The Ribble Pilot
The Journal of The Ribble Steam Railway - Issue No.45
Do DoNOT NOTPRINT PRINT See See“Cover” “Cover” attachment attachment
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The control tower under construction and in the foreground the foundations for the swing bridge. (Steven Brindley)
Do NOT Do NOT PRINT PRINT See “Cover” attachment See “Cover” attachment
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Ribble Pilot 45 (Summer 2016) A memorial service for the Preston Pals was held at 11.00am on Saturday 23rd July 2016 in Preston Railway Station; in attendance was the Deputy Lord Lieutenant, The High Sheriff of Lancashire, The Mayor of Preston and many other distinguished guests. The 23rd July 1916 was when most of ‘D’ Company of the Loyal North Lancashire regiment (The Preston Pals) were killed or wounded in the battle of Bazentin -le-Petit on the Somme. The Preston Pals War Memorial, instigated by Andrew Mather, was installed on Preston Railway Station in July 2012. Situated between platforms 3 & 4, it honours the men who volunteered to fight in World War One within 7th Battalion, the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment (now part of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment).
Welcome to our new RSR members: G.Pagent & Family, J.Norton & Family. K.Feu & Family, C.Stott, J.Taylor, J.S.Shaw, C.Rycroft, I. Billington, L.Brooks & Family, D.Pearson, A.Pinch, S.Fishwick, V.Horniblow, E.Jones, R.Thompson, P.Allcock, W.McArdle, P.Newton, J.Scholes, S.Scholes, A.Page & Family, B.Stewart, R.Oldroyd, W.Basey, K.Basey, A.Hydson, D.Collins Apologies if I’ve missed someone! ****** We are sorry to hear of the death of member Mr Stuart Christie of Cressington Park, Liverpool. Our Condolences to family and friends. ******
At our Industrial Steam Gala on September 10th & 11th 2016 we offer 2017 membership with 3 months free, expiring Dec 31 2017.
Always a surprise in store, and for those who came for a Railbus ride on April 21st, a very late running Lindsey tanks, due to a hot box at Scunthorpe, gave them a bonus! (Photos: J. Balaam)
c.Robin Utracik
An interesting feature of the ceremony was that military band (of about 7 musicians) played a re-discovered march “The Pals March”, which hasn’t been heard for many years. ‘The Pals’ march, composed 1914 for piano by Ralph Sanders and was archived in Accrington Library.
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Secretary Report - July 2016 On page six of the magazine is the notice for this year's annual general meeting. We always encourage people to attend if at all possible and this year is no exception. It will include following the meeting a presentation about certain of our future plans and the opportunity to ask questions from the floor about those. The running season is currently four months old. Our events have followed a similar pattern to 2015 although we were not able to do a vintage car display on the Fathers Day weekend despite attempts to find a suitable group of participants. Earlier on the steam gala saw the use of the diminutive Peckett 040ST "Teddy" with a crew from the Chasewater Railway attending to operate it. The event was relatively successful in terms of numbers and also saw several outings of the 4 wheel North London Railway coach on the first and last trains each day. The September Gala will all being well see the Gala debut of Dave Watkins’ Grant Ritchie 0-4-0ST after several years of restoration and the first use of the Class 11 No.663 in the new livery. The loco has already had some use albeit not in steam. On Saturday 23rd July it had an outing to the Flag Market in Preston City Centre to gain us some useful publicity and the following day visited a Steam Rally event at the Leisure Lakes, near Tarleton.
One issue we have had to face this year has been the effect of losing some of our volunteers through changes of employment, ill health and a few other similar issues. When you have a relatively small workforce loss of even a couple of people in certain roles can have a big effect and our front of house team in particular have been somewhat stretched. If you would like to help out in the shop or the cafĂŠ meeting the public then please get in
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touch with us. As I have said on a number of occasions in the past in these pages it doesn't mean we expect someone to be there every weekend but helping say just once or twice a month would be a help in spreading the load. Looking forward the main event of the year both in terms of people and income is our Santa event in December. The plan is that this year will follow a similar setup to 2015 and at the moment we expect to have the online ticketing system in place and open again by mid August after some changes in light of experience last year. There are a number of projects in hand at the moment some of which are more noticeable than others. The railway (being a railway!) needs to be able to keep it's track in as good a condition as possible to ensure safety and reliability. To that both the replacement of the electrical catch points either side of the swing bridge and renewal of part of the track at Strand Road level crossing will go ahead this winter. The points are planned in their new configuration to be heated which will make a big difference to our operating crew in very cold weather to prevent them freezing up as happened in the past. In terms of development one area now hopefully nearing resolution is completing the track into the new building part of which is being sublet to the Furness Railway Trust. As I have alluded to before this requires us to lease part of the lorry park Total Bitumen use to park their trailers on. Both Total and our landlord's Preston City Council have been very co-operative but this has taken time to properly sort out. The leases were signed by us on the 25th July and once signed by the other side will come into effect. There is then a six month period when we must complete the work. This involves removal of the section of the lorry park in question and then rebuilding it with a new fence on the new boundary. Although you only have to look around to see what our volunteers can do there are only so many of them and thus we have decided to employ a contractor to complete that particular work rather than take people off current work. Once the job is done and the track is then laid it will open up for storage of rail vehicles the last part of the building. In the last magazine I gave some figures for our performance in 2015. The finances of heritage railways and their volunteer resources have seen extensive coverage in the railway media recently
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particularly in "Steam Railway" magazine. The Heritage Railway Association have published their report on 2014 (the 2015 figures only went in to them in March) and their findings show our sector continues to grow both in terms of visitors and income. In 2014 there were 11.7 million visitors to UK heritage railways and museums of whom 8.4 million rode on the trains. That is not far short of double the figure of a decade ago and then are few other parts of the UK economy which have seen that growth bearing in mind that includes the 2008 financial crash and it's aftermath. No doubt the seemingly endless TV coverage of trains compared to that of many years ago has played a part in generating public interest along with the building of "Tornado" and rebuilding of "Flying Scotsman". Income across the industry has also soared to ÂŁ122m. Of that train tickets accounted for 50%, shop sales 12%, catering 17% and 21% "other" which includes things like engineering services. On the cost side the industry now has 2,666 employees more than double the figure of 2004. The HRA do a calculation of the hours worked by volunteers and what that would equate to if the same work was done by paid staff. On our railway we have 5 full time staff plus the work of our volunteers equates to employing 14 more. Thus about 75% of the total work carried out on site as measured by the time spent is done by volunteers. Nationally however the figures have changed significantly and whereas in 2004 employees did less than half the annual hours worked on heritage railways now the figure is over 60%. That suggests a very significant long term change in our industry is taking place. Although these statistics are interesting in themselves they also have a direct relevance to our current situation. Earlier I referred to a shortage of volunteers in our front of house and this has caused the Board to review management of that side of the business. Having looked at the possible options it has been decided that we ought to appoint an employee to manage and also staff the front of house business to remove some of the burden from volunteers and to strengthen the management of it. We are hoping to have someone in place fairly soon and a detailed job description has been agreed. We are hoping that will allow someone to devote more time to managing this important part of the business and it will also give us an extra staff member to help cover duties at weekends which will assist our hard working volunteers.
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Health & Safety: Fire safety. Can I make another reminder to volunteers and staff not to leave items obstructing fire exits and escape routes. I have mentioned this before but it is important both to comply with the law and also protect everyone. Fitness. Those of you on the operating side know that we have medical questionnaire for traincrew which goes to our Company Medical Officer. We then have medical check done all within a standard agreed between the HRA and the Office of Rail Regulation. In the last few years we have had some instances of people becoming ill whilst undertaking work on vehicles etc. Having conferred with our CMO about it we have been advised that we ought to check the health of those doing more hazardous work such as working at height and using certain pieces of equipment. We don't plan to send vast numbers of people on medicals but those covered will need to fill in the questionnaire. It is not something people should be concerned about but it is important that we try and keep people safe.
On 8th July we got a first chance to see NS 663 in its new paint scheme, based on an earlier Netherlands State Railway livery. (M. Garnett) 633 will also add her power to our September Gala Weekend together with Grant Richie, Linda and Courageous on a special timetable. (Photo below: Mike Rigg)
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NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Company Ribble Steam Railway Limited for the year ending 2015 will be held at Ashton on Ribble Bowling Club on Tuesday 13th September 2016 at 20.00 hours precisely for the following purposes: To receive apologies for absence. To approve the minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on the 25 th August 2015. To receive the reports of the Board of Directors and the Auditors. To receive and adopt the accounts for the Company for the year ended 31 st December 2015. To re-appoint messrs Satterthwaite Brooks & Pomfret, Chartered Accountants of Oriel House 2-8 Oriel Road, Bootle, Merseyside as auditors of the Company. To elect directors. Article 52 provides : “No person other than a director retiring
at the meeting, shall, unless recommended by the Directors as eligible for election to the office of Director at any General Meeting unless, not less than three, nor more than twenty one days before the date appointed for the meeting, there shall have been left at the registered address of the Company, notice in writing signed by a member duly qualified to attend and vote at the meeting for which such notice is given, if his intention to propose such person for election and also notice in writing signed by that person of his willingness to be elected�. Messrs Bailey, Mills, Vernon and
Watkins are retiring by rotation and being eligible offer themselves for re-election. Can I please emphasize that to be valid any nomination MUST be sent to the registered address by the closing date. To transact any other business which may lawfully be transacted at an AGM. Any member who is not a life member of Ribble Steam Railway Limited is respectfully reminded that in order to attend and vote, his or her membership must be up to date. Any member entitled to attend and vote may appoint a proxy to attend and attend on their behalf. A proxy need not be a member of the Company. To be valid a correctly completed form of
proxy must be delivered to the registered office of the Company by 17.00 hours on Sunday 11th September 2016.
At the conclusion of the meeting there will be a presentation to the members on behalf of the Board of Directors about future plans and then there will be an open session for members to put questions. For this session it would assist for managing the timing of the meeting if questions could be notified in writing in advance. By Order of the Company Secretary Michael Bailey Registered office: 3 Lincoln Drive, Old Roan, Liverpool, L10 3LJ
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MINUTES OF THE 41st ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF RIBBLE STEAM RAILWAY LTD AT ASHTON ON RIBBLE BOWLING CLUB IN PRESTON 25th August 2015. Present : Mr D. Watkins (Chairman) and 40 members. The meeting commenced at 8.05 pm. 1. There were apologies for absence from Andy Booth, Martin Clarke, Bill Croston, Peter Gregson, Stuart McKinnell, Andrew & Sarah Murphy, Chris Rycroft. 2. The minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting held on the 29th July 2014 were proposed to be accepted by Mr W. Helliwell and seconded by Mr A. Vernon. The minutes were adopted by the meeting. 3. Directors report. Copies of this were provided to members in the accounts supplied with the AGM notices. The report was proposed to be accepted by Mr D. Russell and seconded by Mr C. Mills. 4. The annual accounts. These had been circulated with the AGM notice for the meeting. There were no questions from the floor. The accounts were proposed by Mr C. Mills and seconded by Mr R. Walker. The accounts were adopted by the meeting. 5. Re-appointment of Satterthwaite Brooks & Pomfret as auditors. This was proposed by Mr A. Davies and seconded by Mr F. Masson and adopted by the meeting. 6. Election of directors. Three directors messrs Helliwell, Tatham and Walker were retiring by rotation and seeking re-election. The 4th director retiring Mr McNamara was not seeking re-election. There had been two nominations for new directors to be elected for David Manley and Alan Vipond. An election was required and Mr Watkins identified all five candidates to the meeting. A ballot then took place with Mr T. Owen & D. Russell acting as tellers. The result of the ballot was in alphabetical order Mr Helliwell 23 votes, Mr Manley 41 votes, Mr Tatham, 38 votes, Mr Vipond 18 votes and Mr Walker 38 votes. Mr Watkins therefore declared messrs Helliwell, Manley, Tatham & Walker elected . 7. AOB. Mr Howell queried the location of the collection of the late Arthur Nettleton bequeathed to the railway following his death and referred to in the "Ribble Pilot". Mr Mills stated this was a large collection of books and some wall plaques which were in in plastic and cardboard boxes at his premises. He had scanned the book covers and e-mailed copies to Mr Grosse. He said these could be delivered if a suitable place at the site was available to house them. Mr Grosse stated that overall 650 books had been catalogued over the last 18 months as well as 200 maps and drawings. A full list would be produced and some might be disposed of. Someone at the Board level should consider if they can be kept. CM said he had not seen the retention policy and we might need to offer these out to suitable groups. Mr Watkins said the crucial issue on the method of disposal was whether or not an item had been formally accessioned and gave the example of bus number 106 disposed of to St Helens Bus Museum some years previously.
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If it had been accessioned an item should be disposed of to a registered museum. Mr Mills said in the last resort if not required items could be sold to raise funds. (ii) Mr Race queried an issue about an item of his personal property that he wished to have returned that had been in the care of the museum. The assistant curator confirmed that she knew about the issue and Mr Watkins asked for suitable steps to done to return the item to Mr Race as he had requested (iii) Mr Watkins raised the 2015 Santa event and the need for helpers to assist on the train and asked if anyone who was able to could contact another group who might be interested in helping out. He said we would be using a paid Santa this year as no volunteer was available. Mr Helliwell said some volunteers might prefer to do only half a day at a time. Mr Watkins said all days needed fully covering. Mr Diamond said a roster was being prepared and members should see himself or Ms Hearty. 8. There being no further business the meeting was formally closed at 8.42 pm to be followed by a buffet. Mr Watkins informed the meeting that the planned film show had been cancelled as the presenter had been injured in an accident the preceding weekend.
NEWSDESK - Our September Gala (10th & 11th) will feature the Premiere running of Grant Ritchie 272/1894, Hawthorn Leslie 3931/1938 'Linda', Bagnall 2680/1942 'Courageous' and the first running in new Netherlands State Railways livery of Class 11 Diesel Shunter English Electric VF2160/ D350/1956 '663' (Subject to availability)
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Industrial Steam Gala (April 2016) Photos: Dave Manley
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Our first Steam Gala of the year featured RSR’s own ‘Courageous’, ‘Linda’, No.6 and a beautiful little guest loco, now based at Chasewater, in Peckett ‘Teddy’
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USA 0-6-0T No.30072/1943
At the end of World War 2, a number of American shunting locomotives of the United States Army's Transportation Corps were still stored in Britain and, in 1946, the Southern Railway bought fifteen for use at Southampton Docks. This locomotive, then numbered 72, was one of these, built by the Vulcan Ironworks, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1943. It probably saw very little military service, though it was ferried to the Continent after D-day. After returning to England, these engines were stored at Newbury Racecourse station. This one was transferred to S.R. stock in April 1947. As British Railways No. 30072, it left Southampton in 1952, working for a short time on the London Midland Region at Willesden, then Cricklewood, before returning to Southampton, and then to Guildford, where it remained as shed pilot until withdrawn from service in July 1967. It was bought by a member in August 1967 whilst at Salisbury awaiting scrapping. Engines of this class also worked in Britain during 1943-45 and were widely used afterwards in France. Yugoslavia and Greece - examples in the last two countries being used as late as 1980. The American equivalent of the Hunslet 0-6-0 saddle tank produced by the British Ministry of Supply (see locomotive "Free). No. 30072 is a typical American switcher with bar frames, no running plate, three "domes" on the boiler and a stovepipe chimney. Other features rarely seen on British shunting locomotives are the outside valve gear and cylinders driving onto the rear axle. Together with No. 41241, this engine had the distinction of hauling the reopening train on the Worth Valley branch line in June 1968. After a number of modifications, such as a larger coal bunker, No.72 in American livery) became one of the most frequently used K.W.V.R. locomotives up to 1973. In 1976, it was converted to oil-firing, but changed back again to coal fuel in 1987. The engine gained a British Railways boiler certificate and. in May 1988, went by road to the 150th Anniversary celebrations of the London & South Western Railway at Woking, where it was used on a passenger shuttle-train. This gained it the distinction of being the first steam passenger working on the Southern Region east of Basingstoke for over 20 years. Vulcan Ironworks No.4446; U.S.Army No.1973; S.R. No.72; B.R. No.30072.
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At nationalisation, 30 000 was added to the number (as was customary for southern engines), and it stayed at Southampton. In 1962, its duties were taken over by diesel shunting engines and No 30072 was moved to Guildford (70C) shed. On 9 July 1967, it was moved to Salisbury for storage, from where it was bought. When at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, it hauled the re-opening special with 41241. It operated as an oil-burning locomotive from 1976 to 1987. No 30072 is currently on display in the museum at Preston, requiring extensive firebox repairs and a major overhaul. 30072 was in August 2015 purchased by Andy Booth (the current owner of L&YR Class 27/1300) and is planned to be overhauled in time for the 50th anniversary of the opening of the KWVR in 2018. It is planned for the engine to be overhauled at the Ribble Steam Railway, she is then to return on loan to the railway upon completion.
KWVR 24th September 2015 30072 leaves for Preston / Photo: Trevor Gower
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Railbus On Tour with Driver Matt Darbyshire
The Railbus E79960 was invited to take part in the Llangollen Railway's 2016 DMU gala over the second weekend of June including a photo charter on the Friday evening. RSR crew were required to drive E79960 on Llangollen metals and myself and Mike McArthur volunteered for the duty. A problem with the gearbox the week before threatened the visit but a last minute repair by Mike McArthur and Jason Finnerty meant that plans could go ahead. The railbus performed well and took the challenging climb out of Llangollen up to Berwyn Tunnel in its stride, even with every trip being well loaded.
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The intensive timetable which included four full trips of the ten mile line plus an evening BBQ special to Glyndyfrdwy Station meant that the diminutive railbus covered 92 miles on Saturday alone! I think it enjoyed the opportunity to stretch its legs. Judging by passenger loadings, E79960 was a popular visitor with passengers and I know that the Llangollen crews enjoyed it equally and were impressed with the way it performed and looked. As you can see by these photographs the Railbus looked superb on the scenic railway and it was a pleasure to be involved. A really enjoyable visit (particularly the evening BBQ) and I would like to thank the Llangollen members for making Mike and myself feel so welcome.
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Class 14 on Tour For the past few months, D9539, the class 14, has continued its tour of different rails across the UK which started with its visit to the East Lancashire Railway in 2014 for the 14's@50 Event. Then to the Spa Valley Railway in Kent for 2015.
2016's Visit is to Peak Rail in Derbyshire. The railway runs for approximately 4 miles between Rowsley and Matlock usually operates a top and tail service that normally consists of an Austerity and either a Class 31 or a Peak. The Class 14 is the ideal size to handle the train of 6 Mk 1/ Mk 2 coaches and steam loco (The Peak usually never gets above notch 1).
Myself and Matt Burke went across when the Loco was first delivered, to spend a day driver training and making sure the crews knew how to prepare the loco. Peak Rail had used a class 14 before, Class 14 901 (D9524) but this loco is very different to our own class 14. After its British Rail days came to an end (1970) 14 901 was purchased by BP and sent to its Grangemouth Refinery Complex. Here it was decided that a loco with a uncommon (in BP terms) Paxman engine, 110 volt electrical
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system and maximum speed of 40 mph was a bit to much of a risk, it was sent to Andrew Barclay Kilmarnock where it had a new (underpowered) Rolls Royce engine fitted, a complete electrical rewire to 24 volt and the governor adjusted to a maximum speed of 15 mph (stopping the loco for getting into 2nd and 3rd gear). Due to these drastic changes, the controls we're completely changed and reworked. This made operating D9539 completely different to what they had been use to driving. After a days training and familiarisation we we're Happy to leave it in their capable hands. Its been out nearly every weekend and a nearly all of June as the class 31 failed with a leaking oil cooler and the Peak under overall. The plan is for D9539 to remain at Peak Rail till the end of September and return to RSR on time for the October Diesel gala. Mike Garnett
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Furness Railway Trust News Steady progress has been achieved on all four of the ongoing projects in the shed at Preston. At the time of writing, nearly all the repairs to the sides of the RMB have been completed with just the east corridor end to be tackled. John Dixon has again been occupying his time with the welding machine, with significant pieces of steelwork being cut out from beneath the servery windows. Once the outer steelwork has been removed, it is then possible to access the horizontal and vertical steel ribs which provide the vehicle's strength; sometimes these are still in good condition and require only a coat of rust preventative paint, but others have proved to be more challenging with some serious work involved in replacing the metalwork. Fortunately, John has been able to recycle some of the steelwork from the horsebox body that we cut up a while back, which was ready formed to fit the curvature of the bodyside. Only when this tedious work has been carried out can new steel plate be welded back on to the outside.
Paul Hendry shapes a new gas compartment cover for the RMB on Wednesday, 13th July
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Welding the bodywork also requires the inner wooden panelling to be removed so that full access can be gained from both inside and outside of the coach, and also to reduce the chance of the wood catching fire or getting damaged during the welding process. This latter task has been the domain of Tom and Trevor Bradshaw. We were pleased to be able to welcome them both back after Trevor's enforced absence and they are both appearing two days a week now that most of the woodwork can be re-assembled. Once the outer steel panelling has been repaired, the surface needs to be made good with filler and then sanded and primed ready for the application of undercoat. Much of the coach, therefore, now appears in a red oxide colour in readiness for the final painting, which we are now pretty sure should be in the autumn - whether it will be early or late autumn is still in question! Down below the solebar, Mike Rigg has been joined on a regular basis by new member, Paul Hendry. Together they are working towards cleaning off and painting the bogies, buffers and headstocks in order to complete the appearance of the coach. In addition, Mike and Paul have taken on board the task of replacing a steel cover for one of the gas compartments below the solebar, the latter having being transferred to our Great Eastern Royal Saloon, GER No. 5, which is away on hire to the Beamish Open Air Museum. The cover was originally pressed to created flanged edges, but Mike and Paul have been trying to create the same shape but without the pressing facility. Much scratching of heads has been noted during the process and we look forward to seeing the finished result.
Alan and Sam Middleton examine Caliban’s boiler.
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Caliban has usually been surrounded by a cloud of dust on Wednesdays and Fridays as Ade Tomkinson, John Houghton, Roger Benbow and Fred Jones have used a mixture of needlegun and cup sanders to clean up the frames and other components. Gradually, the bottom end of the loco is beginning to appear in a red oxide livery, similar to the adjacent RMB, and, once completed, it should be possible to consider re-assembling some of the components. Meanwhile, Alan Middleton has been examining the state of the boiler, which is now conveniently parked nearby the frames in the unheated area of the shed. Now that the boiler is under cover, it should be easier to put together a plan for the remedial work involved.
flues in readiness for the boiler to be examined in depth. Behind the scenes, Bob Thomson has been procuring drawings for Wootton Hall's missing components and John Dixon has recently produced a pattern for a bronze component which will form part of the reverser mechanism.
John Dixon removes corroded steel panelling from the RMB on Wednesday, 13th July
The crinolines for Wootton Hall’s boiler cladding take shape. Further progress has been made on the longer term restoration of Great Western Railway 4-6-0 locomotive Wootton Hall. Much of the replacement metalwork for the drag boxes, where the engine and tender couple together, has been cut and bolted into position. Eventually the components will be riveted together. Work on the tender has been held over until the RMB is finished and moved out of the shed. In the meantime, restoration of the cab roof and one of the cab sides has made good progress and work has now turned to the boiler, where a crinoline skeleton is being assembled upon which the cladding will eventually be assembled. New bolts, which will be used to fasten the smokebox to the saddle have been machined by Bill Norcross, although it will be quite some while before they are needed. George Fletcher has been concentrating on removing the superheater
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There has been further progress on the restoration of our 0-4-0DM shunter, Fluff. The aim has been to get to the position of being able to turn the engine over manually after so many years of idleness, and Anthony Jolly has started to clean off years of paint from some of the engine compartment panels - yet more clouds of dust!
The servery windows on the RMB after repair. Visit the FRT Website www.furnessrailwaytrust.org.uk/
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Furness Railway 0-4-0 No 20 has had some time off at Locomotion, Shildon, having been pretty busy there until the early May Bank Holiday. Peckett 0-4-0ST Teddy has temporarily replaced FR 20 in traffic in order to provide some variety to the visitor offer, but FR 20 is due back in service at the August Bank Holiday weekend. In the meantime, visits are being planned to prepare the locomotive for its annual boiler survey, which is due in August.
5643 Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway at Draughton, Nr.Skipton (Steve Armitage) Great Western Railway 0-6-2T tank locomotive 5643 has been regularly used at the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, where it has recently undergone its annual boiler examination by the British Engineering Services (BES) boiler surveyor. This year the surveyor asked for one of the lap rivets to be removed for examination to determine the amount of deterioration that had taken place, and this was subsequently replaced by a patch screw, with Andy Booth undertaking the work for the Trust. The locomotive then underwent its steam test after a number of stay nuts had been replaced with the help of Matt Hainsworth of the E&BASR. The new superheater elements, which have been on order for quite some while, have now arrived already certified by BES and these will be fitted when time permits.
'Austerity' 0-6-0ST saddle tank Cumbria has been turning its wheels on a regular basis at the Battlefield Line in Leicestershire where it is on hire until the end of 2016. George Fletcher, who lives relatively close by in Derby, has been the main contact on behalf of the Trust and we hope that the locomotive continues to perform well there.
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As some of you will know, the FRT converted to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation from the 1st December last year, so for a while we have had two FRTs with different charity numbers. Therefore, as well as the AGMs on the 19th July, we held an Extraordinary General Meeting to dissolve the old FRT, it having served its purpose well over the past 25 years. All existing trustees up for re-election were re-appointed to the CIO along with Mike Rigg who became a trustee for the first time. Finally, thanks go to everyone who has assisted the Furness Railway Trust with its projects. Tim Owen
Jo Booth and Dave Hughes take a break from painting 663 on Thursday, 30th June
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Work has started on the cosmetic restoration of Peckett 'John Blenkinsop'. (Ade Tomkinson) 663 shunts the tanks on Wednesday, 13th July (Tim Owen)
Grant Ritchie 272 loaded and ready to visit Preston Flag Market (Dave Manley)
Newly arrived at RSR is Peckett 0-6-0ST No. 1636/1924 'Fonmon' (Michael Garnett) Built for Aberthaw & Bristol Channel Portland Cement Co Ltd, it worked at their cement works and the Tumen Asbestos Works in Rhoose, South Wales. Preserved at the Avon Valley Railway, Bristol in the 1970s, where it worked until expiry of its boiler certificate in 1990. Last run was at Spa Valley Railway, 27/09/2009.
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Ed Tatham’s road roller in steam after its boiler overhaul in the workshops. Wednesday, 6th June (Tim Owen)
Hunslet ‘Walkden’ - Grant Ritchie 272 - Peckett ‘Fonmon’ and Barclay No.6 line-up 19th July (Dave Manley)
Thanks to all the photographers for continuing to send in material for use in magazine and for publicity purposes, keep them coming !
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The LMS Queen Mary 731733 has been sold. New on site in its place is an 8 wheel bogied, 25 tons, SR Queen Mary brake van. It has the added attraction of being dual braked. Great for passenger use, steam or diesel.
Free Lending Library A Free Lending Library bookcase has been positioned in the Meeting Room on the mezzanine floor. It will be available anytime when the Museum is open. It is specifically for Employees and Volunteers of RSR, FRT and Ribble Rail. Available will be Railway Books, Video Tapes and DVD's. There may also be information regarding other transport matters which may be of interest..
Hunslet 3155/1944 'Walkden' has returned home from the Epping Ongar Railway for running repairs to be carried out.
Special Visitors: Attending our Steam Gala in April, 1914 Foden Steam Tipper Wagon and Alan Atkinson's Half Scale Steam Wagon.
Grant Ritchie at Leisure Lakes on Sunday 24th July hauled by ‘special’ traction... Thanks to Gary Severn & Dave Manley for the images.
The Usage Rules are minimal and practical, but the success of the Library will depend on the Borrowers. Loan items should be recorded in the Red Folder. This will enable us to identify items which are most/ least popular. The full details will be posted in the Workshop Messroom, Museum noticeboard, RRL office/working area, and FRT site, in addition one will be on the bookcase itself. Please read that notice before borrowing. All Library Stock remains the property of Ribble Steam Railway Ltd Thank you to everyone who has already donated stock for the library, we will always need additional stock to rotate and provide something different as time goes by. Books/Tapes/DVD's on Model Railways, Signalling, etc. in fact any railway subject would be helpful. NO LOOSE MAGAZINES PLEASE I would appreciate someone who would like to assist in running this Library if I am absent, mainly restocking, tidying etc please contact me. (Not onerous perhaps 10-20mins. when on site) Ken Mahaffey, Director, Ribble Steam Railway.
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Ribble Pilot
The ‘John Howe’ Story
JOHN HOWE was ordered by Howe’s Plaster Works in 1908 to operate between their private sidings (HOWES SIDINGS BOX) on the Settle & Carlisle near CUMWHINTON in Cumberland as it was then and their works at Cocklakes. The private branch contained quite a severe gradient up to the works of which little trace is left today. Howe’s Plaster Works became the CARLISLE PLASTER CO, (remember Carlite Plaster and Carlite Bonding?) it later became a part of British Gypsum. In 1969 Graham Ellis was involved with a job in Kendal and also a volunteer at Steamtown and Dr Peter Beet who was the boss of Steamtown was anxious to obtain some locos that were more economical to steam than mainline locos for footplate rides that were possible in those days. Graham had heard that there were locos for sale at Cocklakes. So with Peter's blessing he went to investigate and found a Barclay towing another dead Barclay that had come from Long Meg, another British Gypsum site on the Settle & Carlisle for which they had running rights to go back and forth between Howe’s Sidings and Long Meg. After talking to the driver, John Long, it transpired that there were locos for sale but they
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were all sold to another railway which had failed to produce the cash. Graham then saw the Works Manager, Mr. Sanderson and several meetings later a deal was struck and a clutch of Barclays left Cocklakes for Steamtown. None had seen much use for years and were stored in a shed covered in deep white gypsum dust. None had boiler certificates either. Included in the deal was current shedmate, J N DERBYSHIRE. This loco had a sex change and became Jane of that ilk when "she" reached Steamtown. Work was needed to the boiler to get JOHN HOWE going and while at Carnforth the loco was vacuum fitted and new tyres obtained from Barclays in Kilmarnock. All the locos that came from Cocklakes had homes to go to in the sense that there were folk at Carnforth ready to pay for them and Graham gave John Howe to his late wife Libi on the basis if you can't fight them then join ’em. Libi coming from North’ British country near Fort William dictated the new livery - a la North British & also Campbeltown & Machrihanish in Argyll where the family was living, not to mention Edinburgh Corporation Steamrollers. The lum (chimney to us in Preston) lost its bell mouth early on in order to be able to access the
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sheds at Cocklakes. The loco never had a nameplate and the lettering reflects that shown on the official Barclay photo. The current boiler was fitted in the 1950's. All the time the loco was at Cocklakes it was driven by members of the Long family and as far as we know John Long was the last. He subsequently visited Steamtown to have a drive. If you look at the buffer beam you will see that there are holes below the existing buffers. These were there to take a set of secondary buffers that would match up with the wooden wagons that were used at Cocklakes and are of a type similar to those used by Victorian railway contractors. The official photo shows these fitted. As the opportunity to run trains at Carnforth has now ceased, a transfer to Ribble Steam Railway was arranged. It was transported by road courtesy of Alan Atkinson Trailers Ltd on the 12 April 2006; it languished in our shed for a month whilst Boiler Insurance was sorted out. She then had her first run on the Preston Dock metals exactly one month later on 12 May. The loco is quite lowslung, and needed to be run along the full length of the line to check clearances. A second run was made with two coaches to check her capability and she was then rostered for her first turn the next day, Saturday 13th May 2006, and has completed many more outings since then. As not fitted for carriage steam heating, she was only to be used during the summer months!
The article originally featured in Ribble Pilot 16 / Summer 2006.
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Steam Loco Stock List A full list of all our Steam locomotives. Some are currently off site, awaiting arrival or away on loan at other Heritage Railway sites. Andrew Barclay 1147/1908 'John Howe' Andrew Barclay 1598/1918 'Efficient' Andrew Barclay 1833/1924 'Niddrie' Andrew Barclay 1865/1926 'Alexander' Andrew Barclay 1950/1928 'Heysham No.2' (Fireless) Andrew Barclay 1969/1929 'JN Derbyshire' Andrew Barclay 2261/1949 'No. 6' (Due to leave RSR soon) Andrew Barclay 2343/1953 'British Gypsum No4' Andrew Barclay 880/1902 0-4-0CT Crane 'Glenfield No1' Avonside 1568/1909 'Lucy' Avonside 1810/1918 'M.D.H.B. No. 26' Avonside 1883/1922 Bagnall 2680/1942 'Courageous' (In service at RSR) Borrows 48/1906 'The King' Borrows 53/1909 'Windle' BR Ivatt 46441/1950 * Furness Railway No.20 (currently based at NRM Shildon) Grant Ritchie 272/1894 * GWR 0-6-2T 5643 (FRT - on loan at the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway) GWR 4-6-0 4979 Wootton Hall (FRT Collection) Hawthorn Leslie 3931/1938 'Linda' (In service at RSR) Hunslet 1954/1939 'Kinsley' Hunslet 2890 0-6-0 'Douglas' Hunslet 3155/1944 'Walkden' Hunslet 3696/1950 'Respite' Hunslet 3793/1953 'Shropshire' Hunslet 3855/1955 'Glasshoughton No.4' * Hunslet WD194/1953 ‘Cumbria’ (FRT Collection - on loan at The Battlefield Line) * L&Y Aspinall 1300/12322 - 1896 (currently on loan at ELR) L&Y Pug 1097/1910 ‘No. 19' (on loan from the L&Y Trust) LNWR Ramsbottom 1439/1865 (on loan from NRM) Peckett 1636/1924 'Fonmon' Peckett 1925/1937 'Caliban' (FRT Collection) Peckett 1935/1937 'Hornet' Peckett 1999/1941 'North Western Gas Board' Peckett 2003/1941 'John Blenkinsop' (on loan from Middleton Railway Trust) Peckett 737/1899 'Daphne' (Not Viewable) RSH 7485/1948 'Agecroft No.2' Sentinel 8024/1929 'Gasbag' Sentinel 9373/1947 'St Monans' USA 0-6-0T No.30072 / 1943 Visit: www.ribblesteam.org.uk/exhibits/locomotive-check-list
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Diesel Loco Stock List A full list of all our Diesel, Electric & Battery locomotives. BR Class 03 03189/1960 BR Class 03 D2148/1960 BR Class 05 D2595/1959 * BR Class 14 D9539/1965 (on loan at Peak Rail) Diesel Railbus - 79960/1958 English Electric EE2098/1955 '671' English Electric EE788/1930 English Electric VF2160/D350/1956 '663' Fowler 0-4-0DM 21999/1937 "Fluff" (FRT Collection) Fowler 4160001/1952 'Persil' Greenwood Batley 2000/1945 'Greenbat' Howard 965/1930 'Hotto' Hudswell Clarke 0-4-0 DM D629 'Sparky' Hudswell Clarke 1031/1956 'Margaret' Hudswell Clarke D628/1943 'Mighty Atom' North British 27653/1957 BICC Sentinel 10226/1965 'Energy' ex MSC DH23 Sentinel 10282/1968 'Enterprise' Sentinel 10283/1968 'Progress' Thomas Hill 160V/1966 'Stanlow No. 4' Yorkshire 2677/1960 D2870 Permaquip ballast packer No.74030/BP036
Permaquip TRAMM 98404 (Operational)
Grant Richie No. 272 which underwent a test steaming at Preston on Saturday 21st May. (Photo: Tim Owen)
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School Summer Holidays by Dave Billington School Summer holidays, whenever they kick in, they bring to my mind 1988 - It's disturbing to consider how many of this audience weren't even born then, but it's when I embarked on a long term hobby of mine - fundamentally with the expectations of it being a single summer however, almost 30 years on, still one that occupies a significant proportion of my spare time. Mid High-school years, and strong friendships are being forged - a couple of my friends from school were particularly interested in railways and were very much aware of my own interests in engines and cars - suggested I join them in popping down to our local railway museum in Southport - "They've got really big engines there Dave, diesel mind, but they're always on the lookout for help"‌ So, off I went - 2nd Wednesday of the holidays, so must have been the 1st week of August. Paid my £4 junior membership fee and was sent off to clean some of the exhibits, resting in the old engine shed at Southport.
I guess I've always been a fan of our industrial heritage, so getting to work on a site like this retaining so very much of its 120 year history was fascinating enough, learning to work with some of the contents so very much more interesting. I guess it's a perception thing The children visiting see Thomas the tank engine ("but he doesn't look like that on telly") - The dads probably see machines and masculinity, and the mums involved, in the main, probably just saw rusty metal that would probably give their kids tetanus if they touched it, or damage themselves irreversibly if they fell down one of the many convenient holes that tend to litter these locations.
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Call me old fashioned, but I see a tool - something made through man's ingenuity from an era none of us can realistically claim to understand - that served a very real purpose in "making Britain what it is today". I like the stories that go with each piece of rust - even the made up ones that you can attribute to every "amendment" made post drawing board to circumnavigate an unforeseen problem in design.
Health & Safety wasn't what it is now back in the 1990s, and being in the environment really allowed you to try your hand at all sorts of skills, tools and duties that nowadays will call for a training course before you're allowed to think of donning safety goggles and a great pair of gloves - however, it taught you quickly - If you got it wrong, you're either breaking something that can't be bought - or hurting yourself or others. Neither of these failure scenarios are acceptable, but it certainly taught you quickly - and the mark of good was working out which ones you COULD do without ending up in one degree of trouble. Working in a Victorian environment, with Georgian technology occasionally accompanied by clapped out 1950s updates brought me such experiences - working at height, material handling, chemical control - as well as a whole host of plant experience with cranes, fork lift trucks and tractors (let alone the occasional chance to drive a bus or steam roller) - all packed into my mid teens - and whilst I still have many scars to show for some of those experiences, I'm really grateful to have had them - so much of what was done then will never be repeated today. Anyhow - the footplate. I've already mentioned that I didn't have a specific interest in railways - still don't to this day to be honest, but bringing a machine designed over a hundred years ago, to life, delivering a day's work from hard graft, water and
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something that burns is still satisfying - if not a whole lot more tiring than it used to be. Although I'd started on the diesels as a "2nd man" (due to my size, the age was irrelevant, I could still do the lifting and climbing needed to support the driver in his duties), the lure of the steam engine was very much at the fore, and I started as a cleaner in winter 1988.
It's how your start your footplate career. A cleaner works for the fireman - they clean, they learn the fireman's role and help him in it - with a target of being a "passed cleaner" - that means you can step in should the fireman not be able (and I assume get some additional payment for your efforts). Then you can become a fireman - arguably the most fun, and dynamic role on the footplate. It's all about boiler management - having steam when it's needed, not having too much when it's not managing smoke, water and fundamentally not killing yourself of those in the immediate vicinity should the boiler blow up. The fireman works for the driver, and again, should be learning from him - understanding the role, the route, the signals, gradients and stations (as well as his own job) - Eventually you become a "Passed fireman" - which means again you can stand in for the driver if required - and then you're off to being a driver - top of the tree, easy street, wear a clean hat and get your photo taken a lot. There is a whole heap of accountability though. Those guys are your responsibility - their duties and their success are down to you - and, ideally, get through the day keeping your passengers alive, comfortable and safe on equipment and vehicles long past any manufacturers EOL date, maintained by similarly minded unpaid volunteers who've not been on any courses in any of it!
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So, spooling forwards almost 30 years, the place has given me great experiences. I joined the board at 18, learned some of the intricacies and politics that go with any organisation - was involved when we decided to sell up the historic location and move to a new one at Preston Docks to start again, more space, better facilities (like a roof that wasn't falling in) - stopping doing anything "train" related for a good five years and became a builder, spending weekends on permanent way duty laying track where there used to be muddy puddles Peppa Pig would have killed for. So, now we're settled. The new place has been open just over 10 years - I'm still great friends with a tiny core of people, probably not numbering more than 20, who've taken a meagre budget and turned it into something that looks like it's been delivered on a meagre budget - but it's ours, it contains our actual blood sweat and tears - it's been the very epitome of team working for me - thousands and thousands of volunteer hours in dismal, likely dangerous conditions - and the reward? I'm struggling a little now......
A few paragraphs ago I mentioned the satisfaction of bringing these machines to life, to continue to demonstrate their purpose and worth. I can tell you Christmas is particularly miserable‌ Shift starts around 05:30, where you likely battle through rubbish weather to light up a frozen engine in the dark. You stay cold all day shuttling the "Santa Special" up and down the line with no breaks, drinking cold tea and enjoying various toxins with your lunch - before finishing up, in the dark again, last one to leave after being the first to arrive shovelling ash from a pit, most likely in the rain, or certainly as the frost begins to bite at your nose again like it did 13 hours previously. Yet, somehow, I seem to end up putting my name on the roster again. Its bad stuff kids - keep away.
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Down To The Docks 3 - Photos by Steven Brindley
25213 & "Energy" sort out cement wagons between themselves during the construction period of the new dock system in the mid 1980's.
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37106 & 002 depart on the new line with empty tanks. At this time the road was still not complete & ended just a few yards beyond the road bridge, mid 1980's.
37166 & an unidentified sister has just arrived on the old section of the dock system. The tanks at the right of the picture are ready to depart.
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Preston Dock Memories: T. Wards Locomotives T.W. Wards 0-4-0ST R.S.H. Shunter, February 1, 1968
T.W. Wards, Works Diesel Shunter, Preston Docks 1968 "President", 0-4-0DM, JF 4210109/1956
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Preston Digital Archives
Lancashire was once the engineering workshop of the world. A look into the engine house at Tulketh Mill about 1907. The photo captures the fine horizontal cross compound steam engine made by J. & E. Wood in Bolton. The high pressure cylinder (left) was named 'Ashton' while the low pressure cylinder (right) was named 'Preston' This engine was scrapped when the mill changed over to electrical drive after the establishment of the National Grid. A similar but much larger engine, also made by Wood's, survives at Trencherfield Mill in Wigan.
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The John and Edward Wood engine at Trencherfield is a four cylinder triple expansion. Trencherfield's engine is a horizontal twin tandem and generated 2500 hp whereas Tulketh's output was 2000 hp. The line shafting when it started to turn in the Tulketh Mill would turn nearly one revolution before it turned at its furthest point on the extended section of the mill. Tulketh Mill, Preston is now the home of the Carphone Warehouse call centre.
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Why did Preston port close? It may come as a surprise to some that Preston port didn’t make it to its centenary. The port officially closed on 31 Oct 1981, just over 98 years after it opened. Perhaps it would have added insult to injury to keep a loss-making port open for another two years and close it on its hundredth birthday. Another surprising fact: Preston’s port only made a profit for 17 years of its existence. Preston’s council bore the losses for many years due to the communication links it gave to the outside world.
The port’s story isn’t one of failure and collapse, however. The dock was built to feed Preston’s cotton industry, establishing an important trade in materials such as wood pulp and logs. When the cotton industry declined Preston was quick look towards new ways of working. After the Second World War, the first commercial roll-on roll-off ferries in the UK docked at Preston, and the port was one of the early adopters of the booming technology of lift -on lift-off containers. This led to the port taking on a significant proportion of Britain’s trade with Ireland, especially due to the city’s excellent transport links. The port also had a long-established banana trade. By the 1970s, however, other ports had begun to catch Preston up. Liverpool, Fleetwood, Garston and Heysham expanded into the same markets as Preston. With the development of links with the common market, the UK’s eastern ports took away Preston’s trade in wood pulp and logs. Competition increased, exposing some of the inherent weaknesses of the city’s dock.
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Preston’s port was tidal so was only accessible twice a day. Ships had to sail 11 miles up the Ribble along a channel which had to be regularly, and expensively, dredged. Other ports offered a quicker turnaround. Preston lost its banana trade when its main supplier began to use larger ships that couldn’t access Preston.
By the late 1970s the port was losing between £800,000 and £1 million each year. As early as 1975 reports were produced looking into what could be done to stem the losses. A phased closure was announced in 1976 but a vigorous campaign gave the port a reprieve. The government gave a grant of £2 million to pay for a two year trial to try and revive the port but a resulting report, 18 months later, found no solutions to the dock’s inherent problems. When the government refused to put up any more money, the council was faced with a stark choice: continue to subsidise the port at a cost of £1 million per year, or close it. The decision was made in October 1979: the port would close in two years. It was second time unlucky for the port. Another campaign was launched to try and keep it open, but this time, faced with the inevitable, enthusiasm had seeped away.
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The closure of Preston port was hugely controversial at the time. 350 jobs were to be lost during a deep recession. It was difficult to see what good would come out of the port’s closure. As the Lloyd’s List newspaper for the maritime industry reported in 1979: ‘Preston council plan to develop the 190-acre site as an industrial and residential estate but the worsening economic situation has led many to view the success of this with scepticism’. When the port closed, a significant link with the outside world ended. Preston became largely land-locked. Could you imagine if Preston closed its links to the motorway tomorrow? Imagine if Preston opened an airport. These things can transform cities. An era ended, but as anyone who visits the docks today knows, a new one had begun.
There is an e-zine online featuring more about Preston Dock - http://bit.ly/1aiZJyf
In 1981 it looked like the history of Preston docks was over. Since then, however, the docks has been radically redeveloped – so with the end of one history, a whole new history began. Since its closure as a port, the docks has been turned into a residential, commercial and office area. The flats on the docks are one of the prime areas to live in Preston and many thriving stores are based here. The basin itself has now been turned into a marina. Preston Past & Present.
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Alex Betteney, a member of the group, found both a photo and the info on where the plate had originated.
Museum Railwayana
Yet another ‘Mystery Plate’ was unearthed in the museum collection and we were going to ask for your assistance in discovering its origins. Being far too intrigued to await the publication of this issue, I posted the photo on a Facebook Group page specialising in Industrial Locomotives. There were a few quick replies with various suggestions including a photo of a Class 37 loco which had the same logo and named - 37229 The Cardiff Rod Mill. Next up was a photo of two shunters, shown stored at Ilkeston. Both these had the same type of plates on their cab sides.
The plate we have in the collection was applied to GECT 5478 ex NCB, whilst it worked at ASW Cardiff Rod Mill. It was resold from Wilmott’s ownership (by a 3rd party) to BSC Lackenby where it eventually became 279 in their fleet. It was eventually scrapped in 2013. The only mystery left, as it appears to have been in our collection since Steamport days, is who acquired it and from where........ Previous mystery plate also now seems to have been solved. Both our member Ray Hulock and correspondent Andy Crespin confirm that plate comes from an English Electric built, East African Railways diesel electric. Ray even purchased similar plates on his travels in Nairobi ! Well it looks like it does have a local connection, maybe built on Strand Road ?
The photo (above) was taken in 1995 and is in Wilmott Bros yard, Ilkeston.
There are many groups on Facebook, which of course some people shun for quite often the right reasons, but if you are sensible there are equally some excellent groups both ‘open’ and ‘closed’ with approval and moderation by admins. Industrial Locomotive Enthusiasts is one of the best on Social Media and it wasn’t long after the above information was posted that we had the definitive answer to the mystery question.
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East African Railways 9100 class diesel
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James Brindle (1893 - 1977)
Unloading the Banana Cargo at Preston Dock. Watercolour by James Brindle (1893 - 1977) James Brindle was one of Preston's best known artists. Brindle was born in Preston in 1893 and was deaf and dumb from birth. Brindle was educated at the Royal Cross Deaf and Dumb School in Preston and initially worked in a cotton mill before becoming a commercial poster artist and later a landscape and marine painter. Brindle regularly exhibited at the Harris Museum and Art Gallery throughout his career. He was a founder member of the Preston Arts Society and was one of the first artist's to display his works in the Lancashire Art Exhibition. He was noted for his help to aspiring artists and regularly gave demonstrations to art classes with the assistance of an interpreter. Brindle continued to paint until a few days before his death. A retrospective exhibition was held after the artist's death at the Harris Museum and Art Gallery. *** The railway for more than one hundred and fifty years has been a favourite subject for artists. Monet, Turner, Frith and Bourne all depicted 19th Century trains and railways. Gore and Hopper, to name but two depicted the heyday of the steam railway from the turn of the 20th century to the 1940's. The Guild of Railway Artists was formed in the 1970's to forge a tangible link between artists whose interests include the depiction of the railway scene in all its facets both past and present. Founder members include renowed artists: Terence Cuneo, Don Breckon, David Shepherd, Philip D Hawkins and Alan Fearnley. Amongst the aims of the Guild is the furtherance of the artistic portrayal of railways; the staging of Railway Art Exhibitions and assistance in the historical research necessary to accurately portray railway subjects with correct detail. Visit http://www.railart.co.uk/
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Whittingham Asylum Railway - Revisited
Following the article in the last edition of Ribble Pilot - Preston Digital Archives have published 'Last Days' - Image kindly provided by Stewart Maddison of the Whittingham Hospital Facebook group The gentleman in the light suit was Mr. Maddison's grandfather Tom Smith, Group Engineer for 27 years. the photograph was taken just a few days before the closure of the line. The locomotive at left is Ex-Bolton Gasworks 4wVBT Sentinel 'Gradwell'. Courtesy of Janet Rigby and the Goosnargh and Whittingham Past Facebook Group.
Ex Bolton Gasworks 4wVBT Sentinel 'Gradwell' departs Whittingham for Bishop Auckland in 1957. Image by Phil Knapman
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Above: Whittingham Hospital Railway. C.M.H.W. Barclay locomotive No. 2, April 1951. Below: Whittingham County Mental Hospital. 0-4-2ST 'James Fryars' August 7, 1954. Images by Phil Knapman
See more at Preston Digital Archives online http://bit.ly/2004x31
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Leyland Trucks 120 Leyland Trucks is universally recognised as one of Britain’s leading manufacturing companies. Celebrating an astonishing 120 years of production in 2016, the company is now a wholly -owned subsidiary of PACCAR Inc, and the global centre of its light and medium duty truck design, development and manufacture. The Leyland facility now produces around 14,500 vehicles per year and employs 1,000 people at its 86-acre site, but where does the story begin?
The origin of truck-building in Leyland can be traced back to two men – James Sumner and Henry Spurrier – who together formed The Lancashire Steam Motor Company in 1896 to build a 1.5 ton capacity steam van. The two friends could not have foreseen the incredible success story which would give the town worldwide recognition and leave a legacy which would be passed down through generations. The first petrol-engined vehicle, nicknamed The Pig, was produced in 1904, followed a year later by the supply of the first Leyland bus for service in London. In 1907 the company absorbed the steam wagon builder Coulthards of Preston, adopting the name of Leyland Motors Limited later in the year. The First World War had a profound effect on Leyland Motors and the company concentrated on building 5,932 vehicles for the British forces. At the height of the war, Leyland was employing more than 3,000 people. With the late 1920s came some legendary Leyland models which put the company at the forefront of bus and truck design, starting the Leyland Zoo with animal names for models such as the Lion, Lioness, Llama, Leveret, Tiger, Terrier, Badger, Beaver, Bull, Bison and Buffalo, along with the non-animal Leviathon, Titan and Titanic, which brought the company back to
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prosperity after the crisis of the early 1920s. Names such as these would be synonymous with Leyland for nearly 60 years until the T45 range swept them away.
The 1930s continued the development of this well received range, as Hippo, Rhino, Octopus and Buffalo were added to the ‘heavy’ range of vehicles. Trolleybuses and Chorley-built fire engines also became well established in the line-up of products. A leap forward during this period was the introduction of Leyland’s own compression ignition engine (diesel), after which the days of the petrol engine were numbered in civilian use Leyland vehicles. A ‘secret’ factory to build tanks was finished just as the Second World War began. Wartime output was varied as 11,000 employees produced 9,000 wheeled vehicles, 3,000 tanks, 10,000 tank engines and a large quantity of munitions. The 1950s saw a massive expansion of Leyland Motors as the famous UK makes of Scammell Lorries and Albion Motors were acquired, and the company became a major supplier to international markets.
Overall, the 1970s were a challenging period for Leyland although at the end of the decade the new T45 range was announced. As this product was
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brought to market, a new £33 million assembly plant opened on the outskirts of Leyland, which remains the home of the current day Leyland Trucks. Trouble hit in 1982 when employees took part in strikes over workers rights due to the reorganisation of the company. This ultimately affected the business, with almost 1,800 job losses. The truck operation had been drastically reduced by the early 1980s and the bus and truck sides were separated ready for their sell off in 1987 when Leyland Trucks was merged with Netherlands-based DAF to form Leyland DAF. Despite efforts to save the company, receivers were called in on February 2 1993, bringing hundreds of job losses across the Leyland and Chorley sites. A new DAF heavy truck business restarted in Holland and Belgium within a month, but it was a management buyout at Leyland Trucks in June 1993 that proved the salvation of truckbuilding in the town. A new arrangement with DAF established that Leyland Trucks sells to the UK and European markets through ‘new DAF’. In 1996 PACCAR acquired DAF and in 1998 Leyland Trucks. The period since 1998 has seen substantial growth in volumes and profit, and significant investment in product, facilities and people. The current award winning Leyland Trucks company produces the full range of DAF Trucks product in support of the company’s markets in the UK and around the world, utilising state of the art manufacturing process and lean methodologies. It has recently undergone major renovation and has also benefited from multi-million-pound investment, keeping it at the cutting edge of technology. Amongst many technological innovations, track -based employees benefit from an electronic work instruction system, providing complex real time build information on each bespoke truck that comes down the production line.
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The site currently operates at a 12 trucks per hour capacity, with 2015 production at 14,500 trucks – 60 per cent of production serving the UK market and the remaining 40 per cent exported. Such significant export capability has led the company in previous years to win the prestigious Queens Award for Enterprise in International Trade. While in the UK, approximately one in three new trucks on the road come from the Leyland Trucks facility. In 2015 Leyland Trucks celebrated the production of the 400,000th commercial vehicle built at the plant. The vehicle, a DAF XF 460 FTP tractor unit, was handed over to customer, Carr’s Flour of Silloth in Cumbria, during a special ceremony. In addition to hosting numerous customer visits, Leyland Trucks regularly welcomes many schools, colleges and universities to the site, with nearly 500 students visiting in 2015. And it has also had its fair share of visits from VIPs, including former Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2009, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and later Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, in 2003. Leyland Trucks also has a long history of developing its people, utilising apprenticeship schemes and encouraging a culture of teamwork and enterprise. Its longstanding commitment to apprenticeships and to the continuous development of employees has resulted in many of its workforce gaining higher level qualifications and moving on to senior positions within the organisation. The company has expanded its range of apprenticeship opportunities and now offers apprenticeships across its assembly operations, maintenance environments, design centre and parts business. Such investment in employees ensures the Leyland Trucks workforce is highly skilled, something highlighted continually in its strapline: Leyland Trucks fosters a collaborative approach with its employees, inspiring people to be involved in all aspects of the business, while also encouraging initiatives that have wider benefit to the community. One such initiative is the Helping Hand charity committee. Since its founding in 1994, employees from many areas of the business have devoted their time to the generation of funds which are distributed to a wide variety of local charities and good causes.
Thanks to Lancashire Evening Post and Leyland Trucks.
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John Balaam Visits The Chipping Steam Fair 2016
Foden engine 'Prospector' The 2016 Chipping Steam Fair was held at the end of May. Chipping village is beautifully situated in the Forest of Bowland and the exquisite setting of the Ground, in the shadow of Parlick Pike and the Bowland Fells, added to the wonderful experience that all show visitors witness. The Show moved to the new location in 2004 which is just as picturesque and just as accessible about three quarters of a mile outside the village on the Green Lane Show Ground, Clitheroe road. http://www.chippingsteamfair.co.uk/
Marshall engine 'Mary Margaret' wood cutting
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Garrett roller 'The Baroness' & Marshall roller 'Jane'
Next Chipping Steam Fair - 2017 - Sat 27th, Sun 28th and Mon 29th May.
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A Train In The Bar ! Ribble Pilot correspondent John Balaam spent an interesting two hours recently in a private railway museum in Castlerea. It is located in Hells Kitchen bar and you make an arrangement with the owner to have a look in at a cost of 5 Euros.
A55's engine compartment converted into the snug.
From the bar you enter the museum by going into the cab of a diesel loco that has been placed on a length of track and made to look as if it has burst through the wall, and then go through the engine compartment that has been converted into the snug and into the other cab. From there you enter the museum.
The Museum is located adjacent to Hells Kitchen Bar in Castlerea, County Roscommon, Ireland. The Museum boasts the Largest Private Collection of Rail Memorabilia in Ireland. The pride of this collection is an A55 Diesel Locomotive fully and lovingly restored. Also on display are bells, lamps, shunting poles, signal equipment, staffs, station boards, etc. Since his childhood days Sean has been a railway enthusiast. His interest began as a youngster when he travelled around with his uncle, the late John Joe Quinn. Having a sister in the Ban Garda meant making trips to Dublin. Sean would gaze out the window at Mullingar, feasting his eyes on the hundreds of steam engines ready for the scrap heap and dreamed one day of owning his own train. His life took another direction and he is now proprietor of Hell's Kitchen public House in Castlerea.
There is a large collection of railway relics that have disappeared from the modern Irish railway scene - signal box diagrams, electric tokens, block instruments, station equipment, tickets, a PWay bike and numerous old photos. PWay bicycle. Castlerea museum
More can be seen on hellskitchenmuseum.com
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Membership Application / Renewal Form *Annual Membership runs 1st January to 31st December Full Name: ............................................................................................................................. Address: .......................................................................................................................................
Town/City: ....................................................................................................................................... Postcode: .......................................................................................................................................
Email: ................................................................................ Tel: .................................................................................... Mobile: .............................................................................. Date of Birth / Age at next birthday ............................... Membership Type: Adult (Annual) - £15 / Adult (3 Years) - £40 Family (2 + 2) - £30 Adult (Life) - £150 / Adult (Senior) - £90 Cheques are payable to "Ribble Steam Railway"
(Cash/Card transactions can be made via the Museum Shop)
Send your completed form together with your cheque and a stamped self addressed envelope to: RSR Membership Secretary, 34 Tag Croft, Ingol, Preston, PR2 7AQ
Gift Aid - The Ribble Steam Railway can use Gift Aid as a tax relief on monies donated. If you are a UK tax payer and are willing for us to use your membership subscription as a gift aid donation, please x here .............
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2016 Membership 2016 RSR Membership is valid until December 2016 - Membership rates have remained the same for the fourth year running.
RIBBLE STEAM RAILWAY LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee) Registered Address - 3 Lincoln Drive, Liverpool, L10 3LJ Company Number-1112880 / Charity Number-507266 Vat Number-703965428
Please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope in all communications. Membership rates for 2016 (Applicable to December 31st 2016) Adults £15 (3 year offer £40) Family £30 (Children under 16 must be accompanied by parent / guardian at all times)
Chairman - David Watkins Company Secretary - Michael Bailey Directors:Michael Bailey, Matthew Burke, Matthew Darbyshire, Wilfred Helliwell, Ken Mahaffey, Dave Manley, Frank Masson, Christopher Mills, Edward Tatham, Alan Vernon, Russell Walker, David Watkins Company Officers including those of Ribble Rail Ltd:-
Adult Life £150 Senior Life £90
Chairman & Finance Director - David Watkins
2016 Quick & Easy Membership
Company Secretary - Michael Bailey
Send your completed form * together with your cheque and a stamped self addressed envelope to:
Membership Secretary / Magazine editor - Chris Mills
RSR Membership Secretary, 34 Tag Croft, Ingol, Preston, PR2 7AQ
Diesel locomotives - Matthew Burke
Operating - Russell Walker, David Billington
Steam locomotives - Russell Walker
Cheques should be made payable to ‘Ribble Steam Railway’
Carriage & Wagon - Alan Vernon Train guards - Matthew Darbyshire
Your new 2016 card will be sent by return within 7 days (or as soon as humanly possible !)
Permanent Way - Edward Tatham Health & Safety - Michael Bailey
All volunteers need to be fully paid up RSR Members.
Staff health & safety representative - Jason Finerty Marketing, Publicity & Advertising - Chris Mills, Ken Philcox
If you're simply wanting to visit the site and enjoy a train ride, your membership also entitles you to half price admission on most operating days, on production of your membership card. On some special events this facility may be restricted. Life members enjoy free admission at all times, except Santa Special Weekends (this latter restriction applies to all classes of membership). Members also receive 3 issues of 'The Ribble Pilot Magazine' per year.
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Shop Sales - Contact Museum Buffet Car - Eunice Mahaffey, Chris Mills Website / Social Media - Matt Burke, Chris Mills Museum - Terri Hearty General Enquiries Email: ribblesteamrailway@gmail.com Phone: (01772) 728800 (Answer phone out of hours)
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Do NOT PRINT
"Enterprise" & "Progress" parked alongside Manxman during a special weekend in the 1980's which celebrated an anniversary of the Royal Mail. Note the TPO coach at the extreme right of the photo brought in by British Rail. (Steven
See “Cover� attachment
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See “Cover” attachment
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RSR Publications © RSR 2016 Ribble Pilot is printed by Ashton Print, 5-7 Plungington Rd, Preston PR1 7EN
Do NOT PRINT