The Gala website is now live.

All the Gala news and info will be available on this link.

6880
 
Well I am pleased to report that 6880 continues to grow with more and more parts being added (I can see this line being used for many years to come).
 
Over the four days of  19th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd of June, we achived all we had set out to do. The team included: Quentin McGuinness, Ian Massey, Max Trench, Richard Pumphrey, Ashley Broomhall, Jon Kerr, and myself. We also had a helping hand from a possible new member, Richard Vanstone.
 
Without a doubt the 'man of the week' award goes to Ian Massey who seemed to be very persuasive when coaxing 15mm by 90mm metal bar around 90 degree bends with the biggest blowtorch you have ever seen. Well done Ian for all your help.

 
Richard and Mick seemed to be playing a game involving the magnetic drill and rota broach cutters, seeing how long each cutter would last. I am pleased to say we only had one break, and that was with just under 200 holes drilled. Again well done guys, but I assure you there are plenty more holes to be drilled!
 
The result of our labours were both rubbing plates (where the tender buffers against the engine) fitted, rear buffer beam fully fitted, with slots cut out. Front  saddle plate fitted, saddle plate angle fabricated, four angles cut and fitted below cab, and four other angles fitted to hold the buffer beam and saddle plate.

 
Ashley took charge of cleaning a collection second-hand parts we have acquired, some which will be fitted in due course.
 
John and Quentin spent time on working out the gala timetable, a thankless task which will not really make sense until next year.
 
Another thing of note was a visit by Paul Appleton who works for Ian Allan publishing (Hornby Magazine and Railway Illustrated are just two of the many titles they are involved with). Paul brought many good ideas and views to the table and he decided to sign up for 6880, with the possibility of becoming more involved.
 
The visit to the MEN Arena in Manchester to have ours ears blown by Whitesnake and Def Leppard was also a great night out.

The next set of working dates have now been published. This now takes us up to 2009.

Regards.

Will

Photo's by Mic Prior.

6880

Good progress was made this weekend, 31st May - 1st June, despite a small team consisting of Quentin, Max, Richard, John Kerr, Steve Rodenhurst and myself. Ian Massey popped in for a look as he was doing his firing test, which he has passed.
Well done Ian, you have just acquired more responsibility!

The dragbox underwent final alignment and was drilled and bolted into place. Max spent a few hours getting his head around 1936 Swindon drawings and managed, with the help of a few more pairs of eyes and Foxcote Manor, to decipher what it was trying to tell him and marked out the back buffer beam.

With mag drill and rota broach cutters the manufacturer of swarf could then begin, with around 65 holes to drill we knew this was gaoing to be a long job, and was going to stretch into Sunday. After a good nights sleep, the rest of the holes were drilled and with the aid of some temporary brackets the buffer beam was fitted to the dragbox.

So at long last 6880 has grown in width..

No doubt the extended weekend coming up in June, the 18th to the 22nd, we should be able produce even more swarf, and this should result in more parts being made and fitted.

We have just acquired a full set of eccentric straps at a fraction of the price it would cost to have them made new. I would not be far off in saying we now have around 75% of the inside motion. The eccentric rods are due to arrive towards the end of the month, complete with new pins.

We attended the GWRS gala on the weekend of the 24th to 25th May, usually a good turnout, but the weather was very windy followed by never-ending rain, so on Sunday we decided to head home. We did however make a small amount of money for the 6880 fund.

5199

So far I hear 5199 is running well with no problems, the Bluebell lads have taken to her with one driver requesting that they have her for keeps..... sorry but that is going to be a NO!

We have just taken delivery of a new radial truck spring as a spare, along with a set of new brake blocks and gaskets for the first boiler washout.

That's all for now, thanks for reading.

Will

6880

Construction of 6880 has started again!

After almost 12 months of non-activity on the frames, apart from final riveting last year, we have now restarted work with the drag box being fitted.

With 5199 to re-tyre, drawings to find, quotes on pattern making, casting, and machining, all in between fundraising, we were being asked what is happening with 6880?

So with many parts now on order, i.e brake hanger brackets, horn-guides, & horn-ties, some of which is now with the GWS at Didcot, you can expect to see some further progress.

On the subject of progress, we have now got the steel plate section for the back buffer beam brought in for marking out and another stretcher identified that will put more strength into the front section of the frames, and a list has been compiled of various items that will need be formed with a press.

I hope you all pleased that work has recommenced and you can look forward to more updates on the construction of 6880.

Working parties

The next working weekend will be on the

31st May/1st June

We will be setting ourselves up for the planned working week and the main job will be fitting the back buffer beam before progressing on with further plate work.

We have planned for the working week for 14th to the 22nd of June, but after much discussion at the weekend it has been decided to leave the dates as they are BUT it is likely work will not start until Wednesday 18th, with an extension into Monday 23rd June. This due to prior commitments of key members. Could you please tell me what days you may be able to make.

GWRS

We do intend to be at the GWRS Toddington on the 24th, 25th & 26th May. Please let me know me if you can make it as we need to arrange staffing for the stand.

Will Naylor, 4th May

6880

Progress update.

I recently spent half an afternoon discovering the delights of the Black Country, first visiting Shentons to collect the two vacuum brake cylinders, one for 5199 and one for 6880, then it was off to Boro Foundry to drop off the patterns for the Hornguides and hornties, they should be cast by the end of March, and then the last stop was Micron to pick up the dragbox.

I did manage a stop off at the SVR to view 7812 Earlstoke Manor being lit up for the first time in many years, this was my reward! I took a trip round the works and had a chat about railways and politics and then it was off to Llangollen to help out at the Thomas event.

The dragbox and cylinders were then delivered to Twinbidge engineering in Burscough to be machined, and are now finished and back at Llangollen. Hornguides and ties next!

We have asked Llangollen Engineering to quote for machining and fitting the hornguides and ties and I will be asking for quote to fit the dragbox and buffer beam. Once these items have been fitted we are then in a position to work on 6880 ourselves which will lead nicely into the planned working week in June.

The cost of it all.

Building 6880 is not cheap and I would like to give you some idea on how we are spending the money.

• Brake cylinder - £399
• Machining brake cylinder - £315
• Hornguides fronts and middles - £150 each and there are eight of them!
• Hornguides rear - £180 four off
• Dragbox pattern in polystyrene - £148 (we were quoted £900)
• Dragbox casting - £1293.00 (again we were quoted over £2500)
• Dragbox machining - £1000 (I did haggle on this and shaved off £150)

We do adopt a transparent policy with 6880 in the decision making, costs etc so I have no reservation in publishing information.

The cylinder pattern has been quoted (this is a fixed quote that will a maximum, but could be less) and is looking set us back a cool £26.500 but it is payable over a period of time. No doubt we will looking into this as soon as the quote for the extension frames comes in this later week.

5199

Just a word of thanks to all those rallying round 5199 in order to get her back into traffic.

Being on your own in the shed is no joke, it is cold, colder than outside, which was -5 at one point, and as Llangollen is not awash with volunteers as most were helping out at the Thomas event, in the event of me having of accident I would not of been found until Monday...

A big thanks to Ste Jones and Gary Roberts who lent a hand putting the brake rodding back, and to Mick Prior on a Sunday for getting stuck with his usual high degree of enthusiasm. 5199 now has working brakes once more after lots of fiddling about unbolting and readjusting. There is still most of the motion to put back, mainly the heavy bits, but this is already scheduled.

At least we're on the home straight .

Regards Will.

WANTED!

The missing rear radial truck tyre has now turned up at the SDR and the complete wheelset should be back at Llangollen later this week.

So come on boys and girls, 5199 needs our help over the next few weekends.

Feb16th-17th, & 23rd-24th, with the possibility of other dates too.

We have to refit:

• All the Brake rodding.
  •
  • Eccentric rods and straps.
  •
  • Coupling rods and con rods.
  •
  • A repaired boiler band.
  •
  • Put back front footplate.
  •
  • Lots of painting and cleaning.
  

Piston and valve exam has revelaed more work needs to be done by the fulltime staff as well as the firebox repairs, these are being attended tat the moment. As we all know work done by Llangollen engineering costs money and eats into our next overhaul budget, So it is up to us to do what we can do to keep the costs down.

Please contact me if you can help.

I will make myself available BOTH weekends.

Regards Will

5199
 
The saga of the wheels continues with hiccups along the way, these include:
 

• The leading pair has at some point had shims fitted between the wheels and tyre, this would have been to avoid scrapping the wheelset. Fortunately they have trued up on the lathe and they are just within tolerance, this means next time 5199 is retyred she may need a set of new wheels, the good news is it won't be within our lifetime and they are still acceptable for mainline running.
• One of the rear radial wheels had a crack in it which has now been welded.
• It took a week to grind all the welding off that held the tyres in place, delaying the job.
• We are still waiting a rear radial truck tyre to be delivered prior to fitting.

Despite this we are still on course for all wheels back at Llangollen before the end of January.

We are all set to finish painting the frames this weekend as the weather forecast is good.
 
6880
 
Now the good news!
 
We have just placed the order for the rear dragbox, with an expected delivery in 5- 6 weeks. The next step on this component will be machining the casting.
 
The horguide and horntie patterns should be finished by the end of this week. We still await quotes to come in so as to make a decision on where we will get these castings made.
 
Ian Massey and I are making a trip on the 14th of Jan to Somers forge to discuss forging the extension frames, and at the same time we be dropping into a pattern makers and foundary in Stourbridge to discuss the cylinder pattern.
 
 We have just purchased 4 second-hand buffers and 2 brake hangar brackets.
 
We are planning a working week in the last week of May, this being the 24th though to the 1st June, though we will be planning a trip to see the Australian Pink Floyd on the Friday night!
 
Will Naylor

5199
 
Would you believe it was raining in Llangollen again?
 
After a bit of botching Max and I turned the steam cleaner/ pressure washer first into a flame thrower, then a smoke maker, and finally managed to make a steam cleaner. I am happy to report it stayed as a steam cleaner the rest of the weekend!
 
We worked until well after 6pm on the Saturday evening by using the floodlights, such is our dedication...or mentality!
 
Over the weekend we saw Neil Tiley, Ste Rodenhurst, Quentin, Mick Prior, John Kerr, Richard Cadge and David Huntbatch. The work was split between the 5199 cleaning, and preparing for Warley.
 
The wheels have now arrived at the South Devon Railway.... though there is still no sign of the tyres.
 
6880
 
We have been offered a drawing done by Andy Foster from the WSR which was used in the mogul/prairie 9351. He is happy for us to use it, a close study of it reveals it to be exactly what we want and is dimensionally correct when compared to a set of dimensions I took off Earlstoke Manor last year.
 
As this drawing is proven we are now sourcing quotes to complete this job. A Polystyrene pattern was used for 9351, and as this becomes wasted in the casting process we will need to remake the pattern before our own casting can take place.

Will Naylor

More passes are available for people who want to help on the 6880 stand please contact us ASAP if you can help out.

Laurence Waters, author of 'Power of the Granges' (ISBN: 9780860936107) will be at our stand signing copies of the book on Saturday Dec 1st at Warley Model Railway Exhibition (NEC).

We will have 20 signed copies on sale at £19.95.

If you can't make Warley the book is available through our Amazon link, and you get to help us out with a small donation!

5199
 
We had a wet weekend due the rain and a good soaking from the pressure washer. The hardcore few of Richard Pumphrey and myself, with Mick Prior joining us on the Sunday, got the jobs done, with a little help from the pannier tank lads, Mike Watts, Gareth Roberts (of the gala website) and Roger etc, who all lent a hand in removing the axleboxes.
 
Once this was finished we then found out the steam cleaner wasn't steaming, but was pressure washing. In the end it did the job of removing all the muck and grime from the five wheelsets.
 
The wheels were due to be collected today, the 15th November.
 
 
Stocking the stand
 
So far we have been quite successful in bidding on Ebay for collections of railway books to re-stock the stand, unfortunately for Hugh Shipton they all seem to need collecting in his neighborhood, we guess he dreads the phone ringing another with " can you collect?" or "how far from you is such a place?"
 
So a big thanks to Hugh for picking them up.
 
If anyone has any railway books, videos, DVD's or other salable items they would like to donate to us to help raise money for 6880 then please let us know. We are looking at Warley as a profitable venue, but we also have to keep in mind the next West Somerset Railway and Llangollen Galas.
 
6880
 
There is not much to report on construction, this time, but there has been some activity behind the scenes. Craig has just finished a new leaflet, this should be available for Warley, and B&Rs long waited DVD has now been passed to Quentin and myself for review. We are impressed, and are sure it will be well received. 
 
We will be returning to construction work in the new year, but will have to prioritise putting 5199 back together when the wheelsets arrive back from their re-tiring.
 
Richard said on Saturday "he's itching to get stuck into building 6880 again", I think we all are!

Will Naylor
 
 

5199
 
Every now and then (or our case all the time) we get together, enjoy a bit of banter, and get covered in muck. The 23rd-24th October was just such a weekend.
 
A big thanks to all who turned up and dived underneath 5199, the all being Quentin, Mick, Spud, John, Max, Hank, Ian and myself. The result was 5199 became a little cleaner underneath, and everyone's washing machines became a little more worn out due to the amount of dirt carried home on Sunday evening!
 
It was also a successful weekend in terms of jobs done that didn't need passing onto the full time staff, saving them a job, and us a few quid on the way. A final list of jobs was passed to Dave Owen, these include:

• Axleboxes modified to improve oiling up.
• Resleeving the front pony truck as there is too much play in the barrel.
• Some patch screws are to be fitted in the firebox.
• Fitting a new W valve and a live steam injector valve as the old ones are life expired.

 
I am pleased to say that the removal of all five wheelsets went without a hitch on the 7th November...
well no one is telling me if there were any so I assume everything went well!

She is now up on blocks outside the shed and there is a planned working weekend this coming Saturday, 10th-11th, so we can steam clean as much as possible before  the wheelsets go away to the South Devon Railway for re-tyreing.
 
So with 5199 progressing well we can turn our attention to 6880
 
6880
 
A drag box drawing has been supplied by the WSR and although not a genuine Swindon drawing it is taken off the 'limits and fits' book, and it may well do the job 'as is' or it may require slight alteration. A pattern doesn't exist as a polystyrene one was used so it is lost in the casting process.

Mick Prior has kindly taken on the role of Merchandising, with assistance from  Spud and Kerry. We now have the option of selling 'online' through the website, and the range will also be expanded. We are also stocking the stand with lots of railway books to make it more attractive when we are out and about. Mick has also placed an order for some 'goodies', but won't yet reveal what they are. Watch this space...

Will Naylor

6880
 
The patterns for the Hornguides are now finished, and the specifications for the metal is decided. We have three foundries identified as suitable for casting the guides, and will decide shortly on the best option. We are also now in the process of deciding if the hornties should bee profiled or cast.
 
5199
 
A successful Saturday was spent with Ian Massey, Richard Cadge, John Kerr, Steve Rodenhurst, Mick Prior and Spud removing all the outside rods. Well done lads. Unfortunately due to late arrivals, my ill health, and a Black five blocking the pit, only part of the brake gear was tackled, about half of it was removed. The rest will have to wait until next time, though I am trying to find another day or two free. Please contact me if you can spare a little time to help out,  we should have the pit inside the shed available this time.
 
Warley
 
First a few facts. Warley is the biggest exhibition in the UK, consider that Manchester hosts around 4000 visitors in a weekend, Warley hosts 18500,  with up-to 12500 on the first day!
 
Quentin has been in touch with the event organiser and it seems we are only allowed 6 tickets so......you know what's coming next.
 
Who can make themselves available?
 
Friday Nov 30, Sat Dec 1st. or Sun Dec 2nd.
 
Please state if there are any days you can help out, as we assume these passes can be exchanged and are not tied to individuals. The tickets go with the stand so it is a maximum of six people each day.
Friday is be set up day, the cab has to be in by 7am, but we should have more information soon. 
Don't forget there is also the Llangollen Railway Xmas do on the evening of Saturday, 1st December.

Will Naylor

Our online shop is now open. The first two items available are the Malcom Root painting, Second Chance, and Craig Tiley's drawing, The Vision.

Out branded clothing and other items will be available within a few days.

It now now possible to donate funds to the project directly from the website. If you want to make a contribution to the project, just click the 'Make Donation' button.

6880
 
The patterns for the hornguides are now complete, and quotes being sought with a view to making a decision on where we go for casting. We still have to check that the VAB approve the specified steel.
 
The Llangollen gala on the 25th-26th produced some surprising results. The timetable was very intensive on the Saturday, with a freight you could ride on and two autocoaches. The return of 44806 also went well. We all enjoyed it, and guess there was some inspiration from a certain 'other' gala that happened a few months ago. We hope this is the start of a new look for the Llangollen Steam Gala's!
 
The Grange stand was out in force and for the first time was not manned by Quentin, or myself (well not much!). At some during Saturday point there was the spectacle of Kerry, Emma and Heather dancing behind the stand, I was not there to witness this, but the almost all female crew netted us nearly £600 on the Saturday alone. This is one of the best day's 'takings' we have ever had, so we have to consider is this the shape of things to come? On the Sunday we lost Emma and Heather but acquired Das Spudmeister, John Kerr and a helping hand from Martin (Splitpin) Perry and raised a further £300. Thank you to everybody who helped out.
 
5199
 
We are now preparing for dismantling for the re-tyre. The first weekend on the 22nd - 23rd September, with others to be arranged depending on how things go. I know a few of us are itching to get our hands dirty again, so we should hopefully see some good progress.
 
We have just had a request for her to appear at the WSR in two weeks time, but after careful consideration we have decided to decline for a number of reasons, the tyres being the main one.

 
Dont forget Warley 1st 2nd December  
Will Naylor

Sorry folks, this news item appears to have not been published until 6th October. A simple checkbox to tick, and I missed it!

Webmaster.
 

Now available to download, Newsletter 10.

8 Pages including a Gala Gallery.

Download yours now if you do not have a printed copy.

Bluebell Visit.
 
The Bluebell visit was a fantastic day out for Quentin and myself, we were looked after very well by Lewis and Chris, the footplate ride on 9017, and a chance to drive being one of the highlights.
 
The 125 Bluebell Gala on the 11th and 12th August is now an event we are very keen to attend with the 6880 'Roadshow'.
 
I urgently want a response from anyone who can help out.
 
This will involve driving down Friday night and two nights camping. We will be based on Horsted Keynes station, footplate passes can be made available. There is a members train on the Saturday evening with the C Class and the Q1 doing the whole length of the line, possibly including the new extension. On the Sunday afternoon, following the cavalcade (where did they get this idea from?) the Bullied Pacific's are doing a 12 coach non-stop run.
It will be a long weekend and unfortunatly it is not all play as we have a stand to man, but you will be seeing the Blubell Railway at its best, and, if you have never visited before you will be seduced by its charms!
 
Please let me know ASAP if you can help out.
 
 
6880.
 
The Frames are now being riveted together in the workshops at Llangollen by Adam and Dan. The last time I saw them the front stretcher had been completed and they were working of the middle two, with the aim is to have all four finished by the end the week.

The patterns for the hornnguides should be finished very soon and we will be leaving it up to Dave Owen to source a foundry and acquire the correct metal specifications needed.

We are also working on a final design for the dragbox, and we have been given the option of a fab/weld, fab/rivet or a cast design, so we will have to make a decision soon on the best design.

The window has now been glazed on the drivers side (At Last!) with the new frame cast by the Earlstoke Manor group.
 
Working weekend.
 
The working weekend of the 30th June-1st July saw a good turnout on both days. The cab window was glazed, and as part of our 'giving back' initiative, two lampposts were dugout of platform 2 ready for rewiring and installing the new GWR patten type. The new lamp posts were given a coat of paint as well.

 
The container had a much needed clearout as too much time was spent looking for nuts and washers that were right under our noses.....
 
Ian Massey and I took a look at the boiler, we are hoping that it will be moving to the loco works soon to be prepared for de-tubing, we also see the wasps have moved back in so there is another little job to attend too as well!

Next working weekend is the 28th 29th July, as always everyone is welcome!
 
Gala 2 News.
 
The dates are have now been approved the next gala.......wait for it ........

18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th April 2009
 
Remember nothing is final yet, we will of course update you when we can.

 
Will Naylor

Gloucester and Warwickshire Railway Society Gala.

We have just got back from the GWRS Gala at Toddington. Thanks for the invitation and hospitality Mr Goodman, Ian Carpenter and all at the GWRS.

The 6880 stand now seems to be reaching another level. If you cast your mind back to when we first took 5199 to the GWRS we ran a stand for 6880 on the platform at Toddington with two boards and a safety valve bonnet! The bonnet and boards are still there......with 9 tables a HUGE gazebo (the 6880 tent), three 8' by 4' boards, a TV and DVD player, the 6880 game, and two nameplates, one wooden one and the real deal.

The 'crew' on the stand (Danny Hopkins)

The first time round it was manned by Quentin and myself, we are still there, but now with a lot more support. This weekend we had Ian Massey, Martin (Splitpin) Perry, Matt (the hat) Davies, Craig and Neil Tiley , Mark (Spud) Jones, John Kerr, Geoff Jones, Mick Prior, Emma Pedar, Richard Cadge, and David Huntbatch.

Consider that when we started on this journey building 6880 we didn't know any of them, and in fact the company was started with less than half this number! It just goes to show enthusiasm is infectious.

Overview of the stand (Q McGuinness)

We grossed around the £750 mark, but also saw three new standard memberships, and have reached number eight in the express scheme.

A big thank you to all who helped out.

Inside the 'tent' (Q McGuinness)

Invite.

We have been invited to the Bluebell 125 event on the 11th & 12th of August, and although it is some way away in time, and distance, we are planning on attending as this is 'new territory' for us. If anyone thinks they could give us a day or two to man the stand please let us know. Quentin and I are visiting the Bluebell Railway in July, and we will make a final decision on wether to attend. Don't forget the Warley Model Railway Exhibition at the NEC, we are taking the cab as part of the display! Finally we have also been invited back to the GWRS again in September.

The stand now takes a bit of floor space! (Q McGuinness)

Steel Steam & Stars II.

I was reminded by someone (thanks Craig) that it is now only 22 months until the next gala! I do not quite know if I am supposed to panic or think so what! We have some proposed dates in April 2009, and a whole load of ideas to make the next one even bigger and better, but we are willing to take on board suggestions, or criticisms. Don't be shy, let us know what you want.

6880.

Time is being taken at the moment to decide on the best way to construct the Dragbox. We will give you an update on this, and other progress very soon.

5199.

A new set of tyres has been ordered through the SDR, as soon as they land we will be pushing to get them fitted. Once this is done we will be able to see her hired out to other railways again.

Will Naylor, 4/06/07

Now available, Steel Steam and Stars DVD.

Visit the shop for more details..

Sorry for the messed up site at the moment. We had to change our hosting partner, and the ‘old’ site would not move in the way I expected it should, so we took the opportunity to start rebuilding the site from the ground up.

We hope you like the simpler ‘look’, and we hope you will get more from the site as new features are introduced.

There is a lot of work yet to do to put everything back in it’s place, and the easiest way to do it is one section at a time to minimise the time we spend ‘offline’. Please don’t worry if you see anything strange appear, or disappear, the main site will remain live through the updating process.

Don’t forget if you would like to see anything here, or make any comments the email address is at the bottom of the page, or you can use the new commenting button below.

On Tuesday the 3rd of October the frames were despatched to Tipton Mill to be put through a rolling mill in order to remove what is known as a 'crossbow' in the drivers side frame. Despite contacting them the week before and agreeing the time and date for this job it had not crossed their minds to tell us that their big rolling mill that was needed for the job was now in the process of being sold to India, and, despite the fact the job would of only taken a couple of hours, they had now no interest in helping us.
It is no wonder that manufacturing in the UK is going downhill, or that they have to sell off equipment to India!

Frames loaded and ready to go. (W. Naylor)

Quick thinking by Ian, Chaz the driver and myself saved the day. A couple of calls revealed Ballachree Ltd in Bradford who owned a suitable set of rollers. They were able to help us in our hour of need, so it was off over the Pennines now.

Thanks go to George and his team at Ballachree for helping us out, they could not have been more helpful. They saved the day for British engineering and showed us what northern hospitality is all about.

On the rolling mill at Ballachree. (W.Naylor)

I believe this is the first time a Grange has been to Bradford too!

The frames are now back at Llangollen awaiting final assembly. The 'crossbow' was corrected by more than 75%, but with a couple more minor tweaks at Llangollen they will be within tolerance and fully fit for use.

They would have been put back on the frame stands and ready for assembly on the 7th & 8th October working weekend, but someone decided to take the front wheels out of 5643 and left the road blocked with a 50ton crane on the weekend. So thats the job for next time then!

6880 is put through the mill. (W Naylor)

AGM REPORT

The AGM took place on the 8th of October in the function room at Llangollen Station, attendance was good with some new faces seen. Some of the main changes were:

Ian Massey is now the engineering Liaison officer and is in charge of liaising with Llangollen Engineering on the build process.

Richard Gadge is the new membership secretary and has a misson to increase the membership and boost income further. Looking back on last year we have now effectively doubled our income, largely due to the Express Scheme, details of which will be included in the website very soon.

Discussion took place regarding the assembly of the frames and the possibility of contracting the work to Llangollen Engineering. This will guarantee the job is done in time for our Gala Steel Steam & Stars, making 6880 herself the centerpiece exhibit.

Written by Will Naylor
Last Updated ( Sunday, 15 October 2006 )

To all those who helped on Saturday 23rd, THANKS. Doing days like this now allows us to send the mainframes to be straightened a lot sooner than waiting for the next working weekend.

The biggest surprise is we now know that Max can design something in his head, measure, mark out, cut, drill holes, and it all fit together. Well done Max for the design and building of the 'toast rack'. The frames they wil be going away on Tuesday 3rd October to be manipulated and should be back the same day.

Laying out the 'toast rack'.

The SVR was a good do in the evening, meeting friends old and new. They had a great turnout of visitors, as always. Lets hope we can make our Gala even better!

Setting the rack up on the wagon.
 

Dave Owen has sent us a quote for assembling the frames with stretchers etc, this will be one of the topics for discussion at the AGM and will be dependent on our finances and terms of payment.

Loading the frame plates.

The Heritage Railway magazine sponsor leaflet and advert are now finalised. Heritage Railways will sponsor 50% of the leaflet cost, and a full page advert in the Magazine, worth in excess of £800. The leaflet will be full colour A4, designed by, you've guessed it, Craig Tiley, with a planned print run of 40.000.

Max taking a well earned rest.

 

THE IMPORTANT BIT
 
Quentin and myself are run ragged with all the admin work, the gala preparations are begining to take a toll on us, and we have a huge mountain to climb in order to make this event the success we all want it to be.

 So if anyone who does have some freetime, or arms, legs and mouth in the right place, depending on the task in hand, please contact us and offer some assistance.

We all like to get our hands dirty or polish the armchair sometimes, but 6880 has a real chance of moving forward next year with the success of the Gala making a very real possibility of the extension frames being made and fitted. The Gala requires 100% effort to make this happen, and we need everyone onboard to do as much as they can.

We will have 40.000 leaflets to give out by the 20th April. Can you help distribuite them?

Do you attend model railway exhibitions, could you distribuite some leaflets to them?
Do you attend other railway events or gala's, could you help by distribuiting some leaflets there?
Can you help build a database of good contacts for a mailshot?

It does not matter where, but we need to distribuite as many as possible to potential visitors before the event starts. Please contact us if you can help.

The next report will be from the AGM. 
All photos by Quentin McGuinness
Contributed by Will Naylor
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 04 October 2006 )

Working Weekend.
 
With two teams working over the weekend we are pleased to say both have done well!
 
Mick, Emma and Steve managed to raise over £250 over the two Gala days, and considering we used to take about £100 over a Gala weekend we offer a big thanks to the sales team. I know they are itching to get back into the shed to get their hands dirty! In addition Q and I found a nice £50 in the donation box from the platform.
 
In the workshop Max, Ian, Quentin and myself have now finished the cradle, or 'Toastrack', ready to transport the frames back to the Midlands for their final tidy up. I spent some time tidying up the welds with the grinder, Max was his usual unstoppable self, we think he wants to take our new magnetic drill out on a date, we can't seem to get him to part with it!
 
For those who missed the Gala action try this link, http://www.flipspix.fotopic.net/c1082235.html.

It was very surprising to see the amount of people wanting to see 6880 in the shed, and a lucky few got the guided tour.

News.
 
I'm is off to Hornby soon to pick up some Granges for the 6880 subscribers, the nameplates are ordered and should be here by November. We have spoken to Peter Rich and the nameplates for the big 6880 are his now first priority.
 
Our loan form the 3205 fund will be ending this month and that makes us over £250 a month better off.
 
Betton Grange Express.
 
Without doubt this is proving to be a success story in the making with three people signing up straight away. This in addition to the expected take up of the scheme. If we can get ten members onto the 'Express' by Christmas that gives 6880 over £10.000 a year extra.
 
We have had admiration from the powers that be at Didcot and Llangollen concerning the quality of the literature for the 'Express' scheme. Well done Craig.
 
Working weekends.
 
There is an additional working day on the 23rd of September, the misson will be to assemble the cradle on a flat wagon and load the frame plates on to it. The intention is that Ian & I travel down with the plates for checking, but it is planned that a trip to the infamous SVR gala will be made in the evening, night running on the SVR and the chippie at Kidderminster sound good.
 
If all goes to plan the plates should be back by the working weekend October 8th 9th. Dates for next years working weekends will be published soon.
 
Future plans.
 
One topic to be discussed is the approval of Llangollen Railway Engineering to assemble the frames for us, pending a favourable quote. It is now our intention to get Dave and the boys to put them all together, goes against the grain we know, BUT we need them finished and painted with the cab on top by the time our Gala comes around in April. As a team have not got the manpower to fit the job into the remaining timescale, the Gala is fast approaching we need 6880 looking her best.

Contributed by Will Naylor  
Last Updated ( Sunday, 17 September 2006 )

by Will Naylor
Saturday, 01 July 2006
Well its coming to that time of year again......The working week is on!

15th July through to the 23rd July. Mark that diary.

Q and I are working hard behind the scenes putting into place everything needed so there will be nothing stopping us from achieving the target of all the frames riveted by the end of the week.

There are quite a few jobs to do before we can start the riveting but as we all know once we get started it tends to flow well.

The countersink holes have now been welded up and a countersink bit has been ordered, Todd is making an adaptor so it can fit our mag drill. Thanks to Mark Leaman Lawrie for doing such an excellent job with the plasma cutter, we only have some light triming of the new angle irons to do now so by saving us machining costs we are once again indebted to his help and support. All the rivets are now sitting in the cab, 200 of them at £2 each.

Please let me knowlet me know if you are able to attend, there is some accomodation in the camping coach, 2 compartments will be finished, but I need to plan ahead. There is a £3 a night charge now, but all money will be put back into the coach, and it is hoped to progress with heaters in all compartments, more lighting, freshened paint and a start on the lounge...

Contributed by Simon Holden   
Sunday, 18 June 2006

This week saw the completion of the County frame conversion by Llangollen Railway Engineering.
In a press release George Jones of the Llangollen Railway stated:

"The modified frames from the Hall class loco 7927 which were dismantled at Llangollen last November will be rolled out on Friday 16 June with the number 1014 applied. The conversion job to make the frames suitable for a County is now complete with new buffer beam, new rear drag box, a revised stretcher and a repositioned bogie pivot which will allow for the larger wheels and the different boiler. The frames are off to Didcot on Tuesday 20 June where the rest of the recreation will take place by GWS."

Once again Llangollen Railway Engineering is proving the quality of the work it is capable of producing and that it is now a leading contract engineering source. Congratulations to all the team involved.

BBC Wales covered the event for an early morning news program, in the site downloads section there is an mp3 file.

Can't wait for 6880's turn, I think Quentin and Will want a little more than radio coverage!

Contributed by Simon Holden   
Sunday, 07 May 2006

This week saw the collection of the finished chimney from Swindon Copper Boilers.

Trevor Tremblin and Quentin


The new copper cap was sponsored by member Richard Cadge and made by company owner Trevor Tremblin. So far it is the only new part for 6880 to be made in Swindon, but we are pleased that such an important symbol of the Great Western Railway can still be produced in its spiritual home.


The finished chimney outside Steam, Swindon.

Contributed by Simon Holden   
Sunday, 30 April 2006

It has been another busy month for the 6880 team, although much of the work is 'behind the scenes' preparing for our big fund raising event. We will bring you more news on this very soon.

Work has now started on the boiler, and with the strip down starting a more thorough inspection has revealed the good news that this boiler was only 5 years old when Willington Hall was sent to Barry as scrap. We have been surprised with just how good the condition really is, prompting the comment 'almost as good as new'! There is still a lot of work to do, but we have a very good base to begin with.

Heating up the bolts. (W Naylor)


Undoing the bolts.(W Naylor)


Extracting the elements. (W Naylor)


How much more to go? (W Naylor)


Some were a struggle! (W Naylor)

The frames have been dispatched to Jay Engineering for machining, and are due back to us around the end of May. This will be a key point in the project and we will bring you news very soon.

The company is now VAT registered, and we have submitted another Gift Aid claim, both of these tax reclaims will help your donated pounds go a long way further. As always, thanks for your contribuition, without you it would not be happening.

Finished cab in the workshop. (W.Naylor)

As promised this is an update of the completion of the cab, it's leaving Llangollen for the first time, and the display at Crewe. We want to say a big thank you to everyone who has brought this part of the project to its conclusion. There was a lot of midnight oil burnt, and there were many who doubted it was going to be completed on time.

The comments we received at Crewe made the journey to get there very worthwhile, thank you to anyone who visited the stand.

Applying the finishing touch.(W.Naylor)



Into the daylight.(W.Naylor)



Onto the truck. (W.Naylor)



On Display. (C.Tiley)



No, It is not made of wood, it is the real thing. (C.Tiley)


Now you have seen what we can do, even under pressure, join in with us as we move on to bigger and better things.

Contributed by Simon Holden
Last Updated ( Sunday, 26 November 2006 )

Following the rejection of our offer back in 2004 by Kinlet Hall Locomotive Co, the tender was put up for sale. Apparently there was some interest in the wheelsets because subsequently two sets were sold. Two different purchasers means this was for spares.

Due to the fact that we had done a considerable amount of work on the tender frames (see news archive) it was felt by Kinlet Hall that we were duty bound to purchase them. Negotiations have been somewhat strained, but we have now agreed a mutually acceptable price. By the time you read this the tender frame will be the property of 6880.


Plans for the tender frame include shotblasting and painting to preserve them, when funds allow. They will then be stored whilst further progress is made on the building of the front half of 6880.
 
Short Term Financial Squeeze:

Having spent most of our accumulated funds on the tender, whilst rapidly progressing the cab in time for Crewe Works Open Day, we are currently suffering a short term squeeze on our funds. I would like to appeal to all our members to consider making a small one off donation of say £20 -£25 at this time to help us. The working team have put a lot of time into the cab to ensure it meets the Crewe deadline, but naturally we have had to spend a fair amount on items like the cab windows and fittings. We also hope to show off the splashers complete with beading and a finished nameplate. If you can spare a little for Betton Grange, please send cheques to my address shown below.
This leads me into the sponsorship scheme. We are trying to encourage individual sponsorship of particular items on the loco, and have released an initial list of parts. So far member Gareth Haines has sponsored the cabsides and John Sugg the spectacle plate and cab roof. We are grateful to them and their contribution will be registered.
 
Items needing sponsors:

Brass Beading for each splasher (£100 each)
Brass cabside number plates (£250 each)
Copper Cap for the chimney (£500)
Nameplates (Price not yet available)

A more comprehensive list of parts will be published soon.
 
Contributed by Quentin McGuinness
Last Updated ( Sunday, 26 November 2006 )

Contributed by Simon Holden    Tuesday, 23 August 2005 The weekend of 13-14th August has seen the cab come a little closer to finishing, here are some photo's of the latest progress.

Some small final adjustments were needed.




Closeup of handrail before painting.



The cab taking shape.



Quentin and Steve painting inside.



Quentin in discussion over final fitting.



Brass window frame fitted into place.



Cabside in primer, with numberplate fitted.



Almost finished. Quentin admires the view from the roof.

We are proud to announce that we have now begun work on 6880.

By the time you are reading this news item, the mainframes will have been cut, and delivered to Llangollen. We had planned on this momentous milestone in the construction of 6880 Betton Grange to take place at the end of this year, but we are pleased to be able to report that we have reached this point several months earlier than expected.
We also would liked to have brought you this announcement as it happened, but we have also tied this news to a major membership/fund-raising drive, the first part of which is a two part article on the Grange's in the current, and next, issue of Heritage Railway magazine. We have been able to release the news of the frames at the same time.

As in many things circumstances dictate what we are able to do, we had originally planned to purchase the steel for the frames at the 1st anniversary of the launch of the appeal, but better than expected fund-raising, and a huge rise in the cost of steel has brought forward our plans. We originally priced the cost of supplying the material and profiling of the frames a year ago, but unfortunately the last few months has seen a huge rise in the cost of steel, fuelled by the huge development taking place in China, and it is expected that the prices will travel much higher in the medium term. These events have seen the original costings rise by more than a third so we have taken this milestone decision to order the main frames now.

This is the first major component unique to the Grange to be manufactured for 6880, and they are the first set of Grange frames that have been cut since 1939. The suppliers are Jaymee Engineering in Stourbridge, West Midlands, and we have purchased the mainframe, stretchers and associated parts in a specification that is suitable for mainline use. The profiling has been done from the original 1936 drawings, and once they are delivered to Llangollen we will be able to make a start on drilling and assembling them. 6880 Betton Grange is now a reality, and it is thanks to all our supporters that we have come this far in the last year, however there is still much to accomplish, and we need your continued support. If you are reading this and have not yet signed up for membership, please join us, with a bigger membership what can we accomplish in the next year?

Contributed by Simon Holden
Last Updated ( Saturday, 13 November 2004 )

Contributed by Simon Holden   
Monday, 30 August 2004

As another attempt to take the promotion to a wider audience, we have once again been kindly offered space on the Heritage Railway magazine stand at the Great Dorset Steam Fair.
Mainly an event for our road going steam cousins, this event is an important one in the Steam calender. Indeed it is an event that organisers of the Railway events should take a note from, an expected 200,000 visitors, over 5 days, is only the start. If it was worth taking the Flying Scotsman to a similar event, it can do no harm to promote ourselves in a similar vein.

Thank you once again to all at Heritage Railway magazine magazine for making this possible for us, we will be attending from Friday 3rd Sept - Sunday 6th.

Sorry for the late arrival of this months update, things have been a little busy around here and I was fortunate enough to be able to take a short break to further slow things down....

As it is, you wait 40 years for a 'Grange', then 3 come along at once....

Rumors, denials and counter rumors are flying around at the moment, as well as our 12' to the foot scale 'Grange' both Bachmann and Hornby have models lined up for production next year, although we have not got a definite yes or no regarding the production of either model we have been able to offer our services to either manufacturer if they need it. We approached Bachmann earlier in the year to ask for confirmation or the rumor, and although they were officially denying it at the time, they were pleased to here from us and did confirm that it was a serious proposition for the 2004 line up. Hornby first advertised they would produce a model, then denied this, but they have since contacted us for some information. If one, or both, models do become available next year we see that it may well be beneficial to us in producing the real thing.

A huge backlog at the Charity Commission has again delayed the acceptance of our charitable status, this has in turn altered our plans for launching our appeal. It now looks like the end of the year, but we do have some important news which will affect the exact timing. We are currently heavily involved in putting the plans for the launch together, it has been another month where so much work is being done behind the scenes, but where we have very little that we can say has actually been done. We can only say that the effort will be worth it when we get there.

The website will shortly receive a major update to reflect the full project launch and to add all the details of this years work into the 'project' section. I should also be able to add some of the pages that I have promised but so far been unable to finish off, commitments to other parts of the project are taking a precedence at the moment.
Contributed by Simon Holden
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 08 June 2005 )

Contributed by Simon Holden   
Monday, 11 August 2003

In the best weather we will possibly see this year a start has been made on the physical work on the tender. Saturday was almost to warm to be working, and even though Sunday stated with a storm we made good progress with the planned work.
Sunday also saw the group presented with the LH cabside window frame from 6869 Resolven Grange donated to us by Dr Dicker.