Guius Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 Cracking job Nigel, looks a million dollars! Best Guy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
avonside1563 Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 Just over a week to go to the start of the THREE DAY!! gala. Preparations are well advanced, Wimblebury is now in plain blue livery and has had her original pressure gauge repaired and refitted and the timetable is being finalised and will be up on here once it is checked. 19620196_10211729219897469_8798398484545931705_o.jpg 19657469_10211714952860802_3899209174408654390_n.jpg Come and say hello, I will be happy to chat if I can, I will be driving all three days! (I'm going to need a week to recover, specially as I have the early turn on the Saturday for a charter with Sir Gomer starting at 7.30am at the colliery!) Roster now changed and I'm not on the early turn on Sir G on Saturday... phew! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
avonside1563 Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 Kent Electric No2 with Eustace Forth sporting freshly applied plain green livery with wasp stripes ready for the gala next weekend 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5050 Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 Any idea if the road works on the A50 may impinge on travel from the East? I believe it's shut this weekend between Uttoxeter and Blythe Bridge, hopefully next week it will be contraflow at worst! Other routes are available of course - but they're a bit more convoluted! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
avonside1563 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Timetables for the gala now uploaded in the Foxfield gala thread in Preservation. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/117085-foxfields-50th-anniversary-year/?p=2781936 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
avonside1563 Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Sir Gomer has arrived and the vinyls for transforming Whiston into Dilhorne No3 are being picked up later. All looking good and we're hoping that a late minute issue with Eustace Forth's regulator will be easy to sort. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted July 13, 2017 Author Share Posted July 13, 2017 Hi Nigel, Is the Hawthorn Leslie a visiting engine, or a home loco that has recently been put into service? I've never seen it before. I'll be there on Saturday, so i hope you have booked some good weather. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Hadyn Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Dave, it's resident "Eustace Forth", formerly with the NRM and last steamed in Shildon around 2007. Major overhaul and first time out on a big railway. Credit to the Civil family for getting it sorted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norton961 Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 (edited) I went yesterday and had a really good time. Its worth the walk from the station (Dillhorn) down to the colliery site, about 10 to 15 minute each way, this is the first time I have walked down and watching a double headed train thrashing up the bank was glorious! Found a number of engines in the sidings there ready to blast up Foxfield bank with a freight train. The Dubs crane tank looked superb. A really good day and excellent work by the volunteers. Only one criticism, the catering at the main station was chaotic, I qued for 20 minutes and finally gave up. The problem being all meals were being cooked to order with limited staff. Catering can often provide good profit margins at preserved sitesk, Foxfield need to think about ways of increasing its food throughput. Edited July 15, 2017 by Norton961 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norton961 Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 (edited) managed to miss out of my post the Dubs crane tank. Also Bellerophon Edited July 15, 2017 by Norton961 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ardbealach Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 Clag from the Dubs crane tank. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
avonside1563 Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 I went yesterday and had a really good time. Its worth the walk from the station (Dillhorn) down to the colliery site, about 10 to 15 minute each way, this is the first time I have walked down and watching a double headed train thrashing up the bank was glorious! DSC_1888.JPG Found a number of engines in the sidings there ready to blast up Foxfield bank with a freight train. DSC_1874.JPG The Dubs crane tank looked superb. A really good day and excellent work by the volunteers. DSC_1873.JPG Only one criticism, the catering at the main station was chaotic, I qued for 20 minutes and finally gave up. The problem being all meals were being cooked to order with limited staff. Catering can often provide good profit margins at preserved sitesk, Foxfield need to think about ways of increasing its food throughput. The catering is franchised and not in direct control of the railway but they were aware of the issues. We were also slightly embarrassed at the number of visitors following our exposure on BBC Midlands today which caught us out! On Saturday and Sunday we had to stop running the Knotty coaches as they didn't have capacity for the sheer number of passengers! Thanks to all who cam along to support us, I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop and talk to those who said hello, in all it was a successful weekend and a big boost. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium wagonbasher Posted July 17, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 17, 2017 The catering is franchised and not in direct control of the railway but they were aware of the issues. We were also slightly embarrassed at the number of visitors following our exposure on BBC Midlands today which caught us out! On Saturday and Sunday we had to stop running the Knotty coaches as they didn't have capacity for the sheer number of passengers!Thanks to all who cam along to support us, I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop and talk to those who said hello, in all it was a successful weekend and a big boost. Bbc coverage and your own promotion through rmweb. Seriously, Mr Hughes.... When planning his visit said he was trying to find timetables and what's running and he found your RMWeb posts more informative than the societies web site. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted July 17, 2017 Author Share Posted July 17, 2017 I got there early enough to get a full English breakfast with virtually no waiting. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium ColinK Posted July 17, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 17, 2017 Really pleased to hear you had a successful weekend. Disappointed I could not be there, looking forward to next year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guius Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Can't complain Nigel, as it's bums on seats that keep preservation going. It just goes to show what a little bit of TV coverage can do! Glad it was a good gala for you's Best Guy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Welchester Posted July 18, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 18, 2017 On Saturday and Sunday we had to stop running the Knotty coaches as they didn't have capacity for the sheer number of passengers! I did wonder what you were going to do about that. The coaches were pretty full on Friday. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
avonside1563 Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 The Knotty trust have had their latest grant application approved so work can start in earnest on the accessible Brake Third for the rake, but it still won't be enough to cope if we have another weekend as busy as this one. We may look at introducing a pre-booking system for the Knotties at galas to avoid overcrowding although we did manage to fit 88 in the two coaches on Sunday Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norton961 Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 I am glad I went on Friday as I managed to get a seat in the NSR coaches and even then we left passengers on the platform. An excellent job has been done on the restoration of these 2. The gala was excellent and congratulations to the railway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 I keep forgetting that there's prototype content in this corner of the forum. A very enjoyable visit last Friday. Aiming towards an advertised opening at 8am, I was questioning the wisdom of my 5am start, so quite relieved to find the site open when I arrived to collect my wristband. Worth getting there early to see the locomotives being readied in the shed yard (apart from the two that had already been sent up the line). The gala itself was well organised - plenty of movements to fill out what might otherwise have appeared to be a sparse service. The helpfulness and friendliness of staff and volunteers made for a very pleasant atmosphere. Despite the numbers of visitors, I was still able to find a quiet spot on the bank (though by the early afternoon, the crowds in the field were a sight to behold) and get a seat in the Knotty set. Thank you, Nigel for the link to the timetable elsewhere on this site. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holmside Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 This event was brought to my attention by reading the above thread and, never having visited this railway before, my son and I decided to give it a try (alright, I concede that it was prompted in no small measure by my interest in industrial locomotives and collieries).We were both absolutely captivated by the line itself, the locos and the rolling stock. The sight and sound of the trains ascending the 1 in 19 gradient out of Foxfield colliery is simply spectacular. Both of us, as volunteers at the MHR, were struck by an overheard comment by another visitors that the Foxfield railway offers an opportunity to observe steam locomotives doing what they were specifically designed to do. It was an absolutely brilliant day and, we thought, well worth the journey up from Hampshire. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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