Restoration of the Sentinel – One man’s battle against adversity
The Sentinel at Walsall Gas Works the day it was delivered brand new in 1958 – photo Mike Wood.
In 1981, as part of the exchange deal for the Royal Saloon, the railway acquired ‘in working order’ a 100h.p. Sentinel shunting loco. This was duly steamed and trundled up and down with three or four wagons whilst waiting for the promised boiler certificates. These eventually arrived but consisted of a boiler maintenance card, a Hydraulic certificate for somebody’s crane and a steam test certificate for 9632 which was later rejected by our Boiler Inspector as ‘not worth the paper it was written on’ because no hydraulic or visual examination had been carried out.
The only solution to the problem was to drop the firebox and start again from scratch. It was this action which revealed a long list of both major and minor faults which all required rectification. Luckily the boiler shell and firebox were in good condition but the superheater had holes in it and the spark arrestor box and chimneys were rotten enough to require replacement. Eventually, following inspection, the boiler was re-assembled and passed its 413psi hydraulic test. Since then the rest of the loco has been gradually rebuilt, and as during last winter we had serious problems with thefts and vandalism, the opportunity was taken to fit lockable sliding yobo-proof screens to the cab along with wire reinforced glass and bars over the windows.
The Sentinel shuffling past the loco shed at Chasewater during a test steaming shortly after arrival from Butterley, after which it was dismantled for overhaul – photo Sid Mills.
During 1984 the loco was test steamed twice revealing more minor problems. The steam brake would not release properly because the valve body had been machined badly out of true; the engine blow through drain valve would not work because its pipe was blocked with twelve inches of solidified sludge; even the injector water valve could not be operated properly from the cab. However, following each steaming of the loco, more faults are corrected or improvements made.
Two faults which need to be checked at the next steaming are the boiler feed pump which so far has refused to work, and the engine oil pump which has to be primed with oil before it will pump pressure. Hopefully the recently installed stainless steel balls in the non-return valve matrix may have cured the oil pump problem.
At the present time the loco is being re-assembled after its second visual boiler inspection and painted BR black for the Open Day in October. Hopefully, three years after it arrived it can at last be seen running in public.
The Chasewater Fat Controller – Nigel Canning.At the time of writing – May 2011 the Sentinel is coming to the end of its latest overhaul.
Mention should be made here that Brian Hames has been forced to resign as General Manager due to McGregor’s decision to redeploy him at Point of Ayr, following the closure of West Cannock No.5. (Mr. McGregor was the Chairman of the National Coal Board at the time!). Grateful thanks are due to young Brian for services rendered and his successor is Tony Sale (formerly Assistant GM) and the new Assistant GM is Nigel Canning.
Loco News
I’ve tried to remember the numbering system of the locos but failed – miserably. I have to keep going back through the mags to find them – enough is enough I say!!
The Hibberd diesel is still for sale at a very reasonable price.
Barclay 1223 – all the superstructure of the loco in undercoat, attention has reverted to the boiler and firebox. The front tube plate is being built up with weld whilst the eighteen stays that were unsuccessfully inserted in the firebox, as mentioned in the last issue, are in the process of being removed in an attempt to straighten the buckled walls of the inner firebox. The man says ‘this is in fact, proving quite easy’
The boiler inspector has been and wants a 9” square piece of the outer firebox to be cut out to investigate the extent of a small crack which has been welded over during a previous overhaul.
Brighter news about Asbestos, rapidly coming to the end of her prolonged overhaul with a return to steam being a matter of weeks rather than months away.
The new GM has been hard at work reassembling the boiler backhead fittings, all attached with new studs, whilst the Fat Controller has been making various bits and pieces which have needed replacement. The outside motion is being reassembled to find someone a job to keep him off the streets. During one of the Hairy Youths infrequent visits various pieces of the machine believed to be lost were rediscovered whilst several pieces believed to be ‘in the shed’ were not, so replacements will have to be made.
The Boiler inspector has been and performed an ultra-sonic test to his satisfaction and is returning for a steam test prior to Gricers’ day.
On Sentinel, the Fat Controller has busied himself making good various faults found during the January steam test, and has also painted the beast in an attractive black undercoat after much rust treatment and filling. A coat of gloss black is to be applied before Gricers’ day. The Boiler Inspector has been and carried out an ultra-sonic test and having been satisfied he will return for a steam test shortly. He has also decreed that the boiler needs to be split every five years, not every 14 months as previously feared.
The Controller has carried out his threat of giving the beast a pseudo British Railways identity and has constructed a jolly fine smokebox number plate No.59632.
As yet nobody has had the heart to tell him that vertical boilered Sentinels don’t have smoke boxes!Work on Peckett 917 proceeds as other commitments allow. The new cabside and the rest of the cab have received several coats of paint whilst the component parts of the new bunker await fitting. Several men have been seen struggling to excavate layers of fire brick out of the smokebox in order to expose the front tube plate to the eyes of the Boiler Inspector. Not a wise move as the tube plate appears to be somewhat bulged. Following further descaling work the Boiler Inspector will return to pass sentence.
The GM has made his first major decision which is that S100 is to be moved into the shed as soon as possible – a sign perhaps of old age creeping up on him? To speed this process up the loco will be re-wheeled as an 0-4-0 i.e. only two axles will be re-fitted out of doors, the third one will be done under cover. The owner is at present wrestling with the task of fitting and securing the new main bearings into the axle boxes.
The Other Gentleman made a start on removing the tubes from the Neilson as a mid-summer madness wager that if they were all gone by the end of July then a certain bearded person would purchase a new set! It is now the end of August and many tubes remain to be removed as those concerned are busy on ‘Asbestos’………Will the offer still hold……. Will the ancient Neilson steam again? ………………Who knows? …………Watch this space!Late note; yes the offer does still hold!
Coaching Stock News
In between making cups of tea, Mr. Bull and his crew have been busy repainting and varnishing the interiors of both the Wickham cars in preparation for Gricers’ Day. As ever, more help is needed as several panes of glass need replacing and seats and tables need to be secured to the floor, however, the work done so far is a definite improvement.
Task Force
Still not happy bunnies! Nuff said!
Company News
Working on the precept that no news is good news it would seem that the Company is doing just fine.
Well informed sources indicate that the overdraft has virtually disappeared (along with several of the Directors!) but shouldn’t there be an AGM (or three) due?
An unusual piece to end with…
Steam Hauled Sunday Dinner
As an experiment a steam hauled ‘Sunday Dinner’ train will be run on Sunday, 17th November.
In conjunction with the Rob Duffill Catering Corps a steam hauled train will depart from Brownhills West and at the current end of the line a roast chicken dinner will be served in the Wickham Buffet aka ‘The Norton Nasher’. This is open to members only and is a trial run to see if such a service will be feasible when public services resume.
Would-be guinea pigs should contact Barry Bull as places are strictly limited to twenty. Remember only working members can travel on CLR trains until the Light Railway Order is granted
N.B. It is expected that all participants will be prepared to spend the rest of the afternoon working so come prepared!
Three post in one – not a lot about locos but interesting ramblings about the Chasewater Railway at that time.
103 Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces – Spring 1985 – 2
Carriage & Wagon Notes
Following the AGM the ex GWR Toad brake van has been sold to Les Emery (owner of Barclay No.3). As this is GWR 150th year it is perhaps worth pointing out that this vehicle was numbered fourth in the first batch of twelve GWR freight vehicles to be built with iron underframes and is thought to be the oldest surviving GWR vehicle. Incidentally, its sale realises a 13,000% profit to the Society.
The AGM also agreed to the sale of the ex LNWR brake compartment (non-corridor coach known in the vernacular as ‘the paddy’. This has been advertised for sale and hopefully a buyer can be found as it is neither use nor ornament in its present condition and funds/manpower are not available to rectify the situation. The ex BSC hopper wagon is having its body removed and will be fitted with timber decking for use as a flat wagon. This will enable the worst of the present flat wagons to be scrapped (as it had a smashed headstock amongst other diseases) along with the British Reinforced Concrete Ltd. drop sided wagon, which is beyond all hope of redemption.Great Eastern brake
All other wooden bodied stock is in appalling condition due to the ravages of open storage and vandalism. One seriously wonders if they will be restorable if and when we have the money and manpower to do so.
The Wickham buffet car is in weekly use providing the Society’s main source of income over the winter months, whilst the Wickham trailer and Gloucester trailer await for signs of resumption of train services at which they will be repainted and brought into a fir state for passenger carrying duties.
Vandalism and Theft
Once again, the railway has fallen prey to the attention of juvenile vandals and scrap metal thieves. As has already been mentioned, all locos kept outside the shed have had all none ferrous fittings removed after some pipework went missing, and locos to be stored outside after restoration will be fitted with vandal-proof shutters.
The ex MSL coach was removed of all its brass grab handles and door handles by a person or persons unknown, though these were later found in the Task Force workers mess van, from which one can draw one’s own conclusions. Having suffered the above trouble and that mentioned in Mr. Bull’s ‘comment’, we have been of late suffering from thieves steeling cast iron chairs, track spikes, lengths of rail and even sleepers from the causeway and loop areas of the line.
As a result of vandalism and theft we have sold all surplus rail, wooden sleepers and chairs from the causeway as the majority of it was only fit for scrap whilst any decent materials have been secured in the vicinity of Brownhills West.
The theft of wooden sleepers has been halted following the issue of a circular to houses in Norton Canes asking for information. No fewer than twelve households reported having bought ‘logs’ from a local resident. These ‘logs’ were in fact sawn-up sleepers and the man in question was arrested whilst burning the evidence in his back garden, having received one of these circulars himself!
Help
A list has been drawn up of the work needed to be done before trains can run again.
The majority if the work calls for hard work and graft rather than fancy engineering skills. Why don’t YOU give it a try one Sunday? We don’t bite (well Ted might if provoked) and tea in the buffet car has improved of late. Seriously though, the more people that help then the quicker we can re-open and form a sound financial platform from which we can begin to think of extending the line across the causeway and beyond.
Task Force
The last issue mentioned that the Task Force had returned with the intention of finishing all outstanding work by Christmas. Well Christmas has been and gone and the situation is worse than even the Fat Controller can have imagined. Following demolition of the platform the Task Force moved onto the causeway and dismantled the track there, and then – nothing! That’s right, they just dismantled the track in situ rendering its recovery impossible except by Shank’s Pony. Round the Festive Season word got out that Task Force had withdrawn from Chasewater an d were not coming back, not ever, never!
A variety of reasons were rumoured, the one holding most credence being that the head of the Task Force thought Chasewater was too far away (from his office one supposes). We were not amused and a deputation of Chairman/Solicitor and General Manager were sent to County Hall to register a complaint in no uncertain terms.
Apart from the obvious air of destruction and the resultant lack of train services it is perhaps pertinent to mention that membership of the CLRS has dropped by 50% since the arrival of Task Force.
Catering
A recent plus in this department is the repair of the Baby Belling cooker thanks to Mick Webb, this will enable a wider range of foods to be made available than previously.
104 Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces – Spring 1985 – 3
104 Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces – Spring 1985 – 3
An excerpt from the Chasewater Fat Controller’s Diary – dateline Sunday 10th February, 1985
It must have been the coldest day of the winter when the GM brought his car to a stand behind mine in Pool Road. Having tried to get through the drifts and failed, I had backed out onto the A5 slip road just as a silly wassock in a Sherpa van who, having watched me back out, took a run at the same drift and got stuck. He was eventually towed out an hour later by the farmer’s tractor.
Following meaningful discussions in the General Manager’s car including how many tools have gone missing during the Task Force Scheme? And who did we know with a Range Rover? We departed for Lichfield Road.
The bearded one was just about to leave, so with two pairs of socks and a spade each, the three of us returned to Chasewater in his large ‘four-coupled’ vehicle. This time we tried the dirt track off White Horse Road which turned out to be relatively clear and it wasn’t until we were opposite the main gate that we met a snow drift.
“Come on Les, up onto the grass, round the left of that tree, and we’re in” the driver was advised. Seconds later we had slid into a deep ditch which had been completely hidden by the snow. The situation was desperate as with only one wheel of each axle in contact with the ground, the chassis resting on the ground and the diff. lock frozen, escape seemed impossible.
Les was left in charge of the wreckage while Brian and myself set out for the loco shed through driving wind and drifts up to four feet deep. As luck would have it the compound gate and the shed door were clear so we could get inside and gather the necessary rescue equipment. One large block and tackle, crow bar, key hammer, peckett cylinder wrapper and rope. By this time the gorilla had landed his spitfire in Hednesford Road and assisted with pulling the ‘peckett sledge’ back towards the gate. Upon passing Brownhills West Station we were intercepted by the Bull who, having arrived by cattle wagon saw the effort being expended and concluded we must be up to no good and so joined in.
After much struggling the crow bar was hammered into the ground and the block and tackle run between it and the vehicle’s towing ball. Finally, with a large crowd of onlookers assisting, the vehicle was half winched, half lifted, onto solid ground.
Needless to say we all left the way we had come to search for Les’s 3½”/5” gauge garden railway and a cup of tea. But at least we had ‘maintained the presence’ at Chasewater for another Sunday. Nigel Canning
Chasewater Comment – Ian Patterson (aka the Hairy Youth)
Scanning through the draft for this magazine I came to the conclusion that things must be improving as there seems to be a lot happening and even more to look forward to as indeed there is. However, this illusion is rapidly shattered by a visit to Chasewater where a visitor asked me “is this railway derelict? – I came here expecting to ride behind a steam engine” a tour of the engine shed and a chat with the Sunday regulars changed this person’s view but there must be many more who don’t enquire and merely see what they see – not a pretty sight. For all intents and purposes the railway is derelict and a hell of a lot of hard work will be needed to run trains again. With the present day work force there is two to three years work to be done before a passenger train can run again and apart from this, a large amount of money will be needed to pay the legal fees, etc. necessary to gain the all important Light Railway Order. This brings me to another point and that is the apparent lack of progress on the administrative side of the re-opening process. Moves are afoot to get things moving and it is to be hoped that the membership will vote on certain resolutions at the forthcoming AGM with the aim of getting the Railway re-opened as quickly as possible, rather than letting personal prejudices cloud their vision.
Provided that West Midlands County Council do rebuild the platform and provided that Walsall District Council do provide us with the necessary leases and Light Railway Order then perhaps next year we can attract more visitors who will be able to believe that real progress is being made, and help dispel the working members’ fears that trains may never run again. Whilst this uncertainty hangs over the railway’s head the wooden bodied rolling stock is disintegrating before our eyes, doesn’t anyone care?
I hope members will visit the railway on Gricers’ Day (13th October) and see for themselves what needs to be done – perhaps it will inspire you to come and give a hand or perhaps it will finally convince you that your membership is a waste of time and that the Society will finally collapse after all. The choice is yours – if thirty working members turned up every weekend from now until next Easter then one could confidently say that services could re-open next May – think about it, your apathy could be the final nail in the Railway’s Coffin.
Now from a rather pessimistic outlook with a touch of optimism towards the end to some really sad news:
Obituary
It is with great regret that we have to report the death of Charles Ives, Society Vice President and former President and benefactor for many years. Ill-health has for some time forced Charles to take a back seat in Society matters but his influence in the formative years of the Railway Preservation Society (West Midlands District) can never be undervalued.Charles provided the Society with its original home on siding space at his Hednesford engineering establishment. For ten years the Society had free use of the siding including an overall roof to assist early members in their restoration work.
His presence at Committee Meetings was always welcome with his sense of wit and countless anecdotes and sayings. In his own way Charles was one of the pioneers of the preservation movement although perhaps a name that might not readily spring to mind. A true character he will be sadly missed by all who knew him. Our condolences go to his widow. B. Bull
Anyone who has followed this blog cannot fail to recognise the contribution of Charles Ives to the RPS West Midlands District and ultimately the Chasewater Light Railway Society. CWS
The Society is approaching its 25th Anniversary which will be celebrated at the Society AGM on 13th October and at a Bus Rally and Railwayana Fair at Chasewater on the following day (October 14th) 11.00 – 4.30, admission free.
Throughout its 25 years the Society’s membership has fluctuated around the 100 mark whilst its aims have switched from creating a static museum to an operating railway. Despite the lack of passenger trains during the last two seasons the Society membership has held its own and so far this year over 15 new members have been enrolled. To these people we say thank you for having faith in the Chasewater Project. Inside this magazine you will find a membership form and we are appealing for every member to enrol a new member to give us enough people to operate trains next season (as we are led to believe that we will be in a position to do so).
Members may have read elsewhere about plans to spend up to 14 million pounds on Chasewater Park and the Society/Company have drawn up plans to expand the Railway, should this scheme come to fruition. All this is dependent on us having enough manpower to run services on a regular basis so it is up to the present membership to either come forward and operate the services or to find new members to do the same. Members may also have read of a scheme to build a new motorway which may or may not pass through the park. If it does come through the park then we are wasting our time.
News from the line
Loco Department – It has for sometime been felt that there ought to be a numbering system for locos at Chasewater in order to give a proper Light Railway image.
A start was made some years ago when ‘Invicta’ emerged from a repaint sporting a painted No.8 (it was then the eighth steam engine on site) on the front buffer beam and brass plates (GWR style) on the cab sides.
The following system has been devised and will be put into practice as engines are repainted, although the GWR style plates on ‘Invicta’ will not be featured on other locos as brass plates with the loco number and the legend ‘Chasewater Light Railway’ have been designed. Some locos will also bear fictitious 21G shed plates as the Operating Superintendent reckons 21G would have been the shed code for Brownhills West (Hednesford Road) had it existed in BR days.
LocoNo.
Hibberd Diesel 1 First loco to arrive
Peckett 1351 2 No. 2 at Wallsend Slipway
Barclay 1223 3
Asbestos 4
Sentinel 9632 5 May be painted black as BR 59632
Peckett 917 6
R & H Diesel 7 No.7 at Whitwell Colliery
Invicta 8
Hudswell Clarke 1822 10
Alfred Paget 11 No.11 at Gartsherrie
Hudswell Clarke 431 15
Ex bass Diesel 21
L & Y Petrol 1
It seems strange to have two No.1s when starting a new system, even if they didn’t stay much longer!
99 Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces – Late 1983
Editorial: Several things have happened, but little has changed.
Several significant things have happened at Chasewater since the last magazine was printed and these will be detailed in the next few pages.
Little has changed because we are still short of manpower and cash, of these two shortages surely the lack of manpower must be the more inexcusable. On one Sunday this summer there were only two members at Chasewater and I make no apology for the fact that we spent the day working in the shed whilst the public looked through the locked gates of Brownhills West Station. Fifty per cent of those people must have thought that it was a railway scrapyard and the other fifty per cent, who knew better, probably thought that we had closed down for good!
If we are very lucky, sometime next year, we may have a railway which is once again fit to run passenger trains on and probably a couple of locos and coaches in useable condition, but will we have the people to run them?
Nigel Canning – Operating Superintendent
Locomotives
Asbestos – The six missing firebox stays have been riveted into place and the boiler will shortly be hydraulically tested. If this is successful the loco can be reassembled, steam tested and the newly installed vacuum brake equipment tested.
Sentinel heading past the old rear of the loco shed in 1992
Sentinel – The Boiler Inspector will carry out a visual examination on the boiler and superheater of this loco when Asbestos is hydraulically tested. Work will then continue until completed. A trial will have to be carried out to see if this loco is capable of successfully operating passenger trains before any though is given to fitting vacuum brake equipment.
S-100 – Tony has been making use of the summer weather to paint various parts of this loco whilst trying in vain to find somewhere to have its wheels turned.
DL7 – This loco continues in fairly regular use and is to be repainted with a bogus BR ‘D’ number. However, one or two points should be remembered:
If it is to be used on passenger trains again it will have to be vacuum brake fitted.
The brake and starting air tanks will, under new regulations, shortly to be introduced, require to be insured and regularly tested.
Small Peckett – Albright & Wilson, the Company from whom this loco is on loan, have recently offered to help pay for a replacement saddle tank. The tank has been measured and drawn so that quotes can be sought for both a complete assembled tank and for a rolled plates do-it-ourselves kit.
No.21 – This loco is still operational if tow-started and has been used on occasion to move items of stock into sidings to pass DL7 in the absence of a run round loop. A complete engine rebuild is probably necessary to enable it to be started from the battery.
Carriages & WagonsWickham Class 109 at Llangollen Station. Photographed during the Llangollen Railcar Gala weekend, 16-17 July 2005.
This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. on the Geograph. The copyright on this image is owned by Mark Riley and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
Wickham Motor car 50416 – Throughout the summer this vehicle has been in use as a station buffet. A considerable amount of work has been carried out including enlargement of the kitchen hatch, removal of one of the internal bulkheads and screwing down of tables. A start has now been made on completely replacing the guttering so that the coach can be repainted before next year.
Wickham Trailer 56171 – Progress has also been made with this vehicle with the fitting of seats from a Cravens DMU and the removal of rain guttering.
Gloucester Trailer 56301 – No work has been carried out on this vehicle although it will require a repaint and clean up before re-entering service.
TPO 30244 – Following the offer from Tyseley Museum this vehicle was sold for £1,000 and left Chasewater on September 8th. It is reputed to have twisted one of its bogie frames when one corner broke through the floorboards due to being stood on uneven ground during loading.
Six-Wheeled Coaches – One new end has been fitted to the M & C Coach and replacement luggage rack netting is being fitted to the MS & L.
Loco Shed
The only work carried out in this building during the summer has been the painting of ‘Asbestos’. A three phase cable has been obtained so that during the winter the workshop can be wired up and used.
Taskforce & Trackwork
During the summer all of the plain track from Brownhills West to Norton East has been relayed with concrete sleepers and work has started on installing a new siding between the station and the shed. Run round loops at both ends still remain to be installed plus level crossing gates and fencing.
Brownhills West station platform has remained half demolished throughout the summer awaiting funds for rebuilding. A grant of £15,000 due in September never materialised and we await a possible grant of £5,000 to be applied for in November.
Some form of sleeper built platform may also be constructed at Norton East if funds and manpower permit.
At the present state of progress it will be touch and go whether the railway will be running next year.
Vandalism
Since the last magazine was published the following instances of vandalism have occurred:
1. Half drum of steam oil drained onto floor.
2. Two large coach windows smashed.
3. Three small coach windows smashed.
4. Paint poured into Gloucester trailer heater fuel tank.
5. Fence cut at least once a week.
Museum Notes
The arrival of the LNWR 50 foot passenger brake in its own platform in time for Easter has given a much easier access to the vehicle for old and young alike.
Various item have been acquired this year, some have come by way of donation – others have actually cost money although usually as part of a deal where other items have been acquired to offset the cost.
Relics, mainly paperwork previously kept in the TPO had to be removed in some haste following the decision to sell the vehicle to the Birmingham Railway Museum. Much of what had been kept in the TPO had suffered from the damp conditions that had prevailed in that vehicle for many years following problems with the roof. Most of the old GWR drawings obtained by Mike Lewis many years ago were still in a reasonable condition but some of the larger ledgers and books were virtually no more than mould and were consigned to the bonfire.
Despite what has been happening to the station area (demolition and not much else!) things have ticked over quite nicely in the museum. Obviously fewer visitors without steaming but with more time to listen to comments from visitors it makes one realise how much importance our collection of small relics is to the Railway. Whatever 1984 brings you can be assured that the museum will be open whatever happens outside.
A photo for the older members, and maybe a history lesson for the younger ones.
Do you recognise the building in the photograph?
It is, or was, the Queens Arms in Hednesford, now, in 2021, undergoing considerable changes.
Notice the houses where the car park used to be.
After a hard day’s work at the Railway Preservation Society’s Hednesford Headquarters, members would retire to the Queens Arms for a swift ‘alf and to get the result of the Weekly Tote – a major source of income at the time.
It was the first of a number of pubs used by members, there was the Pear Tree, now demolished, off the Brownhills Road, and when I first started in 2002, the Prince of Wales on the A5 was frequented.
98 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces Summer 1983
Editorial – Chasewater in Crisis
On behalf of the Society I must apologise for the long gap between this and the last magazine due to a long list of reasons. There has just not been either the time or the money to expend on such a publication.
At present our membership wavers around the 100 mark, of which around 10% manage to visit regularly. It seems unfortunate that each week we rely on the same members attending to the Railway’s needs, without the active support of the other 90%. It is little wonder that the veterans are fast becoming despondent with the work load being foisted on them.
Unless there is a significant change in the attitude of our membership, one of two things will happen: either the Railway stock will have to be drastically pruned to the minimum required to run a service, or we shut the doors and sell the lot.
I beg more of you to attend, if only on an occasional basis. It always seems strange to me how many of you can attend the AGM and that’s the last we see of you for twelve months.
Tony Sale – Assistant General Manager.
Locomotives
Asbestos – This engine has now been in the process of restoration for about five years, due mainly to shortage of manpower. The frames and wheels have been re-assembled, the boiler tubed and the tank and cab are being repainted. Now we have to complete the boiler repairs and drop it into the frames and one day we may have a working engine.
Invicta – This engine is now in store pending the fitting of vacuum brake gear and the overhaul of the main bearing brasses. Work is hoped to commence on completion of Asbestos.
Sentinel taking water at our old HQ
Sentinel – The boiler was split to reveal the inner firebox for the boiler inspector but work has now been shelved in order to concentrate work on Asbestos.Ruston & Hornsby DL7 entering the old Brownhills West Station
DL7 – The mainstay of our shunting force has performed reasonably well over the last two years and it holds the distinction of being our only regularly working engine. This diesel locomotive is subject to an appeal to maintain its presence at Chasewater, which you may or may not like to subscribe to.
S100 – If I didn’t have to assist running the Railway I might find more time to devote to this rather large jigsaw puzzle, but despite all, progress is still being made, weather permitting, you would be amazed how much one person can achieve by himself, so if someone would like to assist, twice as much could be accomplished.
All other locomotives are stored unserviceable for the foreseeable future, including the Neilson, which requires new tubes. It can only be hoped that decay can be kept to a minimum to ensure resurrection in years to come.
Carriages and Wagons
Here I hoped to bring glad tidings, but unfortunately the only news is that the MSLR carriage is still in the shed and has been largely untouched due to the fact that there are no carpenters in our midst. The only other news is that a few more doors have dropped off the Maryport & Carlisle coach and the rest are generally suffering from many years of neglect.
The other snippet is that the Midland Crane had to be dismantled in order to stop it falling apart over the rails.What about it lads – who still cares?
Another late snippet is that someone wants to buy the TPO. Your Committee is in favour and I myself fully support them, but the choice is yours, so make it known fast, it will be no good grumbling after it has left.
Catering
As many of you know, much of the money needed to support the Railway is generated in the form of sales of soft drinks and chocolates. Recently the Wickham DMU was acquired in order to branch out further into the prepared food department, all we need is one interested member prepared to buy, prepare and sell. If anyone would come to volunteer we would be only too happy to assist in any way, as well as supplying a warehouse card which could also be used for their own benefit.
Shed News
The new loco shed has certainly proved to be one of the most important developments at Chasewater. Not only does it supply ideal conditions for thorough restoration, it also allows work to continue after dark. Although this building has been with us for over a year there are still improvements to be made, i.e. fitting of three phase electric cables within the building and also fitting of a compressed air circuit. Once the former has been completed, all our machinery can be powered and the shed can be said to be fully operational.Taken from DL7, approaching the loco shed from the same direction as we do now – obviously before the changes!
Task Force Notes
A new task force was supplied together with finance and a new Manager, to commence work on the track layout. After last season the Railway lost its powers of running the line until such times as the whole of the permanent way was relaid in order to comply with the Railway Inspectorate’s standards.
In short, the platform front has been demolished to supply the necessary clearance, (rebuilding is now underway) and a run round loop is being built in the vicinity of the compound. Next the line will be lifted and replaced with better quality materials down to the old exchange sidings where another run round loop will be constructed. Upon completion a further visit by the Railway Inspectorate will then be made, and hopefully we shall run again. I can only say that I hope all goes well for the Task Force and both luck and weather is on their sides.
On behalf of the Company I have been asked by our Chairman to include the following appeal.
Save DL7 for Chasewater
The Company needs money to service a large overdraft and whilst the Railway is not running, little money is being repaid and understandably the Bank Manager is a little distressed.
If you would like to give some money to this appeal, you will be helping DL7 because if the Company is declared bankrupt, DL7 will certainly be seized as an asset. If the engine belongs to the membership it is safe along with the rest of the Society’s collection from the grips of the Liquidators
If you cannot afford a share, buy one together with some friends – you may buy as many as you like.
Chasewater Railway Museum 