401 Hauling Trains

08915 shunts 401 onto the coal road.

Jack, Callum, Chad and Aaran cleaning 401's cab. Many hands make light work!

Raising steam.

Trainee guard Tristan topping up the carriages' axle boxes with bearing oil.

Tom and Adam loading 'Loki' for a trip to TSMEE in Exhibition Park for a day of testing and running in.

Tristan checks his train before departure from Percy Main whilst Jack, Aidan, Michael and Matt prepare to carry out some vegetation control.

Ready to depart for Middle Engine Lane.

Aaran driving...

...and Joe firing.

Callum manning the guards' van shop.

Percy Main station looking much tidier after having the grass cut and vegetation cut back.

Waiting for instructions from the guard to shunt the carriages away at the end of the day.

Little and large on shed. Loki is posed in front of 401 after a successful day's running in at TSMEE. It will be running over the model railway weekend on July 27th/28th to promote the NTSRA's miniature railway project.

Painting No.69's Frames

 

Cameron has been busy finishing up the first coat of black gloss on the driver's side No.69's frames, completing the painting around the hornguides and external bolt heads.

Driver's side nearing completion. Some areas have been left for measuring the faces of the horn guides in order to fit the axle boxes.

New Arrival

 401 at the end of service today shunting our new arrival - Sentinel 9559 of 1953 - towards the south headshunt.

9559 worked initially at Portland Cement Works, Rugby, before moving to R. Y. Pickering's Wishaw works near Glasgow in 1968. Entering preservation at Tanfield Railway in 1979, it acted as pilot at Causey Arch station until the line was extended to East Tanfield, and has since spent many years in storage in Marley Hill yard. The Sentinel has been purchased privately by a member of the NTSRA.

Ray Cowley

The NTSRA is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of volunteer Ray Cowley, who passed away last Sunday.

Ray volunteered at the railway for only a short time, but made a huge impact. He spent much of his time in the tea room, where visitors and volunteers alike enjoyed his homemade meat pies. He also spent time in the workshops, getting involved in various engineering tasks. 

Ray's declining health eventually prevented him from continuing with volunteering, however he remained in regular contact with the railway up until his death. Ray was well liked by all at the railway and is missed in both the tea rooms and the workshops.

New Fence

James has been busy progressing the second stage of the woodland walk, recently completing a fence to separate the path from the south headshunt.

This section of the Woodland Walk will form a viewing area to allow visitors to get up close to the wagons stored in the south headshunt, as well as watching the comings and goings from Middle Engine Lane platform.

Re-railing

For tonight's P-way working party, the team have concentrated on re-railing the curve on the approach to Middle Engine Lane platform.

Richard using the rail saw.

Measuring up.

Consett 10 Re-Wire

In the workshop, work has begun to rewire Consett No.10 with the aim of returning this loco to working order...

Middle Engine Lane in Bloom

Middle Engine Lane is looking colourful thanks to the efforts of volunteer Rob Kitching, who has spruced up the planters along the platform.

401 in Steam Today

Steaming up on the coal road.

Coaling up.

A crowd of passengers gathering at the bottom of Percy Main platform to watch 401 run round.

Backing onto the train.

Parked in the north headshunt at Middle Engine Lane over lunch.

Stick Welding on No.69

Over the past week Aaran and Cameron have been turning their hands at stick welding under the tutelage of Michael. First was the two handle brackets. These connect the handrails used for getting into the cab to the cab sides. After inspection it was noted that they had become pitted on both the top and underside. They then moved onto welding up a severely pitted section on the reverser quadrant, which was removed from the frames last month, so this activity could be completed.

Michael prepping one of the handrail brackets ready for welding.

Aaran spurs down his first bead.

The result. Not bad for a first time.

The pitted section of the reverser quadrant was wire wheeled to ensure a clean metal surface was achieved ready for welding.

Cameron filling up the pits with weld.

Aaran completes the section, now ready to be ground back flush.

Aaran grinding back the welds.

Cameron takes over to complete the job.

Work Continues on No.69's Tank

Work has continued on No.69's tank over the past week, with the outside nearing the completion of being primed. Other tasks were completed such as inspection for any holes and bending back square angle bracket which fixes the tank to the front of the cab. All in all, the condition of the metal surprised volunteers as it is in good condition for its age, with hardly any rust and a handful of small holes which won't be too much of a headache to fix.

Cameron measures the lettering and lining before the paint is removed.

Robert begins needle gunning the front face of the tank.

Back of the tank shows quite severe pitting, although only one hole was found in the bottom right corner.

Aaran and Robert move on to the fireman's side and radius.

Cameron needle guns the hole for the dome, whilst Robert continues on the side.

Aaran heats the bent angle bracket for Michael to bend and hammer back square.

The result. A perfectly square bracket ready to connect the tank to the cab when the time comes.

Guards' Van Shop Now Open!

Today, the North Tyneside Steam Railway Association are proud to open the Guards Van Shop, selling a range of railway branded souvenirs.

The shop is situated in the brake compartment of our 1950s heritage train and will be open on arrival at both Middle Engine Lane and Percy Main stations.

Volunteer Cameron manning the shop.

As well as cold drinks and snacks, there's a range of NTSR and NCB No.69 branded clothing on sale.