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MHR Restorations and Overhauls

Discussion in 'Steam Traction' started by LN850, May 21, 2010.

  1. 007

    007 Member

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    Let's face it, there is only one truly suitable home for the T9 and that's where it is now.
    Right line, right loco and loads it can handle all year round.
     
  2. green five

    green five Resident of Nat Pres

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    Post deleted at request of fellow member.
     
  3. Swan Age

    Swan Age Member

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    Let's hope that once 34007 is withdrawn, the loco is given a thorough level of protection put on/over it. Reading in the last Mid Hants News. Steve Humby states that the years of storage in the headshunt of doom, killed the air smoothed casing on 34105 necessitating in it having to be largely remade.
     
  4. GSN

    GSN New Member

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    We intend to cover 34007 with a tarpaulin to protect the casing once she goes out of service in March.
     
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  5. Swan Age

    Swan Age Member

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    That's good to hear David
     
  6. nine elms fan

    nine elms fan Part of the furniture

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    An article in this months Railway Magazine reports that Roger Hardingham has resigned from the Urie Locomotive Society and that the Police are investigating £27,000 missing from society funds, anything further on this............
     
  7. johnnew

    johnnew Member

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    May be wrong but would suggest if anyone does know (and I don't) they withhold comment on it for the same legal reasons as in the WCRC news thread re The SPAD.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     
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  8. js5646

    js5646 New Member

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    Are there any savings to be made in (eventual) overhaul costs by storing 34007 undercover at Eastleigh, in a similar way to 35005 or do the storage costs quickly become prohibitive?
     
  9. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

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    You are not wrong. That's good advice and worth being noted for all the obvious reasons.
     
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  10. GSN

    GSN New Member

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    I do not think there would be saving in the overhaul cost as it would have to be moved by road to Eastleigh and it would difficult to move about the works as tender will be have been reclaimed by 35005 for overhaul even if they had room as all the covered space is fully let.
     
  11. 21B

    21B Part of the furniture

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    Probably, but it depends on the cost of the storage (which varies from time to time). the sums added up positively for 35005. The cost of road transport only really becomes an issue if the loco cannot go across the bridge (like 925 did). 34007 probably couldn't go by rail all the way as it was (unlike 35005) never registered for the mainline. many of the advantages of undercover storage can be obtained by a tarpaulin though which will mitigate many of the effects of weather. Longer term some form of covered storage is an aim.
     
  12. martin1656

    martin1656 Nat Pres stalwart Friend

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    The poblem is that there is very little suitable land that can be used to provide covered storage, the only option as i san see it would involve digging out the bank past the bridge at Ropley extening the siding and slueing the track away from the running line, it would need a lot of signal changes as you would have to have access from the Medstead end a supporting wall built to hold back the farmers field , and a protecting wall between the running line with safe access clear of the track via either a foot path round from the bridge or by the side of the exsisting head shunt just short of the bridge.
     
  13. Swan Age

    Swan Age Member

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    Agreed.

    Land (or rather lack of) has always been an issue at the MHR.

    What is the current situation regarding the Alton Brewery site adjoining the railway? Such a site could be an opportunity, however with property developers sniffing around and the high value of land in the South east, the cost would probably be easily beyond what the MHR could afford.

    The only reason why I thought it could be a good option, was that it was once rail connected.
     
  14. 73129

    73129 Part of the furniture

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    From what I've been told. The brewery site is to be sold for housing and possible small business units. I would think the size of the old brewery site command a high price.
     
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  15. 8126

    8126 Member

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    The rail connection was on the other side of Lower Turk Street from the existing (for now) brewery site, so sandwiched between Lower Turk Street and Turk Street. The old site appears to have straddled Lower Turk Street and ranged all the way up to Turk Street. Beside the existing brewery the line is on an embankment well above the site level, and a public path runs between them. Not really viable.

    Between Lower Turk Street and Turk Street/Windmill Hill the land changes height pretty rapidly, such that the railway crosses over Lower Turk Street and under Turk Street 450 feet later while climbing at 1:100. Looking at Google satellite view you can just about get an impression of where the brewery siding must have been, curving sharply off from the running line; this description for this picture of the old keg store and loading platform also gives some clues if you know your Alton landmarks of the recent past.

    Given that the sidings must have been a pretty small one maybe two road affair in that limited space, I'm now wondering what Sweet Pea ('Courage' at the Middleton) was actually used for; surely a passing 700 or 0395 on a pickup goods would have been able to collect and drop off wagons fairly easily?
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2016
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  16. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    For those unfamiliar with the layout (such as me), this map from 1911 may prove useful:

    http://maps.nls.uk/view/101440554

    You can zoom in using the buttons on the left and click-and-drag to scroll about; it looks like the brewery had two sidings. A 1938 map shows that the layout was essentially unchanged.

    Tom
     
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  17. Swan Age

    Swan Age Member

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    Thanks for the insight into the locality of the old brewery siding, having looked at Google maps I can just make out where the old connection was.

    Ah well apart from being un-viable, as suspected the cost would be prohibitive anyway, unless of course someone sympathetic to the MHR were to win the £50m on the lottery!
     
  18. Swan Age

    Swan Age Member

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    Thank Tom, shows it in pretty clearly.
     
  19. 8126

    8126 Member

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    Excellent find, Tom, I was looking for something like that. Just look at that goods yard at Alton station, all the stock space a railway could want. I'm sure Waitrose won't mind if they find a Bulleid coach in storage overnight on aisle 3 once in a while...
     
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  20. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Having looked at Tom's supplied map, you and me, both. With no run round and no real means of getting the loco out of the way at the railway end of the line, I can't see how things could have been operated. Perhaps there were some capstans to move wagons (or even horses) at the brewery and 'Sweet Pea' (more correctly 'Courage') just propelled the outgoing wagons to the main line and hauled the inwards back. 22hp on a 1 in 100 grade doesn't give much haulage capacity though, even at 3.5 mph. For those that don't know, this is Sweet Pea. The only loco I know that requires three arms to drive. One to take off the brake, one to operate the throttle and one to let in the clutch, all of which are needed to do a hill start. Oh, and a leg to wind round the forward-reverse lever to stop it jumping out of gear. For those even more curious, it isn't vac fitted!
    [​IMG]
    Not my photo.
     

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