Laying a cable across the River Esk c1910 - but the 4-wheel carriages behind are of note |
Everyday work, people & events at the World's Oldest Railway 1725
North East England industrial steam railway heritage on a 1920-50 minor railway
Saturday 31 December 2022
Frank Sutcliffe
Frank Sutcliffe was a resident of Whitby who in the late 1800s & early 1900s took a great many photos of Whitby & its people, particularly at work. I came across those below in the book Frank Meadow Sutcliffe: A Second Selection. This & other publications are commonly available, via the internet & in Whitby.
Thursday 29 December 2022
Thursday
Labels:
Building,
Loco,
Maintenance,
Projects,
Workshop
Tuesday 27 December 2022
Saturday 24 December 2022
NPE 2022 Day#12 Christmas Eve
David filling 49's bunker outside Marley Hill shed (photo courtesy of Alex Tyson) |
Merry Xmas Everyone!
Friday 23 December 2022
NPE 2022 Day#11
Outside MH shed, Alex fills Cochrane's tank while raising steam for today's NPE ..... (photo courtesy of Oliver Humphries) |
Thursday 22 December 2022
Thursday
The photos below are courtesy of Peter Weightman:
Brian checking & adjusting the fit of stays to smoke chute diameter ..... |
Tuesday 20 December 2022
NPE 2022 Day#9 - Tuesday by Angela
The photos below were taken on Tuesday 20 December, courtesy of Angela Pickering:
Matthew cleaning Horden, ready for work |
NPE 2022 Day#9
Antony driving Horden on Causey Embankment, heading for the North Pole ..... (photo courtesy of John Turnock) |
Monday 19 December 2022
RS Works Bicentenary
In the continuum of the industrial revolution & the development of railways, we should expect many railway & industrial bicentenary exhibitions over the next few years - more so than tercentenaries & quadricentenaries (we missed the Tanfield route of 1621 around Lobley Hill). Another for our region is Robert Stephenson's works at Forth Street, opened in 1823 as the world's first workshop dedicated to loco production.
Eventbrite link to free RS bicentenary exhibition at the Common Room (Does anyone recognize the loco depicted?) |
Sunday 18 December 2022
Saturday 17 December 2022
NPE 2022 Day#7
The photos below are courtesy of John Turnock:
Horden heading away from East Tanfield with a North Pole Express (NPE) |
Thursday 15 December 2022
Wednesday 14 December 2022
Tuesday 13 December 2022
Monday 12 December 2022
Monday
The photos below are courtesy of Peter Weightman:
Richard lagging Horden's pipework - the temperature in the shed is near freezing |
Sunday 11 December 2022
NPE 2022 Day#6 featuring No.49
Saturday 10 December 2022
NPE 2022 Day#5
David driving Horden heading the North Pole Express on Causey West Incline (photo courtesy of John Turnock) |
It's up!
Christmas tree from Tanfield Railway in our parish church of St Margaret's, Tanfield Village (Tree, decoration & photo thanks to & courtesy of Angela Pickering) |
Friday 9 December 2022
GoFundMe Appeal
Marley Hill Engine Shed in 1954 & 2022 |
I've created a new GoFundMe appeal to help us complete the renovation of the core structure of our 1854 engine shed, the oldest in the world still in use for steam loco stabling and repair. We aim to present the shed as it was in the early 1930s, housing working steam locos while improving public access. We've already done much of the structural work. Now, we have to install smoke chutes to keep the shed cleaner & ensure the roof structure lasts longer; reconstruct the forge because the walls were collapsing & the chimney leaking; rebuild the sand, oil, wood & coal stores; paint the internal walls, etc.
Please help us get the shed into full use by donating - we received large donations towards lime rendering the walls, but smaller donations accumulate & become equally valuable - they funded the new electrical installation, glazing & putty, timber for window cills & lantern louvres, and so on.
Thursday 8 December 2022
Thursday
Labels:
Building,
Loco,
Maintenance,
Preparation,
Projects,
Workshop
Wednesday 7 December 2022
Tuesday 6 December 2022
A Cold Tuesday
Monday 5 December 2022
Sunday 4 December 2022
Saturday 3 December 2022
1990s TR Videos
Dave Dixon noticed a couple of YouTube videos of Tanfield by Nick Tozer:
1990 video - still shows Gamma, FGF, No.16 & MH shed roof in poor condition |
This 18 minute video shows operation between Marley Hill & Sunniside, with Andrews House & Causey under construction. Spot the offloading siding at Bowes Bridge, 3 boards at Terrace Junction, Irwell's shed at the drops, etc
Friday 2 December 2022
Tomorrow's North Pole Express
Last Sunday, driver George on 49 passing Causey car park with an NPE ..... (photo courtesy of Henry Elliott) |
Thursday 1 December 2022
Thursday
Labels:
Building,
Events,
Preparation,
Projects
Wednesday 30 November 2022
Tuesday 29 November 2022
Sunday 27 November 2022
Thursday 24 November 2022
Thursday
Labels:
Building,
Events,
Preparation,
Projects
Wednesday 23 November 2022
A Wet Wednesday
Tuesday 22 November 2022
Monday 21 November 2022
Monday Works
Labels:
Building,
Caretaking,
Loco,
Maintenance,
Projects
Sunday 20 November 2022
Saturday 19 November 2022
Thursday 17 November 2022
A Very Wet Thursday
Labels:
Building,
Caretaking,
Loco,
Maintenance,
Projects,
Signal
Wednesday 16 November 2022
An Uplifting Wednesday
No.2's chassis inside while its boiler is outside, ready to lift from the bogie (photo courtesy of Kelly Walsh) |
Labels:
Building,
Events,
Loco,
Maintenance,
Preparation,
Woodwork
Tuesday 15 November 2022
A Wet Tuesday
Labels:
Building,
Caretaking,
Loco,
Maintenance
Monday 14 November 2022
Sunday 13 November 2022
Sunday
Labels:
CandW,
Events,
Maintenance,
Preparation,
Signal,
Workshop
Thursday 10 November 2022
Thursday Afternoon
Labels:
Events,
Loco,
Maintenance,
Operations,
Preparation,
TV & Film
Thursday Morning
Labels:
Events,
Maintenance,
Operations,
Plant,
Preparation,
TV & Film,
Woodwork,
Workshop
Twizell a Half Century Ago
Twizell being stripped in the early 1970s (photo by Bobby Hunter, via Alex) |
Twizell was at Marley Hill during the 1970s. The photo shows removal of tanks in those early days. Derek Knott is on the bunker & Peter operates the Smith Rodley steam crane (which is now at Beamish). I'm unsure of the others, does anyone know?
Twizell's water tanks were renewed at Beamish. Note the very open aspect. I think the overhead wires in the foreground are shed telephone, in the distant background is the high voltage feed to Marley Hill Colliery
Wednesday 9 November 2022
Tuesday 8 November 2022
Tuesday
Sunday 6 November 2022
Sunday
Labels:
Building,
Events,
Loco,
Maintenance,
Preparation
Saturday 5 November 2022
No Trains Tomorrow
There are no passenger trains scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday 6 November. Volunteers will instead concentrate on North Pole preparation, loco maintenance, tree trimming at Causey, etc. In the meanwhile, here are some photos of last Sunday's trains, courtesy of Henry Elliott:
Cochrane between the foot crossings on Causey West Incline |