A record 252 visitors joined us on Bank Holiday Monday for our best day yet. The BVLR, thanks mainly to Oliver, Robin and Ian, performed brilliantly and the little Opel ran perfectly all day. Bob turned up with some more
That is Robin in there somewhere as Rosie is about to enter service on Saturday. That is the Opel behind. Ian is the Guard as Oliver takes the driving seat. Bags of the new anthracite coal on the right there.
Humpty Dumpty makes an appearance, thanks to John Barber, as an exhibit on the BVLR ride. Little Miss Muffet is also in the Bluebell Wood. Along with some bluebells! Linda and Keith painting the valance dags on the BVLR station
On a gloriously sunny Easter Saturday we were delighted that 172 visitors joined us at Steamworks. That is Oliver driving the Opel locomotive which ran splendidly all day on its new and much more suitable coal. The BVLR station canopy
The latest picture of the “Blyth” locomotive boiler with ready for its 58 tubes in the Darlington workshop of North Bay Railway Engineering Services. I confess I find it rather emotional watching this machine come back to life. Many thanks
A working Southwold Railway pocket watch just acquired. It is inscribed on the back “J.SMYTHE SOUTHWOLD RY”. That name does not appear in the list of station masters in the new book by Rob Shortland-Ball so I wonder if anyone
To Darlington then. Peter Southgate and I visited the North Bay Engineering workshop in this interesting town yesterday to see the work well under way on the boiler of Blyth, the 2-4-0 Sharp Stewart replica which will operate down at
Signs of early spring at Steamworks. Dennis’s bird feeders have just been refilled. Daffodils not exactly rampant but a touch of colour nevertheless and it is greening up a bit over the site. Oliver and Robin busy in the workshop
Making the most of some lovely weather on the final workdays of the month. At the top, this fine piece of biblical carpentry is not an Ark about to float off onto the Lake but the new platform canopy for
Good sunny workday yesterday and various activities across the site at Blyth Road. Some track has been put down by the platform but not yet fixed. But you get the idea. The mahogany worktop in the station looks great thanks