Iron ore tippler train in Northampton gala debut
THE Northampton & Lamport Railway joined the elite group of standard gauge heritage lines with themed wagon rakes when its recently assembled train of six ironstone tipplers stole the show at its August 27-29 bank holiday family gala weekend.
As highlighted in Heritage Railway issue 291, the Ironstone Train Project aims to assemble a typical rake of tippler wagons that were once commonplace in Northamptonshire, which has a long ironstone quarrying history.
The NLR, part of the Market Harborough to Northampton line, had several quarries along its route, including Pitsford Quarry, which closed in 1965 and where the exchange sidings are now part of the heritage line.
The tippler rake took centre stage at the 30742 Charters photographic event on the Friday evening, a first for the line, with gala visitor GWR 2-6-2T No. 5553 from Peak Rail running alongside home-based Hawthorne Leslie 0-4-0ST No. 3718 of 1928 Swanscombe No. 4.
New signalmen
A track circuit failure at Pitsford Sidings on the Saturday morning was rectified by the signal and telegraph department and as a result, the railway was able to operate the full timetable. With all signalboxes open, the line ran at near capacity, while the event also doubled up as an excellent training opportunity for some new signalmen.
In addition to the ore train, there was a second freight working comprising three ballast hoppers.
Railway chairman Adam
Giles said: “The ore wagons performed wonderfully. A few snagging issues were highlighted but these can be dealt with as time permits.
“We are still on the look-out for more ore wagons to strengthen the train. If railways do have any they would sell or agree to a long-term loan, we would be very interested.”
“We carried just over 1000 people over the three days. We haven’t done a full analysis of the numbers yet, but it looks like we made a small profit and all the volunteers enjoyed themselves.
“So long as the gala at least breaks even then it will remain a permanent fixture in the calendar.
“The format of a family weekend seems to be working over just publicising it as a gala solely aimed at enthusiasts.
“Hopefully next year’s gala will see passenger trains running to Boughton.”
Extension project
Volunteers have been working hard to complete the half-mile extension to Boughton.
The project has involved restoring an eight-arch low viaduct and building a completely new station with sidings and run-roundloop at the former Boughton Crossing on the A5199. About 230 cubic metres of earth needed to be shifted from the entrance at Pitsford & Brampton station in late August to allow for a future permanent station building, and use it to infill the new station platform at Boughton. Appropriately, the tippler rake was used to move the earth.
➜ The Chasewater Railway will be holding a coal train day on Sunday, October 16, telling the story of how coal was transported by rail over the years. The event will feature demonstrations coal trains, passenger services, and model railway displays. Visit www.chasewaterrailway.co.uk