Bristol Harbour Railway - Updates and Goings on

It was excellent, wasn’t it? I enjoyed the actors & reenactment outside the M-shed, and the crane trips were great fun (not least thanks to the cherry picker access!) Any idea why there was a Mark 3 coach on a lorry parked outside the Lloyds building?

 

Took my lad along yesterday, and he thoroughly enjoyed the chance of getting in the cab of no 34. They had sold out of crane visits, for which I am rather relieved, but the event seemed to really interest people

 

Many thanks to everyone who came along. On both days we had a continuous stream of visitors to Portbury's cab, to Crane 31, and passengers for trips round the harbour on John King, and a healthy boost to the team's funds. Best of all was the sense of affection that the people of Bristol have for the cranes and the steam engines, and their enthusiasm to see the quayside come alive again after nearly 2 years of inactivity.

One of the visitors to the crane on Sunday was the son of the Bristol architect who campaigned for the cranes to be saved when the council wanted them all scrapped. He remembered growing up listening to his Dad talking about the cranes and how important it was that they were saved, but this was his first visit to one of the cabs. It was moving to hear his story, so I can only imagine what it must have meant to him.

If you missed this weekend, we're planning a 'Have a Go' week, during half-term, 23 to 31 October. You'll be able to drive Portbury, operate one of the cranes, and there will probably be some nautical activity during the final weekend. More details soon.

 

If you want a steam fix during half-term week, we're offering 'Have a Go' sessions every day from Monday 21st to Friday 25th February. For £50 you get both a 20 minute driving lesson in Avonside w/n 1764 'Portbury' (below) and a 20 minute driving lesson in Stothert and Pitt crane no.30 (kindly illustrated by Kingscross at the top of this page).




For more details and to reserve a place, have a look at:

https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/m-shed/whats-on/train-and-crane-driving-experiences/

(Image courtesy https://bristolharbourrailway.co.uk/)

 

Henbury and Portbury were being steam tested today. Hope all the occupants of the new flats have no objections to steam trains, there’s a lot of development going on behind the M-Shed.

 

Great photo. Really shows how recent development has closed in on the museum.

A lot of people have moved in in the last few months, and we haven't run our regular weekend public trains for two years because of you know what. So it'll be interesting to see our new neighbour's reactions over the next few weeks.

Running steam trains right in the heart of a major city makes us unusual and, in my view, something quite special. It also presents many challenges.

 

Make the most of it because when the "anti everything brigade" in the flats find their voice your life will become very difficult indeed. Sign of the times regrettably.

 

Woodthorpe, Great Central Railway springs to mind. <BJ>

 

I moved to Bristol last year, and my commute to work now takes me right past the M-Shed which is always enjoyable when there's something steaming up on the quayside!

Apologies if this info is somewhere up-thread, but what is the situation regarding running on the line down to the CREATE centre again? I see it's currently truncated by the road development near the warehouse with track panels piled up neatly by the roadside, is there a plan to reinstate this end of the line?

 

Blimey! Changed a lot since I last visited.

 

Ditto Chatham Dockyard!

 

Haven't been there for a long time either.

 

Give then time!
My dad lives in the flats opposite the water column in Swanage. The woman in the penthouse (to whom it is a holiday home) comes down once or twice a year and then complains about both steam and diesel noise and aroma to the level of ringing the railway and formally complaining. Why buy the unit in the first place if you do not like trains, plenty of other places available.
When he passes own and I have to sort things out, as she is head of the residents association I am sure we will be having a serious falling out, I currently keep well out of it.

 

We will reinstate the line to a platform adjacent to A bond warehouse, (the one closest to Underfall Yard). This is slightly truncated from our previous destination, because of the new road for the guided busway, but not bad. We're waiting for the repair works to the collapsed river wall to be completed before we can replace the track. The last target date I heard was 'late 2022'.

(On tomorrow morning's commute, keep an eye out for the steam crane getting ready for its insurance inspection).

 

Good news, the steam fleet passed their insurance tests last week.

 

Sounds rather like those who buy houses at/near the end of airport runways. Then start complaining most bitterly at the aircraft coming and going, once they've moved in,

 

Yup. The railway's been there 150 years next month. The flats ... rather less than that.

 

'Have a go week' in February saw the full spectrum of weather.


I was firing (first time in two years) on the Friday and it was a gorgeous day, earlier in the week they had howling wind and snow!

 

We're running trains today, Sunday and Monday on the Quayside. Hopefully both Portbury and Henbury will be out.

Click here for some photos of last weekend's 1950s quayside display demonstrations!

 

Have Your Say on the Western Harbour Redevelopment – Last Chance!
The Western Harbour / Harbour Hopes project encompasses the redevelopment of land around the Cumberland Basin, including the Bonded Warehouses and the Western end of the Railway itself. The consultation for this closes this Friday (April 22nd).
If you feel that it is important to retain the Bristol Harbour Railway’s planned station and Western terminus, you can let the planners know here:

CLICK HERE for the link to the HARBOUR HOPES consultation:
https://www.harbourhopes.co.uk/index.php?contentid=82


Personally I feel it would be excellent to have the UK’s only standard gauge city-centre steam railway linking two of the most exciting urban regeneration areas (Western Harbour and Wapping Wharf), providing a genuine transport link on running days as well as serving as both an educational and entertainment amenity with a ‘living history’ link to Bristol’s heritage.


In the consultation, question 6 allows you to submit your own comments. If anyone is interested, these are my hopes for the Harbour:
“As a local resident, the key thing that means a great deal to me is the integration of the Bristol Harbour Railway into the Western Harbour development.
The BHR has not been able to use the station on this site for several years (due to Metrobus construction and river wall repairs) but is soon to make a return.
I feel that the opportunity for the UK’s only standard gauge city-centre steam railway to directly connect two of the most exciting urban regeneration projects (Western Harbour and Wapping Wharf) is not to be missed.
The railway is operated by volunteers who take great pride in their work and there is a real community spirit to the operation which can be built upon.
On operating days it can provide a genuine transport link whilst at the same time a link to Bristol’s industrial heritage, entertaining and educating at the same time.
It would be a great shame to lose this opportunity if the railway line were to be built upon. I believe the railway management should be brought on-board in advising how the integration could work.”