Steam Returns to Hayling!!! 19th-20th September

Steam Returns to Hayling!!! 19th-20th + 26th - 27th September

Steam is to return to Hayling Island, on the East Hayling Light Railway (aka the Hayling Seaside Railway) for one weekend only!!! Wendy from the Hampshire Narrow Gauge Railway Trust has been booked to visit the line on the 19th and 20th of September. Stop Press!!! Extra weekend - 26th & 27th September!

Wendy will be the first steam loco to run on the new line along the seafront, giving a taste of the future, of when the railways own steam loco is complete. Wendy has visited Hayling Island before in the early 90s, when it ran on the old line in the Mill Rithe Holiday Camp.

The final details are still to be finalizes e.g.transport, but I will let you all know of any progress when I here about it.

The Press Release is about to be written, so you heard it here first!

 

Here's an old photo of when Wendy visited the old EHLR at Mill Rithe in 1992, I found in the shed yesterday.



Seen with carriage No.4 under construction, which is now the only 4 wheeler left on the railway.

 

Here's the official press release for Wendys visit.

First Steam on the Hayling Seaside Railway!

The usually diesel worked 2ft gauge Hayling Seaside Railway in Hampshire will soon be hosting its first ever visit from a ‘live’ steam locomotive, as part of its forthcoming ‘Steam and Goods Train Gala’, due to take place over the weekend of the 19th and 20th of September.

Owned by the Hampshire Narrow Gauge Railway Trust and usually based at the Amberley Chalk Pits Museum in Sussex, 0-4-0ST “Wendy” built by Bagnall of Stafford in 1919 for the Ministry of Munitions, will be hauling a service of regular passenger trains, on the one mile route along the coast of Hayling Bay between Beachlands and Eastoke Corner via Mengham Road Halt.

The event will also feature veteran industrial diesel locomotives including the HSR’s own “Alistair and “Edwin”, built by Ruston & Hornsby of Lincoln in 1940 and 1969 respectively. Which will haul a series of demonstration goods trains, using stock drawn form the line’s collection of vintage wagons, by builders Robert Hudson of Leeds and W.G. Allen of Tipton.

This will be “Wendy’s” second visit to Hayling Island, as the engine spent the 1992 season based at the former East Hayling Light Railway, which once ran within the grounds of the Island’s Mill Rythe Holiday Camp. But as this ran entirely on private land and its trains were accessible only by visitors to the holiday camp, we believe the services she works on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September 2009, will be the first PUBLIC passenger steam trains to have run on Hayling Island, since the closure of the former LB&SCR “Hayling Billy” branch line from Havant in 1963!


It is also likely that Wendy will be staying for an extra week, steaming on the following weekend (26th and 27th). I'll let you all know when this is confirmed.

The photo attached below is of Wendy at Amberley, photo taken by Alex Luckham and used with permission.

 

Here's the event poster.



The railways website can be found here.

 

Extra Weekend!!! 26th - 27th September

It has now been confirmed that Wendy will be running an extra weekend on the 26th and 27th September. Wendy will not be running on Wednesday 23rd as I had previously mentioned, although the ordinary diesel trains will be running.

Wendy is also proving a bit more difficult to get her to run on the railway, as she is wider than previously thought, and anything else on the railway. So rather than cancel the event and disappoint people (mostly the railways volunteers), a call of arms has been sent out to the railways volunteers to help make the railway fit the locomotive! The original one man navvy that made the railways formation (one man and his mini digger), has also been called in to speed up the process. All this work will not be for waste after the event, as it will allow other steam locomotives that wouldn't have been able to run because of its' width, a chance to be able to visit the line.

For photography, the line is mostly unfenced allowing everyone the chance to do lineside photography.

 

And it has been confirmed that we will have a visiting diesel engine, being Jenny the Schoma from Amberley.

 

The Schoma is works No. 5239/1991 "Jenny" ex-Taylor Woodrow Greenford, Middlesex. This will be running along side the steam passenger trains on the goods trains, with the rest of the EHLR loco fleet.

 

Here is a few photos of the clearance work at Mengham Road, showing some of the work done to get the railway ready for Wendys' visit. The original sprit that help built the line shone through and with help from a mini digger, the job was completed in record time. It was also great fun to use the skips for the job they were built for, taking the spoil to Eastoke Corner to create a new flower bed along side the run round loop.

With only a few small jobs to be done, the railway is ready for Wendys' visit next week!

 

In the last photo the track looks very close to the platform, is the track going to be slewed over to get Wendy past?

 

I believe that the photo is before the track got slewed as the mini digger is still working it's magic.

 

Yes, the photo was taken before the track was slewed. You can see the gap by the end of the sleeper to allow this to happen. The mini digger can be seen digging the last of these gaps, loading the spoil into a skip. Even after the track had be slewed, a bit of the platform, by the ramp, had to be removed!

For those coming by train (Havant Station) and bus, make sure you get the "Plus Bus" on your train ticket covering Hayling Island. Leave the bus at Beachlands, you will know where this is as you will be next to the drop ride in the fun fair. The station is behind the roller coaster.

For car parking, the best place is in the Funland Funfair car park, at £2 all day (allot cheaper than the council car parks). The railways shed at Beachlands Station is in this car park behind the roller coaster.

With Wendy due tomorrow afternoon, the railway is ready for the first public passenger trains since the Hayling Billy closed in 1963!!!

 

Wendy has arrived!!!

Wendy has arrived on the East Hayling Light Railway!!!

 

Steam at Hayling

Best of luck to all those at Lost'n Bodge for the Steam Gala.

If the track has had to be slewed away from the platform, are the train crew having to practice calling out "Mind the Gap" in readiness for the Gala ?

Richard

 

In actual fact no because of our very fast working volunteers who have also found time in the hectic schedule to attach foot/running boards to all the coaches. They will be receiving a final coat of paint today.

 

Steam Returns to Hayling!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wendy has been on test runs today and is now ready for the weekend!!!

In responce to RGCorris, the footsteps can been seen on the coaches in the photo above. Although some of the guards will love shouting out "Mind the Gap"!

 

Here's a few photos' from the first weekend of steam on the East Hayling Light Railway.
The event ran well, even if in true light railway tradition, the timetable wasn't strictly adhered to!

Don't forget, Wendy will be running again this weekend!!!







And for those who remember the sunset with the last train on the Hayling Billy, or seen the photos'. Here's my recreation with the last train of the weekend.

 

Here's a few photos' from last weekend.

Wendy has now left the railway, but for how long? Plans are afoot for a steam loco to return to Hayling next year, possibly before the summer season.

So with two successful steam weekends (the first of many), the East Hayling Light Railway (aka the Hayling Seaside Railway) the UK newest Steam Railway!

And for those who missed the event but would still like to visit the railway, the railway operates at weekends and Wednesdays throughout the year, plus school holidays.

 

I really ought to get more involved with you lot, i only live in Havant. I came down Saturday to help move the frames for the new loco and it was good to meet up with Kev again.

 

Hi Slash.

It's good to hear that you want to come and join us. I'm guessing you had fun moving the steam loco frames by hand! I'm sure I'll meet you this coming week?

For everyone else who is interested in joining us at Hayling, just come down to the railway on a running day and speak to one of the volunteers.

Also here's a link to an article giving more details about next year’s steam events at the railway, http://www.hayling.co.uk/news/story1157.html.

 

Probably have to give tomorrow a miss, i've been asked to work Sunday so it narrows down my free weekend time for this week. I might put my head round the door mid afternoon.