87 Steams

www.roger-dimmick.fotopic.net/c1632319.html

 

Stunning shots - fabulous light and scenery - great restoration job =D>

 

Is it in grey complete with web address as a nod to another recent arrival on the national network?

 

The grey (gloss "aircraft grey" as a more practical alternative to photographic grey) is the sponsor's choice, reportedly for its first year in service, after which it will go into SAR black. You may have a point about the web address though... ;-)

 

We hear a lot on this and other sites about the "sponsor". Is/are this person/these persons a mystery, or can they be revealed?

 

If he wanted his identity known, it would have been revealed...

...and certainly will be if he ever changes his mind, as we owe him a great debt of gratitude for his support and invaluable contribution to the Welsh Highland Railway!

 

A short video of No.87 steaming on the Ffestiniog Railway has just been uploaded on YouTube.

This is a sequence of clips taken today, showing No.87 in action along the Cob between Boston Lodge and Harbour Station.

Click HERE to watch...

Enjoy..! \/

 

thats brilliant to see. i remember during the summer of 2006 scraping all the crud off one of the frames. one discovery included some form of 'nest' in a cylinder casing. you'd never have guessed that there was once a family living in the engine. are they waiting for the cross town link to be completed before its move to dinas?

on a different note, what is going on with garratt 140? it's been very quiet while 87 and K1 took all the limelight.

 

No.87 will do 'running-in' turns across the Cob, building up to approx. 100 miles in steam. Will then transfer to Dinas, along with new Observation Carr. 2100 and ex-Romanian Carr. 2060, later in the Spring after Carr. 2100 has been completed - and, of course, the gap in the Cross-Town link has been closed...

No.140's restoration is a slow-burner, with the burner being more off than on. With the restoration of No.87 being privately sponsored, this loco obviously usurped No.140's position in the queue for attention. The return to steam of No.140 should be seen as a medium to long term project - as 'Lyd' will be the next loco to be worked on at Boston Lodge....

Volunteer efforts have been concentrated on 'K1' and the 10-year overhaul of No.138. Latest developments involve the restart of restoration work on NG15 No.134 - a volunteer led project, supported by the Welsh Highland Railway Society...

The following links will lead to further information:

http://whr.bangor.ac.uk/140.htm

http://whr.bangor.ac.uk/ng15.htm

http://whr.bangor.ac.uk/134.htm

 

thanks for that roger. how is the condition 140 compared to 87? It's a funny comparison- the ammount of time the 2 garratts have been in the hands of the FWHR (140's 12 years on the FR, compared to 87's 3). it just seems a bit odd to me that having learnt so much about NGG16's following 10 years of running 138 and 143 and a fast track overhaul of 87, the company would rather focus on a one-off and adapting a new standard design. don't get me wrong i've got nothing against southern praries or NG15's, it's just i'm suprised to see the engineering team, having learnt so much about NGG16's decide not to get the final one steaming. is 140 still outside?

 

I should think it all comes down priorities and money, unsuprisingly. The WHR doesnt need another garratt for the moment, so the money rightly needs to be concentrated on more pressing needs like station buildings and carriages. 87 was a special case because inspite of its seemingly very poor condition someone was prepared to pay both for its purchase and its substantial overhaul.

With regards to Lyd and 134, they are both seperately funded projects and likely benefit from money and volunteers that another '16 simply wouldnt have. 140's time will come im sure.

Chris

 

You won't believe it but the WHR website has been updated!
See http://www.welshhighlandrailway.net for up to date news on 87!

Don't expect much though, and don't expect to read ANYTHING on the reopening to Beddgelert and Porthmadog later this year. Who need customers anyway?

PH

 

Realist, please, you do yourself no favours by hi-jacking any NWNG threads on the forum...

 

Fabulous photos of 87! Well done to all involved in the restoration.

Isn't 140 one of the NGG16's rebuilt by the Alfred County Railway about 1990? If so, it be more complex than a standard NGG16 with the gas producer mods and GMA lubricators etc....

Cheers, Neil

 

That's NGG16A no. 141 you're thinking of; you can follow what's happening with it at Sandstone Estates in SA here.

The WHR's no. 140 is a standard, unmodified NGG16, currently distributed around various parts of Dinas yard and workshops, minus a few components that have been borrowed for the working NGG16s.

 

This is no hijack, my point was correct and on topic :-k

You would have thought that with all this good work that has been done to get the WHR ready for opening to Porthmadog they would at least market it?

 

Partial correction of fact: click on the "Bridging the Gap" link on the F&WHR site mentioned above, there is such a section. On the other hand it looks like that page hasn't been updated since about late July. It definitely needs a big update, but it does point at the enthusiast sites where some of us endeavour to keep people rather more updated. And in terms of marketing and passenger info (which is what the http://www.welshhighlandrailway.net site is mostly for), in a sense there's not that much concrete info on opening dates to give out until (a) the Summer timetable leaflet comes out (there are researched figures which show that this is still by far a more widely read marketing tool than the website), at which point the website needs to show the same info, and (b) HMRI confirm that paying passengers can be carried. For Rhyd Ddu - Beddgelert we are apparently a useful distance ahead with (b) after Wednesday's inspection, but there's more to do and there will apparently be a further visit.

 

Thanks for the clarification over 140. The Sandstone site has now been added to my favorites. One day I'll get there!

Thanks, Neil