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AN
HISTORIC FIRST (added 11 May 2008)
We were going to title this paragraph ‘EMU flies’, but we thought that we
had already pushed that link too far. All
the same we illustrate here a rather poor image taken from a You-tube clip of
Unit 1198, still in undercoat, and yet to enter public service powering past
Furnace Sidings, non-stop, earlier today. This is the first time an EMU has
operated in Wales in preservation or otherwise, and is also the first time
‘through control’ (that is, an unmanned locomotive controlled from the driving
cab of an unpowered train) has been used in preservation in Wales – it’s not
too common in England either. The
propelling loco was electro-diesel 73 128.
The train started from the yard at 1804 and passed Furnace Sidings at
1811. At 1815 another record was broken
as the train reached Whistle Inn, which at 1304 ft above sea level at the
rails, gave 1198 a clear lead in the altitude stakes. Reference to ‘EMU flies to new heights’ by
the webmaster was resisted on personal safety grounds! It seems very possible that the combination
could become a regular performer on the PBR.
The those registered with
You-tube, the full video clip can seen by clicking HERE
Use you browser’s ‘back’ button
to return here
1-, 2-,
3-CEP (added 7 May 2008)
As reported below the PBR has further reinforced its
green credentials by hosting the arrival of not one, not two, but three EMU
vehicles, in the form of a 3-Cep from the BR Southern Region, painted in
something approaching their ‘as built’ green.
Now safely in Wales following the sudden closure of the Dartmoor Railway
by Ealing Community Transport, the exercise started on 1 May with the arrival
of 61737 as reported blow. On 6 May the centre car of the set, 70753,
was delivered on 6 May, followed by the other motor car 61736 today. Although formally only at Blaenavon for
‘secure storage’ talks are under way to see if there is a chance for it to run
with the railway’s current long-term resident electro-diesel 73 128, using
‘through control’. Preserved EMU
operation (especially with through control) is rare in the UK. It promises to be a unique attraction in
Wales. For more details on this unusual
arrival , click on ‘Rolling stock’ and select ‘EMUs’ – or simply press HERE.
With its
nearside in shadow, and with its far side basking in the sun, relaxing after
its journey, the last car sits tight-coupled to the remainder of unit
1198. Temporarily berthed in Furnace Sidings yard, no.4 road, and
looking, at first sight, a little incongruous against the mountains, it’s
amazing how quickly it ‘settles in’.
THE
EMU HAS LANDED (added 1 May 2008)
Without question, the arrival of the latest vehicle,
a vehicle from an Electric Multiple Unit (EMU), was an historic moment, being
the first time an EMU vehicle has set foot in Wales for preservation. Its arrival stems from an agreement recently
reached with the Electric Multiple Unit Preservation Society (EMUPS) to store
and maintain their Class 3-Cep (TOPS code 411) No.1198 at Furnace Sidings. The first arrival of the train of three (the
other two are expected on Wednesday 7 May), was No.61737. The agreement has been made possible from
PBRs plan to develop its currently unused Down Exchange Sidings for stock
storage. The undergrowth in the sidings
has been cleared in recent months, and a contract to enclose the sidings with a
secure fence was let today with a week or two’s work starting on Monday 12
May. Further work is needed to dig out
old tree roots. With the new fence in
place, existing fence can be removed and a larger secure site will result. In the interim the 3-car set will be housed
within the existing secure site.
Although the unit cannot run on 3rd rail (there are no
electrified heritage railways in the UK), it can be hauled by suitably equipped
diesel locomotives, and it is expected to make an appearance at the Diesel Gala
in late July. Although it is expected to
run only rarely for the first year or two, the possibility of more extensive
operation once Blaenavon (High Level) is reached is being considered. EMUPS
have provided a new page on this website telling the story of EMUPS and
1198, which can be reached via the ‘rolling stock’ page.
.
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Bearing the legendary
headcode ‘4’, EMU car 61737 from 3-Cep 1198 touched down on Welsh soil
without problems at 0950 on 1 May at Furnace Sidings, in bright sunshine and
showers. Headcode 4, seen peeping round te corner of the gangway was once used exclusively for the famous
‘Brighton Belle’, despite the fact that the Ceps were rarely seen on the
Brighton line. Could headcode 4 live again as the ‘Blaenavon Belle’? |
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A view of part of the inside of
1737. The units were refurbished at
Swindon in the late seventies/early eighties, and have given the units an
airy modern appearance that qualifies as ‘heritage’ by only a whisker. Notwirthstanding, we think passengers will
enjoy their airy ambience and the uninterrupted views these units will
provide. |
YET
MORE COMINGS AND GOINGS (added 29 April 2008)
After the flurry of ‘goings’ we are pleased to
report an even larger ‘flurry’ of comings – three wagons, and a loco to
boot. The three wagons were threatened
with scrapping at Gloucester Docks so a quick rescue bid was launched, with the
first one arriving on Friday 25 April and a further two the following day. The first was a buff-painted van with wooden
solebars, lettered as belonging to ROF and numbered ROF30450. It was however registered with the GWR as No.85152,
and built by Charles Roberts of Wakefield.
Even more curious was the second wooden solebar-van, painted in a dark
green, but otherwise featureless. It was
built for ICI to carry salt. It may have
been numbered 2300, but we need to do a bit more digging before we can confirm
this.. It has two Chas Roberts
axleboxes, but in the main it looks like a Gloucester CWCo vehicle. The third was a straightforward BR 12ton
boxvan . After the 16ton mineral wagon,
the bog-standard12-ton van was the most numerous wagon built by BR, with almost
20,000 built. All three will be detailed
in our wagon database in the next few days.
Perhaps more importantly was the arrival of 03 141 from the Swansea Vale
Railway. This is an example of the
classic Class 03 shunter but with a cut down cab to suit the limited height
clearances on the Gwendraeth Valley Line where it worked coal trains from
various small collieries until replaced by cut down Class 08s and withdrawn
(from Landore in 1985. Its preservation
history is complex, but it appears to have been preserved at the Dean Forest
Railway in 2003 before being purchased by its current owner in 2005, who took
it to the ill-fated Swansea Vale Railway.
Loco 03 141 looks a bit vacant, with its cab windows and doors blanked
off, and its paintwork is well overdue for some attention. We are assured that the coupling rods have
come with it, but so far we have not been told of the whereabouts of its
characteristic flower pot chimney.
THE
DMU GALA – WE THINK (added 29 April 2009)
We think we had a Diesel Gala on the weekend of the 19/20
April, though dense fog ensured that we saw little or nothing of it. What we DO know was that there was lots of
hooting from various sources, a whole lotta Thumping going on from our Class
205, DMU headlights peering warily through the fog, and passengers staying away
in droves. A pity really because the
event was operationally perfect with a neatly executed single token exchange
regime which ensured safety and a regular supply of different trains throughout
each day. Apart from performances from ‘Thumper’
Class 205, and Derby 108 DMU, the privately owned Pressed Steel 117 DMU made
its public debut – though even this was marred by some serious loss of
adhesion, whilst slipping up the bank to the Whistle Inn on the greasy rails.
There’s a train there somewhere! On day two of its entry into service, Class
117 DMU waits for the off at Furnace Sidings, ready to carry a few passengers
up to the Whistle Inn. (photo:Alistair Grieve)
EXTENSION
DEVELOPMENT BEGINS – AND IT REALLY HAS THIS TIME! (added 21 April 2008)
Whilst development at Furnace Sidings (Step 1.3) has
been going well since early Summer 2007, supported by donations from our
members and proceeds of the shop, the railway’s REAL ambition – the 1.25mile
(2km) extension southwards to Blaenavon (High Level) (Step 1.2) has finally got
under way. The start was heralded by
receipt by TCBC of a formal letter from HoV programme on 15 April, which allows
expenditure to begin. Although HoV
announced the award internally last October, and to the public in January (see
below), it has taken six months for the award to become a reality. The work divides into four distinct steps:
Step 1.2.1 – Track relaying and
re-positioning of points
Step 1.2.2 – Lineside fencing
Step 1.2.3 – Refurbishment of platform at Blaenavon (High Level), and provision
of small shelter / ticket office
Step 1.2.4 – Repair / renewal of Bridge 13 (Old Pit road bridge), Bridge 14
(New Pit road bridge), Bridge 16 (Low cycleway bridge), Bridge 17 (Doncaster’s
stream), Bridge 19 (Varteg Road bridge)
Step 1.2.5 – Ecological survey
Step 1.2.6.1 – Repair of Bridge 12
(Rail-over-Rail) bridge to permit passage of trains underneath
Although the overall project is
being managed by TCBC, Capita Symonds are handling Steps 1.2.4 and 1.2.5 with
PBR handling the remainder. Confident
that the award would finally materialise, Capita Symonds were instructed to
start work by TCBC, and they have already completed the inspection work and are
now well into the design phase. The
ecological study is also complete. The
project is not without its problems. The
costs of repairing Bridges 13 and 19 are significantly greater than expected,
so that repairs to Bridge 19 have been deferred for the moment. This is not expected to delay public train
services to Blaenavon (High Level) in April 2010. However, PBR volunteers have completed Step
1.2.6.1. In case you wondered, step
1.2.6.2 is the repair of Bridge 12 to permit the passage of trains OVER it, and
has been allocated to another project (don’t worry – it’s all part of a wider
scheme!). Two images of the exercise are
shown below
Left: Step 1.2.6.1 in action! Bridge
12, the unique rail-over-rail bridge was propped by two massive pontoons,
which, in later years have sunk and shrunk and no longer supported the
deck. Amongst other things, removal of
the pontoons was required to provide access to the underside of the deck, for
further assessment. Following a detailed
risk assessment a Safe System of Work was generated, and enacted shortly
after. Here, on 7 October 2007, one of
the pontoons in seen making its way increasingly rapidly to earth! The remains of the first pontoon are already
on the ground.
(photo: Alastair Warrington)
Right: It’s one thing knocking
them down, quite another to get rid of them.
The mortal remains were finally moved by a heavy works train on a cold
and misty day on 20 April. Viewed from
above, well wagon Weltrol B90080, is attached to loco ‘Llanwern’ on its south
side. The wagon is probably loaded close
to its 20 ton limit
(photo: Alistair Grieve)
...
AND THEN THERE WERE TWO (added 19 April
2008)
With the departure of GWR 3855, the ‘Rippingale
Five’ have now been reduced to two, and at present, so far as we know, there
are no further plans for either of them to leave Blaenavon. After 21 years dormant at Furnace sidings,
GWR 3855 really gave the impression that it didn’t want to go. Much oil, hammering and profane language,
together with a tug of war fought out with one of our members’ Scammells,
finally saw 3855 woken from its slumbers.
It finally left on 17 April bound for the East Lancs railway
GWR 3855 does battle with a Scammell Pioneer. Despite appearances it was no one sided
affair, but 3855 finally yielded
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GWR 3855 stands ready for the journey north to the East Lancs Railway,
waiting for clearance to cross the Severn Bridge. It finally left at 3 o’clock, followed an
hour or two later by its tender.
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Space at last! The areas vacated
by the three exiles will allow the Top Shed to be extended northwards by
88ft. The following day the area was
cleared and the old sleepers condemned to the pyre. Rippingale GWR ‘Jumbo’ tank No. 5668 already has its space
booked in the new extension, so that real restoration can start. photo: Andy
Knock
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GWR
2874 LEAVES FOR THE WIZZER (added 4
April 2008)
First it was Monday, then it was Wednesday, and
finally Thursday 3 April, but the privately-owned GWR 28xx class No.2874 was
finally dragged onto the back of Allely’s low loader for the trek off down to
the West Somerset Railway, where, after 21 years in the open at Blaenavon,
serious attempts to restore her to her former glory will be made. The loco is the second of the Rippingale
collection to leave Blaenavon, following ‘Hall’ class No.5967, which left in
late January, and is unusual in retaining inside steam pipes. Negotiations for its sale were protracted with
one or two false dawns, but finally she has gone –and unquestionably to a good
home. There are rumours also that the
Class 38xx will be sold soon, and will
leave Blaenavon, leaving the way open for a much needed 88ft extension to the
Top Shed.
2874 is loaded on, and turned round, waiting for the long journey ahead
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Looking in remarkably good nick after 21 years suffering a diet of
howling gales and horizontal rain, we had rather forgotten just how elegant
these GWR tenders are.
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All lined up for the off, with the support van in pole position, 2874
sits in front of its tender. The
procession was to leave shortly afterwards
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EASTER
BUNNY OUTRAGES DECENT PEOPLE ONCE AGAIN
(added 4 April 2008
How sad we are,
to report that, once again the Easter Bunny has been out and about upsetting
the decent travelling public, by wiggling his ears, squeaking in a threatening
manner and thoroughly embarrassing them.
It didn’t help that he then tried to buy off his victims by offering
them easter eggs. But the kids loved it,
and the annual competition to ‘spot’
Idris the Dragon, Griff the Egg, and Megan the cuddly Bunny from our trains
went without a hitch. Of course, all our
young passengers are very bright indeed, and not one failed to complete the
competition and collect a small prize.
Our resident bean-counters in
their dusty garrets, were cock-a-hoop with our passengers, who, despite the
presence of that rabbit creature, increased their number form 583 over the
Easter Weekend last year to 672 this year – an increase year over year of
22%.
Left:
Oh, alright –
here he is again, making at least one young passenger smile. Guard Barry bravely smiles in the face of
adversity, having tried unsuccessfully to evict a certain rabbit from the
railway.
SILVER JUBILEE
NAMED... (added 22 March 2008)
We formally celebrated our first quarter century of
operations on Saturday 22 March, when, in a bitingly cold northerly wind, the
leader of Torfaen County Borough Council formally unveiled the nameplate Silver Jubilee / Jiwbili Arian on the
side of Class 73 loco 73 128. We say
‘unveiled’ advisedly, since test unveilings simply caused our national flag to
be hurled down the valley in a force seven – not the way to treat Y Ddraig Goch by any means! After an introduction by Traffic Manager Alex
Hinshelwood, the leader, Bob Wellington gave a short speech as the plates were
affixed. He and his civic party
consisting of the Mayor of Blaenavon and his wife, borough and town councillors
and other invited guests boarded the train for the journey up to the Whistle
Inn. On board, the leader cut a large
celebratory cake, whilst tea and smaller cakes were absorbed in profusion.
It all raises the question: where will we be in another twenty five years, and
will we have a main line connection by then?
Right: That’s it then, job done! Leader, Bob Wellington buttons his coat
against the wind, driver Roger Lewis jumps off, under the eye of Traffic
Manager Alex Hinshelwood. On the
leader’s right, Cllr John Marshall, Mayor Lewis Evans, Cllr Neil Lewis, Mrs
Marshall, Mrs Whitcombe, our Chairman Dave Haylins, Cllr Stuart Evans (with the
back of Cllr Brian Whitcombe’s head just visible) and the mayor’s wife Mrs Evans
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PONTYBEREM ARRIVES (added 17 March 2008)
This elderly lady
was built by the Avonside Engine Company in 1900 for work on the Burry
Porth and Gwendraeth Valley Railway. She
was rescued from the BPGV in 1970, and has spent many years at the Great
Western Society in Didcot. Privately
owned, and sporting the number 2, she arrived here quietly, without fuss on
0930 Wednesday 12 March. In fairness her
journey from the Great Western Society HQ at Didcot was not without incident
due to clearance problems around the Didcot triangle, and so Pontyberem
had to have her chimney removed.
And if that wasn’t indignity enough they then had to surgically remove
her cab - in two pieces. Still, the ol’
girl is back in Wales now, and a few weeks in
the Blaenavon sun (!) this summer and she’s sure to have her chimney
back on, and her cab? Well that’s hardly
the most difficult thing in the world, now, is it?
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Oh, the shame of it, no chimney and no cab, No.2 Pontyberem sits on her dedicated piece of track shortly after arrival. |
From the rear see a cab full
of bits – including the offending chimney.
The No.2 is painted on the bunker in true Swindon style, though, on
the tanks, vestiges of No.11 appear |
Don’t worry – the cab is
here too, and here’s the front part.
It’s not clear whether the old cab can be re-constructed, or whether a
new one might suit the loco better |
A LOCO FOR ALL SEASONS (added 11
March 2008)
Following from the successful 6 month season operating electro-diesel 73
133 from June 2006, yesterday saw delivery, in lashing rain and howling winds
of sister loco 73 128, looking very modern in EW&S livery. We are told this IS a heritage livery, since
the current style is simply EWS, not EW&S!
Partisans should not fear, the influx of BR(S) stock does not herald a
takeover though we may have a few more surprises in store.
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Cosying up to its relative from the Southern
Region, Class 73 No.73 128 stands by awaiting the fuelling bowser, and is
coupled and connected to Class 205 ‘Thumper’ 205 018 (or Class 3H, No.1118 in
old money!). |
We’ve brightened this picture of the opposite side
of 73 128, since it was taken under dark scudding cloud in the middle of a
storm. The loco is to be formally
named ‘Silver Jubilee’ on the 22 March to commemorate the railway’s 25th
year of continuous operation. |
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PBR
GETS LISTED (added 11 March 2008)
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BICKMARSH
HALL LEAVES
BLAENAVON (added 28 January 2008)
Following months of
uncertainty and failed deals, GWR ‘Hall’ class loco 5967 ‘Bickmarsh Hall’
finally left the PBR’s yard at Furnace Sidings, Blaenavon today, bound for the
Northampton and Lamport Railway. The
loco, which was privately owned by member Terry Rippingale, has been purchased
by another private owner, who has clear plans to restore the loco to running
order. The five ex-Barry locos that
formed the ‘Rippingale Collection’, came to Blaenavon in 1987 (not 1994 as
reported earlier). It was never intended
that they be restored to working order, but would form a static display. In the event, PBR’s requirement to extend the
‘Top Shed’ 88ft further north led to a request that the collection be reduced
in size in order to provide space. There
are also expressions of interest in two of the remaining four locos, and if
these are sold, only two of the Rippingale locos will remain at Blaenavon. At present it is not clear which locos these
will be but the archetypal valleys loco 6658 seems likely to remain.
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Inch by inch ‘Bickmarsh
Hall’ is hauled up onto the low loader |
Safely on, and in one
piece, after more than twenty years at Blaenavon |
Shackled down, ready, and
eager to go! Perhaps a new chimney and
safety valve bonnet will be in the offing All photos : Andy Knock |
PBR –
THE RAILWAY THAT’S GOING DOWN HILL (added 24 January 2008)
It’s true!
After many years of negotiations, the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG)
has, today, finally announced a £526,000 funding package to support the railway
in its endeavours to extend 1 ¾ miles southwards (and downhill) to the one time
LNWR station at Blaenavon (High Level).
The station, which closed to passengers on 5 May 1941 – 67 years ago! –
will, for the time being serve as the railway’s southern terminus (five minutes
into town on foot – ten minutes back up the hill!), and provide relatively easy
access to the town centre. It will also
provide a unique experience for PBR loco crews – level track. The full press release appears below:
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After
months of uncertainty, volunteers at the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway were
overjoyed to hear news that their local authority, Torfaen County Borough
Council (TCBC) have secured £526,000 from the Heads of the Valleys programme
to underpin a southward expansion from
their current centre of operations at Furnace Sidings 1¼ miles to Blaenavon
High Level station. Currently
passenger operations extend ¾ mile northwards to Whistle Inn, so that the
extended line will have a total length of two miles. The project will be managed by TCBC and
their term contractors Capita Symonds, who will serve as consultants. The cost of the extension is high because
no less than seven bridges along the route need more or less extensive
repairs. Operations will be undertaken by DMUs or DEMUs, until further
investment capital can be raised to finance the construction of a run-round
loop which will permit loco-hauled trains. The
Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway Company has worked closely with other
stakeholders in the World Heritage Site town of Blaenavon over the last five
years or so, particularly with the Tourism and Economic Development sections
of the local authority Said
PBR’s Development Director Dr. John Down, ‘This investment will fund the
first real step in our ambitious plans to develop a comprehensive tourism and
community railway. We very much hope
we will be able to deliver a railway with vitality and a future to our
partners in Torfaen. There are many
agencies and individuals who have helped make this happen, but above all,
we’d like to thank the people of Blaenavon town who have unstintingly
supported us through thick and thin over the last twenty five years’. The
Railway Company has ambitious plans for the future involving substantial
infrastructure improvements, and a short branch to a halt at Big Pit which
will be operated by short ‘Collier’s Trains’.
At present the Railway Company is in early but regular discussions
with members and officers of both TCBC and neighbouring Blaenau Gwent CBC,
together with officers of the Heads of the Valleys programme with a view to
re-opening the railway back to Brynmawr, via Waunafon (which, at 1400ft, is the highest main-line station in the
UK). Although this would extend the
tourist railway by a further 2 .75 miles, the emphasis would be to operate it
as a community railway. Passenger trains to
Blaenavon (High Level) are planned to start from 3 April 2010 – 69 years
after they were withdrawn on 5th May 1941. |
PHIRST PHOTOCHARTER (added 20
January 2008)
The PBR has regularly dipped it’s toe into the idea
of a photocharter, but it was 12 January that a full-blown charter was finally
organised by Company Director and Traffic Manager Alex Hinshelwood in
association with photocharter expert Simon Hopkins, set up a demonstration freight train to desport
itself ‘on and about’ the line. By a
remarkable stroke of good fortune for January in Blaenavon, morning dawned to
an almost cloudless sky, and flecks of snow which had fallen the previous
evening still hung around the trackbed, and festooned the nearby mountain tops.
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Loco 813 pretending to be
816 (see ‘Santa breaks all records’, below), stands at the north end of
Furnace Sidings awaiting the dictates of assembled photographers a little
further up the line |
More masquerades as BR
China Clays bear GW insignia, and the BR GBV proclaims itself ‘LMS’ – not
that it seemed to bother the photographers |
Nearly forty photographers attended the event, which, as a first attempt,
was not widely publicised. However, one
photographer was the redoubtable Geoff Silcock who displayed slides and photos
the previous evening at a well-received talk given in Blaenavon Workmans
Hall. Unlike Geoff, your webmaster has
no pretensions to being able to take anything other than holiday snaps with
missing heads and feet, and thus we can do no better than to direct you to the
work of some of the visitors whose work has subsequently appeared on the
fotopic site. No doubt there will
shortly be others.:
http://paulmartin.fotopic.net/c1442609.html
http://philtpics.fotopic.net/c66338.html
-and our very own ace photter, Alistair Grieve:
http://aligrieve.fotopic.net/c1440362.html
-also young member Aled:
http://37430.fotopic.net/c1442333.html
A HAPPY NEW YEAR IN 2008. (added 3 January
2008)
This year, 2008, sees our Silver Anniversary – 25 years of non-stop passenger
operations. We have an exciting events
programme lying ahead, coupled with an intense development program over the
next few years. Looking back, 2007 was
another memorable year, and, as is usual we publish our passenger figures about
now. They may need marginally tweaking
after our finance wallahs have adjusted them but they will vary by no more than
one or two:
- Summer Season - 5402, 41.0 up on 2006
- Santa Season - 1943, 21.3% up on 2006
- Mince Pie Specials – 53 (new event)
- Overall - 7398, 36.1% up on 2006
