Furness Railway Trust blog

Furness Railway locomotive No. 20 arrived back at Preston last Tuesday morning after its appearances at the East Lancashire Railway’s ‘Rail 200’ and Autumn Steam Galas. As ever, it was well supported by the FRT’s working members who made sure that the loco’s paint and brasswork were polished. The photo below showing work in hand prior to it’s operation at the Autumn Steam Gala.

The loco is seen here at Summerseat with a train for Ramsbottom. The FRT’s Great Eastern Railway royal saloon No. 5 can be seen at the rear of the train.

The sales team also made sure that visitors had the opportunity to take away some souvenirs: Anne and Phil Burton are pictured with the sales stand on Friday, 17th October.

FR 20’s tender has now been filled with water in readiness to enable a high pressure boiler washout to be conducted using the FRT’s Coventry Climax fire pump once the spark arrestor and plugs have been removed.

Meanwhile work continues at Preston on the overhaul of Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No. 5643 where there has been a certain amount of satisfaction in seeing some components being returned to the frames. Both injectors have been re-fitted, the right-hand side being seen here:

Some of the lubrication pipework is also now back in place.

Finally, we have left the big news of the week until last. The FRT’s Christmas Dinner is to take place at 7pm on Friday, 5th December at the Pig & Whistle which is situated on a main bus route on Blackpool Road, Lea, Preston. The festive menu offers two courses for £15.99 and three courses for £19.49.
Please let Alison know if you wish to attend.

There has been more work this week at Preston on Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No 5643 as the ten-year overhaul continues. Ed is seen here entering the water space at the bottom of the bunker.

The outside of the bunker has now been painted in undercoat green.

Meanwhile folk group Live Steam played for Barrow Model Railway Club members and exhibitors at the annual exhibition on Saturday. The observant of you will notice that the venue was a brewery!

Sam and John Dixon made the trip to Bury on Saturday to clean and polish Furness Railway No. 20 which is scheduled to be in service at the East Lancashire Railway’s Autumn Steam Gala along with Great Eastern Railway royal saloon No. 5 this next Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Finally, FR 20 and GER 5 are due to arrive back at Preston on Wednesday, 22^nd October. 

Sam has been incarcerated inside Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No. 5643’s boiler again in order to dismantle some of the internal pipework. He is seen here applying heat to one of the pipe clamps that was proving to be extremely stubborn. However, the task has been made a little bit easier as the boiler has been turned onto its side in recent weeks.

Work has continued on 5643’s bunker since it was re-fitted onto the frames. The inside of the bunker has had a coat of black paint applied now that refurbishment of the metalwork has been completed.

The outside of the bunker has been sanded down and remedial work undertaken.

Ron Crowe is seen here beneath the bunker during the process of re-fitting the right-hand water valve.

The other main news is that the Trust’s Austerity 0-6-0ST Cumbria is expected back at Preston shortly so that its ten-year overhaul can be progressed.

Don’t forget that the Furness Model Railway Club’s 62nd annual exhibition is due to take place this next weekend, 11th and 12th October, at a new venue, Chetwynde School in Rating Lane, Barrow-in-Furness, 10.00 to 17.00. Folk group Live Steam are due to entertain the exhibition staff on Saturday evening at the Ulverston Brewery premises.

There hasn’t been a blog for a couple of weeks due to holidays, but the work of FRT volunteers has continued. First of all, there have been a couple of working parties at Embsay over the last couple of weeks attended by John, Alan and Tim. Some good progress has been made in removing cab pipes and fittings from ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST Cumbria although some of the backhead fittings may well need some further persuasion with the help of some heat.

Work has continued outside at Preston on Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No. 5643’s side tanks. It seems however that Sim found a new use for 5643’s new ashpan whilst brother Jon works in the background.

FR 20 was in use on both days of the Ribble Steam Railway’s 20th Anniversary Gala on the 6th and 7th September. Adrian and Aaron bore the brunt of the wet weather on the Sunday with Aaron seen here looking very wet.

Great Eastern Railway royal saloon No. 5 was loaded up on the Sunday evening of the Gala for transportation to Bury for the East Lancashire Railway’s Rail 200 Gala the following weekend, followed by FR 20 the following day. Thanks go to Adrian for looking after the loading.

Sam and John went to Bury last Friday to clean FR 20, which was used on both Saturday and Sunday to haul three return trips between Bury and Ramsbottom with a Lancashire & Yorkshire saloon along with GER No. 5. In addition, FR 20 hauled a Saturday evening Fish and Chip Special which also had a Great Western saloon attached. No photographs of the event yet to hand but there are some videos here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9Tx6nMedJk

Thanks go to the loco and sales teams for all their efforts over the weekend.

We have feedback from a couple of visitors that they were taken aback by the shine on FR 20’s paintwork.

It has been another busy week at Preston as the overhaul on Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No. 5643 continues. There were two pairs of legs to be seen protruding from the locomotive’s right hand side tank last Wednesday as further cleaning and painting took place.

John Dixon has fabricated and fitted a replacement flange for the tank which will form the connection to the balance pipe.

Thursday saw the arrival of a very large crane which re-fitted 5643’s bunker to the frames in pouring rain.

The crane was then used to flip the boiler 90 degrees before replacing it onto the lowmac wagon for new patch screws to be inserted.

Friday saw the Ribble Steam Railway welcome Hunslet 0-6-0T No. 2409 of 1942, King George, on loan from the Didcot Railway Centre, having previously been hired by the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. The locomotive is expected to provide cover at the RSR for the remainder of the year.

FR 20 is scheduled to be active in the RSR’s 20th Anniversary Gala this next weekend before departing to the East Lancashire Railway next Tuesday along with Great Eastern Railway royal saloon No. 5.

Finally, a reminder that the FRT’s Annual General Meeting will be held at 7.30pm this Wednesday, 3rd September, in the FRT shed at Preston. Alison is once again kindly providing refreshments.

It has been time to catch up with some maintenance jobs on Furness Railway 0-4-0 locomotive No. 20. Alan is seen working on the fireman’s side water valve which had seized up on the 16th August causing the operating lever to break. Fortunately, there was no problem with the driver’s side injector and the locomotive continued in service that day. The seized water valve is relatively new but has now been replaced by the previous water valve which has been repaired.

John Dixon had noticed that one of the tender brake rods was rubbing against a wheel and this has been removed, straightened and refitted. Tim has also taken the opportunity to adjust the tender brakes. FR 20 is due to operate the Ribble Steam Railway’s passenger service this next Saturday, 30th August.

The recent movement of the components of the former Furness Railway No.25 has allowed access to them with the result that Paul Balshaw has wire brushed the exterior of the smokebox and painted it with red oxide primer.

A crane has been ordered for this next Thursday, 28th August in order that GWR 0-6-2 No. 5643’s bunker can be refitted to the frames and then the boiler lifted and turned through 90 degrees in order that new patch screws can be fitted. This latter procedure is likely to be repeated shortly to allow further new patch screws to be fitted on the other side.

A working party is being organised to go Embsay next Tuesday, 2nd September, in order to dismantle Hunslet ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST locomotive Cumbria in readiness for a boiler lift.

A reminder that this year’s Annual General Meeting is scheduled to take place in the FRT shed at Preston at 07. 30 pm on Wednesday, 3rd September. There will be refreshments served aft

The highlight of the last fortnight has undoubtedly been the FRT’s participation at The Greatest Gathering at Derby on the 1st , 2nd and 3rd August which, in effect, had become the birthday party celebrating the 200th Anniversary of Railways. The event was massive, with 140 exhibits on site plus sales stands, carousels, Ferris Wheel, a model railway village plus entertainment. There was good coverage on local TV, including some whistle blowing on FR 20 by the presenter.

https://youtu.be/_3vZ9DX2_nc?si=cLTHLkYDJkitS2Ow  

The team assembled on site on Thursday, 31st July to set up the sales stand, with Alison, Phil and Anne seen here.

Furness Railway No. 20 needed cleaning and prepping to be in steam by 10.00 on 1st August to blow its whistle with others to welcome those waiting at the gate. Around 40,000 people attended over the weekend. Sam, Ade and Alan are seen with No. 20.

The crowds soon appeared to gain cab access with FRT members on hand to explain the locomotive’s history and the layout of the cab.

Aaron soon developed a good line of patter which also encouraged visitors to purchase a copy of the recently published FR 20 book, copies of which were displayed on the side of the tender.

Live Steam folk band performed twice a day singing railway songs in the large ‘G’ shop where trains are assembled.

All in all, the event proved to be very successful and it is unlikely that we will see anything similar for a long time to come. FR 20 is due back at Preston tomorrow, Tuesday, 12th August and is rostered for service on Saturdays 16th and 30th August. The following photo shows FR 20 being shunted at Derby after the event by non-other than a huge Class 93 locomotive.

Back at Preston work has continued on the overhaul of Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No. 5643 with Ron Crowe and Paul Balshaw removing the handrail from the smokebox. This is to enable the boiler to be turned on its side for new patch screws to be fitted.

The 2nd Class North London coach body that has been stored at Jim Kay’s house in Blackpool for many years finally made it to Preston last Tuesday where Adrian was on hand to do the necessary shunt and arranged for it to be placed on a PMV chassis that had been accommodating various components of the former FR 25.

The latest edition of The Iron Horse has been mailed out with details of this year’s Annual General Meeting, which will be held at 7.30 pm in the FRT shed at Preston on Wednesday, 3rd September.

The overhaul of Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No. 5643 continues to progress with Chris Rycroft completing the caulking of the remaining new stays.
Work also continues on the side tanks and the boiler bands are being re-painted.

The other main news this week concerns the departure from Preston of Furness Railway No. 20 last Monday to take part in The Greatest Gathering at Derby on the 1 st , 2 nd and 3 rd August.

The photo below shows it at Derby last Wednesday with fellow 1863 built locomotive Prince in the background arriving from the Ffestiniog Railway.
This Wednesday will see the loading of cars to take sales stock down to Derby on Thursday. Let’s hope for good weather there!

Finally, Live Steam have been booked to play at The Greatest Gathering so a rare band practice took place last Tuesday morning following which Tim made a presentation on the new book, Furness Railway Locomotive No. 20 – The Story So Far, to the Kents Bank Station Railway Library. Internet sales have
been ticking along nicely with over 30 books now sold over the internet.

Saturday saw the official launch at Preston of the new book entitled ‘Furness Railway No. 20 – The Story So Far’ with Tim on hand in the Ribble Steam Railway’s shop to sign copies. Anne and Phil Burton were also there to operate the FRT sales stand and make some useful money for the Trust. We can also reveal that there have been more on-line book sales, making Chris Rycroft’s efforts in setting up the sales system all the more worthwhile.

There was glorious weather on Saturday so we are pleased to be able to include this great photo sent to us by Mike Ward of FR 20 crossing the swing bridge.

Great Eastern Railway royal saloon No. 5 of 1898 was also in service with appropriately attired personnel on board.

Not quite so good news from inside the FRT shed was the discovery on GWR No. 5643 of a crack in the internal boiler pipe that carries the regulator rod. Yet another job to sort out, but a very useful spot whilst the tubes are out.

We are pleased to report, however, that the FRT’s literary output has continued apace with the latest edition of ‘The Iron Horse’ expected to go to the printer today.

Finally, another date for your diary is the ‘Our Lives’ programme entitled ‘The World’ Oldest Railway’ filmed at the Tanfield Railway which is scheduled to be shown on BBC 1 at 19.00 hrs tomorrow evening where you will see some familiar faces. It is available on iPlayer now.

Work on re-assembling the motion of Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No. 5643 has begun this last week with the re-fitting of the two rear cylinder covers. It was an awkward job working in the cramped area behind the cylinder block and with very heavy objects that had to be placed precisely onto the studs!

Furness Railway No. 20 was in action this last Saturday when the Ribble Steam Railway was visited by members of the Preston Photographic Society who had arranged a number of models to pose around the train. Yes, and they did ask for steam to be applied (carefully) with the cylinder drain taps on FR 20 open behind the model on the track.

This next Saturday, 12 th July, sees FR 20 back in action hauling trains on the RSR where there will be a formal launch of the new book entitled “Furness Railway No. 20 – The Story So Far.” Tim will be on hand in the RSR shop to sign copies for those purchasing the book. We are pleased to report that the first batch supplied to the shop has almost run out and that the first internet sale has taken place! Grateful thanks go to Chris Rycroft for his IT wizardry in setting up our new website’s online sales. We now hope to expand the number of lines we are able to offer for sale online.

Finally, the visit of FR 20 to The Greatest Gathering at Derby on the 1 st , 2 nd and 3rd August is fast approaching. Allelys have been commissioned to undertake the move and the loco will be picked up from Preston by two low loaders around lunch time on Monday, 21 st July. This should give us time to put the locomotive into sparkling condition after its recent steamings.