the bridge, which should include some scale models of it as well.

 

Current state of the lift bridge and operation building courtesy of an image sent to me by Steve Cramp earlier today........

 

That lift bridge is coming along really nicely! Will they have a shallow "pool" of water beneath the lift beam to simulate the canal?

 

I don't think it's in the plan, we've gone to a lot of effort to try and keep water from pooling anywhere where the concrete or steel and wood meet.

Hopefully though, we will have the entry and exit tracks set into granite sets like there were in the bridge's original location. There will also be two models of the bridge housed in the interpretation/winding hut. One will be scaled to 5 inch gauge track and will operate on a push button. I'm not sure what is planned in the way of scenery around this. The second will be scaled to OO gauge track and static but will be built into large diorama of the canal and the rest of the static bridge going over to Frog Island to explain it's role in the perspective of where it was originally sited.

Very happy to see the bridge in all it's glory with the scaffolding down. Generally speaking you can get quite a lot of confidence that something will go together from a CAD model, but with so many existing pieces to work around it's a relief to see it all in one piece with no major diversions from the drawing required to get it go together.

 

Thanks Ricky for your detailed reply - much appreciated and you are obviously closely involved, so well done!

 

I should get a better look at the current state of the bridge next Thursday as we should be delivering a trailer load of surplus rail related items from our museum in Ipswich there that day.......

 

Two from today, one of which shows the "viewing gallery" side of the operation/display building with the large windows for visitors to look through.....

 

Testing going on down the branch line today; class 20 and 2MT checking clearances ahead of the weekends of steam on the branch.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/2jfBkRYj8jmuTvSb/

 

I believe this was going to go up the Branch yesterday?

 

Current state of the lift bridge reconstruction.....





They gained a new exhibit on Friday morning as well.......



The LNWR ticket rack from John O'Gaunt station which has certainly spent the last 50 years of its life in East Anglia, the last 20 being displayed or stored at the Ipswich Transport Museum. A former Chairman of our Museum came from the Leicester area and he obtained the rack when the station shut in 1962 and it stayed with us after he died 11 years ago. As part of a review of our collection, it was decided to pass it on to somewhere rather more local to John O'Gaunt than we are!

As it (just) fitted on the back seat of my car, I took it up to them last week and did a photo stop at its former home on the way....



Not a lot left of the former station there though.....

 

For anyone in the area for the GCR Gala on Saturday 5th October, Colin McAndrew will be in steam at the Heritage Centre that day - and - they are planning test lifts of the Stephenson designed lift bridge at 11.00 and 14.00, all being well.......

 

Not like that......



Like that...........



Still a lot of trial and error required on the weighting, hence the dangling concrete blocks (!) but it actually only was designed to raise up by 4' 8", which sounds a rather familiar figure, give or take the odd half inch.

Was apparently all balanced well a week or so back, but the bridge deck timbers were fairly sodden then and they have dried out a bit since that date, so for this mornings lift it raised OK but was somewhate more reluctant to go down at one end or the other.....

Final balancing will be undertaken when it has completely dried out.

 

Good to see it lifting...but (it must be my OCD) I wish those top middle two large gearwheels had been meshed with the spokes lined up!