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Author: Ben Coulson

Chief website tinkerer, bear washer, paintbrush botherer and wire brush wielder.
📅 2017 Calendar now available ?>

📅 2017 Calendar now available

It has become a tradition in recent years to produce a calendar highlighting some of the events and milestones that have passed in the previous year. Twelve photographs have been selected from 2016, printed in full colour on glossy card, and spiral bound complete with holes for hanging. The cost is £7.00 each, plus postage which varies depending on location. Collection in person is free of charge. To order yours please use the contact details below. Rob Needham: rob@lblr.org.uk

Simplex on the Mine Tip
⛏ Rocks by Rail (Part 2) ?>

⛏ Rocks by Rail (Part 2)

During our recent September Open Weekend, our volunteers took the opportunity to work on the temporary track which extends on to the top of the old mine tip. With four locomotives in operation (Simplex, Lister rail-truck, WR8 and Eimco 401) there was plenty of activity for our visitors to see, including the first public run of the Eimco compressed-air locomotive. Saturday was the busiest day in terms of visitors due to the Steam Up at Alan Keef Ltd. in Lea,…

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Eimco 401 at Lea Bailey
📅 17th & 18th September Open Days ?>

📅 17th & 18th September Open Days

We will be holding our second Open Weekend of 2016 on 17th & 18th September at our Lea Bailey site. The main attraction is expected to be the first public running of our Eimco 401 air locomotive which is on loan to us for two years. Also running will be our Simplex diesel and WR8 battery electric locomotives, plus a visiting Lister rail truck. Three further locomotives in various states of restoration will be on display, plus we aim to…

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Eimco wheelset on the rails
🛤 Back on Track and Under Pressure ?>

🛤 Back on Track and Under Pressure

With the wheelsets for the Eimco 401 back on site and re-gauged to 24″ the next task was to get them back into the frames. To say they were a tight fit is an understatement. Both sides had to be raised equally to avoid the axle boxes jamming in the horn guides. The wheelset nearest the driver’s position — which we have taken to calling the rear of the locomotive — was the easier (or least difficult) of the pair…

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Up on blocks
🔧 Eimco 401 Progress ?>

🔧 Eimco 401 Progress

If you were a mine operator then a compressed-air locomotive such as the Eimco 401 would be a very useful thing. Most underground mines would already have a compressor to power the air tools and the 401 was designed to be easily convertible between the two popular rail gauges of 18″ and 2ft. Of course “easily” would be dependent on a number of factors, such as a fully-equipped heavy engineering workshop, skilled workers with experience of the task in hand,…

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Temporary track onto the mine tip
⛏ Rocks by Rail (Part 1) ?>

⛏ Rocks by Rail (Part 1)

Getting the big corrugated tin shed at Lea Bailey into a fit condition to be used as a workshop is somewhat of a long-term project, so a quicker way of getting somewhere reasonably secure and out of the weather is to get another container. Where to put it? If it was placed next to the existing container, then some of the surplus rails and bits of steel could be used to bridge across between the two and make an undercover…

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Eimco 401 at Lea Bailey
🚚 Arrival of the Eimco 401 ?>

🚚 Arrival of the Eimco 401

Eimco air locomotives were manufactured in Salt Lake City by the same company that produced the well-known compressed air mucking machine aka rocker shovel. Following the restoration to working order of the Eimco 12B rocker shovel, the Lea Bailey Light Railway was offered an Eimco locomotive on a 2-year loan from its home at the Lavender Line based at Isfield station in Sussex. There had previously been a proposal to build a narrow gauge railway on the site, but this…

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Ruth taking a break
🌱 Clearance at Clearwell ?>

🌱 Clearance at Clearwell

As part of the Open Weekend of 14th-15th May, volunteers from the Lea Bailey Light Railway Society went to Clearwell Caves to service and run the Hunslet Flameproof locomotive No. 7446 and to take a look at some of the other rolling stock stored outside. Despite having not run since last year, the locomotive started on the first attempt, and performed several demonstration runs for visitors, much to the enjoyment of the café staff who had come to empty the…

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Under Construction
🖥 Welcome to the New Website! ?>

🖥 Welcome to the New Website!

This WordPress site has been built behind the scenes. Original content from http://www.leabaileylightrailway.co.uk/ has been added, and we are busy adding further content from our archives. Visitors to the old website should be redirected to the relevant post, or alternatively to the home page. Please report any discrepancies to the Webmaster.

🌨🛠 Winter Works 2015-2016 ?>

🌨🛠 Winter Works 2015-2016

Our regular volunteers have been busy during the winter months, working on a variety of projects. The old pit wheel (the “spare” from Sharlston Colliery in West Yorkshire) has been moved with the aid of a Tirfor winch to allow the top of the mine tip to be cleared. This will allow another track to be laid alongside the existing container. A replacement body for the Hudson v-skip tipper wagon has been obtained from Alan Keef Ltd. which will allow…

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