Author Archives: Simon Lomax

Another busy weekend at Apedale. A small but well-formed PW gang carried out a number of maintenance jobs on the main line, including a sleeper change and checking/adjusting the gauge as needed. Another project which is beginning to come together nicely is the overhaul of Ruston 179870. This is an early Ruston, and has a […]

A mite chilly down The Valley at the weekend, but the biggest job was able to be done indoors. This was accompanied by a space heater which seemed to have been recycled from one of the Space Shuttle booster rockets. The job itself was to lift the Hudswell steam loco and investigate the lubrication arrangements […]

A quick look at a few current goings-on at Apedale. The younger members (and one who stretches that definition a little) have been working on the cosmetic restoration of a skip wagon – the backbone of ever industrial narrow gauge railway system.Meanwhile, a Motor Rail gearbox (from MR21520) has been dismantled and the carcass is […]

A job which has progressed in fits-and-starts has been the construction of a lean-to wagon store. For various reasons, this has been a low priority job, but a 2019 Resolution was to finally dig deep and finish the job. A Saturday Blitz saw the area cleared of junk and trees (which had taken root since […]

A quick update on a couple more jobs which were done over the Xmas period – but only just got around to sorting the photos. Firstly, work has been proceeding on installing a proper ceiling in the main workshop. The objective is to improve the working environment, as it can be a bit chilly in […]

It’s been a busy TwixMas at Apedale, with not much let-up in activity. Apparently the site was not operating on Christmas Day, but that was about it. For the first time, we ran trains – “Mince Pie Specials” on the Saturday between Xmas and New Year. Planned for diesel haulage, they were actually steam operated […]

MRT fleet number 61 is Motor Rail 1320, which was new from the Bedford factory on 10 September 1918. This loco began life as a “protected” type 40HP petrol-engined loco, but – as you can see in the photos – has been heavily modified by industrial owners other the years. The loco worked at the […]

The Apedale Valley Light Railway will be running every Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday from April 6 to October 27. Steam locomotives will be in use on event days, Bank Holiday weekends and the second complete weekend of each month. We have a number of special events through the year which will appeal to […]

In between all the Santa-related excitement (the elves have been busy on the Grotto), various other projects have progressed at Apedale. Ruston 191658 has held on to its engine with a vice-like grip which had defied all attempts to release. Until an assault by various heavy weaponry finally resolved the issue. Meanwhile, the on-going battle […]

With the end of the main running season, the Winter Maintenance Programme is now in full swing at Apedale. The WMP is a surprisingly complex concept, as we also use the closed period to undertake training. Therefore, a lot of thought goes into making sure that, for example, we have an intact and complete railway […]