Author Archives: Simon Lomax

Despite Lockdown2, some work has been progressing on the Apedale site; sadly, the site is currently closed for (almost) all volunteering activities, but the contractors working on two projects have made good progress.A Water Tower is being created at the south end of the line. This should add visual interest, and make servicing steam locos […]

We are delighted to announce that bookings for the Santa Specials on 12, 13, 19 and 20 December are now open via this link. Things will have to be very different this year, but we will still be aiming to sort the naughty from the nice…. Please note that our on-site shop cannot open until […]

Last day of the season, and running a steam loco as a small compensation for the cancellation of the Halloween services. Sadly, the weather didn’t really play nicely. However, that didn’t stop the groundwork team from pressing on with the foundations for the new shed – it seems that these guys are impervious to anything […]

Just to remind people that, with great regret, we will not be operating our Halloween Scary Trains this year. Sadly, we could not devise a way to deliver the experience and remain within the guidance for protecting both our staff and visitors from the pandemic. As a small substitute, we will be operating a steam […]

A very wet day on Saturday saw limited progress. There was inevitable shunt and clear-up following the diesel weekend, along with ministering to the wounded from that event. Amongst the casualties was the unique Type MM Orenstein petrol loco which had a fit of the vapours during the event. Unfortunately, the vapour in question wasn’t […]

We are pleased to report that the Smoke without Fire event this weekend will now host two very different visiting locos. The first is a Wingrove & Rogers battery loco, which will visit us from its usual home at a private railway in the North West.Secondly, we are pleased to welcome Motor Rail diesel loco […]

The casual visitor could have been forgiven for thinking that the Diesel Gala had happened a week early, as many of the fleet were extracted from sheds, tested and fettled. All of this work is to hopefully ensure that next weekend’s operations are as smooth and trouble-free as one would expect when using tempramental machines […]

We have today welcomed a new locomotive into the collection at Apedale. Such moments are usually a cause for celebration, but in the case it’s rather bittersweet. The locomotive in question is a 48DL Ruston, number 224337 of 1944. The loco was delivered new to the London & North Eastern Railway, and worked on a […]

Our next event will be the “Smoke without Fire” weekend, October 3 & 4. Nearly wrote “diesel event”, but a look at the roster suggests that battery and petrol-powered locos feature almost as heavily as the Hornsby-Ackroyd heavy oil colleagues. The event will run from 1130 to 1600 on each day, and the loco roster […]

A few photos from Day One of the Farewell Joffre event. The boiler cert expires on 30 September – so tomorrow really is the last day to see this war veteran in steam for some time. The traditional Saturday Night Staff outing this year was Le Mistral – French wagons hauled by two Decauville-designed locos […]