Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces 47, Mercian April 1969
Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire coach pre-Chasewater
This post was taken from various reports in the Mercian of April 1969
This Mercian seems to cover March/April and May/June 1969.
There as a new Editor for the magazine and the poor man in charge appears to have similar problems to any other magazine – a lack of articles!
Secretary’s Report – T.G.Cousens
After slow progress during the winter months at Chasewater, in which time only the arrival of the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincoln Railway coach broke the monotony of packing the track with red ash, progress is again in evidence.
MSL Coach at Easingwold
The appointment of Mr.A.Holden to General Manager has seen marked changes in only a few short weeks, the most noticeable being the complete levelling of the compound and laying of track foundation into it. Behind the scenes however, small departments have been formed to work on various aspects of the line with people responsible for each of the allocated tasks.
However, working parties are small so progress will be slow – do we have to wait until the line is operating to see 90% of the membership?! Why not come down one Sunday afternoon and do a bit of shovelling, things will then begin to come to life.
A successful Open Day was held in conjunction with Messrs. Courtaulds Ltd., Coventry and organised by Gerald Wildish with the Company. Many visitors arrived to photograph the two Pecketts, one, ‘Rocket’ was seen at work on the Foleshill Railway. Many items were sold from the RPS stand which resulted in a fair profit to us.
The exhibition team was also at work at Huyton, Liverpool, at the preservation exhibition, the Open Day at Chasewater during the Easter week-end and the Stafford Railway Circle exhibition.
Well done to the members who attended these stands, especially the Huyton one.
The Barclay ‘Colin McAndrew’ was in steam on Easter Sunday and Monday under the able direction of Mike Lewis and Derek Luker. She unfortunately blew a tube on the Sunday but after a quick trip by Rob Duffill (our hero!!) to Hixon for a spare, the locomotive crew replaced the defective tube and raised steam for a second time the same day! No stock was hauled because of work required on the track – members please note. Until this work is done Open Days will be severely restricted, so may we see more of you assisting at Chasewater.
Colin McAndrew at Greening Wireworks, Warrington.
From the Public Relations Officer’s Page – G. Wildish
The first mention was of the next Open Days, June 28th and 29th 1969, with the expectation of large numbers of visitors and asking for members to come along and help.
There was a request for more photographs for the cover of the magazine, which unfortunately do not reproduce very well. The Foleshill Railway Open Day had to be cut short and apologies were given to anyone affected.
A number of publications were mentioned – ‘Preserved locomotives of the World’ and ’Narrow Gauge Steam 1969’ for which a second impression is being prepared, later to be followed by ‘Narrow Gauge Steam 1970’
A publication for continental travellers – ‘German Steam’ has been prepared by an RPS member, so the Society is getting half of the profits, with thanks.
The final two publications were – ‘Railway Modeller’ which contained an article by Gerald Wildish and ‘Railway Enthusiasts Guide 1969/70’ which contained some information about the RPS.
There was an appeal for funds to move a locomotive of the Taff Vale Railway, and another appeal for volunteers to join a ‘paint in’ at Chasewater to give the rolling stock a much needed coat of paint.
Chasewater Railway Museum 