The Foxfield Steam Gala, 17/18th July 2010.

Bar will most certainly be open on the Friday evening as crews will be there and locos lit up warming through for early starts Saturday! Camping as ever available on the top of the field, first come first served, just don't put your tent too close to the miniature as they will run over all your guy ropes if you do!

 

Ah - it must be the Gas Works Railway ?

 

I thought GWR was an industrial description, short for Greasy Wet and Rusty

I'll get me coat

Looking forward to bringing 71515 to the gala

regards
Alistair

 

You will have to be there very early as we will be setting up opposite MNA.....

 

2842 made its first moves as a fully assembled engine today.

Mr Whiston left site early today singing Enn ger land Enn ger land - still he will have more time to work on his engine I now I guess !.

Dubs team carried on regardless on the basis that it is Scottish built.

 

A couple of photos in the industrial locomotives thread in the steam section.

 

Glanalmond forget to mention, Whilst Mr Whiston had left site early on Sunday, back at base much of his pipework was annealed by the rest of the team.

I wonder what could be achieved if he took a holiday for the next 3 weeks! :tape:

 

Everything is pointing to this being the top Industrial event of 2010 if not the decade, I hope Whiston and Dubs are finished. We will be there on Thursday Evening stuggling to erect a tent and cleaning 71515 :wink: The loco will be travelling up on the Monday before the event and leaving on the 19th!

See you all there!

Alex

 

It has just been pointed out by someone on facebook that apparently Foxfield currently operate longer coal trains than the Great Central Railway! Now's that's worth talking about.

 

Not that we go for one-upmanship, obviously! :lol:

 

Currently the GCR has an 18 wagon 16ton mineral fleet which is serviceable, the windcutter group I am told hope to get this to 20 this year!, the GCR has one coal hopper which is considered serviceable but never operates. So its neck and neck with the Foxfield having 18 operating in total.

 

Foxfield has 19 if you include the Meaford mineral which usually appears in the long freight on gala days. The Foxfield train is also longer and heavier because of the hoppers. Also it is very rare that all the GC minerals ever appear in one train as the two bauxite ones are in the mixed set. The engines work hard at the Foxfield which never happens at the GC (as much as I love it!)

Windbreakers 1 - Windcutters -0!

 

Hopefully by October the Festiniog will be able to operate a 50+ slate wagon train again.
In terms of sheer numbers that wins hands down.

Tim

 

Indeed. I believe heritage wagon restoration needs all the help and cooperation it can get and should be applauded at all levels. 'INSPIRATION' has shown what can be done with one of the Foxfield fleet. There are also efforts to restore a wooden-bodied wagon at present. Hopefully other Windbreakers will receive attention before it's too late.

For the record the Foxfield fleet consits of 11 active 16-tonners, plus a rare rivetted variant which does not feature in trains. There is one iron ore tippler, the 6 hoppers, the CEGB tippler and the 21-ton mineral which occasionally comes out. So the mineral train could reach 20+ vehicles. In colliery days the load up the Bank was typically around 6-8 minerals with loco at front and rear. The trains were marshalled into sizeable lengths at Summit for onward transfer to Blyhthe exchange.

 

What would 6-8 loaded wagons equate to in empty wagon terms? What is the maximum load of empty wagons a single loco could realistically take up the bank - an Austerity for example?

 

Theoretically a single austerity could take around 13 empty 16T minerals up the bank assuming each wagon weighs approx 7 tons empty (no doubt someone will enlighten me to their true tare weight, however the issue is more one of stopping them should there be a breakaway. In colliery days a single loco always propelled the wagons up the bank, nowadays it's down to the braking capacity of the brakevan on the rear, or the banking engine if we are banking. No one wants a nasty pile of scrap metal at the bottom of the hill to clear up!

 

My understanding is that two locos top and tailed six full wagons. This make sense when you consider the layout of the original sidings at red lane ( summit ).

Any way I have a plan for Dubs following a weeks full time effort :-

Today - smokebox fitting.
Sat - main steam a exhaust pipes.
Sun - steam test and coupling rods.
Mon - boiler inspector and connecting rods.
Tue - lagging
Wed - road crane to fit jib.
Thur - jib fixing pie work.
Fri - slewing engine
Sat - top engine
Sun - steam test
Mon - Thur paint & dynamic load test jib.
Fri - spare
Sat - Sun Gala.

Whiston has a similar plan so if anyone has a spare moment we have a job for you !

 

Dave,

Free most of next week but can only make a couple of days due to cost. Any preference? Probably any 2 days.

EDIT: Not Sunday, due to the first train off Derby not getting to Byb until gone 3!

 

All this talk of wagons at Foxfield, are there any already there or any plans to get a few of the more modern HAA type wagons? Am sure I have seen photos somewhere from the 70's of industrial steam locos hauling 3 / 4 of these wagons?

 

Certainly steam hauled at Bold Colliery in the early 80s and I'm sure elsewhere too.