Moseley Railway Trust - Made in Staffordshire Gala

The MRT has issued the following press release regarding this year's Gala.

Press Release:- Moseley Railway Trust announces “Made in Staffordshire” Gala

The Moseley Railway Trust is pleased to announce details for the 2011 September gala at the Apedale Valley Light Railway, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. The gala, entitled “Made in Staffordshire”, will be held on September 10 and 11 2011.

The event will focus on the Staffordshire-based locomotive builders. Staffordshire supported a variety of railway engineering companies, and most of these will be represented. From Kerr Stuart of Stoke-on-Trent will be the resident “Stanhope” and, all being well, the MRT’s newly restored “Joffre” locomotive. The restoration of the “Joffre” is now in its final stages. There have been a number of last minute snags, as is inevitable on a locomotive which has not steamed since the 1950s, but the owning group are very much hoping that these will be resolved in time for the September event.

Representing the WG Bagnall company of Stafford will be “Isabel”. Built in 1897, “Isabel” is normally based at the Amerton Railway. This locomotive was for many years preserved in gardens near Stafford railway station. The MRT is very grateful to the Amerton Railway and to Stafford Borough Council for allowing Isabel to visit Apedale.

However, it is important to also be aware that there is still a vibrant manufacturing industry in Staffordshire – and one which still builds steam locomotives. The Hunslet Engine Company will loan one of the recent build locomotives to the classic “Quarry Hunslet” design – 108 years younger than Isabel, and demonstrating that Staffordshire remains a centre for engineering excellence. Again, the MRT wishes to thank Graham Lee, Henry Noon and the team at Hunslet for facilitating this visit.

The final major locomotive builder in Staffordshire was Baguley of Burton on Trent; the MRT has two Baguley locomotives in the collection, built over a 54 year timespan. There may also be a special surprise additional Burton-built locomotive – details are under negotiations currently.

Building on the success of previous years, there will also be a supporting cast of model railways, vintage vehicles and a wide range of traders. The MRT would be pleased to hear from individuals or groups who wish to exhibit – particularly anything with a Staffordshire theme.

The event will be open from 1100 to 1700 on each of the days. Admission this year will be £6 for adults, £3 for children – each admission ticket will also include a train ride on the railway. Further rides can be purchased if required. There is a buy-in-advance option available for the first time this year – this gives a worthwhile discount on the on the gate price. Further details are available at www.mrt.org.uk.

 

Just a brief update:
The Kerr Stuart Joffre is getting ever closer to its first outing in-steam at Apedale. Static steam or cold movements have been the order of the day so far. I might get chance to post a photo soon!
To operate with the Joffre, a small contemporary WW1 train is being formed, which we hope will be in action on a couple of limited occasions each day. The latest (rather large) wagon is due to arrive during next week.
The logistics surrounding the Bagnall "Isabel" from Amerton & the Hunslet "Statfold" from Statfold barn is resolved & they are expected to arrive towards the end of the week. Both of which are being rostered for Passenger duties during the weekend.
There are likely to be several "surprise" locos present too - could be a surprise to us too if they all make it!
Traders & models seem to be confirmed.
The very first stage new industrial railway is now in existance & we are expecting to have 1 locomotive in operation on it for the duration, creating some interesting cameo scenes.
Our new station building is complete enough to allow is to open the doors & welcome visitors through it for the first time.
Much more besides!

Please see the regularly updated MRT news blog for more details (www.mrt.org.uk)

 

As promised - a couple of taster photos in advance of this weekend's big event!
In the unlikely(!) event of damp weather, there should be plenty to do & see that is undercover (or underground if you participate in a mine tour!!), covered passenger train, model railways, etc

See you there...

 

A brief update from (a dry!) yesterday:
The Joffre was steamed & ran under it's own power for the first time in the Apedale Valley. By the end of the day many bugs were ironed out & the whistle even works!
A newly restored WW1 wagon arrived along with a new roof for our Penrhyn coach - both of which were progressed off-site in Peak District. The roof is in the process of being fitted...
Isabel arrived on Wednesday as planned.

More news later....

 

Had a good day at Apedale today, fine weather, good selection of engines, friendly staff, some unusual model railways. Hope they've done well this weekend, look forward to the next one.

 

Glad you enjoyed the visits Martin (thanks for your comments inthe Gala section) & P/wayman, we're always interested to hear feedback & receive enquiries about other events/charters/ideas etc for the future. I think we did OK, considering we've only been carrying passengers for just over 1 year.

We owe a lot of thanks to our exhibitors & members, without whom this type of gala would have been impossible to stage. Contrary to the doom merchants giving the weather forecasts earlier in the week & in other parts of the country, our little corner of Staffordshire was actually very dry over the weekend - the sun even managed to come out at times!

The Joffre was getting better with each run during the weekend. Considering it was only formally approved for passenger operation on Friday the 9th, everything seemed to pass off without major problems! The Hunslet "Statfold" & compressed air loco "Issin Sid" left site this morning.

DATE FOR THE DIARY - 8/9th September 2012 - 52 weeks of planning for our next major gala starts now...
Updates/photos on the MRT website in the regularly updated news section - www.mrt.org.uk

Cheers,
Gareth

 

Martin - if you fancy doing a charter with us at Apedale sometime, get in touch. You know where we are now.....

Simon Lomax

 

It's good to hear the people seemed to enjoy their days at Apedale. Our collective feet have about stopped aching. Anyway, here's a Press Release to tell you how it went officially....

The Moseley Railway Trust (MRT) is delighted to report on the success of the
2011 Gala. Visitor numbers exceeded those for the 2010 Grand Opening
Weekend – more than a thousand people visited the 2’0” gauge Apedale Valley
Light Railway during the weekend.

It appears that the unexpectedly good weather, combined with the “Made in
Staffordshire” theme captured the public imagination. The “Made in
Staffordshire” theme was reflected by the use of four Staffordshire built
steam locomotives – two Apedale resident Kerr Stuarts, a Bagnall and a
Hunslet built at Statfold. The Bagnall was “Isabel”, visiting from the
Amerton Farm railway, courtesy of the Staffordshire Narrow Gauge Railway
Society. The Hunslet Engine company brought “Statfold”, a recently built
locomotive to the Quarry Hunslet design. Last, but by no means least, Roy
Etherington enthralled the crowds with the UK’s only compressed-air powered
locomotive, named “Sid”. The MRT wishes to thank the owners and the crews of
the visiting locomotives for their assistance and support.

Despite a few minor problems on the Saturday morning, the train service on
the AVLR ran very well. Phil Robinson, the MRT’s Chairman said “We were
particularly pleased by the performance of the Kerr Stuart “Joffre”
locomotive. This was the first time the locomotive had been steamed in
public, and the first time it has hauled trains in the UK since leaving
Stoke-on-Trent in 1916. The Engineering Department have burnt much midnight
oil on this project – they only finished testing the loco on the Friday
before the Gala”. With its distinctive spark arrestor chimney, the Joffre
looked and sounded in fine fettle.

The profits raised from the Gala will be put towards the MRT’s next major
project, which is to commence constructing the foundations on the museum of
industrial narrow gauge railways.

The Apedale Valley Light Railway will operate every Saturday until the end
of October, normally using diesel locomotives. However, on Saturday & Sunday
8th & 9th October, steam traction will be used. Subject to any problems, it
is planned to steam both of the Kerr Stuart locomotives “Stanhope” and the
“Joffre”. This will give the rare opportunity to see two Kerr Stuart
locomotives in operation together, just a handful of miles from where they
were built. It is expected that this will be last public steaming for the
“Joffre” in 2011.

The AVLR will be operating steam-hauled Santa Specials on 10 & 11 December,
and 17 & 18 December. Pre-booking is strongly recommended for these trains,
and full details can be found at www.avlr.org.uk.

Regards,

Simon Lomax