Buckinghamshire Railway Centre

Well said Bob.

Chris.

 

http://bucksrailcentre.org/product.php/40/diesel-day

 

Great day at Quainton today. 5 locomotives in action on the standard gauge lines with Furness 20 looking stunning with the vintage carriages. The site has come on significantly since my last visit. Good to see the two halls, pannier and 7200 progressing. Met number 1 I think was in the down side shed also undergoing an overhaul.
The gala is on again tomorrow May 2nd.

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Two halls? Isn’t 6989 at Battlefield? So, 6984 and which other?


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6989 is back for boiler repairs.

 

Hello, please can anyone tell me anything about the blue industrial 0-6-0T that's in the background of a few photos from the gala? It looks like it's relatively recently been restored but is still in need of some lining out/numbering etc.

 

That will probably be North British Loco Co Coventry No. 1, previously used as a Thomas loco. Out of ticket I believe, but in need of some thorough boiler or firebox repairs if I recall rightly.
Buckinghamshire Railway Centre Stockbook (brc-stockbook.co.uk)

 

I also visited on Sunday and it was Coventry No. 1 believe its back after a spell of static display at Mid Norfolk for the Polar Expresses.

Around the down yard there was the bunker and tanks in a very 'Thomas' blue colour, so assume they're converting another loco to be a Thomas - not sure which one though?

 

A 16" Hunslet - Arthur that would be.

 

Thanks I did wonder. One of the small people in our group was concerned that Thomas was unwell!

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Some interesting points by Herald and Reading General above.

I visited on BH Monday for the first time in perhaps 12-15 years. As stated its good in parts, but bad in others. Its not Mrs Buckeye’s favourite place – she likes a scenic ride rather than a run to nowhere through a scrapyard. As stated there seem to be (or were) lots of small groups doing their own thing, but little overall cohesion. In the down yard there are 10 coaches and one steam engine just sat there slowly degenerating. There is the SAR kettle which is never going to be more than a static exhibit, then three lines of coaches just mouldering away. There are the three underground coaches, then the DMU and the Sentinel railcar all in virtually the same condition as when I last saw them. There was one chap doing a small bit of work on one of the end doors of an underground coach, being watched by two others – that’s not nearly sufficient to halt the effects of the weather on them. There is also a Mk1 with one end on a trestle and then a grounded MkII housing a jumble sale – is this what paying punters want to see?

There are some good exhibits – the museum is very well done, the TPO exhibit is good, and then the main entrance building, but other areas leave a lot to be desired. I purchased the latest magazine. It looks to have been the first for a while judging by the review of events and multitude of obituaries from the past year. It seems that despite having lots of industrial steamers they’ve had to hire one in as none of their own were in a working condition – that shows poor scheduling of overhauls to have locos available for service. The vintage coaches were very well restored but the Mk1 I rode in had threadbare seats and very poor flooring in parts – not quite the Dart Valley toilet scenario but very uneven and degraded. Quainton also seems to have suffered over the years in having big engines based there which then depart once they’ve been overhauled which does not help the situation.

Its always been a bit of an odd place in my view – they obviously set up thinking the BR line would close and they’d take some part of it over, but that never happened and they are stuck with 2 separate sites either side of it. Coupled to the fact there are Leighton Buzzard, Chinnor, Cholesey and Didcot all fairly close by which spread the prospective punters cash over those choices.

 

A slideshow of my visit to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, 22nd May 2022.

 

If it’s Coventry No.1, that has never been lined AFAIK. Was certainly unlined when it was a mainstay of services many years ago.

 

NBL 24564/39

If I recall correctly, unlined medium blue originally.
With cast brass nameplates "Coventry No. 1"

Spent many years masquerading as "Thomas", painted in a lighter shade of blue, without nameplates, but with magnetic name and number for use at Thomas days.

Now withdrawn due to the state of the cylinders and steam chest. Cosmetically returned to the original livery, but in the long queue for rebuild.

 

This has just gone onto Facebook - fantastic news for all at BRC and look forward to visiting again!

It’s been an exciting week!... - Buckinghamshire Railway Centre | Facebook

For those that don't do Facebook I've pasted the text below:
"It’s been an exciting week! Anyone who has visited us will know that our site is split in two by a Network Rail line that runs past our Victorian station building on platform 1. This line is now unused. Our two demonstration lines run either side of this mainline. We are pleased to let you know that this mainline has now been officially handed over to us! All that was left to do was remove of a track panel, which is being shown in the photos here. Once all the new points are in place, this will enable us to run passenger rides on the stretch of line towards Aylesbury for ½ mile from both platform 1 and platform 4. This means our visitors will be able to board the train from our historic Victorian station building, which has not happened for decades! What a truly historic day for us!"

 

Obvious question: What happens if/when the Aylesbury - East West Rail link is reinstated?

 

The Facebook link appears to link to a post that has now been removed. While the current "network rail" line is disused as the HS2 unloading terminal is a little south of the station it is due to be reinstated once the HS2 work is complete and Calvert waste terminal is reopened (north of Quainton Road), so I am not sure how that would be possible unless the network rail is moved to take the down main alignment.

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If the old line is to come back into use at all as part of NR, whether for a passenger service between Aylesbury and the Oxford-Bletchley line, waste via Aylesbury to Calvert or any other traffic, then the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre will still be split down the middle. Swapping which road is used for what might help a bit, but it will still be far from ideal.

 

Nothing on the website. Maybe someone jumped the gun

 

Apparently BRC use of the line began back in August: