Sunday 15/2 at East Tanfield

The photos below are courtesy of Geoff Lowe:

Ben loading coal on Stanley's fire, watched by Luke

Sunday 15/2

Stanley heading onto the branch from Marley Hill .....

Thursday 12/2

Geoff setting up his lathe

Wednesday 11/2

Terry flattening a guard for the vertical borer

Tuesday 10/2

Richard breaking up dry firewood, in dry surroundings

Monday 9/2

Eric studying the drawing and.marking out material for 38's lubrication system's brackets

Causey Crossing Cabin

Following on from the blog post of 19 Jan 2025, the photos below, courtesy of Neil Morgan, show the new crossing cabin around the time it was placed in position:

The former van body, only the steel frame of which remains,
being checked at East Tanfield by Steve before transport .....

Sunday 8/2

Dennis filing

Friday 06/02

Earlier this week, Luke checking test prints for the forthcoming display in MH carriage shed
(photo courtesy of David Watchman)

Thursday 5/2

John painting the floor of Andrews House shop

Wednesday 4/2

Julian working on the toilet at Causey Crossing
(photo courtesy of Roger Smith)

John Oliver & Carriage 456

John sanding a frame section of 456

Coal Staiths of the River Tyne - Side

Another excellent film telling a story of working-class industrial Tyneside of the recent past has been released by Side.

A worker on Derwent Staiths in 1973, from the film
(photo copyright Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, Side)

Read about & watch  Coal Staiths of the River Tyne 

Monday 2/2

Eric cutting tubes to length .....

Sunday 1/2

Neil repairing the feed to the lathe which Jim commonly uses

Saturday 31/1

These photos were taken during the TR strategy day at Hopetown today:

Tom remarking on the height of his table's spaghetti tower
compared with that of Peter & Richard
(photo courtesy of Angela Pickering)

Thursday 29/1

Steve taking newly-delivered Matterson jacks .....

Wednesday 18/1

Martin & Alex working on a base for cranks to connect the ground frame to No,13 point at MH,
under Brian's guidance
(photo courtesy of Dave Dixon)

Tuesday 27/1 - a very rainy day

Richard working on both of 49's safety valves

Monday 26/1

The photos below are courtesy of Peter Weightman:

Richard and Jim discussing repairs to safety valve faces

Sunday 25/1

Andy using a dial gauge to check the run out of steel bar from which to turn a smaller pin

Wednesday 21/1

The photos below are courtesy of Dave Dixon:

Alex cutting rawlbolts flush on a frame mounting plate

Tuesday 20/1

Richard lapping in the closure disc of a pop valve from 49

Making Causey Level Crossing Hut

It seems that the NER provided a 2-storey house for the crossing keeper at Causey, possibly when the Tanfield Branch was modernised from 1881.   In 1962, the NCB began moving coal by road from Tanfield collieries, the Causey section of the Tanfield Branch closed, Causey Level Crossing became redundant & in 1965 the house was demolished.   Some years ago members of the Holmes family who lived in the house visited TR & sent photos of their grandparents.   

Mrs Violet Holmes, crossing keeper, outside the keeper's house c1950

The blog post for 2 January 2015 features Causey Crossing & an excellent article researched & written by the late Eric Maxwell.

Sunday 18/1

Neil investigating a drive fault on a lathe

Thursday 15/1

Geoff priming mouldings for 456

Wednesday

Alex & Dave working on fixings for a ground frame

Tuesday 13/1

Richard cleaning a mudhole door from 49

Monday 12/1

Tyneside Metro training centre at South Shields
showing a well-maintained track section.
Photograph from the pre-WWII concrete bridge on
 River Drive over the LNER line to Salmons Quay
(ie the 1830s route to S&TR coal drops).
The bridge, indirectly damaged by bombs, has
now been condemned by Nexus & ST Council.

Sunday 11/1 - Inspection Preparation

Callum directing shunting of locos to facilitate access for cleaning & boiler inspection

Sunniside Station, 1982

Courtesy of Colin Waite, an article from the Stanley News for 15 July 1982 about the new-build Sunniside Station:

Volunteers Bill, Bob, Alan, ?, Andrew, Philip. Eric & me posing

Irwell, 1983

Courtesy of Colin Waite, an article from the Evening Chronicle for 29 March 1983 featuring Irwell:

Two of the owners of Irwell - Graham Redfearn did machining & fitting,
Richard painted & lined the loco

Thursday 8/1

Geoff setting up a job in a lathe

Wednesday 7/1

Geoff painting the new workshop door
(photo courtesy of Barry Duncan)

Tuesday 6/1

Richard removing the temporary plug in one of 49's tubes

Bobby Hunter

Bobby cutting out a section of Horden's old front tubeplate

Sunday 4/1

Logan & Trevor thinking about refitting No.2's connecting rod

Modern Equivalents of Brigs

From the seventeenth into the nineteenth centuries, alongside wooden waggonways, wooden sailing brigs enabled bulk transport of coal from NE pits down the East Coast of England, the North Sea being the motorway of the time.   Currently, the world's largest wind farm (3.6 GW, 6 million homes) is being developed on the Dogger Bank, about 100 miles directly east of the Durham coast.   The output is already being brought by undersea cables to Teesside.   Several specialist ships are needed for construction & maintenance, and NE ports are part of the new industry.

Three new SOVs (service operation vessels) for the Dogger Bank wind farm, tied up at North Shields