Hayling Seaside Steam 2017!!!

The Hayling Seaside Railway is proud to announce the arrival of steam loco ‘Wendy’! Wendy has arrived to help us celebrate the relocation of the railways shed at Eastoke Corner, with an event on the 5th & 6th August 2017!

Wendy’s visit is courtesy of the Hampshire Narrow Gauge Railway Trust, and will remain on the Hayling Seaside Railway for the Model Railway Show on the 11th & 12th November, as well as other steaming dates yet to be announced.

The weekend of the 5th & 6th August is our ‘House Warming Celebrations’ for our new shed, with extra attractions.

On the 5th August, Wendy takes over the passenger trains. With trains from 10:40am from Eastoke Corner and 11am from Beachlands.

On the 6th August, once again Wendy takes over the passenger trains. With trains from 10:40am from Eastoke Corner and 11am from Beachlands. There will be the chance to see inside our new shed. Classic vehicles and Farm machinery on display. And live music, with Haylings’ ‘Playing on the Plaza’ from approx 1:15pm.

Keep up to date with the railways Facebook Page at; www.facebook.com/haylingrailway/

And for more info on how to find the railway, fares and times. See the railways website at; www.haylingrailway.com

For more info on the history of ‘Wendy’, see the HNGRT website at; http://www.hngrt.org.uk/

 

Does the Hayling Seaside Railway still have plans to build it's own steam locomotive?

 

A decision on what to do with the steam loco project, will be made soon. The frames are sat at Eastoke at the moment. Unfortunately for the project, those of us that have the skills to build it, have gained work elsewhere in the heritage railway industry, as well as volunteer on other rail and road steam sites, that we don't have the time to work on it. Plus the time we have had in resent years down at Hayling, has been spent with the work needed to build the new shed and all the track work that goes with it. Which there is still plenty to do, as well as the maintenance that is required on the rest of the railway.

 

I remember seeing the frames at "Loston Bodge" a good few years ago and wondered if there had been any progress

 

What sort of design is the proposed new locomotive?

 

The 5" gauge Sweet Pea drawings were used as a guide, just scaled up by x5. The frames (made almost 20 years ago) are to the drawing, but with an extra bit on the back to give room for a crew.

 

You have to build this now, I want to see a full size Sweat Pea!

 

It now a week away from the next steam event on the Hayling Seaside Railway, with our Steam & Model Railway event on the 11th & 12th November!!!

Wendy will be back out on passenger trains, with the first train departing Eastoke Corner at 10:40 and Beachlands at 11am. Followed by departures every 45 minutes. Our new shed viewing platform will also be open, for all to see our fleet of locos.

The Model Railway Show will be in the Hayling Island Community Centre on Station Road, PO11 0HB, which there will be a free Vintage Bus link between the Show and Eastoke Corner Station. Show opening times are; Sat 10:30 - 16:30 and Sun 10:00 - 16:00.

For more info, see our Facebook Page; www.facebook.com/haylingrailway

 

Well, y'all could buy Charles Wytock and have your own steam loco?

 

If only it was 5'6" or less wide, back to backs of 21 1/2" or wider, can run on 20lb rail in the yards, and cope with the 20' ish rad point that's currently at Beachlands!!!

When we had Jack Lane down from Statfold, it was huge alongside our stuff. Compared to looking small alongside the rest of the Statfold collection!

 

Have your folks and those at Groudle ever thought of "twinning"?

Once "Brown Bear" is up & running, a visit from Groudle's "Annie" would be lovely ... and that particular little Bagnall's inspiration had an older brother by the same builder, just plain "Jack" (built 1911 and only 4'-9" wide btw!) which would make for a superb recreation candidate too. Originally an 0-4-0st, it was later rejigged (to describe it as "rebuilt" would be overstating things a tad!) as an 0-4-2st+t.

The remains of both original locos (2'-6" gauge) were recovered from a spoil heap at Motuhora NZ a few years ago and are now safe, close by their original line, at the East Coast Museum of Technology in Gisborne, NZ, though their website has no photos or mention of their current status.

This shot (from photonews.org.nz) isn't the clearest I've seen, but it's the only one I can find on t'interweb at the mo.

 

The newly built loco on offer by the North Bay Railway would seem to be an ideal and very reasonably priced candidate, with just the small matter of money to consider! (Or perhaps the Decauville that is next in line?)

 

If it's still up for grabs, the Sipat would be a super choice. I'll try to dig out the 'Merioneth Mercury' article on the Gentle Annie Tramway from 40 years ago, as I'm not 100% certain "Jack" wasn't a 'Sipat' (or proto-Sipat) class anyway. I'm pretty sure the third NZ 'loco', a locally converted Straker steam lorry, would be rather too large!

I doubt this one's a question anyone'll ever come across again, but would the Decauville actually fit on the line?

 

All good ideas and would be nice to do. But the trick will be making sure any visit is viable as the fares are not increased just because there's a steam loco on the front! The line is like the North Bay Railway in respects that it is best worked with a frequent low cost diesel (steam outline) service, which also means we run every weekend and Wednesdays throughout the year. Just putting a steam loco out, doesn't bring in the extra passengers to cover the extra costs on its' own. However, what does work, is bringing a steam loco in for special events, which also keeps us volunteers happy and the spirit of the railway high. Without making the owner of the railway, out of pocket!

Unfortunately there isn't the funds to buy in a steam loco at this time. And the frames of the societys' steam loco project is currently up for sale, as we don't now have the facilitys' that were there when the project first started at Mill Rythe. The money raised will be put towards future steam visits.

But we can all dream of which steam loco would be perfect to run along the shingle with the Solent and Isle of Wight in the background. It would be interesting to see what a Sipat would do at Hayling, though it's a close call if it would take a loaded 4 coach train up our Coastguard Bank, with it's 5mph curve at the bottom. Wendy was certainly working with the 12 tons (approx) we had behind her in August! I've had a go on the North Bay Sipat, which is a very capable loco on their 5 coach load. Though you have to be carefully not to put too much power down, as it will slip. I also know the owners of 2 other 2' Sipat builders, which I've jokingly said "if you fancy a day at the seaside"! So you never know what might happen in the future.

As for the North Bay Decauville, size wise it would fit. But what stops the first one, is the back to backs are below 21 1/2". This also currently stops few other Welsh Quarry locos that some of our steam crews would like to see down. Though you never know when they might build up the courage to take an angle grinder to the offending road crossing check rails!!!

Even with all this dreaming, it's remarkable how Wendy fits in with the railway and she is also part of the history. With being the only steam loco to run on the old Mill Rythe Line and the first to run on the current Seaside Line. From it, we have a very good relationship with the Hampshire Narrow Gauge Railway Trust.

For anyone who has never visited us at Hayling, this is the weekend to visit. And the line is un-fenced for the main part, perfect for all to do lineside photography!

 

The newly built "Faith", being offered for sale at the L &B would seem to be an ideal engine for Hayling Island - somewhere between a 2ft narrow gauge and a 2ft miniature engine, rather like the Groudle Glen or Gartell locos. All that is needed is a wealthy supporter!

 

It may still be on the small side for the loads and grades we have? Driving Wendy last weekend, showed our requirement is a slow plodding loco of about 2000-2500lbs TE. As well as the ability to have 3 in the cab for training of new crews. We also have ex-Gartell Ruston 'Alistair' in the fleet, which the image below shows the size difference.

Size wise, Emmet match the coaches quite well, though on a wet day with 4 on will give the driver a challenge not to slip to a stand on Coastguard Bank. With Wendy slightly bigger and the upper limit size wise. We had to modify the railway in 2009 for it to fit!

 

Wendy is in for a busy December on the Hayling Seaside Railway, working the return of our Santa Specials!!! Wendy will be in steam for 9 days on the 2-3rd, 9-10th, 16-17th and 22-24th December. There will also be a diesel hauled Santa Special with Jack on the 25-26th November.

To book, ring: 07710 789315. With Email enquiries to: haylingrailwayevents@yahoo.co.uk

And keep an eye on our Facebook Page at: www.facebook.com/haylingrailway/

 

For anyone looking for an out of season narrow gauge steam fix, we have a special treat this month on the Hayling Seaside Railway. For one day only on the 13th January 2018, we will have Wendy in steam on passenger trains!

Trains start at 10:40 from Eastoke Corner and 11:00 from Beachlands. Running every 45 minutes until the last round trip departing Eastoke Corner at 15:10.

Normal Fares apply and the local counsel car parks are currently free parking over the winter months.