The Autumn Open Weekend will take place on 22nd & 23rd September 2018. On Saturday 22nd, there will also be the annual Steam-Up at Alan Keef Ltd just up the road at Lea.
September 2018 — Autumn Open Weekend
Our large Hydrovane compressor will be on site providing air for the Eimco 12B rocker shovel, Eimco 401 locomotive and Holman Silver 3 rock drill. There will be regular demonstrations throughout the day. Four different types of Wingrove & Rogers battery-electric locomotives will be on display — all at different stages of restoration. There is also some new track since the last Open Weekend in May and the chance to see our Hudson wagon traverser under construction.
Some good progress was made on Sunday 19th August as two panels of track (complete with ballast) were laid from the new set of points towards the inspection pit next to the container. The rail is of a heavier section than the usual 35lb/yd found on the rest of the railway — it matches the track on the line towards the container — so putting a slight curve into the second section using the Jim Crow was quite challenging.
Checking the levels
Nick cutting the rail ends
Looking down the new track
Hudson skip at the end of the line
The next section of track to be laid will go straight through the current pile of ballast, but we should use most of it on this new section so hopefully not too much double-handling will be necessary.
Due to the hot weather and volunteers taking time off for other activities, there has been no major progress to report during the months following the Spring Open Weekend.
The National Association of Mining History Organisations (NAMHO) Annual Conference was held in the Forest of Dean from 1st to 3rd June 2018. Delegates had the choice of attending a series of lectures or signing up for one or more trips to various mines around the Forest. On the Saturday and Sunday of the event, we welcomed two different groups for a rare underground visit into the mine. Our visitors were also able to watch a demonstration of rock drilling by Richard with his Holman Silver 3 rock drill which produced some loose rock to be shovelled up by the Eimco 12B.
A view looking into the mine
Work has continued on ballasting the new track and points and at the time of writing this post was almost complete. There is more track to be laid onto the old mine tip to link up with the isolated track section where the Eimco 24 is parked. This will use up the remaining ballast pile.
Hopefully you have been keeping up-to-date with what is happening at Lea Bailey Light Railway by reading the regular updates on this website and on our Facebook Page — but now is your chance to come and see for yourself. With a compressor wagon now on site, our resident Eimco 12B rocker shovel will once again be put to work alongside a rock drill on the open air demonstration line to show how these machines would have worked underground.
Eimco 401 air-locomotive
Eimco 12B Rocker Shovel in use
Simplex on the curve
Eimco 24 bucket is raised by air
The Eimco compressed-air locomotive 401-216 and Motor Rail 21282 will be in operation, with four different types of Wingrove & Rogers battery-electric locomotives on display — all at different stages of restoration. We are also hoping to demonstrate the large Eimco 24 rocker shovel each day at around 3:30pm. Don’t forget to visit our sales stand where refreshments will be available including home-made cakes. 🍰
As we said goodbye to the Beast from the East, work started once again on relaying the track that was lifted back in February. The first priority was to reinstate the curve which would allow the wagons parked in the mine to access the rest of the line. The two curved rails were put back in place with five new sleepers and with a minimal amount of packing to get the correct level, the fishplates were bolted together and the rails were spiked down.
The Simplex was then driven by Nick to collect the wagons, although the honour of the first “train” over the new section of track goes to our young volunteer James who pushed an empty Hudson skip wagon round from the mine to the passing loop to allow the shunting to take place. The flat wagon was still full of bricks which had been stockpiled for our recent retaining wall project. With these unloaded we could then proceed to the other end of the line to load up components for the set of points — but first: lunch!
Richard had been busy in the kitchen and using a recipe from the Cornish Pasty Association, had produced some traditional beef and vegetable pasties — they can’t be called “Cornish” because they weren’t made in Cornwall — and our hungry volunteers were happy to indulge in another mining tradition known as “snap, “bait” or “croust”. [Having tasted one I can confirm they taste just as good as the Cornish genuine article. — Ed.]
Curve relaid on new sleepers
First shunt move after curve relaid
Home-made pasties: a traditional miners’ lunch
After lunch (washed down with a cup of tea) we loaded up the component parts of a set of points that we had purchased from the North Gloucestershire Railway at Toddington. Everything except the frog was transported in one load and laid roughly on some old sleepers. The frog was loaded by itself and the use of an extended coupling bar was necessary due to the overhang at each end of the wagon. With the frog in place everything was roughly aligned by eye. We are awaiting some longer sleepers for the construction of this point, and once they arrive we can start measuring everything and getting it together with the correct alignments.
Stock rails and point blades laid out
The frog arrives by flat wagon
Eyeing up the alignment
The rest of the day was spent using up the end of a tin of green paint on the container and picking out bricks and rocks from the lineside after the digger had done its job.
Not much to report in the last couple of weeks as we have been visited by the Beast from the East with several inches of snow falling in the Forest of Dean and surrounding areas. Before the snow came in we did see a nice bit of sunshine and managed to get some painting done. The container and tank have been painted green to help them blend in with the surrounding woodland, and the entrance barrier has received a rub-down and another coat of paint before new vinyl lettering is applied.
Entrance barrier being painted
Entrance barrier after painting
Painting in progress on container
On Sunday 11th March our young volunteer James walked down and captured these photos of the railway and mine under the snow.
Following last week’s successful first move of the Eimco 24, our volunteers have turned their attention to the next project: renewing the section of track between the points outside the mine and the container. This section was laid when the railway was built in the mid-1990s and many of the wooden sleepers have rotted away after years of sitting in wet mud and mine waste. We have already completed a retaining wall to keep the edge of the embankment neat and tidy and to prevent erosion.
Volunteers undoing fishplate bolts
Pulling out the dog spikes
The curved section has been removed
Lifting a section of heavy rail
The original intent had been to start preparation works first, with track lifting to start the following week but as we had such a good turnout of volunteers, including Pat Clifford on a visit from Devon and Chris Crowley who braved the weather on his bicycle from Cinderford, a start was made and by the end of the day, most of the rails in this section had been lifted. It was questionable as to whether any of the fishplate bolts would come off easily (or at all) after over 20 years with no maintenance but Nick’s Âľ”-drive socket set performed admirably, with a long extension bar being used to start the 30mm nuts on the heavy rail section.
At the end of the day, one curved section of track had been removed, and all of the straight rails with two exceptions: the last section which sits on a concrete pad and supports the rails coming out of the container; and the other being a removable track panel with metal sleepers which had been made to allow access by Forestry Commission contractors. These will be moved next time before the digger comes in to carry out the groundwork in preparation for ballast.
A gap in the track for forestry access with removable panel. 📷 April 2015
Since its arrival in November 2017 the Eimco 24 rocker shovel has been inspected and found to be in excellent mechanical condition, despite its flaky paint and rusty wheels. In January this year, the control levers were freed off with the aid of Nick’s large socket set and a generous spray of WD-40.
Wagon mounted compressor ready for action
Richard and Nick fitting new hoses
Air motor is filled with oil
Eimco 24 bucket is raised by air
On Sunday 3rd February, replacement pneumatic hoses were fitted and temporarily held in place with cable ties. The air motors and runing gear had the oil filled up, and the drive chain was sprayed with WD-40 and given some attention with a hammer to loosen the links.
The temporary track which had previously been used as a loading ramp to the arrival of the Eimco 401 has now been dismantled, in preparation for our next project. The track between the mine points and the container will be completely re-laid with new sleepers and granite ballast. Whilst the track is lifted, the area leading down to the inspection pit will be re-graded and a new set of points will be added to allow access to a second track which will be laid afterwards.
Issing Sid and Eimco 12B rocker shovel in the passing loop
Planning is under way for the next Open Day on 19th & 20th May 2018. We will have our compressor wagon on site. Our resident Eimco 12B rocker shovel will once again be put to work on the open air demonstration line to show how these machines would have worked underground. We are hoping that compressed air locomotive Issing Sid from Statfold Barn Railway will be able to visit again (subject to confirmation).
Rocker Shovel in the cutting 1
Eimco 12B Rocker Shovel in use
Rocker Shovel in the cutting 3
Resident locomotives Simplex â„– 21282 and Eimco 401-216 will be operating throughout the weekend, and four battery-electric locomotives will be on display along with a number of different types of wagons. Visitors can also try their hand at panning for gold. Refreshments including home-made cakes will be available.
Tipper wagon on easy-turnout
Panning for gold with music
Eimco 401 air-locomotive
For a taster of what to expect, you can watch Rob Needham’s YouTube Videos of the September 2017 Event:
Video Clips
Many other attractions can be found around the Forest of Dean, all within a half-hour drive of our site at Lea Bailey. A number of links can be found below.
Following the New Year, our volunteers have returned to work on their projects at Lea Bailey. A recent working party was cancelled due to snow, the following week was wet, and a visit after Christmas was cancelled after two members came down with heavy colds. We are currently carrying out a light restoration on a large tub wagon which had previously been converted to a manrider, possibly at a coal mine, but like many of our items we are unsure of its origin.
The outside had previously been treated with a needle gun and wire wheel before painting with black bitumen, and today’s task was to work on the inside. During the work, we managed to find several old crisp packets and food wrappers, possibly from the miners’ lunch boxes many years ago.
Manrider tub wagon being painted
Vintage McCoy’s crisp packet
Inside of manrider tub after treatment
Nick has also been working on the WR5. The battery box has been removed and work has started on removing the parts necessary to separate the frames from the running gear. This will allow a full internal inspection of the final drive and hopefully a repair to allow the locomotive to run again. Whilst it is stripped down we can also think about rubbing down parts and repainting them when the weather is a bit more favourable.