Front Cover: 752 as 51456 running a public service in August 2020 on the East Lancashire Railway
Back cover: 1474 arrival at Bury. Photo Callum Porter
Steam testing 752 as 51456 with 1474 after repairs. Photo Keith Savory
WHAT IS THE APPEAL FOR?
Unlike many organisations connected with railway preservation, COVID-19 has not had a significant impact on the Trust, the main impact being the loss of income from our sales stall at Oxenhope.
Firstly, our Bogie Brake Third carriage 1474 based at the Worth Valley has been examined for potential more extensive use. It was found that significant repairs to the bogies and body side bearers were necessary. Currently carriages with individual compartments like 1474 are in demand to satisfy COVID-19 social distancing requirements, a situation which may last into 2021. Unfortunately the Worth Valley carriage workshops do not have the facilities to carry out the work, so we have arranged for the work to be carried out commercially by the East Lancashire Railway at their Bury workshops, and the work is now in progress.
Secondly, following very encouraging results of Non Destructive Testing of the boiler of Pug Saddletank 19 the trustees have decided to progress the restoration of the loco to steam under a contract at the East Lancashire Railway. There was a trial steaming of 19 over 50 years ago after which it was decided that it would become a static exhibit, but recent evaluation and testing shows that the overall condition was better than thought.
WHAT WILL BE THE COST?
Bogie Brake 1474 – the expected total repair project is likely to be at least £10,000 plus £4000 for road transport to Bury and back to the Worth Valley.
Pug Saddletank 19 – there are 2 major stages, first boiler repairs, of which the total is expected to be up to £10,000 and the mechanical repairs including replacement of the saddletank and fitting new equipment such as vacuum braking are expected to be between £15,000 and £20,000.
HOW CAN I DONATE?
On the right hand side of each web page you can see that we accept donations via PayPal and Virgin Money Giving, also we accept payments directly into the Trust Bank Account as well by more traditional methods by post. The Trust can also enhance your donation by claiming Gift Aid.
More detail on donating can be found here by viewing our membership/donation form.
Updated 30th April
With the publication of plans for a staged end to the current lockdown, preserved railways have are now restart public services from mid-April onwards, although proposed end dates for lifting of restrictions may well be put back, including the final stage from 21st June.
The Worth Valley restarted services from 17th April, following the pattern used in 2020 of passengers booking in advance to travel in a private compartment booked in advance only, it’s possible that our 6-wheel carriages will be in use on some services, see more details here.
The East Lancashire Railway have now published a timetable to restart operation from 1st May, see more details here.
Our six-wheel carriages were very popular with passengers in the Worth Valley ‘Santa’ services from early December and ‘Mince Pie’ specials over the Christmas and New Year period.
Unknown at the moment is if and when our Saddletank 752 (still posing as BR 51456) will be used on services at the East Lancashire Railway, although it has passed its annual steam test so is available for use on suitable services.
Work on our Bogie Brake 1474 at East Lancashire Railway is still in progress (see other Latest News) and the whole project should be complete and ready for return to the Worth Valley by this summer.
Restoration work on our Pug 19 at East Lancashire Railway also in progress following very encouraging results of the detailed examination of the boiler, so the trustees decided to arrange a contract for restoration to steam.
For the latest information from each railway you can check on the web:
Worth Valley here East Lancashire Railway here
Updated 30th April 2021
Following dismantling at the East Lancashire Railway and Non Destructive Testing of the boiler, the trustees have decided to proceed with a restoration to steam under a contract.
The work involves a reasonable amount of work on the boiler, with many ‘industrial’ fittings applied during 30 years of private industry use needing replacement, and systems such as vacuum braking will need to be fitted.
We ae actively seeking funds to meet the costs, with the boiler work expected to cost up to £10,000 and the mechanical work up to £20,000. Some of these amounts have already been donated and work paid for.
Further details and photos of the work in progress can be seen in our page under OUR COLLECTION for Pug 19 here
Bogie Brake 1474 has been the subject of investigation and repairs to the bogie springing during 2019 and 2020. The main issue was that 1474 rolled quite a bit when in use, probably indicating that there was weakness in the suspension almost certainly due to its age.
This had prevented its use in most service trains, although the Worth Valley agreed that it could be used for a filming contract in 2019 (see news item Filming for NETFLIX) and permission was given for its use and on their initial post-COVID-19 services in August and September 2020.
The bogie suspension consists of primary and secondary (or auxiliary) components. The primary suspension comprises large coil springs located in the central bolster, the secondary being the leaf springs located over each axlebox together with a pair of auxiliary coil springs located at the outer end of each leaf spring.
The coil springs and tie bars on the bogies were replaced by August 2020, which showed a marked improvement, the the Worth Valley Direct of Engineering arranged for the chassis and body to be lifted from the bogies and it was found that further mechanical work was required on the bogies and their mountings connecting to the chassis and body.
After extensive research and investigation, the trustees decided to arrange restoration under a contract with the East Lancashire Railway at Bury, to which the carriage was taken by road in October 2020.
February and March 2021 – extensive restoration and repair (together with parts replacement) is well advanced on one of the bogies, with the wheelsets seeing extensive restoration work for further service as well as replacement of the bolster springs and other components.
January 2021 – removal of parts for assessment has now started, with the brake end bogie removed, so far it has been established that the large bolster springs will need replacement, current work is being concentrated on the wheelsets and detailed examination of the other components making up the bogie.
November 2020 – 1474 is in the East Lancashire Railway workshops and initial evaluation of the work has progressed, but further work has been delayed by requirements for work on their operational carriages to be used in their forthcoming Santa services.
October 2020 has seen 1474 being taken by road to the East Lancashire Railway workshops at Bury to have extensive repairs to the bogies and body mountings following the recent detailed examination at the Worth Valley. Their workshops are not suitable to carry out the work mainly due to the need to keep the body separate from the bogies but for reassembly to take place as necessary at various times during the work.
September 2020 during this month the carriage was used on 5 days of Vintage Services and the riding was definitely improved. However further use of the carriage will not take place until extensive mechanical work has been completed, the trustees are currently establishing the best method of carrying out the work, almost certainly using external contractors.
August 2020 saw the detailed examination completed in Haworth Yard using the Bahamas Locomotive Society (BLS) steam crane, we are extremely grateful to the BLS for the efforts with this exercise. Various findings have been reported which indicate further work is required but the Brake has been approved for the currently planned services.
July 2020 has seen the suspension work completed but the detailed examination of the carriage has been delayed as a result of the lifting gear being located on the wrong side of the bridge replacement work near Ingrow, its relocation will take place shortly after the bridge work is completed in early August.
June 2020 has seen the resumption of work and the arrival of newly manufactured securing tie bolts and their associated fittings, see some photos below. The carriage has been relocated to the Worth Valley’s carriage and wagon workshop for final assembly to take place and for a detailed examination of the carriage involving lifting the body from the chassis, which might not have taken place for over 80 years.
March 2020 saw some springs removed for testing and temporarily replaced with steel tube. Examples of the auxiliary coil and leaf springs can be seen below along with an example of the securing tie bolts. Just before the Coronavirus lockdown, new coil spring manufacture was completed and some fitted, then work had to stop. However it was possible capture some photos as below.
January 2020 it’s been established that the auxiliary coil springs in the secondary suspension have insufficient strength so 16 replacements are now on order thanks to a very good response to a fundraising request, and there is also sufficient funding to cover replacement of the 16 securing tie bars and fittings. Copies of the original L&YR general arrangement drawings of the bogies were obtained in 2019 via the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Society and it’s been found that the full specification for the replacement springs was detailed on the drawings. The material used over 100 years ago is now hard to obtain, so an alternative design has been established and approved by the Worth Valley’s Director of Engineering.
The photos below are supplied by the Trust’s team of of Jim Hindle, David and Daniel Winters as well as Trustee Peter Eastham and the Worth Valley’s Engineering Director, John Reddyhoff.
Click on any image to view large version and as a slideshow and
Sunday August 23rd 2020 saw the first use of our 3 compartment carriages on the Worth Valley’s relaunched public services, the photo shows them in use on trial running with 2 Vintage Carriages Trust carriages at Oxenhope. They will operate on Sundays through to 27th September inclusive as well as 2 Saturdays in September.
After September they will not be in use except for Third Class 6-wheel 1507, and subsequently First Class 6-wheel 279, both of which featured in the services after Xmas and over New Year to satisfy the need for compartment carriages.
January 2021 – after January 3rd, the Worth Valley have decided that the railway will be closed until further notice, hopefully they may reopen for the February half-term holidays but in late January that seems unlikely.
November 2020 – the trustees have now agreed that the Worth Valley can use 1507 in planned services during the Christmas and New Year period, with the possibility that First Class 6-wheel 279 may be used in a ‘premier’ service during the period.
(photo copyright Craig Philip Szlatoszlavek supplied by Worth Valley Railway)
Regular viewers of photos on the site will observe that our carriages are now running the opposite way round – they have been turned on Keighley turntable.
This has been done to help with the carriage of passengers in wheelchairs and people accompanying them, as on our brake carriage the area with double door access is much larger than those of the other carriages, also providing easier access on Oxenhope platform.
Following an issue with the loco rostered for 15th and 16th August, 752 (still running as BR 51456) came to the rescue on East Lancashire Railway public services between Bury and Rawtenstall, the photo from Liam Barnes was taken leaving Irwell Vale. Details of services can be found on their website here.
Also there is a Youtube video from LMS VIDEO’S taken from a drone which covers some of the journey. This can be found here and opens in a new window.
(updated on 2nd February)
CARRIAGES AT THE WORTH VALLEY RAILWAY – from the end of September, the use of our carriages was to be confined to the Third Class six-wheel 1507, which the trustees have agreed that the Worth Valley can use in their Santa services running at weekends from early December through to Christmas.
January 3rd will now be the last day of operation until further notice, hopefully train operation may resume for the February half-term holidays but that is now very unlikely.
In November the use of six-wheel 1507 and the first class six-wheel 279 had been agreed for services in the Christmas and New Year period.
The mechanical condition of the Bogie Brake 1474 is such that it has now been relocated for the winter to the East Lancashire Railway works at Bury for some major repair work for which the Worth Valley workshop facilities are not suitable.
PLEASE NOTE – as and when the third coronavirus lockdown is relaxed or removed the constraints of post-lockdown operation require Worth Valley train services to be subject to advance booking via the Worth Valley website. Accomodation on the trains is booked per compartment in advance, unfortunately there are no concessions for Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Trust or Worth Valley members.
Most services would only pick up passengers at Oxenhope with a return non-stop return trip. Full details of services are available on their website – see here
The Worth Valley used our six-wheel and Brake compartment carriages for Vintage Train services operating on 6 Sundays and 2 Saturdays from 23rd August to 27th September inclusive. Our Brake carriage was approved for use on these services following detailed examination and provided facilities for carriage of wheelchair passengers and people accompanying them. To make our carriages more convenient for boarding at Oxenhope, they have been turned on Keighley turntable and the Brake end now faces south – as it arrived in 1965.
LOCOMOTIVES AT THE EAST LANCASHIRE RAILWAY – Saddletank 752 has been in the ELR workshop receiving attention to the steam leaks on the cylinder glands, this was caused by pitting that developed on the piston rods during the long overhaul, initial testing indicates that the repairs have been a complete success. Steam heating equipment is also being fitted and 752 may be used on some services from December onwards.
During August and September the ELR resumed steam services although last-minute government changes prevented running on 1st/2nd August, then on 15th and 16th August an unexpected loco failure led to our 752 coming to the rescue to run public services – see other news item – and from December 2020 the ELR had planned to run each weekend, but were not given authorisation by the local council, further details on their website – see here
Our other loco at the ELR, Pug 19, is in their workshop under evaluation for restoration and is therefore not on public display, the first stage of the work is now to proceed, this is removal of the boiler and a detailed examination of it to evaluate its condition, which is believed to be better than first believed.
The 6-part series called ‘The English Game’ was released on March 20th 2020 and can be viewed on the NETFLIX TV channel.
Our six-wheel carriages 279 and 1507 together with the Bogie Brake 1474 were used under a contract with NETFLIX.
The series covers events that led to the introduction of professional players into English football in the Victorian era.
Our carriages were used with Coal Tank 1054 during May and July 2019, much of the filming being in Keighley station which was renamed Darwen for the purpose. Although Brake 1474 was not available for public service at the time, the Worth Valley had approved it for use in the filming, for which the brake compartment was modified by the fitting of wooden benches for a team to sit.
The Worth Valley and East Lancashire railways held Steam Gala weekend events on 6th to 8th March, both of which were a success.
The Worth Valley Gala used only our Club Carriage 47 in one of the service trains – for operational reasons our 6-wheelers could not be used.
The East Lancashire Gala featured our loco 752 in the guise of 51456 on its first public service trains. Our Pug 19 has been temporarily relocated from the Ribble Steam Railway at Preston and was on static display in the guise of 51241.
Videos of the Galas can be found on our Video online web page, most of them from YouTube
Photos can be found on or Photos -stock in use web page, most of them from Flickr
