December 2008
Just some of what's been
happening in the last few months.
Our thanks to everyone who
has sent us pictures - don't be worried if you don't see them here, some
of them have been held in reserve for possible use in the next issue of
our annual publication 'Five
Foot Three'
Return to Traffic
of Coach 1142
In November coach 1142, built in 1921,
returned to main line use after an extensive overhaul.
Picture by G Mooney
We have an extensive collection of
wooden-bodied carriages
which can no longer be used on Northern Ireland Railways. However Iarnród
Éireann permits their use under strict conditions.
1142 has now re-entered our 'Heritage set'
of coaches, joining other beautifully restored vehicles like No.351.
Investing our time in vehicles with such
limited route availability may seem odd - but the RPSI, unlike most of
the world's railtour operators, is not out to make a profit. Using
vehicles like this is not only a means to an end but also an end in itself!
Picture by G Mooney
Charles was the driving force behind
this project and looks justifiably proud with the final result of many
hours' painstaking work.
Charles and his fellow volunteers deserve
hearty congratulations for the paint job alone - you can literally see
your face in those varnished sides!
Picture by G Mooney
Sheer Legs repairs
The 'Sheer legs' - the two large outdoor
cranes at our Whitehead base - are very useful machines. Their main
purpose is to lift carriages off their bogies, but they have many other
uses. Here, brake van 81 is being held by one of the cranes while
new springs are fitted, on 12th July 2007.
Picture by CP Friel
They were also invaluable in June
2007 when No.
186 suffered a hot axlebox due to a lubrication problem. One
of the cranes lifted up the engine's front end, allowing the front axle
to be removed. Repairs were carried out to the axle bearings and
journals. The engine was reassembled just four days later.
Picture by E Friel
Imagine, then, our dismay when one
morning in March, after a night of heavy winds, the Whitehead workers arrived
to find this scene greeting them!
Picture by CP Friel
The accident had its advantages -
they were due to be painted anyway! After being dismantled, repaired
and painted, the cranes were re-erected on Saturday 22nd November 2008
by a hired road crane.
Picture by A Ragg
The winch assemblies were then lifted
back into position. The electrical squad sprang into action and had
the cranes wired up again by the end of the day.
Picture by A Ragg
They're not quite Harland and Wolff's
famous 'Samson' and 'Goliath', but they will do anything we could reasonably
ask of them, and it is a relief to know they will shortly be back in action.
The cranes have been fitted with a new
design of safety clamp which will prevent any repeat of the accident.
Picture by E Friel
A Whitehead Shunt
Our engines are in steam more
often than you might realise! The little Guinness
engine is often used at weekends to shunt the yard at Whitehead, as
was the case on November 29th. Here the engine is being coaled up
by pouring wheelbarrows into the bunker inside the cab.
Picture by CP Friel
With the Santa trains season
about to begin, it was important to arrange the Mark 2 carriages so that
they could easily be assembled in the early morning shunt before each train.
They were first all brought to the platform where...
Picture by CP Friel
...they were decorated appropriately!
Picture by CP Friel
The shunt also involved moving
No.
171 Slieve Gullion. 171 is highly popular with enthusiasts but
has been out of use for several years. Disused steam engines must
be moved every few months to prevent the weight of the engine from squeezing
the oil out from between the wheel bearing and journal.
This was particularly exciting for some
of our youthful members who have rarely seen this handsome engine out in
the daylight.
Picture by E Friel
However, the nights are certainly
drawing in and when the time came to put 171 away again darkness had already
fallen.
186 is just visible in the background,
no doubt somewhat disgruntled since she is being left outside for a whole
week until the next train. Ideally she would have been brought outside
the day before the train but it is very difficult to get a driver for the
Carlow
diesel on a weekday.
Video by A Lohoff
186's misfortune was the Guinness
engine's gain! The little industrial engine usually has to sleep
outside, but on this night she took over the empty space in the shed.
Picture by CP Friel
The Santa Season
begins
At 2:30 AM on Saturday 6th December
the 2008 Santa Steam season got underway with the lighting of No. 186's
fire. A few hours later, just before dawn, the carriages were shunted
to the platform before the train departed towards Belfast along the sun-soaked
coastline.
The sheer legs are also a good vantage
point for photography - is there anything they can't do?
Video by E Friel
Threading her way among the concrete
and steel of the modern world, with her destination hidden in the mists
of the distance, No.186 reminds us of another age. 186 turns 130
years old next year; she is the oldest main line engine in Europe - and
as good as she ever was.
Picture by CP Friel
186 leaving Central Station
tender-first. The sound of the diesel engine is coming from generator
van 462, which provides electricity to the rest of the coaches but does
not propel the train in any way - although a few of our passengers have
accused us of having the engine pushed along by a disguised diesel locomotive!
Video by E Friel
186 is apparently only as old as she
feels! The engine made a respectable time despite an unusually heavy
load of seven vehicles behind her.
Picture by CP Friel
As the countryside rolled by outside,
Santa and his helpers were kept busy giving out presents to all the children
on the train.
Picture by CP Friel
Tender-first crossing the Bann as
the train approaches Portadown.
Picture by CP Friel
186 poses briefly on the bridge while
running round her train at Portadown. This picture is from the other
side of the bridge to the previous one; the old Portadown station is on
the left, while the current one is on the right.
Picture by CP Friel
Model Carriages and
No. 461 Restoration
This year in a new departure for the
RPSI we commissioned Bachmann models to make 00 gauge maodel mark 2 carriages
in the green livery used in the RPSI's Northern train.
500 sets of three were made, consisting
of carriages 460, 180 and 301.
Our feelings are mixed in that we're sorry
if you missed out on owning some of these models...
...but very pleased with the success
of the venture!
Here we see Gerry and Fergus, who organised
the manufacture and sale of the carriages, handing over the profits to
Locomotive Officer Peter.
All €23,250 (nearly £21,000)
will go towards the restoration of No.
461.
Picture by CP Friel
The restoration of No. 461 has taken
far longer than was originally envisaged due to the problems associated
with welding together the inner firebox. The firebox must be very
strongly built to resist the great steam pressure inside the boiler, and
461's firebox needed rebuilt to a greater extent than any engine we have
worked on before.
461's boiler is seen here upside in the
centre of the photograph during the long process of making the repairs.
The cab of the engine can be seen on the left.
Picture by CP Friel
461's frames have been in a rolling
condition for some time, in need of little more than for the boiler to
be fitted to be brought back to life.
Our thanks are due to everyone who brought
the carriages and especially to Gerry and Fergus for helping to make this
dream a reality.
Picture taken in 2006 by J Friel
And the good news on 461 doesn't end
there! On Monday 8th November momentous news was announced - at last
the firebox welds are finished!
Undoubtedly the most difficult and frustrating
part of the resotration is over as our volunteers and staff turn their
attention of reassembling the various parts of the boiler before reuniting
it with the rest of the engine.
With your support, we can all look forward
to more scenes like this in the future.
Picture taken in 2001 by E Friel
None of these things would happen without
the hard work of a small number of volunteers. You have seen the
achievements of volunteer painters and joiners; volunteer drivers, firemen
and shunters; volunteer steam raisers; volunteer carriage marshals and
caterers; volunteer administrators and accountants; volunteer boilersmiths.
All dedicated amateurs who nonetheless
try to run - and succeed in running - an efficient, safe, professional
operation, while having a lot of fun along the way!
Whatever your interests,
talents, abilities or qualifications, you could make a big difference and
Be
a part of something special!
