Moseley Railway Trust (Apedale) - "Contractor's Delight" Gala 8/9 September

Dear All,

We are firming up the event details for this years' gala at our site near Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. The Trust's press-release about the event is copied below.

We would be very pleased to hear from potential exhibitors to the gala - especially any with vintage contracting machinery (we are keen to have active demonstrations where possible)!

Entry forms are now available on the main MRT website Moseley Railway Trust - or I can e-mail you copies upon request.

I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Best regards,
Gareth Roberts
Moseley Railway Trust - Event organiser

The Moseley Railway Trust (MRT) is pleased to announce that the 2012 September Gala will be themed around Contractor’s Railways. Until the advent of the dumper truck, most major civil engineering projects would have a narrow gauge railway for materials movements on site – and indeed some still do, especially in the field of tunnel construction.

The Gala will be held on Saturday and Sunday 8 & 9 September 2012. It will be open from 1100 to 1700 on each day. Admission will be £6 adults, £3 for children aged 2 to 15.

As usual, there will be steam and diesel trains on the 2’0” gauge Apedale Valley Light Railway (Apedale Valley Light Railway ), along with trade stands, model railways and lots of other exhibits to interest young and old.

Phil Robinson, MRT Chairman, said "This year, we will celebrate the role which the narrow gauge railway played in building the UK’s infrastructure – roads, dams, housing estates, the list is endless. This is a little known facet of the history of railways in the UK, and part of the mission of the Moseley Railway Trust is to educate and inform our visitors about this aspect of industrial heritage”.

Further details will be announced in time. The MRT’s event team would be particularly pleased to hear from vintage plant/Traction Engine/Roller/Machinery owners who may wish to exhibit and hopefully demonstrate their machines. The Apedale site is under continuous development, and the Trust is hoping that it may be able to have some site roads built during the event!

 

I'd love to bring my Steam Tractor, but your gala weekend always clashes with the steam rally at Malpas in Cheshire, and I am located roughly in the middle near Woore (Shropshire).

Mind with the weather, I hope September is better as about 80% of the Steam Rallies so far this year have been cancelled.

 

Thanks for your note - sorry to hear about the Malpas show - however, for anyone thinking of visiting us, this could be seen as a complimentary attraction worth visiting too.
More details about their show is here:
Malpas Vintage Machinery Association Ltd


For referrence, our gala in 2013 will be 7&8th Septmber & 2014 (our planned major WW1 themed commemoration event) is 13/14th September.

Thanks,

 

We've just issued a press release (below) for this year's gala. Shaping up to be a good 'un. This trailer captures the atmosphere of previous events:-


Apedale trailer - YouTube

(PR begins)

The September gala at the Moseley Railway Trust’s Apedale Valley Light Railway will be held on Saturday and Sunday 8 & 9 September 2012.
This year’s theme is Contractor’s Delight. This will show how industrial narrow gauge railways have been used in civil engineering projects and major construction sites. These railways still exist today. Tunnels for the Olympic Games were built with the assistance of contractor’s railways, and a new railway is currently being built to support the construction of the Cross Rail tunnels in central London. This construction railway will be the third largest railway system in the UK at its maximum extent.
Central to this event will be this year’s guest steam locomotive. This is “GP39”, a Hudswell Clarke locomotive dating from 1930. It was used by Surrey County Council Highways Department on road projects in that county. Complimenting “GP39” will be Apedale resident steam locomotives “Stanhope” and the newly-commissioned Joffre locomotive. “Stanhope” was first used on a contractor’s project associated with the Rosyth naval base in Scotland; it then when on to dam construction projects in Weardale (where it acquired its current name).
“GP39” appears courtesy of Graham Lee of the Statfold Barn Farm railway. The Moseley Railway Trust wishes to express its thanks to Mr Lee and the Statfold team for their support. This locomotive is very similar to a locomotive imported by the MRT from Ghana in 2008.
Negotiations are continuing for further visiting locomotives. It is also hoped that a diesel locomotive will be visiting the railway which has never been displayed at a public railway before.
The Contractor’s Delight gala will be open from 1100 to 1700 on each day. Admission will be £6 adults, £3 for children aged 2 to 15.
In addition to steam and diesel trains on the 2’0” gauge Apedale Valley Light Railway there will be trade stands, model railways and lots of other exhibits to interest young and old.
This year, it has been decided to release a small number of “Access all Areas” tickets. Likely to be of interest to the serious enthusiast, they will allow access to the Apedale out of normal hours and a wide range of other benefits. An application form can be obtained from the Trust website at Moseley Railway Trust or by writing to 11 Ashwood Road, Disley, Stockport SK12 2EL.
The MRT’s event team is still keen to hear from vintage plant owners who may wish to exhibit and hopefully demonstrate their machines.

(ends)

Curious about the mystery diesel? There's only one to find out...

 

If Malpas gets cancelled at the last minute (like it did in 2008), then I can recommend Apedale as an alternative 8/10.

I paid a visit in 2010, the access road has a nice climb up to the station - and we all know how the Marshall likes climbing banks!
...Just a shame it's a bit too far to take the tatty roller, :frown: it'd certainly fit in with the "contractor's" appearance! :wink:

 

The Moseley Railway Trust is delighted to announce a second visiting steam loco at the Contractor's Delight gala on September 8 and 9. "Marchlyn" is a delightful Avonside side tank. She was new to Durham County Water Board for a dam construction contract. Like Apedale resident "Stanhope", when the project was complete, it was sold on to Penrhyn Slate Quarries, arriving there in 1936. In 1965, it went for preservation in the USA, returning to Statfold Barn Farm in 2011. The Moseley Railway Trust is very grateful to Graham Lee and the Statfold team for exhibiting this locomotives, and the other visiting loco - Hudswell Clarke "GP39".

Contractor's Delight is shaping up to be a classic Apedale event. A key attraction will be a newly built link across the site between a recreated industrial railway and the main railway network. This link runs across the site of the Museum at Apedale - and work will recommence on the Museum immediately after the Gala. So, if you don't see trains on this track at this event - you probably never will. Two visiting steamers, the home fleet, lots of other attractions and entry only £6. How can you go wrong? There are a few "Access all Areas" passes left when I write this - check out Apedale Valley Light Railway for details of these and all other Gala matters.

 

An epic weekend spent shunting has seen virtually every vehicle at Apedale turn wheels several times. There is a plan, but it is too complex for mortal man to comprehend. We believe it was produced by someone who used to work on the Enigma code at Bletchley Park and fancied something more difficult. Why? All preparations for the Contractor's Delight gala this coming weekend. The objective of the shunt was to place on display some of the more obscure locos, and get the runners all in accessible places. Unfortunately (or not, depending on how you look at it!) the runners hugely out-number the non-runners, so space can be at a premium. Meanwhile, the new Field Railway is looking like a real industrial line - rough track, grass everywhere. Everything anyone who ever visited an industrial narrow gauge railway will remember. The visiting locos are all loaded and en-route - the Mystery Ruston (never seen before at a public site), and the steam locos "GP39" and "Marchlyn". All in all, it's shaping up to be a great show. All we need now is YOU. We're open from 1100 to 1700 both days, £6 adults and £3 kids.

 

The Moseley Railway Railway Trust’s Contractor’s Delight gala was held at the Apedale Valley Light Railway on Saturday and Sunday 8 and 9 September 2012. Blessed by glorious weather, the site crammed in over 900 people over the two days.

A frequent service of trains on the Apedale Valley Light Railway was handled by the resident Kerr Stuart locomotives “Stanhope” and the newly-restored Joffre-class locomotive. The railway also hosted two locomotives kindly provided by Graham Lee and the team at Statfold Barn – GP39 and Marchlyn – built by Hudswell-Clarke and Avonside respectively.

A newly-constructed Field Railway was used for demonstration freight trains using the Trust’s extensive collection of internal-combustion locomotives. This recreated the industrial narrow gauge railways which were used on most major civil engineering projects until the 1960s – small engines with a few wagons, rough tracks, even the occasional minor derailment. This railway will be a short-lived creation in its current form, as it occupies part of the site of the museum project; further work on the museum is expected to commence within a few weeks.

The Trust has also had further reason to celebrate. The restored World War One water tank wagon has been awarded Best Wagon in the Heritage Railway Association 2010 Carriage & Wagon competition. The HRA described the vehicle as an important piece of narrow gauge history restored by the Moseley Railway Trust.. The award will be collected in Ipswich on 22nd September by representatives of the Trust.

Phil Robinson, Chairman of the Moseley Railway Trust said - The Gala required a huge effort from all the Trust volunteers – not least building a complete new railway from scratch in a few weeks. This, and the Tank wagon award, show to the world just what we are capable of achieving at Apedale.

The Water Tank wagon will be a key exhibit in a major event being planned at Apedale in September 2014 to mark the centenary of the start of the First World War. An exciting announcement will be made in the next few weeks regarding this event.