MHR Restorations and Overhauls

Well I hope the lubricator drive shaft for 34007 is ready early this morning, as I'm about to leave for Ropley to help fit it.

 

There have been more than one end of southern steam gala.. Wingnut is probably referring to the gala to which locos were lined up as COND and Swanage was renumbered to Lapford..

 

I've recently did a web gallery of scans from the End Of Southern Steam Gala. The gala was from 1997, the web link is here -

https://picasaweb.google.com/105454...thernSteamGala1997?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Cheers

 

Sepy 1997 I seem to recall, 76017 was the condemned loco...

 

I hear 34007 Wadebridge went for a test run today.

 

Yes, tested and ready to go. Unless the crew find a problem tomorrow it should be in service.

 

Excellent! Wonder if it will be on my train (ALR set) on Sunday.

Did the covers go on over the exhaust steam pipes? I thought it would look good running without them for a while - gives some insight into what goes on underneath the casing.

 

The covers were put back on. I thought leaving them off might look like wartime maintenance standards for the War on the Line, but they were put back last thing before we went home.

 

On a separate note, I have read on WR Gen that 50027 Lion will be moving to the Mid Hants (from the NYMR) next week. Will make a nice change to the Crompton

James at SVN

 

Ahhh, good. Just the thing for hauling up Medstead bank to test the kettles. The 33 just doesn't quite cut it. :tape:

Joking aside that sounds good. I'm sure the diesel guys will have fun with it.

 

I visited for War on the Line this weekend with some mates who like reenacting. I was wondering if anyone had any photos of this weekend? I liked the railway but it was not great weather on Sunday and one of the steam trains caused some delays and they used a diesel. I was stood on the platform as they were looking at it, talk of oil leaking from the front and someone else was able to shake the parts connecting the pistons to the wheels side to side a bit. Lots of shaking heads and it also broke down the day before as well. It must take a lot of fixing these.

 

Hi GeordieBoy
I was ticket inspector on one of the trains on Sunday - perhaps we met.

It does take a lot of fixing these things - I'll be in the workshops on Wednesday and will ask what happened to Wadebridge over the weekend - it's only just gone back into traffic after having a fair bit of work done on it so perhaps we shouldn't be all that surprised to find it had some problems.

There are usually a lot of photos posted on the railways web page in the few weeks after the event so if you visit Let Off Steam! | Steam Trains, Day Out With Thomas the Tank Engine, Santa Specials, Luxury Steam Dining Trains and much more, at the Mid Hants Railway - Watercress Line over the next few days, something might turn up.

 

Thanks I found some photos. The comments I heard was the train hadn't been tested properly and rushed into use only run with a diesel to Medstead and Four Marks station and I heard staff on the platform asking why hadn't another engine been used that was used the day before.

 

I expect it is all to do with the Loco agreement That possibly stipulates that the Loco has to run so many times of the year, and of course steaming fees.

Regards
Chris:

 

With all this talk about loco's, and considering that we're almost half way through June - is the Loco Roster EVER going to be updated????????????????

 

A loco roster update is indeed long overdue! Very few lines bother with them, and they lose custom as a result. I could have been persuaded to visit the MHR, KESR and IoWSR last week had any of them bothered to tell me what was rostered. Instead I headed for the ever reliable Didcot & Bluebell!

 

The MHR only really have 4 operational service locomotives at the moment. 34007, 850, 31806 & 45379. 3 of those were planned to see use.

 

I'll agree with that comment, but 925 is operational....just not run in and not common use until after the gala

Don't forget that a mainstay of the Bluebell at the moment is an MHR loco 92212.

So we actually have 6 operational locos, perhaps 7 next year! (touch wood, fingers and toes crossed etc etc).

 

I was talking to Bob the weekend foreman who said that S15 30506 is likely to be in traffic before the end of the year.

Regards
Chris:

 

Perhaps you should have been bothered to 'phone up and ask.