Home

Archive News

The Spinney Light Railway Archive News 2022

5th November 2022

Due to the inclement weather cold wet and miserable today has been cancelled. Winter has started. Next time we need to put the signals away.

22nd October 2022

10th September was my last visit so thank you to David G and Cliff for covering the news and keeping it going I for one did read it whilst away so you do have a reader. When I saw the low numbers attending I thought it was going to be a slow news day but far from it as you will see. Nine friends today and were:- Alan A June plus Tim Heather Mick Alan S David MB David D Cliff Peter and Paul with low numbers we wondered if we could run the railway then Mick took control and is now officially known as the default default controller as the default controller was also away. A really enjoyable relaxing and slow day. Pictures here show the mornings work!! Well things must be discussed properly and thought through then just go ahead and do it. Just like the main line we too are suffering with the leaves and you can see how they crush down on the rail head and then produce their slippery sap. Morning work did involve leaf blowing and Peter worked on Old Oak 002 signal. Cliff arrived so we stopped for lunch. Thanks to June for the teas and cakes.

Loco news

Six locos on track today and were:- L94 Scott Line 1420 Karen Kate and Royal Scot. L94 can be seen in the rarely used siding at Spinney I used this opportunity to clear the line and raise steam. Dave MB ran 1420 after some considerable work with the injector water supply. Dave has learnt that there must be no air bubbles otherwise the injector will not work. Dave has been experimenting with tubing and hopefully has now found the answer. Alan ran Karen but unfortunately suffered a derailment on Spinney number 7 points where I derailed last time I was at the Spinney. They changed underneath me.

S & T news

Only three signallers today and were:- Dingly - Peter Baytree - Cliff and Spinney - David D. Old Oak - was left unsupervised and any movements made to this line were made by phoning the Spinney signaller. Movements only to return coaches and locomotives for the loading ramp. David D was placed in Spinney (somewhere he didn't want to go) and at first was quite nervous but shouldn't have been as he did a very good job especially as this signal box has so many unnecessary timers on signals and 7 points failed. David can be seen with Mick and Alan so he also had a full signal box at times. With only five locomotives running today it was a good day for learning new signal boxes and drivers getting a green aspect when they leave the tunnel something that is very rare hence the picture just to prove it does have a green bulb.

As mentioned earlier Peter has replaced a broken IP66 junction box and gave it a new 'S' socket tested without trains and as this signal was not used today testing will have to be next time. Peter has also taken away the buffer stops from Baytree siding to renovate. Alan A and cliff can be seen at Spinney number 7 points which lead to the Old Oak branch. These failed to operate when Alan A wanted to go down to Old Oak to collect a driving truck. Alan S also derailed here so these points have a history.

Visitors

Alan and June had visitors and it was their first time to the railway. We ran coaches and they rode around the railway and also managed a drive but not until late in the day due to the service disruption mentioned above I.e. Spinney point number 7 failure.

Next time

The evening darkness is drawing in and this picture helps to show off the signal lamps working as can be seen at Baytree. All displaying a red aspect for the end of the day.

Next time will be the traditional fish and chips but it has been decided that there is not enough interest in doing the fireworks maybe sparklers for children (young and old) should they wish. Last year was a lot of money and not very good. Lighting the log burner was suggested.

8th October - A Cliff Perry News

David G Robin David D Phil Peter S Mick Andrew (Hayden) David M Jamie (Henry) (juniors in brackets) gathered today to enjoy Alan and June’s hospitality plus as a small extra running their super railway. The weather was perfect for the hobby even if the exhaust steam did make signal observance a bit tricky. As I arrived just 30 mins before lunch there is no news about all the activity in the morning allegedly preparation for running and probably even more chat. Alan had some visitors Les and Sue from Somerset Les being notable as the builder of the 8F the long term resident on the railway currently waiting for its frames to be painted before new boiler fit. Bob and Gill Waterman (Alexander grandson) also enjoyed quite a few trips as the railway ran well. Bob taking time off work on 75069 at Ropley.

With only Kate and Clan Line out for most of the afternoon trains were infrequent but long runs without signal stops were routine. Signallers were Robin in Spinney Peter Sturt in Baytree Phil in Dingly and guess who at Old Oak. With light traffic on several occasions the funny yellow signals were seen to be drooping Robin finding that they work better when actually connected electrically. S6R worked when it felt so inclined. Later on 6109 emerged in steam as a celebration of its change in ownership cementing its place at the Spinney. Recent reliability issues were not in evidence today OO2 signal worked faultlessly and no derailments were reported. There may have been a SPAD but official records do not contain any such occurrence so the suggestion is slightly scurrilous.

Electrician’s tools and a meter on the platform at Baytree suggest some technician has been active - Dave G? Alan? Andrew? Whatever they did it worked. Big plus and broadest smiles came because Dave M put a 1/4” pipe as injector feed and suddenly the injector started to put water into 1420’s boiler at a rate that will surely kill pressure if he so much as blinks in future. He’ll learn but success has come after great perseverance and it will be great to see 1420 on the main line with new plumbing on the riding truck. So once again thanks a million to our hosts for their garden railway tea and company.

24th September - A warm sunny autumn day

The picture tells the story of the weather: a glorious autumn day not too hot but warm in the sun. Sadly positive Covid tests in the family meant that Peter Tim and Heather were not with us. Mick and Alan S were absent due to significant family birthdays.
Team members present were David G (who is to blame for this News) Alan Andrew June and Hayden Ainslie Andy Christie David Daines Jamie and Henry Heath Dave Marsh Dave Mowatt Cliff Perry and Robin and Nick Smith.

Before we started :-
the picture on the left shows work being done on the approach to Old Oak.

The track had become tight to gauge during the hot weather and temporary repairs were carried out; we intend to relay the section in the winter.

Just out of shot to the left of the picture is Old Oak's home signal which also was adjusted. It is still not quite behaving properly and remains on the list for attention.

Visitors
Left above is Jason Turvey driving Eileen Grant at Old Oak and on the right is Hugh Ballantine Dykes with his own loco "George".
Jason is an old friend of our railway; he is a signalling inspector with London Underground and has in the past arranged visits to one or two LU signal cabins.
Hugh is the son of Joseph who built our railway and it was great to see him again.
Eileen as usual behaved impeccably for Jason as did George for Hugh; this performance from George was especially pleasing since the loco has languished unloved and unattended at the back of our shed for several years.
Another visitor Peter Sturt worked Dingly signalbox. Unfortunately no photograph this time but he worked Dingly at the last meeting and Tim photographed him in Dingly then.

Final visitors to mention were a family friends of Alan A and above is a picture of their son driving the electric with Henry and Alan riding behind. The electric ran all afternoon in the hands of the youngsters getting much more use than normal. I believe Alan and Andrew have worked on the loco and brought it back to life; it is certainly what is needed for responsible young drivers.

Top left is Dave M driving 1420 on another substantial run. The injector was under test working by drawing visible water through clear plastic pipes from the tender.
Top right is the familiar Clan Line with Andy driving.
Bottom left is the only picture I have of the 08 shunter which Dave Marsh brought. The picture is of a token exchange at Old Oak.
Finally little "Jessie" out for the first time this year and running well. Guess the mystery driver.

Loco list for the day :-
08 Diesel Clan Line Eileen Grant George 1420 Jessie and the electric which did enough to deserve a mention.

Signalling David D in Old Oak (he owns the box) Visitor Jason then Jamie in Bay Tree (Thank you for trying Jamie you will soon be master of the bells) visitor Peter in Dingly and Robin in Spinney. (Robin gets the picture apologies to the others.)

Summing up : we had great weather locomotives were on form and the signals (mostly) worked. Special mention to the branch point for correctly detecting a stone then working faultlessly afterwards. Thank you Alan S for last time's adjustment.
Tim escaped controller duties this time so perhaps controller next time Tim?

The end of the day.

10th September 2022 Railway as a railway

This has to be the largest news item I have written to date and all because so many people came to the railway and enjoyed themselves. We know they enjoyed themselves because they stayed.... We had approximately 25 visitors planned to visit and mainly from the Retired Railway Officers Society (RROS) and the Wimbourne club which is 5 inch gauge. Cliff is this years president of the RROS and it is his task to provide the yearly day out so not difficult to choose a venue. With so many visitors coaches were pulled out of the carriage shed and widely used hence the title we ran a railway. Whilst the visitors soaked up the atmosphere the friends were frantically trying to overcome one problem after another see rest of the news. We also had two visitors from Cheshire who had been to the Old Kiln railway 40th Anniversary the previous day and wanted to traverse the whole line and manoeuvres which they almost managed. Did not cover platform 1 at Old Oak but did do the reversible section through Spinney. I went to the Old Kiln railway the next day and they came up in conversation there. General site tidy up and some running completed in the morning. Thanks to Alan S for being controller on the busiest day and did very well keeping it together and running and to Alan A and June for allowing so many visitors not forgetting June for the teas cakes and the BBQ afterwards and to David D for information for this news. Fourteen friends today and were:- Alan June Andrew and Hayden plus Tim Heather David D Dave M Dave MB David G Alan S Cliff Andy Robin Nick Phil Jaime and Matthew.

Permanent way

Unfortunately the branch line by the lawn has been problematic recently and today was no exception and unfortunately we had a few derailments at this location. David D has been working on it prior to running trying to re-level and re-pack that section of track as the recent heat wave really did wreak havoc on the formation between the shed and the crossing. After the derailment it was found that the whole length appeared to be ‘tight on gauge’ (thanks Jamie) which is not helpful on a curved section. Alan A and Jamie were able to force in some +1mm sleepers during the afternoon and that seamed to help. Glad to say that it is agreed that we will re-lay that whole section in the ‘winter works programme’. The Dingly turntable needed repair but not sure what was done.

Loco news

Nine locomotives seen out today were L94 Scott Line Brunel Scampy Eileen Clan Line 0-6-0 Bobside 2-4-0 Great Central numbered 169 33029 and 1420 steamed up to test the new injector and Spinney electric made an outing from the loco shed to Dingly. . Nine locomotives on the line is about full capacity but it did mean frequent trains. Scott Line is back in full working order after having new batteries fitted however L94 suffered damage when it went into a slide and the hand brake mechanism broke another repair job. My loco is becoming like Triggers Broom..... 2-4-0 Great Central numbered 169 locomotive visited us from its normal base at Bentley Miniature railway East Sussex and it was good to see it perform well all afternoon.

Visitors

All the pictures above show visitors driving. Scott Line and L94 were used for driver experience the whole afternoon. Heather and I got dizzy going run and round. Cliff thanked Heather for looking after the RROS visitors.

Chris

Richard who sadly passed away recently once owned Brunel and now the locomotive is at the Spinney where it was only fitting for Richard's brother Chris to drive it on the railway. The two pictures show Chris on Brunel and Scott Line. I was lucky to capture Chris on Brunel as that was the only time I saw him on it and I nearly missed that chance.

S & T news

Operating the signal boxes were - Old Oak - David D Baytree - Matt Robin Nick Dingly - Phil with visitors Spinney - Robin Nick and Matt. It was Phil's first time in the Dingly Dell signal box and coped very well considering the bells were not working on the block instruments odd signal and track circuit fault. Think he calls it Dingly Hell now... Alan A says he has traced the fault to a 12v supply problem which he has now fixed. The signal boxes proved popular with the visitors and it wasn't even raining. With nine locomotives on the running line Spinney and Dingly did become extremely busy especially when the branch was closed temporarily for repairs. Old Oak signal number 2 outer home also played up again and refused to show proceed which was awkward for some trains coming down the branch with a full load. This signal has not been reliable for some time but this time it appeared to be worse indeed David doesn't think it came off on its own accord all day. The electrics are fine the indicator shows ‘OFF’ but the signal does not move. Worse still David cannot see the signal from Old Oak signal box. Another winter job.

RROS

Picture shows the Retired Railway Officers Society members standing at Baytree next to Clan Line. Not sure what has happened but they all have a smile on their face.

Cliff has said all have emailed him to pass on their thanks for a very interesting day. One of the RROS visitors was once my managing Director really good to see him again.

13th August 2022 Another hot hot and even hotter day

Another very hot day and provisions made included buckets of water around the site as a fire measure and bottled water in the fridge at Dingly signal box. The attendance list dwindled slightly as some found it too hot to be outside for a long time however those that did manage the afternoon did find some shade and sleepy Old Oak became very popular as it had shade. Fourteen friends today and were:- Alan June Andrew and Hayden plus Tim Heather David D Dave M Dave MB Paul Alan S Mick Cliff Andy Robin Phil Peter and Matthew. Mike H contacted Alan and June to say would not be able to visit this time but when he can we will be pleased to see him again. Another name to return was Geoff B who spent most of his time in Baytree signal box. Apologies from David G something to do with trying to catch Covid. Cliff arrived at 11.00 and confused everyone putting our body clocks out and not knowing when to have lunch which was had whilst locomotives were steaming up for an unbelievable 13.30 start and one that was achieved give or take 5 mins. Mick volunteered to be controller with Robin as the default controller seeing as most technical issues went to Robin even whilst he was having lunch.

Between meetings Alan and June have been working on the railway to aid presentation and the pictures show the new engine shed doors and new concrete edging between Dingly and Baytree whilst the signal boxes have also been painted. Usual morning start with general site tidy up and we were expecting approximately 60 visitors a large group from Alans work colleagues although some declined due to the hot weather. It was good to see the railway back to previous operating levels with plenty of visitors wanting rides. Thanks to Dave MB and Heather for the additional pictures and to June for the teas cakes water and BBQ. Good to see the railway busy again and I blame the heat for not recording everything well that is my excuse.

Locomotive news

Six locomotives seen out today were L94 King Jack Scampy Karen Clan Line and class 20. 1420 and 1470 were steamed and they had a visitor who also has a 14XX class locomotive and discussed how he got his to a running condition. Alan S attempted to steam David G's Royal Scot but had to give up as there was too much to do to it to make it unable and in the sweltering heat made it not viable so Alan steamed his own locomotive - Karen. I have aded two pictures of Scampy as it saved the day for moving passengers with Richard driving and the left hand picture shows long train - short locomotive moving stock down to Old Oak not quite sure of the brake force for the steep decent to Old Oak. Clan Line suffered with a brake problem brakes applied but would not release and caused delays when stuck on the single line. Fault eventually found to be a detached / disintegrated 'O' ring which had dislodged and blocked the exhaust pipe. L94 suffered more damage due to two derailments see S & T news below.

S & T news

We were lucky to have enough to cover all the signal boxes today and were:- Old Oak - David D accompanied by Phil Baytree - Geoff B back to his old haunt Dingly - Peter Spinney - Robin and Matt after tea. With the extreme heat the rails expanded and some insulated block joints failed causing track circuit issues and this was remedied by Andrew using an angle grinder to remove the top of the rail to expose the rubber insert. Another issue we had involved Spinney number 7 points which switch trains to the branch down to Old Oak. Twice the coaches and wagons that I have went a different direction to the booked route as the points changed under the train. On investigation it was found that the limit switch in the point mechanism was on the end of its limit and the weight of the coach caused the rail to move enough to affect this switch and throw the points Andrew to the rescue again with adjustable spanner if only we had a metric spanner set....

Visitors driving

Pictures show L94 Class 20 giving visitors some driving tuition also many other visitors drove King Jack but I did not manage to get any record for the news. All seemed to enjoy what the railway had to offer and have a smile on their face.

Social

As can be seen by the pictures another good social day to add to the railway operations. It is good to see gatherings like this and not just about running trains although that would help.... At tea time I was presented with a 60 cake chocolate (6)and lemon (0) made by Heather and Scott and thanks to all for the card. BBQ turnout with 25 people on the list to stay. Unfortunately due to the hot weather not all could attend but still 16 for the food which is good. Although Mike H was unable to visit he commented that the News is almost as good as being there!! Hope to see you before the end of the year.

30th July 2022 Another hot day

Another hot day The good weather brought more friends to the railway than booked which was a bonus as we thought we would only have two signallers to run four signal boxes. Apologies from Cliff via email but did tell us to have lunch at 13.00. Ten friends today and were:- Alan June Andrew and Hayden plus Tim Heather David D Dave M Dave MB David G Mick Robin Peter and Matthew. Visitors included a Swedish family of five who have been previously and thoroughly enjoyed their time again on the railway following up their delight with an e mail to the railway. Mick invited two visitors who drove Kate and I invited a guest who can be seen in Spinney Signalbox in S&T news. Thanks to June and Alan for allowing these visitors and of course to June for the teas and cakes. June had planned to have another BBQ but unusually no one was able to stay due to other commitments (see below). The pictures show some of the work carried out in the morning Robin replacing broken insulated block joints at Spinney and Robin and David D removing a point blade at Old Oak to file a piece from the tip as it was fouling the rail and causing a problem. All worked well after repair. Other main activity was the cutting back of vegetation as it was creeping up to the rail and would have scraped the locomotives and coaches. With David G as controller what could possibly go wrong.... (Davids fault) luckily we switched the water on early as it turned out to be that the water tank was completely empty and had to be filled using a submersible pump and took several hours.

Locomotive news

Five Locomotives seen out today were L94 King Jack Kate 1420 and Matts unique sit astride petrol locomotive. A first for a long time we actually hauled coaches and passengers which made the locomotives work up the branch gradient. Mick allowed his two guests to drive Kate which was evident by the oil on their faces etc. Dave ran his 1420 around the railway which was a good sight to see after trialling it in the locomotive depot road to Dingly. Success and failure was the outcome as the water pump worked very well but unfortunately the same could not be said of the injectors. Also surprisingly the reverser rod came adrift as two screws had fallen out and Dave was unable to change direction. The joys of owning a locomotive!!!!

S & T news

After a only expecting two signallers we were lucky to have enough to cover all the signal boxes - Old Oak -David D then Peter Baytree - Matt Dave M with David G Dingly - Train person operated before Alan A and David G took over Spinney - Robin and Phil and Matt.

Dingly was uncovered for a short period so the box became Train Person Operated I.e. the driver had to change the points drive in turn and leave etc and arrive at Baytree to resume signalling this worked quite well almost like one loco in steam principle. Dave M operated Baytree under the watchful eye from David G and all appeared to go well whilst Robin mentored visitor Phil at Spinney and later Baytree. Starting at Spinney is enough to put anyone off with all those bells but Phil seemed to enjoy it!!. As mentioned in this and previous news reports we have had closed signal boxes and signal faults which has lead to the driver being asked to pass many signals at danger which can lead to a dangerous culture if things don't appear to work when actually the signalling system is trying to say that there is an operating issue. This applies to drivers and signallers and we must be vigilant and check everything points indicators etc before passing any signal at danger.

And finally

June offered a BBQ but we all had other engagements unfortunately otherwise it would have been a good evening at the Spinney however what had turned into a family BBQ with June. Alan Andrew and Hayden was actually graced by David G. who smelt it and decided to stay after all. Next time is Friends and Families where we should run more passenger trains.

9th July 2022 A very hot day

Extremely hot day possibly the hottest so far and it caused all sorts of problems from expanded rail to everyone feeling too hot to do anything. The bridge is often a good indication as it is made of aluminium and expands sometimes it needs persuasion. The good weather bought nearly everyone to the railway with apologies from Dave MB who was caught up with the real Clan Line excursion. Fourteen friends today and were:- Alan June plus Tim Heather David D Dave M David G Alan S Mick Nick Robin Jaime Henry Andy Paul Peter and Cliff who arrived 10 minutes into our lunch and told us off for starting without him. With so many attending I have included a lot of pictures in order to try and capture everyone. The pictures above show Alan S and minimum requirement of watchers / supervisors looking at Baytree number 14 point which has stopped working and it is thought to be a power supply problem. The right hand picture shows David D and Paul re ballasting a section of the branch line. Heather cleaned the Signalbox windows whilst others pruned back the vegetation which has grown a lot since our last meeting a month ago. Left hand picture shows everyone taking their lunch at Old Oak as it was the coolest place to be in the shade. The default controller Robin was coerced into the role of Controller and managed to keep us all organised. Thanks to June for the teas and cakes.

Alan A spent all the afternoon chasing faults and the pictures show two projects where loose or degraded wires were found and a broken insulating joint which was believed to be causing track circuit problems at Dingly. There is also another broken Insulated block joint at Spinney hopefully next time we will have the parts and the tools to fix it.

Locomotive news

Five locomotives ventured out today and were L94 1105 dock tank Clan Line Kate and Spinney electric. Unfortunately my Scott Line failed on first start up as all four batteries have swollen and self destroyed themselves. My L94 suffered damage as it hit the wooden plinth at the Old Oak foot crossing which became detached and the fire bucked was torn away by close vegetation. All Sunday morning to repair. Nick has recently acquired this 1105 dock tank which previously ran at the late Ted Martins and now no more railway. The original locomotive ran at Swansea docks. I would like to put on record that contrary to popular belief L94 was the first locomotive in steam and running at 14.40.

S & T news

In the emails a request was put out to ask everyone to learn signalling and the above pictures show new recruits Paul at Old Oak and Matt at Baytree. In the signal boxes today were:- Old Oak -David D and Paul Baytree - Matt Dingly - Alan A Alan S and Cliff Spinney - Robin Peter and Matt. With such a good turn out we had plenty of signallers.

And finally

A large number of us also stayed for the BBQ as can be seen in the picture thank you June for the preparation and cooking. It was a pleasant evening good banter and chatting and most of all relaxing.

Next meeting will be 30th July and it has been agreed that David G will share controller duties with Robin on a 90% / 10% ratio not sure who takes the lead.

We ran with some wagons today that are stored in the tunnel perhaps we could extract something from the carriage shed and tow around the railway.

25th June 2022

Unfortunately the decision was made to cancel todays meeting as there were only a few people available and not enough to run any part of the railway. Cliff was to bring a visitor but this will need to be rebooked. Hopefully good weather in July and we get the coaches out.

Your Opportunity for Electronic Immortality

Tim's absence next time provides the chance for YOU to explode into print and demonstrate your literary skills.

You yes YOU can write the News after our next meeting!

If you provide text and pictures then DG will insert your work into THIS VERY PAGE
or if you have software you could create a webpage of YOUR OWN and DG will put a link here in the News.

To volunteer just write a group email saying you will have a go.

Go on. . . . you could do it . . . . you can do it!

11th June 2022

Good weather again and as far as operating the railway it was a very different kind of day not seen before (see S & T news). Twelve friends today so a good turnout and were:- Alan June plus Tim Heather David D Dave M Dave MB David G (all the d's) Alan S nick Jaime Henry Andy and when Cliff arrived we stopped for lunch plus two visitors who bought along unusual motive power. We started with tidying the site although Alan A and Andrew did a lot more cutting and pruning whist we attended to fixing faults and any other job that needed doing. I hope I have captured everyone and thanks to June for the teas and cakes.

Locomotive news

Eight Locomotives seen out today were L94 Scott Line Karen Standard 73115 Charlie 33029 Clan Line and two visiting locomotives (see below). Dave MB steamed his 1420 but did not leave the yard as he had injector problems which he has taken home to clean. It was good to see so many trains pulling coaches and it is the most we have seen trundling around the railway this year.

Visitors

We had two visitors from Barnards and they bought along an identical Cromar White loco and a tram. The tram had a very good detailed controller and seemed to pull the coaches without any issues. Also this is the first time I have seen a 7 1/4 locomotive driven remotely via a bluetooth connection. He said it had a one kilometre range and worked perfectly well in our tunnels. It was interesting to see a train work in the old southern push / pull mode. Maybe someone will do the same with a class 33/1 or 73 and coaches? They also bought along a Cromar White locomotive which was identical to the Spinney one except theirs had more pulling power probably due to the state of the batteries. Apparently only about 10 of these locomotives have survived.

Family

Dave M family joined us today and can be seen in the pictures above.

S & T news

Lefthand picture shows Spinney signal number 18 being repaired after some red ants had turned the electrical connector into their nest which interfered with the signal operation. Hazardous for David G Alan S and Nick as they bite. Spinney point number 7 leading to the branch needed a kick start but then remained in full working order for the rest of the day. Righthand picture shows the almost completed Dingly Signalbox with the walls and roof all cladded and the floor has had a screed laid a lot of hard work on top of the wiring issues.

As I said at the beginning a different day and this was because we did not have enough volunteers to operate the signal boxes. For the majority of the day only Old Oak and Spinney were manned by David D as usual at Old Oak and David G and Nick at Spinney. This meant that when running round drivers had to pass all signals at danger from the level crossing round to the junction up from the branch and therefore drove cautiously. Confusion did set in when the signals controlled by Baytree started to work and then stopped again as the signal box became unmanned again. Also for a long while no one was aware that Dingly Signalbox is back in use after a lot of hard work by Alan A and Andrew. For a brief period David G manned Baytree whilst Nick covered Spinney and some trains did make it to Dingly. Old Oak is busier than before and Spinney was an endurance test to see how long you could signal trains for.

21st May 2022 First running day

Good weather for the first running day and a very good turnout with a lot achieved with with fourteen friends who were:- Alan June plus Tim Heather David D Dave M Dave MB Mick Alan S Robin Peter Paul Jaime Henry Andy and when Cliff arrived we stopped for lunch naturally. Cliff is not too well and we hope he gets better soon and David G said he could not attend (Not sure if he has a note from his Mum or not). Jobs on the agenda were completion of Baytree platform site clearing signal connector replacement Dingly signal box rewiring track ballasting and new hydraulic ram for the unloading ramp. Left hand picture show Dave and Paul clearing the railway at Spinney. Heather cleaned the signal boxes except Dingly. Thanks to June for the teas and cakes and to Dave M and Jamie for some pictures.

Baytree had remaining two slabs cemented into place grouting along the entire length slabs trimmed to give a neat edge and track ballasted and all that needs to be done is the white line along the edge anyone with a steady hand!! A very good effort to get it finished for the first running day however the line was not used.

Mick Alan S and I removed the old hydraulic ram and replaced it with a new one. Some work was required on the lugs to make it fit but we now have a working unloading ramp. The plan is to remove the hydraulic ram when we take in the signals for winter storage.

Loco news

I brought my 9F for testing as I have replaced all the rod bushes. There is a tight spot and when hauled around the railway it was noticeable that on curves the locomotive became a drag. The loco did slightly free up by the end of the day. Last time I showed David D and Robin showing us their exercise routine and today I can show another fitness activity of hauling the 9F up and down through Spinney very tiring. Dave M bought along his recently finished class 08 shunter which seemed to perform very well. Mick's class 20 was also out providing power for a ballast train and hauling the 9F which he did not realise until we arrived at Old Oak that I was attached at the back of his freight train. Dave MB continued to investigate his lubrication problem with his 1420.

S & T news

Peter continued with his efforts to renew and replace signal connectors and fixing brackets and today he did the signals at the end of the Baytree platform at the signal box end. Alan A had spent some considerable time this morning with the Dingly signal box rewiring project. Alan has managed to speak to Bob for a considerable time and hopefully managed a step in the right direction and received some wiring diagrams. Unfortunately Bob has not been well hence why we have not seen him but if he can make it to Spinney we would all like to see him again. Alan changed from wiring and started to clad the interior as can be seen in the picture. As Dingly is not able to accept trains we only ran from Old Oak to Spinney through the tunnel and return to Old Oak. We had a number of signalling issues and by the end of the day we were passing most signals at danger. We need to test the signalling again at Spinney. Alan A found the exact height of one of the signal gantries and needed a plaster OUCH! Some good news is that the smell in Dingly signal box which was thought to be linked to a rodent has been traced to the light shade. It has broken free and the shade was sitting on the light bulb and slowly burning causing a pungent smell.

Next time

Ballast the new siding at Old Oak and test the signalling as we had a few issues today. The next meeting is on the 11th June.

End of Archive News Summer 2022