Rolling Stock Movements

That is true (I believe it's still there) but moving it back and forth by road every time a bit of ballast needs laying would seem to be a major faff. One on each section (with the long term 'unification' aim of a longer train of hoppers and a Shark each end) would seem a good strategy. (Purely my opinion.)

 

NBA 94540, ZUA DB993840 and MTA 395285 have entered preservation at the Plym valley railway

 

Former TSO M4635 has left the Nene Valley this week.

The coach was used for many years as a second hand book coach on Platform 4 at Wansford, but had deteriorated to the point it was basically just the books holding the coach up, despite works on it in recent years.

The books are being relocated to a static building at Overton.

The coach meanwhile will be sleeping with the fishes at Stoney Cove in Leicestershire

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BtYckvNrq/

 

Thanks for that, Chris - with Robert Humm's now closed and the BBLS shop closed, I was beginning to wonder where I'd get my secondhand railway books from in the future.

 

I don't believe you live anywhere near the Swanage Railway which is a shame as the Swanage Railway Museum's "Book Wagon" at Corfe Castle [next to the station's Goods Shed] is scheduled to be open on both days of the forthcoming Winter Warm Up event [3rd & 4th January 2026] plus many (most?) Saturdays throughout the operating season as well as most days of the various Galas throughout the year. It has hundreds (thousands?) of books covering pre-Grouping, Grouping, Nationalised and privatised railways of all areas including those outside the 'Southern'! There's also a good selection of DVDs for those cold winter evenings.
Opening depends of course on the availability of the volunteer staff - who are all in full time employment.
People with some unused spare time may wish to contact the Museum if they would like to help spread the workload: iwanttovolunteer@swanagerailway.co.uk
More staff might even result in the introduction of an on-line book service but that is not possible at the moment.

 

I’m sure the Vintage Carriage Survey will continue to asses it as not “at risk” on the grounds it will be complete and not subject to predation or deliberate scrapping! I wonder if they have a Storage category of “Secure underwater”?

(In a hundred years time some mad Kiwi will hatch a scheme to raise it from the depths as restoration project

https://cs.rhrp.org.uk/CarriageSurvey/displaycarriage.php?Ref=W6Y1V7HCJ3IEPTUNXD0M

Tom

 

All the stock has been saved and a demountable office is being converted Overton which will house the stock. A number of the former volunteers than ran the book coach are still involved giving guidance on books, though less hands on as the years progress, so it's likely to operate on a donation basis going forward.

The coach was knackered when it made it's way to the NVR in the 80s, and only fit for static use. Frankly the work done on it a decade ago kept it water tight and operational and some red paint on the public side, but the bottom of a lake is probably the best place for it now...

 

I hope any useful components were salvaged first.

 

I have a colleague at work who lives in Rutland and goes diving with underwater cameras; I wonder if he'll be able to film it when it's in its final resting place?

 

Hopefully including removal of historic insulation material

 

And indeed oil and grease.
I mean, I presume these people know what they're doing, but it's a bit unusual.

 

There's a helicopter, aircraft cockpit, a bus, several ships and various other bits down there, so it's not the first time they've done it. The Westland Wessex helicopter was essentially complete when it was placed in the water.

 

This might be detailed somewhere and I could've just missed it but what exactly is the reason they're putting it underwater? I can think of a few reasons but I'm not sure

 

It's a diving centre. They've got lots of vehicles at different depths that you can dive to, depending on your ability and experience. The bus that's down there is gutted and can be swam through, likewise the cockpit of the Vickers Viscount.

 

https://www.stoneycove.com/under-water-map/

I spoke to my colleague today and he's dived through a few things down there

 

GWR Hawksworth inspection saloon 80975 has arrived at GWSR from Llangollen this week:

 

B904133 atlas wagon from the KWVR has arrived at Wensleydale and lowmac B 904663 (WR1104) has made its way in the opposite direction

 

It's been reported in the railway press this month that three 6-wheel coaches from the Stately Trains collection at Embsay have moved to new homes, viz.:
GER No. 14 to the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway
GER No. 37 to the North Norfolk Railway
GNSR No. 34 to Ferryhill Railway Heritage Trust, Aberdeen.

In their place, ST has acquired LNWR Semi-Royal Saloon No. 806, latterly stored at Tyseley. Separately, the LNERCA's GNR saloon No. 3087 has also moved to Embsay. Pictures on Facebook show that it was out on test last week.

The change in ST's fleet is apparently motivated by a need to run longer trains at Embsay. I do wonder, though, whether the E&BASR will still be able to assemble a full-length vintage train in the short term? ST has several vehicles available but most of them are saloons, which have a relatively low seating capacity for their size. As far as I know, the LNWR saloon still requires remedial work following its spell in a pub car park (!), so I assume it won't be entering traffic immediately?

 

I visited Embsay in September. Their operation is changing heavily towards party bookings, so it’s quite hard to see where the smaller vehicles fit in.