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The Gwili Railway thread

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by Matt78, Jan 28, 2012.

  1. Bulleid Pacific

    Bulleid Pacific Part of the furniture

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    The issue is not just whether or not they are under cover, but also whether there is adequate air circulation to reduce damage caused by humidity. The ideal carriage shed would have a gap between the bottom of the sidewall and the ground to facilitate this.
     
  2. thb17

    thb17 Member

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    like an old fashioned barn? regards tom.
     
  3. Bulleid Pacific

    Bulleid Pacific Part of the furniture

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    Yes, a Dutch barn, and the GWR had a standardised structure similar in design.
     
  4. thb17

    thb17 Member

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    Are they expensive? Corrugated iron bent over wood? Would it be possible to build your own? Regards Tom
     
  5. Bulleid Pacific

    Bulleid Pacific Part of the furniture

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    I am unable to comment on any plans made or not made by Gwili as regards future undercover facilities at Carmarthen North or anywhere else on the line; that is firmly in Matt78's ballpark on NatPres. But in theory, you could build your own, but as with everything these days, there's a whole host of planning and building regs to get through on such projects. All of this takes time and money.
     
  6. thb17

    thb17 Member

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    I would like to volunteer for a few weeks, I could work in the shop happily. Is this possible and if so how do I go about it? Regards Tom
     
  7. Bulleid Pacific

    Bulleid Pacific Part of the furniture

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    Just turn up and say 'I want to volunteer'... it really is as simple as that! If you are at university age, then you can pretty much get involved in anything. Just ask for Rob James at Bronwydd Booking Office, (he's the general manager) and he'll point you in the right direction for necessary till-training, PTS certification and anything else you need to do. Matt78 can add more information on what to expect, as I just went straight to the Vintage Carriage Group!
     
  8. JWKB

    JWKB Member

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    Well may I suggest you drop guys in the office an e mail. Then they will be able to organise to meet you and give you a guided tour of whole railway. We have plenty of volunteers who do 2 - 3 week blocks down railway. If you have any issues either PM Tom, Matt or myself and we will put you in touch with right person.
     
  9. svr-rodgers

    svr-rodgers Member

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    I've got a week firing starting Saturday 21st, feel free to ask any of us any questions :)
     
  10. Insider

    Insider New Member

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    Nice to see some pro-active recruitment of new volunteers going on. This is one way of doing it. Those that dont, risk their future without volunteers.
    All power to your elbow Gwili volunteers.
     
  11. thb17

    thb17 Member

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    Thanks very much for the advice, I'm going to try and do August. Thanks again! Regards Tom.
     
  12. Bulleid Pacific

    Bulleid Pacific Part of the furniture

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    May very well bump into you at some point then... Anyway, we all look forward to welcoming you to the Gwili family should you decide to join us over the summer. No matter what you do, it all helps!
     
  13. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    A quick update-

    We are pleased to confirm that Jennifer will be with us for the rest of the year- an additional 25 days of use booked. Welsh Guardsman continues to progress at Llangollen but realistically we won't see her until Christmas at the earliest. Haulwen continues on the front line, now fitted with "Olwen's" whistle!!
    Thomas has been and gone and the vintage carriages continue to progress. The end of the month should also see the start of tracklaying towards Carmarthen after a 3 year gap, first task being a good sort of all the rail that we aquired from the Swansea Vale Railway a while ago....

    Daily running starts shortly, with Thursday (Cream Tea) days being especially popular. This weekend we have the Classic Transport Day (Sunday) so come and see how we are getting on.

    Regards

    Matt
     
  14. svr-rodgers

    svr-rodgers Member

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    The Gwili 2012 Thread

    Well today was the Classic transport day and from the footplate it all seemed very busy! Lovely and warm, meant to be like it all week so come down and relax on the train for the day :)
     
  15. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    Haulwen has been stopped for washout, so Jennifer was out today, and should be in use tomorrow and Thursday.
    Regards
    Matt
     
  16. svr-rodgers

    svr-rodgers Member

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    The Gwili 2012 Thread

    Jennifer also in use tomorrow.
     
  17. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    (HD) Gwili Railway classic transport show 22/07/12 - YouTube

    Footage from the Classic Transport Day via RASDV

    A brief update-

    Daily operations are underway.
    JENNIFER is scheduled to be used on the following dates- 3/10/13/17/20/24/30 Aug
    All other dates will be covered by HAULWEN
    Loco roster posted in good faith and subject to availability
    Cream Teas available every Thursday
    The VINTAGE CARRIAGES (GWR 216 of 1888 and TV 220 of 1891) are provisionally booked into service on certain weekends in September- subject to completion of restoration- more info to follow
    CARMARTHEN EXTENSION- tree clearance recommencing this week, followed by a start on tracklaying, again more to follow
    Come and see how we are getting on - telephone 01267 238213 or visit the website www.gwili-railway.co.uk for further info.

    Regards
    Matt
     
  18. RASDV

    RASDV Member

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    Thanks for posting the link for me! Might I also add the link to a short article on the event, which I enjoyed very much. You have a wonderful little line and this was my second visit, thank you to all who made it such an enjoyable day. I was especially interested in the work of the vintage carriage group; really great work.
    Gwili Railway Classic Transport Show 22/07/12 report - Totally-transport.co.uk - totally-transport.co.uk Enjoy. Comments and feedback most welcome via this thread, PM or YouTube.
    I was wondering if someone could fill me in on 'Haulwen's history; I saw the informative display on her overall at Llwyfan Cerrig, but being a week ago now I can't remember what it says and there wasn't much information on the internet. If you could fill me in I'd be most grateful; she's a super loco and its a shame 'Austerities' like 'Haulwen' tend to get overlooked in favour of ex BR machines. Thanks
     
  19. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    Thank you for your kind comments, and glad you enjoyed the day. This is only the second Classic Transport show we have run, and we are hopefully growing the event.
    The Vintage Carriage Group have kept a fairly low profile for a while, but this will change if we do get the two carriages into service next month as planned. A GWR 4 wheel train is a fairly unique experience at the moment, with only Didcot having similar vehicles operational.

    Haulwen's history-
    Haulwen is a Hunslet Austerity locomotive, a type which were built in large numbers during the Second World War. Constructed at the Vulcan Foundry in 1945, she initially worked on the Longmoor Miltary Railway before being transferred to the Woolmer Institutional Railway. Sold by the Army to Hunslet in 1959, she was re-built and re-numbered before being sold again to the National Coal Board to work initially at Cambrian Colliery, and then at Mountain Ash. the engine was placed on loan to the Caerphilly Railway Society in 1981 and was later bought by them. The name Haulwen means "White Sunlight", "Bright Sunlight" or "Bright Star" depending on the translation from Welsh and was the name of Mountain Ash Colliery Manager's grand-daughter. The locomotive transferred to the Gwili in 1996 when CRS closed. Restoration started in 2002 and was completed in 2006 thanks to grants from the HLF and others. It was relaunched in 2007 by the very same granddaughter that she was named after. Since 2007 it has worked continuously on the Gwili as the main service engine.
     
  20. RASDV

    RASDV Member

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    Thanks for the speedy response; an interesting history.
     

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