SINGLE LINES
■ CONSTRUCTION of the new 2ft gauge Bagnall ‘Sipat’ 0-4-0ST by North Bay Railway Engineering Services for West of Fife Munitions Railway members has proceeded rapidly. The frames and stretchers have been erected and the coupling and connecting rods machined. On January 28 the completed boiler was pressure tested. The loco will bring steam to the line being developed on the site of the ex-Royal Naval Store Depot, Lathalmond.
■ CONSTRUCTION of the body of Leighton Buzzard Railway’s new carriage No. 14 has been completed, including painting, lettering and a first coat of varnish. The seats incorporate timber from an oak tree felled two years ago during construction of the Munday’s Hill extension. Bogies have been prepared and are ready to be mounted under the vehicle, but renewed lockdown restrictions halted progress in late December.
■ BURE Valley Railway’s Winson 2-6-2 ‘ZB’ No. 6 Blickling Hall departed to North Bay Railway Engineering Services on January 7. NBRES lifted the boiler on January 13 and will fit the new ‘ZB’ boiler NBRES manufactured last year.
■ AN opportunity has arisen for Exmoor Associates (EA) to buy a significant length understood to be some three miles - of disused Lynton & Barnstaple Railway trackbed between Bratton Fleming and Wistlandpound. With funds depleted by the purchase of Bratton Fleming station last year, EA is offering additional shares to raise the required money.
■ EX-MoD Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DM NG51 (720/1987) and brake van NGB 8506 have been purchased from Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway by Leighton Buzzard Railway (LBR) volunteer Rob Leah and placed on loan to LBR. The loco is likely to be fitted with LBR compliant air braking.
■ ISLE of Man Steam Railway’s ‘pairs’ carriages Nos. F.66, F.67 and F.74 were moved in midDecember from storage in the goods yard at Port St Mary station to a hangar on Jurby airfield. The vehicles have not seen service for many years.
■ WITH cladding now added to the steel frame of Apedale Valley Light Railway’s new stock storage shed, the first panels of track were laid over New Year. Connection to the running lines will follow when work to resolve a drainage issue outside the building’s doors has been undertaken.