Great Central Railway - News and "Stuff"

[Flying Phil]

We have been busy working through the Jobs list and we have made rapid progress with the various welding jobs being done and the vac cylinder being overhauled. Yesterday the Vac cylinder was re-installed, the side door put back in place, new floor sheets welded and the outside finish painted (well nearly all!)

[Flying Phil]

On the GCR website today is the news that work has been authorised to replace the old corroded A60 bridge with a new one at a £1,000,000+ cost. The new bridge is scheduled to be in place by the end of October.

[mcdjl]

Flying Phil said:

On the GCR website today is the news that work has been authorised to replace the old corroded A60 bridge with a new one at a £1,000,000+ cost. The new bridge is scheduled to be in place by the end of October.

http://www.nottinghamheritagerailway.co.uk/news/%C2%A31,000,000-bridge-replacement-gets-the-green-light/

[Flying Phil]

On our latest wagon the screw couplings were seized ( Not surprising as they have been out in the rain un-used for 20 years!). However a lot of heat and a big crowbar has got them working again...

Thanks are due to the Rothley C & W staff for their help.

[Flying Phil]

It was good to see a different sort of crankshaft sitting in Loughborough engine shed on Saturday....


It is the front driving axle for 7027 "Thornbury Castle".
The frames are also being worked on further in the shed.

[Flying Phil]

We have been doing more small jobs on B555696 as it has not yet been moved. One job was to straighten the top corner .

[Flying Phil]

Thanks to our Operating Dept, we now have three more wagons to get back in service.

[Flying Phil]

We have been making good progress with the return to traffic of our latest wagon (B565224). We have been helped by two new volunteers joining our team.

[mcdjl]

Flying Phil said:

We have been making good progress with the return to traffic of our latest wagon (B565224). We have been helped by two new volunteers joining our team.

Are you around today?

[mcdjl]

You need to get the tree or of this one!

[Flying Phil]

mcdjl said:

Are you around today?

Sorry but we were away for a couple of days, Will be working there on Wednesday though.

The "Tree growing" wagon (B273798) at Quorn was one of the first Windcutter wagons to arrive at the GCR in October 1992 from British Coal Onllwyn. It was in poor condition then and so was set to one side whilst others got restored. It did get cosmetically painted in 1997 and 2018 but has not - yet reached Rothley for proper work to be done.

[mcdjl]

Flying Phil said:

Sorry but we were away for a couple of days, Will be working there on Wednesday though.

The "Tree growing" wagon (B273798) at Quorn was one of the first Windcutter wagons to arrive at the GCR in October 1992 from British Coal Onllwyn. It was in poor condition then and so was set to one side whilst others got restored. It did get cosmetically painted in 1997 and 2018 but has not - yet reached Rothley for proper work to be done.

Thanks for the history. There were another two near it that looked similar.
I guess you're allowed some time off, it felt like we were less able to see the engine she'd and other working areas than last time I visited. Still a good day though

[Flying Phil]

Re the Shed visits..
. The Boscastle Shed Tours are on hold at the moment as the GCR are busy refurbishing the engine shed with a new roof and services so there are no visitors allowed until the work is completed.
Sept/Oct will see the A60 bridge being replaced so that the Gypsum traffic can be restarted. This was item7 on the "Gap" project list, but has been brought forward. Fundraising is continuing for items 3 and 4 - the "Factory Flyover" sections.

[Flying Phil]

The GCR has started preparation work on the A 60 bridge replacement. Various container type buildings are being installed on the worksite to the north of the new Midland Main line bridge.

[Flying Phil]

The GCR was targeted by metal thieves early on Saturday morning. Four men in a red Nissan 4x4 were spotted on CCTV. They cut through the fence from the adjacent industrial property, then broke into a container. They stole parts for the restoration of locomotive 34039 Boscastle including a steel curved Expansion Link. The value of parts is between £30,000 to £50,000.......scrap value £100's. There is a substantial reward for the return or information leading to the return of these parts.

Needless to say the restoration team who have spent years working on returning the locomotive to steam are devastated - as are all the people who support the locomotive and GCR.

[Kawasicki]

Flying Phil said:

The GCR was targeted by metal thieves early on Saturday morning. Four men in a red Nissan 4x4 were spotted on CCTV. They cut through the fence from the adjacent industrial property, then broke into a container. They stole parts for the restoration of locomotive 34039 Boscastle including a steel curved Expansion Link. The value of parts is between £30,000 to £50,000.......scrap value £100's. There is a substantial reward for the return or information leading to the return of these parts.

Needless to say the restoration team who have spent years working on returning the locomotive to steam are devastated - as are all the people who support the locomotive and GCR.

Deary me. Sorry to hear that.

[dxg]

Kawasicki said:

Flying Phil said:

The GCR was targeted by metal thieves early on Saturday morning. Four men in a red Nissan 4x4 were spotted on CCTV. They cut through the fence from the adjacent industrial property, then broke into a container. They stole parts for the restoration of locomotive 34039 Boscastle including a steel curved Expansion Link. The value of parts is between £30,000 to £50,000.......scrap value £100's. There is a substantial reward for the return or information leading to the return of these parts.

Needless to say the restoration team who have spent years working on returning the locomotive to steam are devastated - as are all the people who support the locomotive and GCR.

Deary me. Sorry to hear that.

I live locally, and heard about it this morning.

Nothing to do with the Quorn "Horse Fair" of course.

[Flying Phil]

This is the press release about the theft - together with pictures of some of the items stolen:-

[Flying Phil]

There is an update about the missing parts, on the Boscastle website. Over 80 parts have been stolen.

[Flying Phil]

Work has been continuing on the embankment to the South of the A60 bridge.
In fact this is a Network Rail project at present. They are doing work on the Midland Main Line bridge over the brook. This has involved draining the water and diverting it through 4 large pies with pumps.