July 2016 Update
July was another busy month on the railway, and passenger numbers were up (again) by 6% on July last year, but it is of note that the start of the school holidays brought even greater numbers to Llanuwchllyn, up by a full 12% on last year. On the last day of the month, for example, one train was totally full, with not a single seat vacant, and this necessitated, not for the first time this year, the rapid attachment of a sixth carriage. This ever-increasing trend is most encouraging.
As previously mentioned, the August Bank Holiday Gala will be a four-day event, running from the 26th to 29th. There will be five to six locomotives in steam each day, including double-heading, and movements will consist of two-train running for passengers, as well as freight movements, thus giving photographers multiple opportunities. For the first time, there will also be a mixed working of passenger carriages and freight wagons, which will be quite a spectacle. There will also be a free Routemaster bus shuttling from Bala Station to the town centre. Our website will give details of variations and timing of all trains soon. You can reserve your ticket now for this exciting event by clicking on the ticket icon.
As well as our regular fleet of steam locos, we are delighted to welcome the Hunslet, Velinheli, from the Launceston Steam Railway in Cornwall. As an added bonus, the Statfold Barn Railway has kindly loaned one of their Hunslets, King of the Scarlets, which will be on static display throughout the Gala.
News of the Locomotive Fleet has a deal of variety this month. Leaving aside Holy War, Maid Marian and Alice, which continue to do exactly what they should do, there has been a lot of activity in different areas. George B, which has been undergoing a slow but intricate restoration, reached a milestone during the month when her boiler passed its ‘hydraulic’ test, that is, filling it with water and putting it under pressure to the extent of 240 lbs. per square inch. The boiler has now been refitted on to the frames and the tank has been refitted as well. The next step is to test her steam pressure, which should be a formality. After so many years in pieces, it will be a great day when she (all locos are ‘she’) is in steam again.
Winifred is nearing the end of her re-painting to her original specification, to the extent that her lining, an exacting task only for the steadiest of hands, is now being done. These hand-painted ‘coach-lines’ are blue and red, with the former now completed. Her brass nameplates have been beautifully polished in readiness for re-fitting.
Diana, our recently introduced Kerr Stuart, has been in use a great deal, and has just returned from a most successful trip to the Threlkeld Gala in Cumbria, where she double-headed frequently, a necessity in view of the line’s 1 in 20 gradients. Owner Phil Mason takes up the story under the heading, Diana does Cumbria, an equally steamy tale but quite different from the notorious title half a century ago!
Diana set off for the Threlkeld Gala on Sunday, 24th July. Like a worried father, I phoned on the Monday to ensure she had got there safely, only to be told they hadn’t seen her! It’s fair to say that some colourful language followed, as I couldn’t get hold of the haulage firm or the chap in charge of the event. 24 hours later, I had a call to say she had been resting comfortably in the hauliers’ yard in Stoke before travelling north the following day. Well, at least one of us had been resting comfortably! From what I know, it was her first visit back to Stoke, the town of her birth, since 1917.
The railway at Threlkeld runs up to the stone quarry and can best be described at a roller coaster, with gradients in the 1 in 20's. Now is the time to thank Rob Houghton at Bala for fitting new brake blocks. Diana was filled, steamed and tested without any problems, after which she was put back in the shed for the Friday photo charter. The weather was bright and sunny, as near perfect as can be, and the photographers were out in their droves. Some fantastic video and photos were taken, and many can be seen on the Diana Facebook pagehere. She was posed with skips and flat wagons, with the excavators, as well as with the other visiting locos from Statfold barn and The Mosely Trust, plus Sir Tom, the resident Threlkeld loco.
Saturday being the first day of the Gala, she was paired with Sir Tom, the resident Bagnall, and on dry rails, she did all the work to the top. Slippery rails later were a different story, when she was pushed much of the way! A lot of the day was spent talking to the public and spreading the word about Bala.
On the Sunday, she was paired with the Joffre from The Mosely Trust and ran faultlessly. At the end of the day, she was drained and soon driven on to the low-loader for her return to Bala.
My thanks to all involved in the trip, Ian and Dickon at Threlkeld for the invitation and hospitality, to Rob Houghton at Bala for getting the brake blocks fitted and packing her off at short notice, to Mark Freeman, John Taylor and Paul Hyde for crewing her and making her sparkle. Lastly, thanks to all who came to see her and commented on her, as well as Mike Lynskey who lives for tea-making, and who put a cuppa into your hand within seconds of arriving back at the station.
In conclusion, great fun was had by all, and many learned and heard tales of the Bala Lake Railway, and promised to visit. As for the return down the M6, that is quite a different story!
The Carriage & Wagon department have all but completed their job on the new cladding for the improved water tower at Llanuwchllyn. As the photo shows, the structure is to their usual superb standards.
In the meantime, the re-built carriage has been receiving some extra detailing, including the most attractive beading on the doors.
And finally………. please remember to check the railway’s Special Events 2016 page on the website for all the details and information about train movements and consists for the Gala, as well as The Alice Day on the August 13th, when Pauline Hazlewood, the author of the delightful Alice book series, will be present. TheBLR Facebook Page can also be used for information. Whether you are riding the trains or doing some serious photography, the BLR is renowned for superb scenery and, more importantly, accessible vistas.
Looking far ahead, posters and tickets for the Halloween and Santa Specials are already prepared. We will have more information next month.
On a different topic, visitors might like to spare a thought about some fascinating historical details which would normally, during a fun day out on the railway, pass completely unnoticed.
It was the habit of managers at the Dinorwic Quarry to minimise down-time on locos by the frequent swapping of parts simply to keep everything in working mode. For example, visiting Hunslet, Velinheli, actually has the original tank and boiler from Maid Marian, which, in turn, has the frames from static exhibit, King of the Scarlets. Velinheli was actually the first Hunslet in what became known as the ‘Alice’ class, our own Alice originally wearing the name-plate ‘No. 4’. Likewise, Maid Marian was originally ordered with a domed boiler, as she was initially used on the 2 mile tramway from the quarry to Dinorwic village, a line used not only for the movement of slate but also for transporting slate workers, and which ran higher up the mountainside before the 4 foot gauge lake-side Padarn line was constructed along the edge of Llyn Padarn.
There is history everywhere...