Another busy week at the railway, with our fantastic volunteers working very hard as usual. On Monday we took delivery of the steel that will eventually form our Carriage Shed at Spring Village Yard. This is now stored in the yard until it is needed. On Tuesday the last (I hope!) of the wooden sleepers were brought up from Doseley. These are now in a big pile to be de chaired, or re used, as appropriate. On Wednesday, Class 08 Diesel shunter 08757 "Eagle" was collected for some repair and maintenance work before going out on hire for the summer. Work on our coaches continues with the mid-week volunteers. Tourist Standard Open (TSO) no. 5193 is having its kick boards replaced and repainted. Also the gates at our Spring Village site have been given a new coat of paint, and are now looking beautiful! On Saturday, Brake Standard Open (BSO) Coach no. 9406 had 4 of its windows resealed so that the panelling can be secured on the inside. This was a major success with no leaks found after the recent rainfall! More work was also done on the seats for 9406 so that they can be refitted when required. TSO no. 5220 was finished being fitted with new LED tube lights for use on the Polar Express. These new lights will reduce power consumption, and will extend the life of the on-board batteries in the event of anything happening to its generator. Whilst this was being done, another group of volunteers were tamping the two panels of rail that the RAF volunteers helped us with last weekend. The old sleepers that were left trackside were then collected and brought back to the yard. On Sunday we were open to the public. After a fantastic cooked breakfast in the Café, and a quick catch up with the volunteers running the brilliant model railway, we got down to the business of getting the Class 108 DMU ready for the first train at 11 o’clock. The sun shone in between the showers, and everyone looked to be having a great time. The other main job done on site was the de chairing of the wooden sleepers. There are still plenty more to do, and most of these are then made available for sale to the public. So, another enjoyable week at the railway! Have you ever thought about becoming a volunteer at Telford Steam Railway? It’s simple to join and there is so much to discover, including meeting new people who share your passion for steam, diesel, the history, and everything in between! Visit our website or email vlo@telfordsteamrailway.co.uk for more information.
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This Saturday saw the railway again welcome trainees from RAF Cosford to work alongside our volunteers. A lot of hard work was done, with two panels of mainline track spot re-sleepered and an extra 30ft of siding installed. Some trainees had a go at driving our industrial diesel 'Jammo' under supervision, and a great time was had by all. Many thanks to the trainees for all their help, and we look forward to working closely with RAF Cosford in the future. Sunday was a running day with the Class 108 DMU. Before anything started though, we all met in the cafe for a cooked breakfast. Lovely. After that, most of the volunteers were involved with running the trains and looking after our passengers for the rest of the day. Other jobs took place though, with some concrete sleepers and rail moved and organised so that it can be moved to the headshunt later this week. More painting of signals and sign also took place on the shed and work continued on cleaning and repairing the railways seats and benches. The fruits of these efforts can now be seen at the café, and on the platform at Spring Village. Have you ever thought about becoming a volunteer at Telford Steam Railway? It’s simple to join and there is so much to discover, including meeting new people who share your passion for steam, diesel, the history, and everything in between! Visit our website or email vlo@telfordsteamrailway.co.uk for more information.
Rocket was in use on Sunday, so the day started with giving her a clean and filling up the coal bunker whilst the driver and fireman began preparing her for the days work. A quick break for breakfast and a mug of tea, and then back to polishing her brass and paintwork. The fire was now burning nicely and the driver completed his oiling and checks to make sure everything was ready for the first departure at 11am. Even though we were running trains, the volunteers were getting on with lots of other jobs as well. A new electrical 3 phase supply was installed at Horsehay & Doseley Station which will be used during this years Polar Express. The electrics in the old ticket office were repaired, meaning this can now be re used again. Work continued on installing our power wood saw, and the frame was bolted down onto its plinth. Once electrics have been connected, this will make the job of cutting wood for the steam engines, and other projects, much quicker and easier. Painting of signs and signals continued in the shed, which once complete, can be put back out onto the railway. On Monday it was the turn of Rusty to haul the trains. We gave her a quick wash and then had a lovely cooked breakfast up in the Railway Café. Jobs undertaken today, in addition to running trains, was to dig out a hole ready for a panel of track to be laid behind the sleeper coach. This will be done next Saturday by some RAF trainees from Cosford, who have very kindly agreed to help us as part of their training. We look forward to having them on site. One of our Pacers was started up to check the engines, and the insides were swept clean. Work on repairing one of the carriage doors from our BSO continues, with it receiving a coat of primer. Some volunteers also went down to the barrow crossing, south of Horsehay & Dawley station to do some track work in preparation to removing some of the rails. This is all part of the plan to relay sleepers and track to the barrow crossing at the required standard for passenger use, although no timescale has yet been agreed for when this will happen. Have you ever thought about becoming a volunteer at Telford Steam Railway? It’s simple to join and there is so much to discover, including meeting new people who share your passion for steam, diesel, the history, and everything in between! Visit our website or email vlo@telfordsteamrailway.co.uk for more information.
Are you looking forward to Easter? Telford Steam Railway are excited to finally be able to run heritage train services again. We are delighted to announce that regular services will re-start on Easter Sunday and Monday and we will be open every weekend* until the end of September
Photos © Cpl Ash Reynolds Aircraft technician apprentices from No.1 School of Technical Training at RAF Cosford took part in a community project with a team of our volunteers on 19 & 20 March
© J S Hancock The Telford Steam Railway is proud to announce that our GWR 0-6-2T loco No. 5619 will be enjoying a summer holiday at the Llangollen Railway for their 2022 season.
Telford Steam Railway are pleased to announce their recent purchase of 'Pacer' unit 142058 from Angel Trains and arrival of unit 142004.
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