Churnet Valley Railway General Discussion

Iain and I took the Abtus trolley for a walk today. Started at Froghall in freezing fog, finished at Chedd in brilliant sunshine. The 4F was there, needing a bit of attention but good to see her home.

The rest of OAPWay were out on line walks or measuring track wear.

 

Last Wednesday OAPWay of the year, next week being Christmas Day and there was not much enthusiasm from anyone to commit to coming out that day.
Today - a cool foggy day and most of the team were at Bradnop. Half were engaged in trying to clear the drains through the tunnel but it proved impossible to get the drain rods into the drains far enough to do any good and the water in the manholes was so dirty it was impossible to see anything. Another job for next year. The rest cleared all the tree shoots that had grown up from stumps along the bridge on the Leekbrook side. There is now a clear view of the cutting all across the bridge, so photographers in the next few months should be happy. Growth on the Ipstones side was also removed.

 

Have you got a photo of the view looking down onto the track? It had got a bit overgrown there, so glad to see some work completed there! Thank You.

 

Sorry but I did not take that one but believe there is now a clear view into the cutting along the whole length of the bridge.

 

Last week we had a tree felling day at Leekbrook but I forgot the camera. This week in preparation for the installation for the new siding at Froghall we were replacing long sleepers at the Leekbrook end of the Ipstones branch with standard sleepers so the long ones could be taken down to Froghall. A lot of carrying of sleepers and chairs from the nearest access point but a good days work - certainly for the OAPs

 

With Leek on the horizon, we are trying our best to be proactive instead of reactive with regards to expected service levels, and expand our fleet of coaches.
We are hoping to fund up to four vehicles, and we have already received a significant amount from an internal appeal which is now open to all.
Updates as/when things develop.
https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/appeal/cvr_coaches

 

Still working on getting the long sleepers out from near Leekbrook but the good news is that the siding work at Froghall should start within a couple of weeks - only a year late (by CVR standards almost on time). Note T bar Tony in action, had to go and get the right socket for the bance.

 

Two jobs today
i. In advance of Super Power Take 2, this coming weekend, we had the last bit of vegetation clearance to do above Bradnop Tunnel. There is now a clear view from the bridge down the cutting. I hope all the photographers on the bridge enjoy the view. We left an honesty box for contributions to OAPWay welfare.

ii. Then down to Froghall to start work on the new siding, getting the long sleepers for the turnout in the right order ready for installation in the next two weeks

 

Video of the first run up to Ipstones today with two S160s - 2253 Omaha leading, with 6046 on the back.
The clip is more about the sound of the locos working hard than the picture. Wind the volume up and listen !!

 

Super Power Weekend 1st and 2nd Feb 2020

AC48DD2E-C0D9-4846-B10C-DDF6256D45FD by Pbrian49 posted Feb 2, 2020 at 1:08 PM

 

The Churnet Valley Railway during their 'Superpower Weekend' featuring three USATC S160 locomotives, 2253 'Omaha', 5197 and 6046.

The event included the challenging Ipstones branch and the first appearance in preservation for triple headed S160's - wow, what a noise they made!

Video Available Here

 

First two arrived courtesy of the NSRC. Any donations, large/small, to support their purchase and transport would be greatly appreciated.
https://www.churnetvalleyrailway.co.uk/news/latest-editions-to-the-churnet-valley-railway

 

Wow, those are what I would call an ambitious project.......

 

We'd call it achievable. The work required is no more than what we've achieved within our current carriage fleet. In terms of 3809 everything is there it just needs refurbishment.

4366 will be receiving a completely new interior, to compliment that currently being fitted to 4779. Which leaves windows (which will be he hardest thing to source) bodywork repair and underframes. All of which can be completed, we just need some additional pennies that will make things happen sooner - plus some volunteers just to help midweek if there's any of those are spare...

 

Looking at the VCT carriage register, 4366 had a full set of window frames and a lot of glass a couple of years ago. Have MRB removed them all then?

 

Reading Lee Sharpe's post on facebook the other day, he said 'The rest of the window frames for it were in a box van along with new glass for it' . Don't know if that is the case?

 

4366 had been stripped for spares whilst at MRC, hence the shell became available as it stood. Even when I first looked at the vehicle it didn't have a complete set of frames, to source replacements. Any C&W department reading this with spares and wants to get in touch are most welcome to!

 

Thanks for the amazing S160 photos and videos all. Really brightened up a dull Thursday morning.

 

OAPWay have still been getting sleepers in place for the work at Froghall, this time taking the long sleepers from the remains of the track heading to Leek from Leekbrook Junction. Work was also done on the gauge of the Ipstones branch heading up from Leekbrook. Three S160s are a bit heavy on the curves.

 

How far down the priorities list is it for Leekbrook Junction and Froghall to be fully signalled?