Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters

The Hastings Unit is visiting the Watercress Line on 2nd April working the Medstead Mountaineer Rail Tour from Hastings:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...21545839341/&usg=AOvVaw05qnQdUVvcJXLSdUOmb2rr

 

https://www.hastingsdiesels.co.uk/railtours/

For more info on the rail tour and booking info

 

Heads up the latest copy of Urie groups magazine Stovepipe arrived in the post today. For those that don’t receive this magazine why not become a member of the Urie group. I’ve put a link below to the groups web site.


https://uriesociety.co.uk/

 

A Hastings Unit was the first train to work through onto the railway after the line was extended back to Alton.
Unit No. 1013 worked the Hampshire Hog railtour, on 20th July 1985.
Pictures here at Ropley and Bentley.
https://www.nightrail.photography/Latest-Uploads/Hastings-Unit/n-nPvXkn/

 

For once a bright & sunny day greeted the three like minded nutters of the Saturday gang, but boy did the wind have a bite on it!!

Even though numbers were depleted, there was plenty to keep us occupied......

One of us needed to go up to Alton to check something out on a vehicle & as the Meon is not really a place to go alone it meant one was confined to base, which they didn't mind as they were quite happy to carry on undercoating the underframe on Palvan B78211.

Once back from Alton, the buffer shanks on the Palvan were cleaned up & oiled, and info patches were painted on SR Van S47777 ready for the relevant info to applied by the midweek guys next week, as both vehicles are soon to leave the yard to take their place in the goods rake.

After lunch, it was a three pronged atack on LMS van M517317...... the underframe painters reward was to get the angle grinder out & remove the numerous bolts holding the cladding in place - a task he enjoys!!!

The other two drew the short straw with having to try & extract rusted in screws........ after much sweat & swearing, the screwdrivers were ditched in favour of crowbars, cold chisels & claw hammers, as it soon becsme evident as to why all the screws are rusted in....... timbers which look fine on the outside were anything but on the inside, including what appeared to be recently fitted ply cladding to the inside of the north side door.......

By close of play the cladding on the north side was off, along with the cladding on the door as well as the country end cladding on the corrugated end, with timbers being left to dry out in the hope they can be salvaged.........

It was also good to see trains running again, with the one train service being well patronised.

A couple of pics from the day....

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/51950493725/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/51950492060/in/photostream/

The info patches painted on SR van S47777



The now very well air conditioned LMS van!

 

Shunting at Alresford by Stephen Morley, on Flickr

Jim Russell shunts D3462 into the cattle dock at Alresford ready to be whisked off for tyre turning on the low loader thathas just turned 08 288

 

Latest MHR YouTube video is now available to watch. This video takes a look around the S&D museum at Alresford.

 

The Watercress film unit deserves an award, for the outstanding product they produce, the museum looks to be an must visit attraction now, and combining both Railways artefacts in the museum is a good idea, Everyone has remarked just how at home it all seems, and as the S&D railway trust rebuilds more of its collection, around its new homes , it can look forward to a time of stability, and growth , Its interesting that the special members day is going towards the overhaul costs, another very good gesture towards the trust from the MHR.

 

Another current reason for commending the Mid Hants is that the website now features a loco roster page. Thanks chaps.

 

Have the various Bloggers given up what was a vary interesting part of the website..

 

Totally in agreement Martin, when my phone pings on a Friday with a YouTube notification I know it’ll be something to enjoy.
More power to Mr Stratford and those who contribute to what he does because it’s very good!
I’ve said this before but other railways should watch the Mid Hants YouTube channel and take note of it’s slick, interesting and varied content presented by a very charming and enthusiastic young person.
Very much an asset to the railway.

 

Evening Standard!

sorry for the pun….

 

All being well should work a round trip from Alresford approx 1215 for MHR ticket holders. Usual disclaimers apply

Update, more gen here: https://www.hastingsdiesels.co.uk/railtours/

 

For once when four like minded nutters gathered atop the hill yesterday morning, the sun was shining but the wind still had a fair old bite on it!

After the usual catch up, we split into two groups, the first one had the honour of completing 'project Plavan' & giving the underside of B78211 a coat of gloss for when it gets shunted into the rake next week....... before they got started, muggins 'ere gave them some time & labour saving tips which probably saved them about half a day , as painting the underside of a van is an absolute ball ache!!

So muggins & his counterpart set off down to the end of Bennett's to give the brake rigging & screw couplings on the tube & pipe wagons a good soaking prior to them being moved down to Ropley for cleaning amongst other things......

Things didn't go according to plan from the off , turned out we'd managed to pick a tub of sump oil full of water as well as oil!!! So it was back up to the yard to sorrce a tub of sump oil bereft of water..... that found, it was back down to the end of Bennett's again, where the wagons got a very generous dousing of oil on all bits that needed to be oiled & then we decided the springs could also do with some TLC given the wagons haven't moved for the best part of 10 years so better to be safe than sorry, so they too got a liberal dousing of oil.

Once back up in the yard it was time to start dismantling more on the northside of LMS van M517317.... (the other two were still having 'fun' underneath the Palvan....)

The primary objective was to remove the timber cladding from the door & then to remove the doorframe itself - easier said than done, as even more rusted in screws were giving us nothing but grief! So once again it was out with the claw hammers & crowbars, as this seems to be the only option, at present, to get the timbers off......

Some timbers became collateral damage mainly becase being T&G they were upside down & getting them out in one piece wasn't going to work! the other bits of T&G below the brace were the right way up & once the bottom timber was out they came out easy enough. At that point it was time to fetch a barrow & throw all the damaged timber into it & sweep up all the associated debris & get the bonfire going...... easy enough, but the midweek guys have got hold of some stuff called clean spirit in place of white spirit - it is utterly useless at starting a fire, as it will not ignite!!! However a paint soaked rag will!!

So once the bonfire was going & safe, attentioned turned to getting the doorframe off, by which time the guys on 'Project Palvan' had finished the job, so joined in, which is just as well given that a sagging rotten cross member was not helping things, along with various protruding nuts & bolts!

Still, by the end of the day, the damn thing was off & also removed was a very badly corroded piece of angle iron, used to hold the fillets that held the floor rimbers in place!

This thing is definitely turning out to be another GPV - a complete basket case, we don't half pick 'em!!

It was also good to see the service trains well patronised & to exchange passing pleasantries with @Stinch - good to see you again Fella!

A couple of pics of Stinch's steed for the day.......

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/51963250582/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/51964813420/in/dateposted-public/

LMS van with all north side cladding & door now removed.

 

Hastings Unit Railtour Timings now available for Saturday:
Outward: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:U53226/2022-04-02/detailed
Return: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:U53227/2022-04-02/detailed

 

I completely agree with you, but it’s so important that the roster is updated. Sadly, as of now, it’s only telling me what worked last weekend…

 

It should be 30925 & 76017 in action this weekend alongside the visiting Hastings unit.
A picture posted on Instagram showed the std 4 and Schools being prepped for the weekend.

Sent from my XQ-BT52 using Tapatalk

 

Schools Alres loco both days.

 

I captured the Hastings Unit on its way to the MHR this morning running down the hill from Aldershot. A bloody big cloud turned up just at the wrong moment