Miniature Railway Progress

    This week has seen the level crossing section being cemented in place on the miniature railway, along with various other jobs being ticked off the to-do list ready for the Grand Opening on Good Friday.

The first batch of concrete being levelled off and cleared from the flangeway by John, Richard and Tom.

Michael preparing the next batch.

The completed crossing section.

The traverser pit ready for the fabricated panel to be trial fitted.

Trying the fabrication out for size and location of the welded rails.

The railway now also has full working points. The levers, from CMD Engineering, were attached via homemade linkages to the blades...

Tom fitting the new threaded bar which will give us the fine adjustments for the throw.

Joining the Two Sides of the Miniature

Both sides of the miniature railway have now been joined up at the crossing!

The recently ballasted section down to the crossing from the main station.

The ex-ash pile area is now a little garden, bringing some green to a once grey spot.

Looking back towards the crossing.

'Kibworth Castle' after completing a test run along the full length of the railway.

Work to 9559's Firebox

On Saturday, Bob, Michael, Aaran and Robert separated and removed the firebox from the boiler. This allows volunteers to inspect the firebox thickness including the weld repair made to the upper portion of the boiler late in its working life. While the firebox is out the engine, the water tubes will be replaced along with the studs around both flanges.

Today, volunteers have removed the studs from the top of the firebox to allow this to be inspected. The next step will be to remove all the studs from the boiler bottom.

The firebox once removed - the top of the box has had 42 studs removed.

The studs comprised of a threaded bar threaded through the firebox with an acorn nut and washer on the ends.

The plate once all studs removed and needle gunned.

More Miniature Railway Construction

The scene at the end of the day on Sunday, with track now laid behind the portacabin all the way from the main station down to the path.

Tom and Joe ballasting.

After cutting a channel in the path, Michael lifts up the tarmac with mini-digger.

Tom using the whacker plate to level out the channel. Michael D has been busy constructing some new fencing in this area as well - seen in the foreground here.

The opportunity was taken to test the carriages around the bends on the completed sections of the railway.

Lambton Van Progress

The Lambton van is inching closer to completion. Top coat is being applied to the North and East sides and dismantling of the other side is now underway.

A Busy Day at the Railway

It's been a busy Saturday at the railway with many volunteers working on several projects around the site.

In the morning, a works train was shunted together ready to tackle some re-sleepering on Percy Main curve.

08915 taking the works train around Rising Sun surve.

At Wallsend Road curve, Michael and Aadil remove the first sleeper.

Joe, Aadil and Ben digging out the next one.

Taking a short break - three new sleepers with a fourth about to follow.

Michael takes the works train down Percy Main bank to collect the spent sleepers.

Meanwhile, back at the museum, Nev has been installing Consett No.10's new batteries...

...assisted by Neil and Paul.

Michael W cutting up path to make way for the miniature railway.

In the workshop, Aaran and Robert have been grafting to remove the firebox from the Sentinel.

The firebox after being lowered into the pit.

Further developments with the Miniature Railway

More sections of 7 1/4" track have been laid within the last week between Engine House Halt and the level crossing - marking the completion of track laying of this section of the Miniature Railway.

The final track panels down on the initial ballast layer ready for joining together.

Looking back towards the level crossing, things have now been levelled and packed.

Looking back towards Engine House Halt. The cleared area behind the sleeper wall of the coal pile was the disposal area for ash, it has been decided to make this space into a small garden area.

LNER Wagon Plates donation

Last year at The North Tyneside Railway Association's Model Railway Weekend a member of the public donated a handful of wagon plates for the NTSRA to sell to raise funds for their numerous projects which are currently ongoing.

With a few already being sold in the Guard's Van Shop during the 2024 and 2025 running seasons, the final pair of LNER wagon plates have recently been restored. The pair joins current stock of Great Western Railway (GWR) and LMS wagon plates in both unrestored and restored condition.

Brake hanger fitting to NCB No.69

George has completed the arduous task of rebushing the brake hanger for NCB No.69.

Here he is seen testing the 'swing' of the right leading 'RL' brake hanger to identify any areas that require precise filing to eliminate rocking.

George then sets up the brake hanger in the Bridgeport milling machine to bore out the out bush that holds the brake block pin.

Completing this, he machines a new bush with an interference fit of 0.001" and a 3/16" lead in that is 0.004" undersize to aid in alignment. (old bush shown for severe oval of pin hole)

New shelving in the Guard's Van Shop

With the 2025 running season now in full swing, and with Christmas behind us, the Guard's Van Shop has received a new addition. To give extra storage space, a shelving unit has been constructed to advertise our expanding stock of NTSRA, 401 (Vulcan) and NCB No.69 branded merchandise.

Previously being freestanding, Cameron has fixed the unit to the walls of the Guard's compartment to prevent the likelihood of the unit falling over whilst the train is in transit.

Repair work begins to Consett No.10's starter motor

A few weeks back, Nev and Paul removed the starter motor from the engine compartment of Consett No.10.

Placed on the work bench, Bob is seen beginning to strip the main housing to enable his inspection of the internal components and give them a deep clean.

New Running Boards for 9559

Due to severe corrosion, the decision has been made to manufacture new rear running board sections. These are almost complete and will be fitted in the near future. The front sections, after some needle gunning, were found to be in good condition. They have been repainted and will be refitted to the locomotive soon.

One of the new rear sections after being marked out.

Robert painting the old front sections.

He then turned his attention to an initial coat on the frames in preparation for fitting.

After two coats of red, Robert applied a first coat of grey.

Whilst another volunteer prepared the front end.

During all the needle gunning, wire wheeling and painting, Cameron has been making some new countersunk bolts with the matching nuts to hold the boards down as the old ones were corroded. Here, he is drilling out some hexagon bar that will be tapped to make a nut.

And later the first countersunk bolt was completed.