The Kent and East Sussex Railway is many things. The finest light railway in preservation is one and home to a fantastic collection of rolling stock another, but I was happy to find that it’s also a place with a great sense of humour! On a recent tour of Rolvenden works, I had the pleasure of…
One of the aims of the Canadian Pacific Project is to find new links to broaden the appeal of heritage railways and it is for this reason that we exhibited at Who Do You Think You Are? Live at the Birmingham NEC. We arrived armed with a short guide to help those researching their family history with…
Our blog post tonight is a teaser of something that will feature later in the month. After being in touch with the Kent and East Sussex Railway, I’m very happy to report that all being well, I’ll be having a tour of the railways extensive facilities in Rolvenden. Of course this will be reported on here at…
Today marks the 75th anniversary of the death of possibly the most famous steam locomotive Chief Mechanical Engineer of the 20th Century, Sir Nigel Gresley. He became Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Northern Railway in 1911 and at the grouping of railways in 1923 CME of the London and North Eastern Railway. After a…
This video from the Heritage Lottery Fund looks at how the National Lottery-funded Mind the Gap scheme has led to eight apprentices working on heritage steam engines for the Watercress Line. This scheme was nominated last year as a finalist in the Best Heritage Project category of the National Lottery Awards. It is reassuring to see…
Tonight we have an update from the Watercress Line’s carriage shop, the first to include Bulleid Coach 4367 that recently been brought to Ropley from Alresford. This is the second carriage in the Canadian Pacific project, that will be followed very closely. Please click on the following link to read more: http://preservation.watercressline.co.uk/blog/entry/chocks-away Please help support the Canadian…
Happy Easter to all of you who follow this blog from the Loco Yard team. We wish you all the very best and hope you have a great day, whether you be working, volunteering, or enjoying some time off.
The latest update of the overhaul of 35005 Canadian Pacific has been published, mainly focusing on the riveting of the buffer beam and frame extensions. It also delves a little deeper into finding out why Hadfields is stamped on CanPac’s driving wheels. To read the full blog post, please click on the following link: http://preservation.watercressline.co.uk/blog/entry/riveting-times-in-eastleigh…
With the withdrawal of 850 Lord Nelson and 34007 Wadebridge due to the expiration of their ten year boiler certificates, the return to service of BR Standard class 4MT 2-6-0 76017 on the Watercress Line is a high priority. Happily, progress is being made, with the boiler (having passed its steam test) being mounted onto the frames…
Today we have a short video showing the manufacture of a component for the brake gear of Merchant Navy class 35005 Canadian Pacific by Alfie Lloyd in the Watercress Line’s machine shop. Please visit http://www.watercressline.co.uk/canpac for more details on the project and click here to donate and help complete the good work. Filmed by Alfie Lloyd,…
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