2009

67014 "Thomas Telford," Wrexham, 5 December

A small group of MDRS members and their partners undertook a pre Christmas shopping trip to Wrexham, travelling by Wrexham & Shropshire from Banbury, taking advantage of a cheap fare offer. Motive power for the outward journey was 67014 "Thomas Telford," seen here upon arrival at Wrexham.

Mark 3 Coach, Wrexham, 5 December

A view of a mark 3 coach freshly painted in the new W&S corporate livery.

DVT 82301 departing Shrewsbury, 5 December

DVT 82301 is seen departing Shrewsbury at the rear of the group's outward bound train. Of note is the signal box and the GWR style semaphore signals.

Members enjoying a on-train Christmas Meal, 5 December

On the return journey the group was privy to an on-train Christmas meal laid on by W&S, complete with crackers!

Gammon End Halt, Pendon, 25 November

32 members and guests enjoyed a private evening at Pendon Museum on 25 November. Among the model railways on display is a rare model of a narrow gauge railway named the Madder Valley Railway dating from the 1930s. Here a single coach train waits at Gammon Halt. For details of this wonderful museum please visit www.pendonmuseum.com

Porthkerrick Branch Line Viaduct, Pendon, 25 November

One of the main sences on display is the fictional Porthkerrick Branch Line based in Dartmoor, modeled in EM Scale. Great Western 0-6-0T No. 638 crosses the impressive viaduct with a workman's train.

Milk and Parcels Train, Pendon, 25 November

A GWR Pairie Tank crosses the viaduct hauling a milk and parcel's train.

Carpenters' Arms, Pendon, 25 November

The main model is a representation of the Vale of the White Horse. This not only includes a EM Scale version of the London to Bristol main line, but also a range of superbly detailed hand built buildings.

Wendy at Amberley Station, Amberley, 11 July

About 20 members paid a visit to Amberley Chalkpits Museum for their Railway Gala on 11 July. Several of the museum's locomotives were in action along with a few visitors. Bagnall 0-4-0ST "Wendy," owned by the Hampshire Narrow Gauge Railway Trust, stands in Amberley station, the terminus of the museum's 2 ft gauge passenger line, with a train of workman's coaches.

Cloister, Amberley, 11 July

The Hampshire Narrow Gauge Railway Trust's other locomotive, ex Dinorwic Quarry Hunslet 0-4-0ST "Cloister," has also recently come to Amberley (having been previously been based at Kew Bridge Steam Museum) and her forthcoming overhaul is due to be carried out on site. She is seen coming off shed towards Brockham.

Armistice, Amberley, 11 July

Visiting from the Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway, Kent, was another 0-4-0ST Bagnall "Armistice," built in 1919 for the Ministry of Munitions.

Polar Bear, Amberley, 11 July

Formerly of the Groudle Glen Railway, Isle of Man, the museum's resident Bagnall 2-4-0T 1905 built "Polar Bear" is seen departing Brockham with a rake of ex GGR Toastrack coaches.

Peter Approaching Brockham Station, Amberley, 11 July

P.C. Allen entering Brockham Station, Amberley, 11 July

Hudson-Hunslet 3097, Amberley, 11 July

Besides the steam locomotives, the museum has a large number of internal combustion engined locos. Here Hudson-Hunslet 3097 of 1944 vintage, and previously owned by Merton Sewage Works, brings a train of armament wagons from the siding towards the main line at Brockham.

Hunslet HE8969, Amberley, 11 July

Another Hunslet IC loco at the museum is ex MOD HE8969. It is seen hauling a train of hoppers into Brockham station, watched by a group of MDRS members.

Guinness 23 and Converter Wagon, Amberley, 11 July

One of the more unusual exhibits was this 1ft 10in gauge 0-4-0T which was owned by the Guinness Brewery in Ireland and the converter wagon that enabled it to shunt 5ft 3in gauge rolling stock.

Industrial Monorail, Amberley, 11 July

Another oddity was an industrial monorail system that came from Bishops Waltham Waste Water Works, where it was used to transport sludge. The vehicle was built by Road Machines in 1960 and runs on double flanged wheels, hydraulically driven through gearing by a 4.5hp petrol engine.

Southdown Garage, Amberley, 11 July

Besides the narrow gauge railway exhibts, the museum has a large collection of ex Southdown motorbuses, most of which date from pre 1930. A replica Southdown Garage has been constructed on site to house these vehicles.

Miniature Railway, Amberley, 11 July

Additional attractions for the gala included several model railway layouts (of narrow gauge prototypes), trade stands and this short 7¼inch gauge miniature railway worked by scale models of a Kerr Stuart 0-4-0ST and a Quarry Hunslet.

MDRS members about to board 08.57 Paddington-Oxford train at Maidenhead, Swindon, 9 May

At the invitation of First Great Western Managing Director and MDRS member Mark Hopwood, a group of 22 members visited the FGW and Network Rail control centre at Swindon on 9 May 2009. The majority of members started their journey at Marlow and travelled on the branch to Maidenhead. Here the 08.57 Paddington - Oxford train is seen arriving, the group travelled on this service as far as Reading, where a change was made to an HST for the remainder of the journey.

MDRS members being shown around the ICC, Swindon, 9 May

On arrival at the control centre, the party was split into two groups, one half were shown around the control room, which covers most of the former BR Western Region. Chris Prior explains the task carried out by Controller Phil Mayton to members.

Peter Robins giving presentation on delay attribution, Swindon, 9 May

Meanwhile, the rest of the party were given a talk on FGW operations within the Thames Valley and delay attribution by MDRS Treasurer and FGW Senior Performance Analyst Peter Robins.

MDRS Members in STEAM, Swindon, 9 May

After the visit to the ICC and lunch, a number of members decided to visit the GWR museum STEAM, situated on the site of the old Swindon Works. A group is seen viewing the many items of railwayana and models on display in the museum.

Caerphilly Castle, Swindon, 9 May

Great Western express motive power of the 1920s-30s was represented by 4-6-0 No. 4073 "Caerphilly Castle," previously displayed in the Science Museum, South Kensington.

North Star & Brunel, Swindon, 9 May

A replica of the Broad Gauge 2-2-2 "North Star" represented early GWR motive power. This locomotive was constructed by the GWR in 1925, after Churchward had authorised the scrapping of the original in the early 1900s. In the foreground is a statue of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the engineer who oversaw the construction of the Great Western Railway.

Dean Goods, Swindon, 9 May

Another locomotive on display in the museum is 0-6-0 Dean Goods No. 2516, with visitor access to the cab and a larger than normal gap between the engine and tender. Note the semaphore signal (the museum has a replica GWR signal box with working levers that visitors can operate).

Scammell Mechanical Horse, Swindon, 9 May

As well as locomotives and rolling stock, the museum shows other aspects of the GWR. Scammell "Mechanical Horses" were used to transport heavy load to and from trains at stations and goods depots.

GWR Diesel Railcar No. 4, Swindon, 9 May

Early British diesel traction is represented by GWR streamlined diesel railcar No. 4. These railcars were introduced in 1930s on local passenger services, both on main and branch lines.

Evening Star, Swindon, 9 May

The last steam locomotive built for service on British Railways was the 2-10-0 9F No. 92220 "Evening Star," which was outshopped from Swindon Works in March 1960. She had recently arrived at the museum from the National Railway Museum in York in exchange for the GWR flagship locomotive No. 6000 "King George V"