NGRM - The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum

July

Saturday 4th July Working Party at Tywyn and North Ings Railway Experience Day

Working Party

Present: Don Newing, Richard Evans, Frank Yates, Philip Sayers, Ray Brooks, Winston and Ann McCanna.

Work done included much office work by Don, while Frank continued painting the wagon at the top of the station drive. Ray, Phil, Richard and Winston cleaned all the locomotives, signalling equipment, and the glass panels on the stairs. The upper floor was being used as part of the garden railway exhibition so this prevented much progress in that area.

Across the tracks at wharf, a small gang had been busy during Outdoor Week continuing the new building to house the "indoor" end of the wagon weighbridge.

John Hague outside the new Weigh House. The steel pate on the ground covers the weighbridge pit.

Railway Experience Day at North Ings

Present: Malcolm Phillips, Peter Bowes, Laurence Gardiner, Stuart Hendy, Chris White and Tim Hall (site owner) plus twelve 10 - 14 year olds who were taking part.

Activities included guarding, issuing and checking tickets, signalling, cleaning and driving the NGRM diesel locomotive PENELOPE and assisting on the vertical boilered steam locomotive SWIFT.

Malcolm Phillips introduces SWIFT and Peter Bowes gives guard instruction

Stuart Hendy shows how PENELOPE works and Laurence Gardiner poses with trainee signallers

The Railway Experience Day is organised by the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society (East Midlands Area Group) and The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in co-operation with North Ings Farm Museum.

Wet Day at North Ings Wednesday 29 July

Present: Jack Harris and Chris White - Malcolm Phillips and Tim Hall were also present to offer encouragement and technical advice.

1. Took back the repaired starting handle for PENELOPE. It seems to fit well and we gave it a few winds but did not try starting the loco.
2. Remembered nuts and bolts to finally fix the oil pressure gauge.
3. Fixed the replacement air filter.
4. Drilled four holes in the new front platform – two more to go but ear muffs needed!
5. Removed the front fittings and gave the whole front end a further coat of anti-rust primer.
6. Made shopping list of bolts to fit the new front platform.

Painting the front end with anti-rust primer

The front with the underside of the new front platform painted

Replacement air filter attached to the air inlet

New oil pressure gauge connected and fixed

August

Saturday 1st August Working Party

Those attending on this occasion were Keith Theobald; Tom Place; Ann and Winston McCanna.

The session was very productive with the following tasks completed:-

The access to the showcase on the first floor containing the Lynton & Barnstaple and other English NG items was revised to enable the case lighting bulb to be replaced. This is the final show case to require this treatment, as all the other cases which needed it have previously been similarly modified.
The fixing for the recently installed digital photo display on the first floor alongside the Guinness loco has bee improved.
The finishing touches have been given to slate wagon No 101 (see photo)
The opportunity to replace the four loose chairs in the museum with good examples ex café was taken and the replacements were polished.
The floor was swept throughout.
All the locomotives were dusted and polished.

September

Saturday 5th September Working Party

The working party on Saturday 5th September received more support than on recent sessions, with Richard Evans; Tom Place; Ann and Winston McCanna; Don Newing; Ray Brooks; Keith Theobald and Eric Wooding all putting in an appearance.

Winston finished off the final painting of the TR slate wagon at the top of Wharf Drive, following the work done earlier in the year by Tracksiders, while Richard put another coat of grey paint on the deck of the LNWR wagon in the Nutty Shed. Ray got stuck into cleaning the locomotives, while Tom cleaned the glass show cases and the glass on the stairs. Ann was the duty attendant, but this did not deter her from thoroughly sweeping the floor and the staircase, which looked much improved subsequently. She also made the morning coffee and produced biscuits.

The LNWR wagon was then pulled out of the shed into the open and Richard and Winston painted all the black surfaces. Sue Whitehouse appeared and agreed to touch in the wagon plates in white when the black has thoroughly dried. When the painting was completed the wagon was pushed across the yard to get it in place on its on the 2' 0" gauge display track. This task could not be completed as a neatly piled stack of sleepers blocks the way, but Mike Carpenter promised to move the sleepers, (they are palletised) and place the wagon on its track with the Bobcat. We received assistance in moving the wagon from Mike and from president Richard Hope.

Eric emptied the donation boxes and he, Keith and Winston had a discussion on modifying the boxes to make them easier to be used, and Winston undertook to make a start on that task shortly. It was also agreed that the wood columns supporting them should be stabilised by placing weights inside.

After lunch Richard put a coat of black and green paint on the platform scales in store in the Nutty Shed and some tidying up in there was also done. Tom and Winston continued with the locomotive polishing and completed the task before closing time.

Don and Keith meantime were engaged in the further work toward achieving accreditation for the museum.

For a change the weather was dry which enabled some catching up of arrears on outdoor tasks.

The freshly repainted LNWR slate wagon