Developments on the Corris Railway

Very exciting, let's hope the target completion date can be met.

 

There are new photos in the News section of the Corris website www.corris.co.uk showing new steam locomotive work going ahead in a volunteer’s workshop in the East Midlands. Currently in progress is the smokebox door and its fittings and the cut steelwork for number 10’s cab has been delivered for erection.

As for the completion date finance is crucial. You don’t realise how much these things cost until you get involved and in this instance the cab has cost £2k to date. The CAD drawings were done by a volunteer. Possibly more of a surprise will be the safety valve springs, two for fitting and a pair of spares, which have chewed up £300 plus vat.

Hopefully some will click the donations icon on the “Falcon” section of the website or send off the old traditional cheque. It’s frustrating not to have stands out on the circuit and to be without income from the Maespoeth donation chute and second hand sales but patience has to be cultivated on that front.

 

Various bits of Corris news. For those keeping track of progress with construction of the new steam loco, Number 10, the outside motion is nearing completion at Alan Keef’s, which is a good step forward. The downside is of course that a bill will duly arrive for the work so any donations will, as ever, be very welcome. Payment details can be found upthread. Work on hinges and other fittings for the smokebox door continues in volunteer workshops in the East Midlands and once that is done work will get underway on assembling the cab.

It had been hoped to start 2021 operations at Easter but with no Mid Wales accommodation providers opening until then, and with many volunteers travelling a distance to work at the CR, training, refreshers, and testing will take place during April. Public train services will start in May and it will be pre-bookable compartments at twenty five pounds a time. The compartments will hold up to ten people. At least to start with the usual Maespoeth tour won’t be possible but trains are planned to go down to the southern railhead. Arrangements for online ticketing are being progressed.

With the early season being pushed back it was felt unwise to start with a Gala, especially as no passenger trains have run since the 2019 Santas, so the Gala featuring number 4 on its second return from Tywyn will be on September 4th and 5th.

Number 7 was steamed for the first time in 2021 today, March 8th, ahead of its hot test later this month.

That is of course linked to Covid being under control and the same proviso applies to the plans for the return of the Model Railway Exhibition on August 28th and 29th.

 

It's good to be able to report that pictures of work afoot again in the Dulas Valley have appeared in the News section of www.corris.co.uk

 

And some works train activity pictures from last Sunday have appeared in the News Section of the website this morning. Mainly vegetation clearance.

 

Some lovely pictures as usual, thank you!

 

My standard, on repeat, message. There is a new selection of photos at www.corris.co.uk inc the welcome sight of number 7 in steam.

 

Lovely! (I like the prominent tea mug on #7 - shades of Ivor the Engine)

 

I'm not aware of a donkey called Bluebell in the Dulas Valley, although with ospreys in the Dyfi estuary and now beavers being reintroduced near Machynlleth you never know. But the Corris is defintely a small railway in Wales, albeit one with bigger ambitions. Finance permitting.

 

Who's the Trefor sized bloke with the clean face standing next to No.7?

 

Newbuild project!! (sorry....)

 

There is a new video on the website tonight. A trip from the Junction to Corris filmed from a two pank waggon being propelled by battery electric number 9. First footage I've seen since the recent cutting back efforts

 

Only interested if it goes round the corner too quickly and takes mr Dinwyddy's gold to the bottom of the lake...

 

Don't worry, plenty more where that came from-and what a lovely SPLASH!

 

News is now posted about Corris station and a bit more about the new steam engine. Involvement of Mr D has not been revealed.

 

Watched it .... and the clean up has left the line looking lovely. Courtesy of No.9's battery traction from behind the camera, you'd have to describe what you hear as sounding like a gravity working, when what you see is more like a 'gravity defying working'!

 

After a gap of a few weeks there are fresh pics in the News section at www.corris.co.uk which show progress with new loco, waggon, carriage 23 and other fronts. It's good to see the workforce and work being done.

 

The latest developments with the new staem loco, number 10 are that work on the inside motion has continued at Keef's with the eccentrics now machined and in place whilst in the East Midlads the hinges and other fittings are in place on the smoekbox door with work getting undwerway on some of the brake gear components.

 

With the latest easing of Covid 19 restrictions Corris Railway Society volunteers have been able to resume socially distanced working in the workshops at Maespoeth Junction. One of the first tasks undertaken was completion of the braking system for new build carriage 23 ahead of its planned entry into traffic at the start of the 2021 operating season..

Number 23 is the third of four new carriages being constructed for the Corris and recreates the appearance of the Victorian/Edwardian era vehicles that once carried passengers in the Dulas Valley. There are however differences to meet 21st Century safety requirements, most notably steel being used in place of wood for the framing of the bodywork. As with carriage number 21 it has an arc roof, whilst number 22 has a clerestory. Internally passengers sit on longitudinal seats in two compartments per coach with each compartment seating up to eight adult passengers.

Construction of number 24 is advancing in the Maespoeth Junction carriage shed. It will have a clerestory roof and will incorporate a first class observation car portion. Although construction is carried out at the Junction members of the team produce some components in their home workshops ready for final fitting.

It is planned that by the end of 2022 the Corris carriages will be headed by new build steam locomotive Falcon 0-4-2ST number 10, providing that income from supporters can allow work to progress. At the end of April Corris Railway Society volunteers had completed work on the hinges and opening mechanism for the smokebox door and these were fitted to the door pressing. Volunteers had also begun work on the brake gear.

The main locomotive construction is being carried out at the workshops of Alan Keef Ltd near Ross-on-Wye and there the eccentrics and expansion links were among parts that had been machined and fitted to take the bottom half of the loco closer to completion and demonstration running by means of compressed air. When the inside motion is complete the plan is to make the slide block and fixings to mount the pony truck on the loco then some necessary sections of foot plate followed by a start on mounting the boiler.

Donations towards the cost of constructing number 10 can be made via www.corris.co.uk or cheques, payable to Corris Railway, can be sent to Peter Guest, 38 Underwood Close, Callow Hill, Redditch, B97 5YS.

 

Loved this recent clip of No.7 starting all the serviceable carriages (20-23) on the steep bit, for a run up to Corris, ahead of reopening to passengers. The loco looks and sounds great and there's clearly been quite a bit of work carried out on the PW side. The clip [8'53"] is by Jack Evans, dated 24th April:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...wqsBegQIGhAB&usg=AOvVaw13FaXY0t_gSGw3s8waJ2vj
I've only ever seen one (still) image of a longer passenger train, double-headed Falcons, posed on the old (timber trestle) Dovey Bridge.