Merry Christmas

Thank you for visiting the blog and for supporting the railway over the last twelve months. It's been a year of solid progress and we aim to continue in 2020.

The Santa season has now finished and thank you to everyone who travelled and to the volunteers who gave up their Christmas shopping days.  Many trains were sold out and feedback has been very positive.

In the new year we will be adding a Saturday morning working party, primarily to work at Weston. 

Thank you one and all and a very Merry Christmas.

Until the New Year!

Santa Specials 2

We are in mid Santa season and all is going well.  Bookings have been very good this year and some services have been sold out. Thank you!

Many thanks to all who have helped with the operation including the members of ATC Squadron 1165 from Oswestry, your assistance is much appreciated.

Coming up we have the last weekend, the Sunday afternoon was full so an additional run has been added at 15:30.  Other services are close to being sold out.  Book through the website if you want to come along.

Some restoration work is going on but we are concentrating on giving our visitors the best experience possible. Guy's camera is still out of action so a new one has been put on the Christmas list. Pictures will be added when available.

Until next time.

Santa Specials

Don't forget to book on the website and come along for some festive fun.

Weston Station

The work at Weston continues with the two sidings heading towards completion.  It is important to finish these sidings before the platform is assembled as access with mechanical plant will be severely limited once the platform has been installed.

Similarly work on removing years of growth and dumped materials is ongoing as we tidy up the site area.

Andy G was on hand to take a quick snap of the latest progress.  Work on the footings for the precast platform sections is underway and delivery is expected early in the new year.

The picture shows the view from the point looking south towards the new station.

Thanks to Andy for the picture and to all who joined in.

Until next time.

A Coach Trip

Today we took the almost complete suburban coach for a short trip to the main Oswestry station platform.

Following the combined efforts of many volunteers over nearly two years on the coach hardware the stored upholstery was professionally deep-cleaned.


The day started with the coach bring eased out of the shed inch by inch, we don't want to scratch that nice new paint do we.

After a short trip the coach arrives in the station for attention to the upholstery.  Although it was a bit damp the mood was bright and cheerful as we are close to having two coaches available for service.

The internal fixed upholstery is given a thorough clean. Here we are using the services of a Shropshire business putting money back into the local economy.

The still to be fitted seat cushions were treated to a clean indoors. Here you can see the nearest one has been completed, with work about to start on the second one. You can see the difference!

Another great day for CHR and a nice reward for the volunteers to see the results of their efforts out in the open.

There are still plenty of jobs to complete before the coach will be ready for service but we can definitely see the finish line now.

A big thank you to all of the many volunteers that have invested time in the restoration of the suburban coach and to Andy G for the pictures.

Until next time.

Technically Tainted Thursday

We are now in the season where inside jobs become the major focus for the volunteers. Guy wanted to take some pictures of the suburban coach restoration in Oswestry shed but a broken camera made that impossible.

Reg, 'The Body' has reached the last external panels and together with the others was working to prepare the surfaces for priming.  

Inside the coach, John 'The Wood' along with Glynn, was working in compartment number four to fit and finish the varnished woodwork.

The guard's compartment received further paint to the inside decor.  Guy's only photo shows Alan making progress.

Thanks to all who have braved the weather to volunteer. And to Guy for the picture, hoping the camera can be repaired or replaced without too much pain.

Until next

Park Hall Progress

Sunday was the last scheduled day this year for Norman and the rest of the extreme gardening group at Park Hall Halt.

Following the clearance Norman took a couple of pictures looking away from the halt.

Here is the view of the now clear section from the halt to the A5. If you look closely you can just see a white van crossing the line.

Looking the other way towards Gobowen you can see how much is still to do.

Both the vegetation and the volunteers will now take a break for Christmas. Both we are sure will come back refreshed to continue the battle.

Many thanks to Norman K and all of the volunteers who helped to keep the vegetation under control, may you enjoy you break.

Until next time.

Wet n' Dry

As we move towards winter the weather takes a bigger role in deciding what is possible.  This week, between the showers,  the volunteers continued with vegetation clearance and tracklaying at the Weston site.

In the first picture from Andy G we can see that the crock of gold that hides at the end of the rainbow must be on the trackbed.  However we were unable to locate it this time so we will have to continue to raise funds through more normal channels.

The team of volunteers carried on regardless extending the sidings on the freshly laid ballast bed.

Many thanks to Andy G for the pictures and to all who helped.

Until we find that crock of gold we continue to welcome donations of money, time or moral support.  You can donate through the website and thanks for your support.


Until next time.

Weston Sidings

Despite the cold then wet weather the work at Weston continues.  The freshly laid ballast bed was soon filled up with track.

In the first picture the team are keying up after placing the rail in the chairs.

At the end of the day here is a view of the growing second siding which leads in to the goods shed.

A good turnout of volunteers helped the work along. Many thanks!

Thanks also to CHR Facebook for the pictures.

Until next time.

Wet Working

As with most parts of the country it's been a bit wet so progress is limited in these conditions and photographs are of puddles.
Inside jobs seem to be favourite in these conditions. I wonder why?

Clearance work continued at Weston and some further ballast was moved into position.  Mechanical help arrived to help load sleepers on to the sidings.

The clearance south of the overbridge has started for what will be the end of the run round loop.  This area had become very overgrown and will need further work to create space.

Thanks to Glynn for the update and to all who braved the weather to help.

Until next time.

Halloween Fun

To add to the experience even the weather was dark and threatening on the day of the Ghost Train.  Great fun was had by all and our guests were treated to a not to be forgotten event.

Thanks to all of the volunteers who took part and to all who turned up. Due to the success it will be repeated again next year on the 31st October 2020.

Here are a couple of pictures from Dave R showing some of the attractions on display.

Who is this handsome chap??

Instead this one looks to have missed the food on offer, better luck next year.

The food went down very well with the living as well!

Until next time.

DMU Fleet

The team at Llynclys are starting on the overhaul and restoration of a 2 car Diesel Multiple Unit.  There is plenty to be done and they would love any help, encouragement or spare parts. Get in touch if you can help in any way.

There will be further updates as the work progresses but we start with a few pictures of the units in their current condition.

Thanks to CHR for the pictures.

Here we have one end which is DMCL 51512

The other power car is DMBS, the cars are coupled together here for electrical testing which showed up another couple of jobs to add to the list.

Work is already underway on the repainting of the bogies.

Until next time.

Santa Specials at Oswestry

Dates For Your Diary

In addition to the usual timetable we are already planning some special events for 2020 so here are the dates to put in you diary. We would love to see you.

30th 31st May. Model Railway Exhibition.

11th 12th July Oswestry Food and Drink Festival.

11th to 20th September. Heritage Open Days. Note trains run at weekends but the museum will be open all week.

31st October. Ghost Train.

7th 8th December. Santa Special

14th 15th December. Santa Special

21st 22nd December. Santa Special

Other events will be added during the year so keep a lookout for updates.

Until next time.

Halloween

Don't forget the special event this weekend.

Weston Station Progress

The CHR Facebook page has been updated with some progress photos from Weston.

For those without access to Facebook I am reposting them here.

We start looking across from the loading dock towards what will be the platform.

The loading dock will be home to rolling stock to assist with station facilities.

Looking along the loading dock from the stop block.

Now we are looking along the wall at track level of the two sidings.

Ballasting of the sidings is underway.

The office in the goods shed is being made ready for use as part of the facilities and will house displays about the history of the site and railway.

Many thanks to CHR Facebook for the pictures.

Until next time.

Team Tuesday

Team Tuesday had a varied day, working on fencing, logistics and horticulture.  

The site boundaries needed extending and remaking so it was back to the Cambrian Shuffle as panels were moved around and anchored in their new positions.

Norman was on hand with his camera to take a couple of pictures.

We start by sizing up the job to determine where the new fence will go. Then it was moving and shifting time.

The horticultural bit? Well one of the items on the list was to remove a tree that had grown up over the last thirty or so years. It took a bit of planning but as the picture shows we had the 'tree fellas' on hand ready to go.

Thanks to the volunteers and to photographer Norman K.

Until next time.

Llynclys Clearance, Second Weekend

Over the weekend attention was focused on Llynclys to remove excess vegetation and move stock around for better access.

Norman K lead the clearance team along with Mrs K, Miss B and Colin giving valuable assistance to push back a year of growth. Many thanks for performing this task. 

As Norman was pretty busy with the tools Guy took some pictures.  We start with Norman in mid strim taking down the level of scrub hoping to find a long lost Ivatt 2MT.

We did not find the loco but we did uncover future restoration projects for the C&W team.  You can see the saplings that have grown up since the last time this area was cleared.

A theme throughout the day was the level of standing water. Recent rainfall still needs to soak away.

The team continued with cutting back the brambles.

The piles kept growing during the day and will be dried out and burnt later on.

Colin indicates how high up the brambles have grown along the hedgeline.

And then gets stuck in gathering up what has already been cut.

The mounds kept growing during the day.

The weather mostly held during the day allowing good progress to be made.

Although the conditions under foot made you glad to have remembered to wear wellies.

In the yard the loco Alun Evans was out on shunting duty to move stock around for ease of access and future restoration.

Rob and John were the crew.

Thanks to all who participated with the work at Llynclys. Norman thinks that another session will be needed to finish off so keep watching.

Until next time.

Black Meadow Crossing Update

Although not yet finished we would like to share with you the progress on the restoration of the crossing by the CHR volunteers.

Guy and his camera have been out again to record the latest progress.  However we start this photographic journey in December 2016 with the lifting of the weed-ridden track.  

Since then many hundreds of hours have been spent by our volunteers working first on clearing the trackbed, preparing the sub base/materials, replacing the track and then ballasting. Not forgetting the installation of all of the drainage system.

Here is the view from the same location on Saturday. Quite a change.

We will now have have a  tour of the crossing, the  latest photos start with a view of the newly installed access gate.

Here is the gate from the far side of the crossing.

The fencing to the right has also been added.  The site fencing is to prevent people from straying on to the construction site.

Looking along the line to Weston you can just see the current limit of operation on the running line.

The crossing is now in place allowing our neighbour to access their fields. We are very grateful to our neighbours for the support they gave during the rebuilding.

The crossing now has warning signs which now mean something.  It had been a while since trains had run along this section.

The limit of operations will gradually be extended down to the cattle creep, possibly by the time of the Santa services.  The limiting factor is the number of volunteer hours.  If you fancy lending a hand come along and see what we are doing and talk to the team.

Thanks to Guy for the pictures.

Until next time

Forgotten Thursday

Another job ticked off at Black Meadow Crossing was the installation of an access gate. This was done by the Thursday Gang but everyone was so busy that they forgot to take a picture before moving to the next job. Later Guy took a picture of the gate now in the correct position.

There are still jobs to finish off but the list is getting shorter. 

Until next time.

Thursday Gang

It was back to the extension for the Thursday Gang to carry out more lineside clearance. 

On the open side of the track we have been pushing back the years of unchecked growth to the fence line and thanks to the cooperation with our neighbour we have been able to store and then incinerate the cut material.

Norman took the following pictures showing the now open aspect along the line between Black Meadow Crossing and the cattle creep.

We start looking generally south west with the line of poplar trees indicating the start of the gentle curve in to the station site at Weston.

Looking back towards Oswestry under a heavy sky you can see the now fully open aspect along the line.

Andy G was on duty at the bonfire and was joined by some friends, including a very friendly bullock. As well as keeping warm by the fire the smoke also keeps away the flies so the animals tend to gather and then get closer and closer.

Another good day by the volunteers, thanks to all who participated and to Norman K for the pictures.

Until next time.