A brand new loco!

On our way home from the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway Society's members' day at the North Norfolk Railway last month Joy and I popped into Wells-next-the-Sea for a bite to eat by the harbour and half way through my sandwich the sound of a diesel horn drew my attention to this…

Alan Keef Ltd 0-6-0DH THE DUKE approaches the Harbour station on the Wells Harbour Railway, 5/10/14

The Wells Harbour Railway is a 10.25in gauge line linking the harbour (where else?) with the Pinewoods Holiday Park at the seaward end of the line, a distance of roughly 1200 yards.

Although I'd seen the line in operation before I hadn't seen this particular loco and a closer inspection revealed that it had been built this year by Alan Keef Ltd of Ross-on-Wye.

Alan Keef Ltd 0-6-0DH THE DUKE stands at the Harbour station on the Wells Harbour Railway, 5/10/14

Alan Keef Ltd works plate on 10.25in gauge 0-6-0DH THE DUKE on the Wells Harbour Railway, 5/10/14

An 0-6-0DH (diesel engine, hydraulic transmission) 'THE DUKE' is the third loco to be built by Alan Keef Ltd for the WHR (DENSIL b.1998 and HOWARD b.2005 are the others) and is the first that hasn't been made to resemble a steam engine.

Alan Keef Ltd steam outline 0-6-0DH HOWARD (complete with dummy saddle tank and chimney) arrives at the Harbour station on the Wells Harbour Railway, 9/7/10

A unique piece of history at the K&ESR

This unassuming railway van, photographed at Rolvenden station on the Kent & East Sussex Railway in 2009 actually holds a unique place in history.

SE&CR PMV 132 at Rolvenden, K&ESR, 8/9/09

Built at the South Eastern & Chatham Railway's Ashford Works in 1919 No.132 was the prototype Parcels and Miscellaneous Van, the design of which continued to be built by the SE&CR's successor the Southern Railway and also by British Railways as late as 1951 and as a result most, if not all heritage railways are home to at least one preserved example.

But this particular specimen is unique… It carried three bodies from Dover to London after the end of World War One.

The first was Edith Cavell in May 1919. Trained as a nurse, during 1914-15 she helped more than 200 allied Prisoners of War to escape from German-occupied Belgium before she was arrested and subsequently executed. Her body was repatriated and a state funeral was held at Westminster Abbey before her burial at Norwich Cathedral.

The second was Charles Algernon Fryatt, captain of the SS Brussels. In March 1915 his ship was ordered to stop by the German submarine U-33 but Fryatt attempted to ram the U-boat which crash-dived and escaped. In June 1916 Fryatt's ship was captured by the Germans and he was Court Martialled and later executed. His body was repatriated in July 1919.

The third body was that of The Unknown Warrior, his body was carried to London on 10 November 1920, prior to the funeral service at Westminster Abbey the following day.

Since the above photograph was taken the van has been fully restored following an appeal to raise £35,000 and was unveiled on the 90th anniversary of the carriage of the body of The Unknown Warrior.

Furness Railway Memorial, Barrow-in-Furness station

I can't find the right words for this post, the pictures say it all…

World War One Memorial, Barrow-in-Furness station, 10/7/14

World War One Memorial, Barrow-in-Furness station, 10/7/14

Remember, remember, the 5th of November…

With this Wednesday being 'Guy Fawkes Night' I thought I'd post a photo of something I spotted at Llanuwchllyn station on the Bala Lake Railway a couple of months ago.

Gunpowder Wagon at Llanuwchllyn station on the Bala Lake Railway, 15/8/14

This 2ft gauge gunpowder wagon was originally used for transporting explosives around the Oakeley Quarry in Blaenau Ffestiniog when blasting for slate and had arrived from the Llanberis Lake Railway for restoration a few months earlier.

Whilst the metalwork needs some attention, the interior protective wooden panelling (presumably used to prevent the quarrymen's hob-nailed boots from striking sparks) is to be completely replaced by the BLR's Carriage and Wagon Department.

Despite constant disputes over the rates for slate shipment the Oakley Quarry sent slate over the Ffestiniog Railway until the railway closed in August 1946 but also had a connection to the London & North Western Railway exchange yard in Blaenau Ffestiniog and large tonnages of slate were sent out via this connection until the closure of the quarry in 1970.

'Ghost' sign at Chester station

Earlier this year I posted a photo of an old sign at Chester railway station and today's post is another from the same place.

One of my interests (one of many!) is what are known as 'Ghost' signs, typically they tend to be painted onto brick or stone walls and over the years have weathered to varying degrees of illegibility

'Ghost' sign at Chester railway station, 30/6/14

This particular sign is (or was) tucked away at the western end of the station, behind platform two and points the way to the 'Second Class Refreshment Rooms' looking distinctly out of place amongst the modern signs advertising 'Costa Coffee' and 'caféxpress'.

I may be wrong but I got the impression that the station building was undergoing some work at the time of my brief visit back in June so the sign may be no more…

More of my 'ghost' sign photos can be found on Flickr.

A contrast at Blaenau Ffestiniog

Travelling along the North Wales coast back in June I just had time for a quick trip down the branch line from Llandudno Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Arriva Trains Wales liveried 150257 stands at Blaenau Festiniog, 30/6/14

Recently repainted Arriva Trains Wales 150257 was shuttling up an down the branch, taking an hour to cover the 27 mile journey before pausing for 25 minutes to make a connection with Ffestiniog Railway services.

Ffestiniog Railway 0-4-4-0T Double fairlie DAFYDD LLOYD GEORGE/DAVID LLOYD GEORGE arrives at Blaenau Festiniog, 30/6/14

Double Fairlie 0-4-4-0T DAVID LLOYD GEORGE/DAFYDD LLOYD GEORGE arrived with the 13.35 service from Porthmadog and even in its temporary plain grey livery (having only returned to service following overhaul the previous month) still looked fantastic and had no problems handling a heavily loaded ten coach train.

So which is older? The 1ft 11½in gauge, coal-fired steam locomotive working on the world's oldest narrow gauge railway or the shiny diesel multiple unit that covers hundreds of miles every day on the national network?

That's right, 150257 is older, built by British Rail Engineering Limited, York in 1987 whilst DAVID LLOYD GEORGE/DAFYDD LLOYD GEORGE was built at the Ffestiniog Railway's Boston Lodge Works in 1992.

Industrial Action - BTH Bo-BoDE 'Ford No.1'

BTH Bo-BoDE 'Ford No.1 (b.1932) at Rolvenden on the Kent & East Sussex Railway, 8/9/09

This boxy, American-looking locomotive was actually one of three built in Britain for the Ford Motor Company in 1932 for their new car plant at Dagenham in Essex.

The original specification was for a 150hp diesel electric locomotive with a weight of 44 tons and also stated that "all materials will be of British manufacture", something difficult to imagine these days.

The locomotives were fitted with American fixed-pattern buckeye couplers, sanding equipment, automatic bell and air whistles and at the time of building were unique in Britain and attracted considerable interest being regularly seen crossing the former London, Tilbury & Southend Railway mainline that passed between Ford's sidings to the north and the company's jetty on the River Thames to the south.

Built by British Thomson-Houston Co Ltd in Rugby they had bodies and frames made from Sheffield steel by Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd and six-cylinder engines supplied by W.H. Allen, Sons & Co Ltd of Bedford thus fulfilling the 'British manufacture' part of the specification.

BTH Bo-BoDE 'Ford No.1 (b.1932) at Rolvenden on the Kent & East Sussex Railway, 8/9/09

After 34 years of service at Dagenham, Ford No.1 was acquired by the Kent & East Sussex Railway where I photographed it (at Rolvenden) in 2009 and it still sees occasional use at special events.