Developments on the Corris Railway

..... where I watched it with no small delight. I feel sure the accompanying racket was entirely confined to the "rolling road" beneath the wheels! What a beautiful sight.

Even though I consider 'alive' to indicate the lighting the first fire, this is a major step on the road to once again having a Falcon based on it's native stamping ground. The Corris folk must be absolutely (and quite justifiably) cock-a-hoop.

 

New set of pictures from Maespoeth Jnc and on the line has appeared at www.corris.co.uk this evening.

 

After consideration of the ongoing Covid guidance and uncertainty, the Corris Railway Society has regretfully decided to cancel its planned Model Railway Exhibition which was due to take place on August 28th and 29th at Y Plas in Machynlleth.

By the nature of the Exhibition there was a likelihood and risk of people grouping around layouts and at trade stands and the CRS decided that calling off the event would be the safest and responsible course.

However the Corris is keen to stress that its steam trains will continue to operate from Corris Station as advertised so that visitors may enjoy a relaxed view of part of the beautiful Dulas Valley. It has now added additional operating days in August further to its advertised Sundays and these additional trains will run on Saturdays August 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th, plus Bank Holiday Monday August 30th. Trains will leave Corris station at 11.00, 13.00 and 15.00 and tickets must be pre-booked via www.corris.co.uk

The Corris is also accepting bookings, subject to volunteer staff availability, for its Your Railway for the Day package in which groups of up to six, or even individuals, can drive steam, diesel or battery electric locomotives, work with the guard and the signalman and enjoy exclusive use of the Railway.

 

A nice set of new pictures has appeared on the website this evening.

 

A question concerning rail weights, if I may: Watching a clip from April this year (No.9 pushing a 2-plank waggon), there looks to have been a lot of work on the PW (for which, congratulations on a very noticeable job). Most of the way up (from Maespoeth) to a point a couple of hundred yards south of the occupation crossing before the graveyard, the rail looks distinctly heavier than the last stretch into Corris. Is it, or am I just imagining it?

BTW, I absolutely love Martin's atmospheric monochrome piccy (the post above this). It really captures the essence of the Corris and but for No.7's buffers and coupling gear, that view could very almost be from just about any time between 1921 (except a period when No.4 sported some odd longtitudinal flaps under the saddle tank, or a clamp on a cracked chimney) and 1946 (when it's firebox failed inspection)

 

Number 4 ran after 1946. The records show that it was stopped from traffic for six and a half weeks from December 9th 1947. It had been previously been stopped for 93 days from December 4th 1944.

The longitudinal flaps were fitted to stop water pouring over the motion if the saddle tank was overfilled. Unlike numbers 1 to 3 it had no running plate.

 

The Corris looking rather good

 

Cheers for that. My understanding had been No.4's firebox gave out a fair while before closure, the 1946 date coming from one of the books in my possession - can't recall which. Certainly, Tom Rolt described the loco, ahead of Hunslet's magnificent intervention, as having been worked "almost to death" and that No.3, according to an assessment (BR?), "should not run after August (1948)" - presumably due to the state of the tubes, mentioned by Rolt - ran the last months single-handedly.

The reason you mention for No.4's 'flaps' makes sense, but why then were they subsequently removed? I somehow doubt Maespoeth's crews needed a few years to get the hang of filling a different tank. Perhaps more likely might be that once it got it's new boiler and presumably started performing better, the crews simply stopped hating it and gave it a bit more TLC.

Another thing I've pondered on was Rolt's assertion that the Falcons 'lacked proper sanding gear' (old photos make the 'sanding arrangements' pretty obvious!), which does seem odd, especially after the trailing wheels were added, given the comparatively large drivers and the tortuous nature of the route, from even before Corris / quarry bound trains completely cleared Pont Dyfi. I'd imagine the opportunity has been taken to rectify this in the design of No.10.

Love the clip of the 'mixed' train (above), which as well as looking superb, must've been a sight easier going than starting No.7 on the bank, with all four carriages! Assuming No.4's end-of-term visit goes ahead as planned, directly comparing performances of the two locos, now No.7 has been 'breathed upon', ought to be interesting. Come to think of it, we're not now really all that far off 'Falcon 150', are we?

 

Thoughts about the lack of sanders on the Falcons were outlined in the latest Newsletter which goes out to those who have supported the funding of number 10.

 

The deflectors story has to involve some conjecture after nigh on a century. They were fitted after number 4 was delivered, so it was in a response to a problem.

So on the guesswork basis. Locos took water at Maespoeth Junction, sitting outside the shed from which the water came. The tank was inside the shed. Possibly while the tanks were filling the footplate crew did other things or simply had a cup of tea or visited the cludgie at the Corris end of the shed. If the tank overflowed on numbers 1 to 3 with their running plates the flow would not have been directly onto the motion but number 4 was different.

In 1930 the GWR took over and Maespoeth saw machinery removed with the two locos then in service maintained by men from the mainline shed at Machynlleth when matters were beyond the remaining CR footplate staff. With a GW shedmaster looking at things there may have been a tightening up on recurring and avoidable problems, even allowing for the degree of Corris independence that remained to the end. Memory could be playing me false but I can’t recollect seeing 4 with the deflectors in GWR time.

This is entirely speculation and anyone’s guess is as good as mine.

 

Latest news on number 10 is that the boiler has been trial fitted into the frames for the first time at Alan Keef's.

And there is a press release round up of other news on the Corris website.

 

Is it known whether maintenance in GW days involved mainline staff making their way to the denuded Maespoeth, or was servicing undertaken at Machynlleth (were boilers sent to Oswestry or Swindon?) after 1930(ish)?

 

Main works attention was carried out at Swindon rather than Oswestry. Again we're nearly a century on but it appears that Humphrey Humphreys carried out routine maintenance and called on fitters, and presumably tools, from the main line shed for help as required. As well as driving and firing he was, to quote Gwyn Briwnant Jones in Great Western Corris;- coal-man, fire lighter, steam raiser, fire- dropper and ash-man;- he was a one man locomotive department.
Materials such as oil, cotton waste and sand were collected from the main line shed.

 

Wish i could be there, good idea. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/corr...XNpfxhaKKU_C37JCsgJ-DUiyIkjN7z6T0gvCX0GS5a2wM

 

As of this evening the Corris website has pictures from Keef's of number 10 including the boiler in place in the first, trial, fitting. Plus the pony truck and wheels in place. Looks very encouraging.

 

More pictues have appeared on the website this evening. Including some showing some activity on the Extension and work on carriage 24.

 

I saw a reference to a change of policy stopping the supply of material from the Dyfi roadworks. What's behind that?
Pat

 

If I get an answer I'll post it here in due course. Meanwhile number 4 is back in the shed at Maespoeth Junction having arrived safely from Tywyn. There are pics on the Corris Facebook page -- which I can view without having an account.