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The railway's Annual General Meeting was very well conducted and went without
a hitch on Saturday, 6th October. The main item on the agenda was the
election for Chairman, which was won by Dave Barlow with 76 votes, with
Stuart Bell coming a close second with 70 votes. The main issue was the style
of leadership which would most suit the railway at this stage in its
development, and whether a change is desirable. Maybe over the coming year
members could consider this issue and use the Newsline as a forum for
discussion.
Finances
Ian Douglas was pleased to announce that the railway's finances are in good
shape, but there is little money to spare, so we still have to be careful.
The first phase of the shed is done and paid for, and work has started on the
Class 14 now it is under cover. The problem is that vehicles are being moved
in, and we need to make decisions about what should be in there and what
should not, in short, we need someone to run it. The new Mark 3 sleeper has
been bought and should be leaving Cotswold Rail by the 15 November. A
donation is needed from everyone who wishes to use the sleeper to pay for
transport - please get in touch with Ian about it.
Holywell Halt
One item which was discussed at length was the state of Holywell Halt, and
whether it should be brought back into use. Although the view was expressed
that it should be abandoned, a number of people felt that it was still an
asset to the railway and should be restored as a visitor attraction. Dave and
Anne Oughtibridge have been busy all year with gardening and tidying, but the
platform edging must be replaced and the shelter is in need of some
restoration. This could be done at minimal cost, and it was decided to do
this work and make it a regular stop next year to gauge demand. I am sure any
ideas to improve the facilities would be appreciated.
Publicity
Concern was expressed that although the railway gets good coverage in the
local media, it doesn't seem to get much publicity in the railway press -
apart from derailments! This is in spite of the fact that we have someone to
send in press releases. Any member who has decent photographs of the railway
could send them in to the magazines - the more they receive, the more likely
it is that some will be published. It was pointed out that, while most of our
passengers probably don't read these magazines, good publicity in them could
reach potential volunteers, which the railway needs.
Learn with Thomas
Stephen Walker presented a study of a new venture by the owners of Thomas the
Tank Engine to collaborate with junior schools on using Thomas as a learning
tool for very young children.
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Colne Valley Railway has run a pilot scheme and we could be next to set one
up. Most of the work would be done by the teachers, with railway staff
required to run the trains, take tickets etc. this could be a very
interesting project for the railway, bringing in revenue, and hopefully
encouraging a future generation of railway volunteers!
Wartime Weekend
This year's Wartime Weekend was another success. Wartime troops and
civillians were in attendance; press coverage was good, and a photo even
appeared in Steam Railway!. Once again, Dave Hebden did an excellent job of
organising and running the event. The dance was enjoyed by all; the band was
really good. A lavish buffet was laid on by volunteers - thanks to all who
worked to put it on. And thanks to all members who helped with 'set dressing'
etc. to create an authentic atmosphere.
Loco Department News
John Beesley and Tony Hinton have been making good progress on Beatrice. The
wheel sets are now in the shed, where it has been discovered that in spite of
being well wrapped with grease, tape and tarpaulins, three years in the open
air have resulted in bad rusting of the journals. The team are now looking
for a company to turn them down to clean metal. They have been checking the
straightness and dimensions of the coupling rods and have discovered that
they are precisely the right length and the centres are still as accurate as
the day Hunslet made them! Gauges have been made to transfer the rod centres
to the chassis frame. New parts for the axle boxes continue to arrive;
castings for the axle box side liners are now being machined and will be
fitted by John Marrow.
John is making all the patterns for various castings for Beatrice and is now
making patterns for the axle brass castings for Spitfire / Revenge.
John and Tony hope to have Beatrice in the shed soon.
Carriage & Wagon News
The painting of RMB No 13 is all but finished, with just the roof to do. Dave
O. has got a boiler for RMB No 2 which will be fitted soon.
Coach No 4 is to be moved into the carriage shed for restoration - it needs
to be sanded down and generally prepared for welding work to be done in the
main shed.
The Peakrail wheelchair users' brake has a brake problem Pete Barry hopes
that work to check vacuum cylinders, pipes and dynamos can begin soon.
Winter maintenance should start in the next few months. Pete wants to swop
the sets over to work on the set that's been in use over the summer. The
problem is that it is impossible to do maintenance / cleaning work on coaches
at BA. Volunteers are needed for heavy cleaning work, e.g. shampooing of
seats, so please give a hand if you can.
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Bolton Abbey News
William Lister has nearly finished the searchlight signal on the roundabout,
the first of the signals to be erected at BA. Pete Burke and Steve Clunas
have been putting in bases for the line signals; three have been finished.
The White Rose Rally was a success. It was split into two events: vintage
cars on 29th / 30th September and commercial vehicles on 6th / 7th October.
The latter weekend certainly saw large numbers of passengers.
The pile of lamps at the back of the station, considered an eyesore by some,
have been taken away and raised £300 for the railway.
Current work includes digging up the platform for electric cables.
Embsay News
The huge pile of ash by the coal dock is gradually disappearing. On Sunday
7th, a Dogfish was put on the coal dock and was filled using a barrow run to
the elevator. Mark put in a hard day's work at shifting ash, helped by Dave O.
Even Anne O. gave a hand, putting younger and fitter members to shame!
People
Lesley Bird, after spending most weekends this year in one or other of the
railway's signal boxes, is about to take signalling up professionally. She
has just got a job as Railtrack signaller on the Harrogate line, and starts a
course at Crewe soon. Hopefully, the Newsline will not suffer unduly.
Stuart Bell has asked me to publish the following letter:
Many thanks to all of you who lent me your support in the recent election for
the post of Chairman. Your comments prior to and after the AGM were truly
appreciated.
I was obviously disappointed not to have been successful, but would like to
assure everyone of my continued involvement with the railway as before. The
only change is that my enthusiasm has been reinvigorated by your expressions
of support!
I have written to Dave as Chairman congratulating him and outlining many of
the concerns raised by you during the election period. You can be assured
that they will be pursued by us at the executive committee throughout the
coming year.
Finally I would like to thank Bob Bonsall and Rod Fall for my nomination and
their particular support and, in the kind of spirit John Keavey would have
expressed at such a time, let us all now work together in support of the
railway that means so much to us all.
150 Club August Draw
1st prize: No 50; Mrs E Carvell
2nd prize: No 14; Mrs S Turner
3rd prize: No 62; Mr P Walker
The next draw will be on November 4th
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