Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters

A very well compiled and beautifully presented update. That was head and shoulders the best sound editing I've heard on any clip, from any line. My thanks and congratulations to the MHR Films Unit.

Looking at just how far the engineering competencies have come on during the heritage era (I noted the comment about replacing earlier restoration's bolted joints on the tender frame with rivets), given the sheer scale of work, especially on both the boiler and at the front of the frames, you have to wonder whether there may yet be hope for poor old No.841, the Maunsell variant languishing part cannibalised in distant foreign climes (OK .... Yorkshire!).

 

Awww Shucks, cheers, but I was trying to keep it quiet - I'd requested no media coverage.........

Me, ski?...... I don't bloody think so!!

 

We try to spruce up the running fleet prior to them going out to play if needed, along with checking the axleboxes, brake linkage & screw couplings.

 

I believe there is a plan being formulated to try and do just that - only time will tell.......

 

506 with a 12-coach Steam Illuminations set certainly made for quite the spectacle, pyrotechnics and all.

 

It were ruddy freezing atop the hill yesterday morning when 6 like minded soles gathered to attend to some of the troublesome trucks - cold enough for your finger tips to loose feeling, even after hot food & a brew, or touching lumps of cold metal!!!

We had various vehicles in our sights...... Palvan B782114 was in the firing line for some derusting & red oxiding, when the day had warmed up!

Southern van S477777 was down for checking th brake rigging & fitting washers as required, along with oiling round all the linkage.

LMS van M 517317 was also down for the same treatment, and it was found that the linkage was rather slack, so it was a case of removing split pins & fitting washers until things were snug again, followed by oiling all round.

Two vehicles also needed their 6 month exams.

Shoc open, B 854732 was first up - nothing untoward was found, a minor issue was recorded for attention, so the van passed its exam.

Next up was Banana van B 881711 - the rubber seal on one of the vac hose dummy's was found to be life expired, so a replacement was found, and almost true to form, didn't want to play ball - it took many attempts, including a hot water bath to get it to fit! The safety hoops were also found to be loose, so these have been flagged up to be fixed next time.

Both vehicles also had pad exams, with the crud drained out & filled with fresh oil & all the brake linkages & screw couplings were also given copious amounts of oil.

The above doesn't sound a lot, but it kept us all busy for the day!!!

Footnote...... apparently on Friday I was leading out team GB in the Birds nest stadium & not working my nuts off on the shop floor....... if that was the case, I doubt my flight to LHR would have got in early enough for me to be stood outside the bakers in Four Marks just before 08:00 waiting for them to open........

 

It were a nice sunny day when three of us gathered atop the hill yesterday, but by 'eck the wind had a right old bite on it!

After the usual brew & catch up, we ventured out of the workshop PMV & into the biting wind to set to on the task we'd been asked to tackle...... namely, to try and get the doors open on LMS box van M317517......

Easier said than done, as it turned out as the runners on both sides are showing signs of rot & hence sagging to the point where the doors are sitting on the guides & seriously not helped by the trolley wheels being seized!!

By the time we got stuck in, either the wind had dropped, or we'd begun to work up a sweat, as we could no longer feel the cold & our finger tips weren't freezing......

It may have taken us all morning to get both doors open, but open them we did mainly through a lot of brute force & not so much ignorance, as we can be clever bugga's when we need to be!

After lunch, we then gave the van a right old once over..... everything on, or above the solebars is in need of rather a lot of attention, so it wont be going back into traffic any time soon!

Once we'd given the van the once over & discussed exactly what needed doing, it was time to pack up & bugga off home, though muggins went via Ropley, as me Ropley Spy has been rather quiet of late, so decided to see he was still breathing......

On arrival, the place was a hive of activity, with carriages & loco's being cleaned (was nice to see & catch up with a few familiar faces ) & over in the far corner a right old racket was going on...... upon reaching it, I discovered that my Ropley Spy was indeed still breathing , as it was he making all the noise & giving everyone else a headache, with a needle gun......

I'm sure somewhere in the pleasantries exchanged, he muttered something about providing an update on 499.........

The Southside door opened - not my pic, as I was too busy making notes, that me mucker has to translate into English!!

 

Utter carnage at Ropley in tonight's episode of Call the Midwife. A Class 20 wrecked by Mr Bentley driving one of the 08 shunters (Phoenix) into it with a tanker for an almighty explosion. And I think he has killed Jenny Agutter as well...

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Was the Chopper absolutely immaculate?

 

It was before it had some carriages and a short freight piled into it. Quite a disaster scene created at Ropley. Good to see the MHR getting some more filming work.

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The burning stuff was at Alresford, all static. The moving scenes were shot at Ropley (including the anachronistic TOPS numbered o8) Having two class 20's meant there were two sets of passenger and freight trains, mirror images of each other, one at Ropley, one at Alresford

 

Here are some stills of the "Midwife chopper/08 carnage" at Ropley and Alresford:

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"Diesels in the Dark" ...... nice! Very atmospheric photos indeed.

 

I saw the tv show and it was dramatics but he shouldn’t of been driving know that he is ill and is a shame it doesn’t have all the favourite nurses in any more

 

Well, that turned weird quick!

Tom

 

Oh No! She's a Living National Treasure
Pat

 

Not anymore, apparently!

Tom

 

She really has the worst luck with trains.

 

Maybe if she didn’t spend so much time taking her underwear of and waving it at trains she might have a bit more luck?

 

Thats what distracted the driver most likily , And I bet that COTF isnt the first teenage boy, to have a thing for nurses either,