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Barry Island Railway

Latest News: July 2008

July 14th: Apologies for no updates of late. We are currently in the middle of another Thomas event. The Blue Engine will be out running next weekend. 47768 has had the electrical fault identified and should be in service again soon. The repaint and cab refurb also progresses well despite the webmaster dripping paint stripper onto newly painted components..). D9521 is finishing its Summer Tour and is due back from Quainton Road on the 21st July. On the Mid Norfolk Railway alone it ran up 470 miles over 6 weeks. The 2 Freightliner 57's have left, bound for a new life with DRS. The 2 vehicle GatEx rake returns to Barry Shed in their place. With peak season approaching, Saturday will see steam in ooperation and Sunday, diesel services. Steam is supplied by 060ST "Pamela" and the diesel by either a DMU, the 14 or maybe on occasions, the 47. The 47 drinks the fuel however, compared to the 14 that merely sips it. With costs rocketing, this is becoming a serious issue for many railways.

June 7th 2008: Regrettably, 47768 will not now be running on June 8th due to an electrical fault which manifested itself early this morning. The DMU Day has had to be cancelled due to traction and points issues. To say we are disappointed would be an understatement and we apologise to all who were intending to visit.

June 6th 2008: A busy week saw Pamela receive some last minute attention resulting in her passing her steam test. Pamela will now run on Sunday June 8th in conjunction with 47768 and a DMU.

June 1st 2008. D9521 is performing well at the Mid Norfolk Railway. 47768 had had its oil drained in readiness for a new batch due this week. Unfortunately "Pamela" failed her steam test and is currently out of service. The DMU Day on Sat 7th will see a Class 108 combination (BR Blue and Maroon), a 117 unit and a 115 unit in operation. The S&T department completed the installation of the new GF at Woodham Halt a day earlier than planned.

May 20th 2008. A few movements to report; D9521 left today bound for it's Summer Tour to the MNR. The loco will run over the Whitsun Bank Holiday as well as dates in June and July. 47727 left today with its ballast cleaner. Wednesday should see a tamper arrive just for the day. Photos below courtesy of Mike Wilcock.

Our former GM, now the GM at Quainton Road watches a Traction Inspector at work . Left, laying the ramp and right, driving the 14 into place.

With 47727 in the right background, D9521 sits atop the low loader. Safely loaded, the 14 negotiates the junction at Hood road.

47727 and its train on the Sand Road (L) and (R) on the loop at Woodham Halt waiting to depart BIR metals.

The S&T crew are also installing a ground frame at the Cardiff end of Woodham Halt.

Photo left shows the route towards Woodham Halt itself. Photo right shows the route towards Gladstone Brdge. Pics by Mike Fox.

May 6th 2008: After a successful Thomas event, with a hot Bank Holiday thrown in (apart from the deluge for the last hour or so) the loco departed for the Avon Valley railway. If anyone has ever wondered how we move locos from one railway to the other, the following sequence "shows you how".

Enter, Mr Antell and his low loader. The ramp is prepared and the loco readied for transport. The loco is then slowly driven up the ramp.

The watching group are enveloped in steam as it nears the top, (R) almost there! Thomas isn't allowed to travel with his face uncovered so he wears a mask for the journey...

Thanks to Jeff Morgan for the photos.

May 4th 2008: A busy weekend at "88C" as work progresses on 47768. The well known water trap below the cab front (which was hidden by a glassfibre skirt on its entry to service) is a classic rust spot and this loco is no exception. Both ends have succumbed to rust and need replating. It is hoped that the loco will appear at the Transport Festival on June 8th in green primer. If all goes well, it is hoped to finish the two-tone green paintwork in time for it to appear at the Diesel Weekend over August Bank Holiday.

Alex Hogg is seen removing the remains of the rotten metal and welding a custom-made plate in its place.

One of the new plates can be seen (in red oxide) above the coupling. There are two more to fabricate and fit. This also requires the buffer to be removed, not the easiest or lightest of jobs

Alex seems pleased with his efforts and the buffer sits on the floor. Martin Spriggs can be seen in the right background, servicing the 14's compressor.

May 2nd: Taken from a passing Thomas train, some photos of the Colas 47 and the Ballast cleaner. (Not quite sure how a ballast cleaner gets written into a Thomas script.... )

May 2nd: Some photos of the Thomas event are below. This loco is actually "Jessie", a former Cardiff East Moors steelworks loco which ended its days as a climbing frame in Cardiff's Splott Park.

Top left: Thomas runs around at Plymouth Road. Top right: The day's traincrew greet a visitor.

Bottom left: Thomas at Woodham Halt. Bottom right: The Barry Shed Pilot "Salty" stares towards the gate.

(All photos by Jeff Morgan)

April 27th: Please note that to avoid a clash of events with the Llangollen Railway, the DMU Day planned for May 17th has been moved to Sat June 7th.

April 24th: Colas liveried 47727 is on a short visit to the BIR as part of a tamping contract. The loco is seen below in typical Barry weather (!) parked on the Sand Road at Barry Shed.

(All photos by Martin Spriggs)

April 18th: 57003 arrives from Crewe (Basford Hall) for storage at Barry Shed.

(Left) Shows the 57 coming off the mainline connection onto BIR metals. (Right) Shows the BIR pilotman changing ends on the run round loop prior to entering Barry Shed. (Photos by Martin Spriggs)

April 15th: Some photos taken by Jeff Morgan shows the progress being made on 5539 (one of the Barry Ten) at Llangollen Shed.

April 12th and 13th: The Mark 2 coach is now outside, just about finished with some masking tape to be removed. The 47 continues with bodywork repairs.

The opportunity was taken to clear Number 1 road, clean the pit and attend to the pit lighting for some potential visiting traction. John Chivers is seen fitting the last lighting panel and cleaning up his mess. The 117 is seen to the left.

D9521 has been painted and is seen sitting in the sun with Barry Signal box in the background of the RH shot.The loco is soon to go "on tour" to the MNR for 3 months starting in May and finishing in July.

The 14 sits coupled to the 108 set which today had its brakes adjusted.

Salty (the Shed Pilot) is seen heading for the weeldrop shed to shunt Traditional Traction's 08511 which is having cylinder liners replaced. No cars were harmed in the process...

April 7th: Apologies for the lack of updates of late. Some technical issues have now been overcome and we are back in business.

One of the Mark 2 coaches has been in the shops for a repaint. This is it in the preparation stages with Mike Fox showing us how it should be done. The wooden coach on the right of the first shot is the ex-Barry Railway coach on a non-original underframe.

These are some photos of the new Ground Frame hut at Barry Island east GF. The purpose of the structure is to provide some shelter for the Person In Charge when operating the ground frame itself. (Photos by Jeff Morgan)

Easter 2008: Some photos from the Easter Bunny specials are below:

The 117 unit at Barry Island with Easter Bunny.

Bill Caddick at Barry Island and Woodham Halt with Jane Hutt, AM. Photos by Jeff Morgan.

March 12th: The WTT for the DMU Day is now online. Go to the events page to find out more. Click HERE.

March 4th: The "Shunter Day" went very well and some photos are HERE. Thanks to everyone who turned up and made it another succesful event. The photo below shows "Salty" and the van at the new platform on the Sand Road.

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February 28th: LATEST NEWS! The 1100hrs and 1513hrs departures from Barry Island on the Shunter Day event will be running to the NEW terminus at Gladstone Bridge. This marks the first passenger services over the new extension.

February 21st: WTT for the Shunter Day now online. HERE.

February 18th: Photos of activity prior to the Shunter Day on March 1st.

Building the temporary platform for brake van rides and maintenance on the brake van.

The" better-looking" members of the D9521 group working on the Class 14 as the winter overhaul draws to a close. (Yes he really is that dirty.....)

Bill Caddick basks in the winter sun sat Plymouth Road platform.

February 18th: Photos of Traditional Traction's class 08 08511 at its new home, the former Wheel Drop Shed at Barry Depot.

The shed was formerly used for dropping wheelsets from MGR wagons in its period as Barry Wagon Repair Depot.

All photos by Jeff Morgan.

January 20th: 0-6-ST "Ugly" departed this week to start a new life on the Spa Valley Railway. 47768 continues to receive bodywork attention with more primer applied today to the cabsides and bodysides. Oil and fuel filters have been replaced. D9521 is heavily into its Winter Maintenance with attention being given to pipework and cylinder head seals. 57002 is due to be started tomorrow as part of a "care and maintenance" regime. Network Rail currently have a full possession of the Causeway section of the line for inspection and maintenance work on the viaduct. The Taff Vale coach has moved to Plymouth Road shed. "Salty" the shed pilot now boasts new cabside windows.