Infrastructure Upgrade 2020 – Exercise Turnout 20
With Covid-19 having essentially prevented the Railway from running any services over the summer we have been working on a number of tasks including completing the refurbishment of Leeming Bar Station House, renovating rolling stock and generally taking stock of where we are and where we need to be.
The Station House is now complete, several items of rolling stock have been refurbished and our attention has now moved to our infrastructure. With over 20 miles of track between Northallerton and Redmire we are one of the longest heritage railways in the country, and we need to keep all of that track in a safe working condition, even if we arent running trains. Recently a complete survey of the entire line was carried out, and it identified some areas that needed attention before they became a threat to the overall operation. These included a long section of track near Harmby, Wensley Station crossing, Swale bridge and a number of lesser sites where rectification would soon be needed. With the Railway closed for Covid it was decided to tackle all of these issues in one major project while we have the opportunity.
The plan is to relay over 500 yards of track at Harmby with flat bottom rail on concrete sleepers. The recovered good rail will the be cascaded to other sites for re-use. The road crossing at Wensley Station will be upgraded to have a compliant deck and the track slewed to permit possible future installation of a passing loop. Smiths User Worked crossing will also be upgraded. The timber baulks on Swale bridge will be replaced with new timbers and the walkways replaced. There are also a number of smaller tasks to remove old sleepers or replace the track bed along the entire route which will also recieve attention.
We are pleased to announce that we are getting assistance in the project by The Army, in the shape of 507 Specialist Team Royal Engineers (STRE). They are an Army Reserve unit that specialises in the repair and construction of railway infrastructure, and are using our infrastructure upgrade as a large training exercice ‘Turnout 20’.
Commencement of tasks on the line have started and we hope to complete all the work in time for Polar Express in November.
Please be aware that the line west of Finghall Lane and east of Leeming Bar are now worksites, with large amounts of heavy plant in use, and are not acessable to anybody who is not involved in the exercise. This includes volunteers, Trust members and even PLC Board directors. The only people permitted already know who they are, so if your havent been told, you should not just turn up…. PRS or no PRS ! There may be opportunities to get involved later, so keep an eye on the website or social media.
As the project progresses we will keep you informed via Social Media and with details on the website, so come back often and see how we are getting on. To help cover the costs of this project we have set up a small appeal, if you can make a donation please do, big or small every donation will help us.
Sleeper Recovery
The first major task of the Infrastructure Upgrade project was to obtain suitable concrete sleepers to be used on the track relay at Harmby. A search for the 'Goldilocks' sleepers was carried out. They needed to be in good condition, not too far away, not too dificult...
AGM 2020
The Chairman and Board of Wensleydale Railway plc intend to hold a remote AGM by Zoom on Monday 28th September at 18:00hrs. https://zoom.us/j/95665384060?pwd=V1p6djNxTHA1QUF1RVY3NG0vWkJxUT09 Meeting ID: 956 6538 4060 Passcode: 114316
Coach Restoration
While most of the focus over the last few months has been on the Leeming Bar station house, a dedicated team have been working away in the Maintenece Shed refurbishing some of our coaching stock ready for Polar Express. Mk2 TSO 5378 has been stripped and a number of...
Work continues on Leeming Bar Station House
Even with the railway closed and our staff off site due to Coronavirus, our building contractor has arranged a safe method of working to allow them to progress the redevelopment of the main building. Work on stripping the building has now been completed, and most of...
Thanks Total !
When things are tough its our friends who can really make a big difference, and we can count on Total UK as a great friend. Total have featured the railway in their corporate news and community awareness section of their web site, following their generous support of...
Tornado Raffle Winners
It is with great pleasure that we can announce the winners of our Tornado Spring Raffle. Although we were restricted to only one weekend running with Tornado due to the impending CV-19 epidemic we still managed to raise an incredible £3665 for the Railway. 1st prize -...
Yorkshire Post Article
The Railway was featured in the Yorkshire Post this weekend, with a article on how we are progressing our projects during lockdown with the help of Heritage Lottery grants. There are some super photographs on a glorious Yorkshire day at Leeming Bar and a video of The...
National Lottery Heritage Fund Award
STOP PRESS….. The National Lottery Heritage Fund have awarded Wensleydale Railway a Heritage Emergency Fund grant of £50,000 to support us and our vital work at the heritage railway during Covid-19. It is only because of The National Lottery players across the...
Wensleydale Camera Club Exhibition
The Wensleydale Camera Club’s first online annual exhibition – the “ANNual EXhibition” – will be hosted in an “AnnEx” to the Club’s website. The exhibition will be launched on 15 May and run to 30 June. The exhibition will feature over a hundred images, all the work...
Another new addition
Some good news for the railway going forward in these uncertain times. A private individual has purchased class 31 no. 31454 for restoration and use on the railway. The locomotive looks much worse than it is and is a member of the sub class that was fitted to provide...
Builders start work on Station House
Even with the railway closed and our staff off site due to Coronavirus, our building contractor has arranged a safe method of working to allow them to progress the redevelopment of the main building. The initial work is concentrated on replaceing the roof to make the...
New Buffers at Leeming
Leeming Bar station house has now been cleared, with the staff moving into 4 temporary portacabins by the goods shed. The scaffolders have started to cocoon the building so that we can get the roof replaced, and once again make the building watertight. While this is...
Covid-19
Unfortunately due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the railway made the dificult descision to suspend all train operations until further notice. We did this to help keep our passengers, staff and volunteer safe and help in the effort to minimise the impact of the CoronaVirus...
Comings and Goings
The weekend of the 22nd and 23rd Feb saw some new arrivals on the line and the departure of an old friend, with a weather incident thrown in. The first service on Saturday 22nd, operated by the 121 Bubble car had a mishap with a fallen tree just after leaving Bedale....
Welcoming a Pacer
Both pacers resting at Leyburn while on Driver TrainingLove them or hate them, the BR Class 142 'Pacer' have been stalwarts of many rural and urban services for over 35 years. With changes to rules regarding disabled access these units are now being phased out on the...
Polar Express 2020
After the sucess of Polar Express, we can confirm that it will be running at the railway again next year. Tickets for 2020 are now on sale and selling fast, so book now to avoid disappointment.
Tornado back for the winter
Steam locomotive 60163 Tornado is back on the railway for its winter break, having a well deserved rest from the main line and some TLC from the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust. It will be at Leeming Bar for January and February, primarily in the shed, but may be seen out...
Work to start on Leeming Bar Station
Work on the renovation of Leeming Bar Station will start later this month. This will start with the roof being replaced to make the entire building waterproof, then continue with its renovation to its condition in the 1920. It will then serve as both office...