Jobs aren't always straightforward

After Russell's first public appearance in steam over the Whitsun holiday, and its subsequent trials, the locomotive was finally ready to go into the carriage shop for painting.

One of the carriage shop's features is the slightly raised wooden floor which keeps the room warmer and is far more comfortable to walk around, or kneel on, than bare concrete.

This is fine for carriages but narrow gauge locomotives have connecting rods which have very little clearance from the floor. So the locomotive could not just be pushed in. Luckily, the railway has short section of track used for transporting locomotives which has a ramp that can be fixed to one end. After the track section had been placed in the shop, the railway's Diesel locomotive pushed Russell onto the raised track. Murray is now preparing the bodywork ready for painting.

CJ

A quiet Sunday

The forecast of heavy showers today (sadly all too accurate) meant that the railway didn't have too many visitors in the morning. The only silver lining was that carriage number 124, which had been withdrawn on the previous day, due to a failed bearing, wasn't missed. A replacement bearing will be fitted during the week.

Quiet times allow us to catch up with many jobs that aren't always finished in the hurly burly of a bank holiday, such as cleaning and restocking the Gift Shop's shelves. During this time a new tube brush was fitted to Beddgelert/Yeo's tube brush handle. Drivers dread new tube brushes as it makes the daily task of cleaning the boiler tubes extremely arduous, until the brushes have worn down a little. Envious eyes are cast at the Vale of Rheidhol and Ffestiniog Railways whose oil-fired locomotives tubes can be cleaned simply by pouring sand into the firebox.

CJ