Martin's Images http://martin188.fotoblog.org.uk/ 12 rows en-gb 60 http://martin188.fotoblog.org.uk/c1794095.html Thursday 1 January 1970:

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]]> Thu Jan 1 1970 Volunteers at Hopetown http://martin188.fotoblog.org.uk/c1764939.html Some photos of the facilities at NELPG's Hopetown Carriage Works and things volunteers are able to do. Tuesday 6 October 2009: Some photos of the facilities at NELPG's Hopetown Carriage Works and things volunteers are able to do.

Bill and Iain putting a jack under the J27's frames. The frames of the J72, waiting for the boiler, are at the other end of the shed. Removing paint and scale with a comressed air driven needle gun. Some of the equipment which can be used by volunteers with the necessary skills. Neal and Terry in a technical discussion, or sharing a joke. One of NELPG's volunteers working on the lathe. Neal examining the metal surface of the frames after die pen crack testing has been done. Darrin working on hornstay bolts. A horn stay bolt is being replaced by reaming out the hole, making a new bolt, machining it to fit then hammering it home. The J27 frames inside Hopetown Carriage Works. This is a listed building. This little corner is used for educational purposes. The workshop is opened for visitors on alternate Saturday mornings and this area is used for the introductions (after a bit of a tidy up!) An educational item, for volunteers as well as visitors, a general arrangement drawing of the J72, at present under overhaul in this shed. Fred and Chris holding another planning meeting under and around the J27 frames. Ignoring the activity by Neil and Ian, or lack of it on Jason's part, this shot shows the length of the shed and just to the other side of the loco, the amenety block that the group built inside it. Our joiners are refurbishing the wooden roof of the J27 cab. Norman, seen here working on some copper pipe, used to be a pattern maker in the nearby Darlington North Road Works (now a Morrissons supermarket. The windows of the building cannot be repaired until all the legalities of the listing are sorted. Meanwhile they are boarded up. At least they keep the undesireables out. Here one of the hornstays can be seen and it looks as though three bolts are OK and one is not. There should be a cylinder block in here. The original was beyond repair and a new one is being cast and machined, at considerable expense. Needless to say the fabrication is being undertaken by contractors but volunteers took the old one out and will put the new one in. The J27 wheelsets. The axles have been ultrasonically tested and are OK. The crankpins need skimming and the tyres need turning. Believe it or not the most suitable place for doing both these operations on one site, is in Northern Ireland at the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland workshops. Our milling machine in use by a qualified volunteer. He is making a set of valve extracting gear, so that we do not have to borrow one. Our Lathe. The work bench, on which the pillar drill stands, was fabricated by one of our volunteers, who is a welder. Brian admiring some of his handiwork with a brush. The parts of a tank loco well out of public gaze. The J72 cab roof in undercoat, waiting final assembly and and the finishing of the paintwork. Racking for parts of a dismantled loco, again made by our welding volunteer. The virtually finished, frames of the J72 waiting for the boiler. Major boiler work meant that it was all done by a contractor. There was a time when NELPG volunteers used to do some boiler work such as replacing odd rivets with patch screws and re-tubing. We are anxious to try and retain those skills but time slips by. The roof of this ex S&D Railway building can be seen. Some general tools on the rack. The moveable, extendable lifting gantry that was rescued from a scrap yard and modified for our use. It was then overhauled and certified. The lower floor of our amenity block is a store for specialist tools and materials. Some of the safety equipment. Our notice board and one of the first aid stations. Communication between volunteers is essential and this notice board is kept upto date.

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]]> Tue Oct 6 2009 Stan Dinshop http://martin188.fotoblog.org.uk/c1610938.html Fletch shows a new lad a thing or two. Thursday 13 November 2008: Fletch shows a new lad a thing or two.

This is one of our finest locos. Looks like a nice boy. Play it cool, play it cool. By he is a big lad Richard. Do you dress to the right or the left sir? Come on then, who's getting the tea? I've no intention of picking up a shovel.

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]]> Thu Nov 13 2008 Todays Photos. Playing with new camera http://martin188.fotoblog.org.uk/c1592509.html Todays Photos. Playing with new camera Thursday 9 October 2008: Todays Photos. Playing with new camera

Duty fitter waiting for the next loco to examine. Keith Pardy, with hat removed. My loco today. Stolen by Gerry Skelton I think Chris Cubitt spotted the camera. This was strange. The position of the sun meant that this should be the shaded side but the light was being reflected from the predominately white building on platform 3 and from the Pullman set (just discernable in the reflection on the tender) This sums up this season. The lamp on 75029.

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]]> Thu Oct 9 2008 K1 Valves Pulled Out http://martin188.fotoblog.org.uk/c1584334.html Wednesday 24th September, the K1 was steamed and run up and down a few yards at Carnforth in full gear to heat the valve chest. Then the valves were pulled out. Wednesday 24 September 2008: Wednesday 24th September, the K1 was steamed and run up and down a few yards at Carnforth in full gear to heat the valve chest. Then the valves were pulled out.

The valve puller in use. The device consists of two semicircular plates which take the place of the valve front cover. In these plates are threaded legs which can be extended by spacing pieces. The outer end has a bridge through which goes the puller, with a nut on the outer end and a socket on the iner end. The slotted end of the valve spindle is held in the socket of the puller by a cotter (in this case a length of strip steel. The force is exerted via a nut on the puller. This view shows the two semicircular plates on the end of the valve chest. All that is needed is for each of the front and back heads to be pulled from its respective valve liner. The rear liner and valve head are of slightly smaller diameter so once free the back head passes through the front liner relatively easily.

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]]> Wed Sep 24 2008 Saturday's Floods http://martin188.fotoblog.org.uk/c1575312.html Some photos taken on Saturday 6th September. Heavy rain had produced flood conditions which, in the end, were less severe than those of last year. Sunday 7 September 2008: Some photos taken on Saturday 6th September. Heavy rain had produced flood conditions which, in the end, were less severe than those of last year.

The old mill race runs between road and the fish farm but swings towards the railway just after Trout Farm crossing. Pickering station car park at around 14-00 on Saturday. The footpath from the car park goes just behind the little green bush. A crap picture taken from the footplate as we passed later in the day, of where the fallen tree slid from. This is just before the high retaining wall which is immediately before bridge 30, going down hill.

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]]> Sun Sep 7 2008 Fort William in August http://martin188.fotoblog.org.uk/c1567707.html A haphazard series of photos taken during a week at Fort William. A week not without its problems! Please bear in mind that these are holiday snaps for the support crew and some photos may seem a bit out of place in the forum context. Monday 25 August 2008: A haphazard series of photos taken during a week at Fort William. A week not without its problems! Please bear in mind that these are holiday snaps for the support crew and some photos may seem a bit out of place in the forum context.

The support crew. Standing, Dominic McCall (Tuggy) seated from L-R me, Matt Earnshaw, Neil Smedley and Steve Hyman. One of the best crew's I've ever worked with. The train at Mallaig about to set back over the replaced point-work. The Jacobite service was terminated at Arisaig for two days because on the Sunday morning one of the sprinter sets at Mallaig had run through this point whilst it was set against. It took two days of overnight activity to locate and fit two sets of switch blades, stretcher bars and locks. A close up of the stretcher bars and lock. This point sets the road for the up and down platforms. The sprinters arrive and depart from the down platform but the steam train arrives in the down, runs round in the loop then pulls out to set back into the up platform. This is necessary to allow the sprinter to arrive before the Jacobite departs for the trip back to Fort William. One of the damaged switches. The damage isn't that easy to see but the white marks indicate the area. A view towards the line to Fort William. The line coming in from the right is the end of the run round loop. Frank Santrian, the WCRC fireman, is at the ground frame on the site of the old signal box. The man leaning over the fence is Stevie, the local radio expert. He has often come to the rescue of the Jacobite when the radio or RETB has failed. He does a lot of work on ship to shore radios for the local fishing community. He can usually be seen sitting on the rock visible at the top right hand corner of the picture as the steam train arrives and departs. In readiness for Lifeboat Day at Mallaig, a couple of the crew came to FW on Friday to pose for the local newspaper photographer. Florence, the guard wanted to be photographed with these 'dishy' men but she was too busy for our pictures. She did make herself available for the official press photo! Neil and Harry walk by in the background. We had forgotten the high intensity headlight so Matt ran the mile and a half to the depot and back. He looks quite relaxed here, but he would sooner have done the trip on his bike. Thanks Matt, you saved the day. The two lifeboatmen done up in their fetish outfits. The chap in the middle is the Launch Secretary. He had borrowed Florence's green flag to 'launch' the Jacobite on its way. Frank was doing his best to immitate the sending up of two maroons but could only manage black smoke and blowing off steam. Harry Scott (Basil Faulty), came for a ride out with us and stayed for a few days. Here he is taking a picture of the climb up Beasdale bank. The bloke on the rock is thinking Beasdale attack. 'Tuggy' (Dominic) on the lifeboat express. On the Saturday we gave the loco a real spit and polish for the Lifeboat Special. It was Lifeboat Day in Mallaig and two lifeboatmen were on the train with collecting boxes. Florence thought they weren't as 'dishy' as Friday's so they didn't warrant a photo! Matt cleaning the previously polished buffer heads. Ready for the off. The support crew on our last (of eight) day. The quality of the picture isn't great. I think the chap who took the picture for us must have a shook the camera. Frank Santrian taking his own picture of the loco. One of the restrictions at Glenfinnan is that the public are not allowed forward from the platform end to take photos. Indeed the support crew are asked to prevent them from doing so. It causes a little friction from time to time so we offer to take the photos for them using their own camera. Steve found it a most useful way of 'test driving' various cameras before he buys himself a new one. The sort of photo denied the public. This rather plain photo shows the remaining The new road in process of construction. The trees cleared from the foreground might present a different photo opportunity in the future. The new bridge under construction. The new road approaches from the bottom left of the picture, the old road can be seen coming down the hill, between the trees in the middle of the picture. Matt, savouring the admiration of an appreciative crowd after a good run. Some of the crowd waiting for the train. The man in the kilt is the local Mayor (or whatever the Scottish equivalent is). The man behind him, with the long hair, is Mo the press photographer. He has sent me a disc of his photos and has allowed me to put them on this site. Once the disc arrives, I'll post them. Frank addressing his admiring public. The young lassie in the kilt is trying to explain to the Far Eastern visitors, how the bagpipes work. Steve, our own electrical, battery and radio expert - even though he wasn't one at the start of the week, in a rather unflattering pose. Neil and Matt enjoying the atmosphere. Matt was looking forward to an exciting night out on Fort William on our last night. I'll let him tell the story. We were treated to a VIP tour of the lifeboat. It is a very modern boat worth £3.5 million and the crews love it. They look forward to bad weather so that they can go out and play with this ultimate toy. It will carry a maximum of 135 people in an emergency but only about 50 inside. Any steam loco support crew member is welcome to contact the coxswain and he will show them round. He said that he and the mechanic are employed by the RNLI but as soon as they get a call out, they become unpaid volunteers. This avoids complications with health and safety issues! For more details see http://www.rnli.org.uk/rnli_near_you/scotland/stations/mallaighighland/history

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]]> Mon Aug 25 2008 Arrivals and Residents http://martin188.fotoblog.org.uk/c1561362.html Newly arrived locos and a couple already here. Thursday 14 August 2008: Newly arrived locos and a couple already here.

What's this backing in on a lorry? The tractor unit - for lorry spotters! Backed into the space created in a crammed p-way yard. Tommo doing the shunt of p-way vehicles to create space for the unloading. Our steed temporarily trapped in the compound. But we still managed to take the 10-00 off Pickering. Unloading ramps being put in place. On terra firma again. The Great Marquess on the wheel drop. Sorry about the digger in the way. One of those black five things that people rave about. Shunted up the Bellwood site out of the way. A real man's engine.

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]]> Thu Aug 14 2008 The Romance of Steam http://martin188.fotoblog.org.uk/c1549220.html The wind was in the wrong direction. Tuesday 22 July 2008: The wind was in the wrong direction.

The glamour and romance of steam diminishes slightly as the day goes on. Disposal of smokebox and ashpan loses its charm at a time when all others are sat in the pub telling tales of the rails. [photo Martin Lloyd, model Pete Greef] What promotion means as an incentive. Driver Pete Greef, on his first day in charge, knows that come the end of the day the other guy, Pete Davis, is going to be doing the ashpan. What's more, he'll look like Pete did in the other photo when it's all done. The real glamour of steam!

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]]> Tue Jul 22 2008 Fort William July 2008 http://martin188.fotoblog.org.uk/c1544954.html One of the best weeks I've ever had at Fort William. Pretty good weather, considering what the rest of the country was enduring, a few challenges, seven days of fantastic running and a superb crew, both WCRC's driver and fireman and our own support crew. the photos are nowt flash, we were too busy but here's the best. Monday 14 July 2008: One of the best weeks I've ever had at Fort William. Pretty good weather, considering what the rest of the country was enduring, a few challenges, seven days of fantastic running and a superb crew, both WCRC's driver and fireman and our own support crew. the photos are nowt flash, we were too busy but here's the best.

Sunday's project - replacing a broken spring. Darrin on the outside, Philip on one of the jacks, Bill and Philip eventually went underneath. (Oh for a pit that we can use). A late night that night. No chance to get out for a meal, fish and chips from town. Jacking up the front end to take the load off the broken spring so that hanger bolts can be loosened and removed. For those who don't know Fort William, the pipes in the background, visible between the buildings, carry water down the mountain side to the hydro electric power station of the aluminium smelter. Alcan probably being the last major employer in the area. Jacking on both sides. As you can probably see, we had only just enough packing material. Now if you are going to break a spring - make a job of it! Even the short leaves still in the buckle were broken. The new and the old. Our West Coast Railway Co fireman was none other than Peter James, from the NYMR. Darrin on the right and me on the left. Unfortunately the photo of the driver, Alec MacDonald was spoiled by camera shake. We were rattling along at the time. Early mornig on the depot, getting ready to leave. We had decent weather all week, not always a sky so blue but further south everyone had deluges. The loco moves off to collect the stock, seen behind. Note cocks open - a topical subject! Queue of potential passengers waiting for last minute cancellation tickets. The train was full every day (seven coaches) and some were turned away to try the next day. School kids, every one with a camera, snapping the piper. This photo looks most uninteresting but represents a full evening's work, replacing both steam heat bags and couplings. Another late night! Ready to leave Glenfinnan, heading for Mallaig. The loco and first coach are already in the section, having obtained the token and permission to proceed, then stopped, to allow the sprinter to leave in the opposite direction. Our train being too long to clear the end of the loop. Topping the last serious climb of the day, up the Mhuidhe, on the return journey. Darrin, who has fired form Mallaig, gets a rub down by Pete. The train has just emerged from two tunnels taken at full regulator and well down the rack. Spine tingling stuff. The support crew:- Peter Maynard, volunteer at Southall and one time volunteer fireman on the Glos. Warks. Railway; Bill Sharp skilled machinist, and long time NELPG volunteer, and a regular at our Hopetown workshop in Darlington; Philip Lewis, NELPG Hopetown volunteer and one time fireman on the West Somerset: me; Darrin Crone, another NELPG Hopetown regular and cleaner (soon to be promoted) on the NYMR. The subject of our affections, pleasures and frustrations. Laid up for a week. Bert Hitchin's black five 45231 is in the background ready for the start of the next week's operation.

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]]> Mon Jul 14 2008 No 29's Inner Firebox http://martin188.fotoblog.org.uk/c1535227.html Collected on the NYMR Shed Lorry, the new inner firebox for little 29. Friday 27 June 2008: Collected on the NYMR Shed Lorry, the new inner firebox for little 29.

The new steel inner firebox Isreal Newton and Son, Bradford, makers. Some detail of the pressed ends View of the fire box crown with the foundation ring laid on the bed of the lorry. What will be the front top end of the box. Firebox tube-plate. No 29 is a 'saturated' loco so there are no large flues to accomodate superheater elements. A bottom side view. Just imagine the hundreds of holes that need to be drilled and tapped for the stays. A job for someone.

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]]> Fri Jun 27 2008 K1 Pony Repair http://martin188.fotoblog.org.uk/c1527266.html After hot box trouble, the K1 was lifted in Fort William yard and the pony axle removed. Axle boxes were overhauled in a northeast workshop and replaced. The loco was back in traffic within the week. Picture by Richard Pearson. Friday 13 June 2008: After hot box trouble, the K1 was lifted in Fort William yard and the pony axle removed. Axle boxes were overhauled in a northeast workshop and replaced. The loco was back in traffic within the week. Picture by Richard Pearson.

Crane, hired from Oban, lifts the K1 in Fort William yard, to remove the pony axle.

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]]> Fri Jun 13 2008