The Wensleydale Railway

I am posting this thread in the hope that I will have much to share in the coming months as the preservation season gets under way.

Starting today when Tornado came visiting for a couple of weeks and came up the branch light engine while running driver experience and cab rides. I say cab rides plural but despite there being 4 trips each way advertised it only came out and back the once. The good news is that the sun was out and I had the camera to hand. It made a welcome change from fitting architraves...

 

Since taking the photo above there have been no trains running on the branch so we were surprised and delighted to see a humble 05 with an engineering train come up the branch this lunchtime.

They picked a rotten day for it as it's chucking it down today. That's in marked contrast to the last 5 days which were lovely sunshine while I have been painting the back of the house (rough textured rendering!!!).

We hope it's the start of more regular running and a move towards them getting some much needed revenue.

 

Well it shows how much I know about diesels, the humble 05 was in fact an 03...

Today we heard it coming from some distance away so I was able to grab my phone for a couple of shots.

 

We had another works train up the branch today. This one came from the outside world bringing a load of flat bottom rail for a 500 yard rail/sleeper replacement project at Harmby a few miles up the branch from us. I was having a shave when it went up the branch at about 8:15 this morning but caught it on the way back empty.

 

There have been ongoing works on the branch and alerted by a note on the Wensleydale Railway website I got up a bit earlier this morning to watch an auto ballast train come up the dale.

 

There have been trains and light engine movements on the branch for the last 3 days but it's almost like they were sneaking about as the first we knew that they were there, was when the vibrations were felt under foot.

Today the wind must have been in the right direction as 20166 made it's way back to Leeming Bar with the Shark brake van in tow, I heard it's horn as it sounded at Fingle crossing a couple of miles away and I was able to grab Chris's phone popping outside to take a few shots as it passed.

 

Good morning Paul,

I suspect that the van is privately owned and painted at the owners whim. One of the key reasons not to trust preservation shots when building models.
Personally I think that both the shark and the class 20 are in horrible liveries but that's just me.

 

I agree, I did wonder after my earlier posting, if the through pipe was a preservation addition so that it can be used in company with coaches without having to swap ends. There are not that many run around facilities on the line and and I have seen it more in company with coaches than goods vehicles since they finished restoring it.

 

More movement on the branch today, in the form of 37025. I heard the horns sound at an occupational crossing on the far side of the village, so I just had time to pop up and grab my phone to take a few photos. I am sure many will disagree but I must say that I don't like this livery at all.

 

Hi Keith,

I think for me it's that it looks too modern a livery to be 'Heritage' if that makes sense. I suppose at least it has been painted not left to rot like so much of the heritage stock scattered about.
have been to Tanfield Railway a short distance away from Beamish in County Durham a few times and the lines of rolling stock rotting away there, almost makes you want to weep. I haven't been in the last couple of years but one of the items was a 6 wheeled GNR teak full brake complete with mansell wheels. I hope in the meantime that it has been moved under cover where it can at least be out of the weather.

 

Apologies because this post is going to turn into a bit of a rant.

Today we had an alarming near miss on the railway. Like many heritage railways during the lockdown, ours has been the subject of a lot of trespassers using it as a circular walk through the village. Adults are bad enough but we have one couple who regularly bring their children along, one of whom is disabled. Of course if the kids get out and wander onto the railway thinking that it's alright to do so and there is an accident, it will be all the railway's fault....

We have tried pointing out the error of their ways to some of them but it's fallen on deaf ears!

Today we were just finishing lunch and looking out of the dining room windows over looking the railway and we saw an older bloke with a golden Labrador without a lead wandering along. Suddenly he started scrabbling down the embankment opposite the house and climbed into the field.

Wondering if he was alright, we stood up to see what was going on and moments later a train came past (one of the 'new' Pacer units that the railway has acquired). As if the near miss wasn't bad enough, the guy was now in a field containing sheep and new born lambs, with a dog not on a lead. To get out of the field without trespassing back on the railway, he had to go through someone's garden. Thankfully he achieved this without further incident or his dog bothering the sheep.

Let's hope that at least one person has learned that railways are dangerous places for pedestrians.

 

After the irritations of the day we had this visitor to the railway last night. A pair of them live in an owl box just beyond the embankment, we see them regularly but usually on the wing.

 

The Barn Owl came out to play a little earlier this evening so I had the opportunity to get some better photos.





Lastly an arty shot as it had enough and flew away



We also had visits from a pheasant and a couple of partridges today.





We have nicknamed the pheasant Big Blue as he and his flock of ladies regularly empty our bird feeders. He's got to the stage where if there is no food out he sits on the fence and squawks until Chris goes out and fills the feeders.

 

More visitors to the railway yesterday morning

 

We had something a little different down the branch this afternoon or rather it went up the branch last week but I only caught sight of the rear cab window as it disappeared out of view. We thought it odd that it didn't return (usually most 'trains' go up the branch and return the same day). We have had quite a bit of works train traffic on Monday's of late but much of it has been seen before so I haven't posted any photos.





They look to have been working their way back from Redmire surveying the branch because it had already passed our house on the way to Bedale when I became aware of it and popped up to take a look.

By good fortune it had stopped a couple of hundred yards away and after marking up the ground, (when the machine made a series of loud beeps) it then reversed to about 20 yards beyond the house on the Redmire/Leyburn side. More beeps more marking up and it reversed direction again heading back off towards Bedale.

I reckon it must be sat in the passing loop at Bedale station now, because just before 5pm we had the Class 20 featured previously, come past light engine heading to Leyburn/Redmire.

For those it might interest there are a few detail shots of the bottom of the machine on my Flickr site