Gartell work 15 November 2015

Between Chandler and myself we had decided that he was going to post the pictures of yesterday's activities, but mine are a little bit different, so here they are. We'll be spending the next few days removing thorns from various parts of our anatomies, ready for starting again on the remainder of the clearance with 'The Thursday Boys'.

Looking North at Park Lane before the work started.

The lads make a start.

This was just from the morning's activities!

Finishing up for the day. In 25 years of working on the railway, this is the first photo I have taken from the field. We certainly made an impact on the undergrowth! The Thursday gang can look forward to the rest of the clearance work.

C.J. picks up the last of the scraps for burning. A satisfying day.

(All pics, text and captions courtesy John Penny at Gartell)

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I really miss this - I started at Midsomer Norton on the Monday (mainly) Track Gang, and it was a real pleasure and privilege to be on the line cutting back undergrowth, repairing fences and, eventually, helping out on tracklaying. Hopefully in the not too distant future we'll be doing this at Midford and other locations along the line!

Gartell's last regular operating days of 2015

GARTELL LIGHT RAILWAY

John Gartell returns from the morning engine warm-through and line inspection in the beautiful but chilly October morn.

Heading up the hill in bright sunshine, No. 6 makes easy work of the 1 in 30 and 1 in 35 gradients as it rounds the curve and goes under the main-line bridge heading toward Pinesway Junction.

Fireman Mike Baker, proceeds to the front of No.6 with the coupling bar, prior to the run-round at Pinesway Junction.

No.6 passes points 11 at Pinesway Junction. The points will shortly change and the locomotive will proceed in an up direction, after it runs round its train.

The beautiful if chilly October morning is evident as the run-round takes place at Tower View.

Happy visitors at Tower View. The loco is running round prior to our non-stop run to Park Lane.

Simultaneous departures at Pinesway Junction.

Steve Rodd and Alan 'Chalkey' White crew GLR No.9 'Jean' as it runs through Pinesway Junction on the non-stop run to Park Lane with the latter-day 'Pines Express'.

Another spirited departure from Common Lane.

'Right Away' at Common Lane for the 'Pines'!

Steam and Diesel with a simultaneous departure from Pinesway Junction.

John 'Bert' Penny contemplates the next move at Common Lane 'box. (Photo by Dave Clark)

(All pics and text by or courtesy of John Penny at the Gartell Railway).

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The last open day of 2015 also brings to an end the 25th season at the GLR. With a plethora of willing staff, John was able to spend a little time behind the lens, just helping out with a couple sessions at Common Lane Box. I hope you like his selection of photos - and see you next year!

Gartell this weekend

(All pics copyright John Penny)

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This Sunday (27 September 2015) is the penultimate day of this season for the Gartell Railway - 21 years of operations!

If you haven't been to this fantastic and recently extended 2 foot gauge line with a distinct S&D feel you really should try and get along! With none of the commercialism and crowds of your typical heritage line it is an absolute joy to visit. And the weather is looking good too!

More info (from Wikipedia)

he Gartell Light Railway is a privately run narrow gauge edutainment railway located at Yenston, south of Templecombe, in Somerset, England. It operates a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway running for ³⁄₄ mile (1.2 km), partly along the track of the old Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway.The railway has 4 stations - Common Lane, Pinesway Junction, Park Lane and Tower View. The railway is controlled using a comprehensive signalling system operated from two signalboxes - Common lane and Pinesway Junction. Both signalboxes control a mix of semaphore and colour light signals with mechanically operated points. The railway is open to the public on selected dates through the year when it normally operates an intensive 3 train operation with departures from Common Lane station every 20 minutes through the day between 1030 and 1630.

Locomotives

Number	Name	Builder	Type	Date	Works number	Notes
1	AMANDA	Gartell Light Railway	Bo-BoDH	2000		Ex Southend Pier Railway, rebuilt on the railway
2	ANDREW	Baguley-Drewry	4wDH	1973	3699	Acquired in 2007
5	ALISON	Alan Keef	4wDH	1993	10
6	Mr. G	North Dorset Locomotive Works	0-4-2T	1998	698	Newly built for the line, based on the design of W.G. Bagnall locomotive Polar Bear
9	Jean	Alan White	0-4-0T+T	2008

the 'milkie' reborn!

(Photos courtesy John Penny)

These photos were taken last Saturday when the Gartell Railway ran a re-creation of 'the Milkie' which used to pass Common Lane at 3.30 every afternoon on its way to Bailey Gate. Tank engine, two coaches and the tanker! It has been John Gartell's ambition for years to do this, so do it - at last - he did. Shot one is in the station ready to leave and shot two a better view of the rear showing the tank of course, as it climbs away from Common Lane station. I've no idea when this service actually finished. Can anyone help here?

It's great to see the Gartell - currently the only operational railway on the S&D - respecting the fascinating history of the original line. The fact it's all on the two foot gauge makes it even more fun! Do try to visit the GLR when you get the chance - it's a real treat!

pining for the pines

Hot on the heels of the launch of the Pines Express Facebook group, John Penny at Gartell sent this pic from Monday to remind us all that a version of the Pines Express is already running over the route of part of the S&D. Remember, the S&D is far from dead and is now returning to life in FOUR separate locations - Midsomer Norton, Gartell Railway, Shillingstone and (in a few days' time) Midford.

unfencing the gartell

Four shots courtesy of John Penny showing fence removal work at Gartell on 21.3.2010. This is because a new disabled access is being put in.

Narrow gauge work always seems gentler and lighter than standard gauge work!

Please note- the GLR is on private property and participation is by invitation only. However, you may write to introduce yourself, and careful consideration is given to those who wish to become a member of this very exclusive band of volunteers.

gartell delight

We had a really nice trip to the Gartell Railway this afternoon, the last open day of the season. There were two trains running, both behind steam. I was last there around five years ago and there have been a few changes including the construction of a superb cafe/function room.

We also got to go up in the signalbox where I finally met John Penny who has been a great source of info on the Gartell over the last year or so.

All in all the Gartell is an excellent pointer to how the New S&D could develop, with a really friendly feel and excellent facilities. It does the S&D proud.

sid at gartell

(Photos courtesy John Penny 27.8.2009)

Three shots of 'Sid', a Maffei 0-4-0 of 1925 being tested for the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway following extensive work at the GLR workshops by John Uphill. Still a way to go as you can see, the chimney is only temporary and the boiler cladding will be put on at the L&B apparently. Certainly a very 'basic industrial' but it goes very well and rides quite well for a loco of this wheel arrangement. Interestingly, it still has repairs visible following an attack by a Spitfire. It will NOT be in steam over the weekend but the GLR IS fully open for services on Sunday and Monday over the bank holiday.

Don't forget that there will be (7¼" gauge) steam over the viaduct at Shepton Mallet this weekend as well, so there's never been a better time to come and see what's happening on the S&D. Combine it with a stop at Shillingstone and Midsomer Norton and you'll get a real feel for the potential our fantastic route has to offer.

deadly serious

Swanage Railway.


Welsh Highland Railway.


Gartell Railway. (John Penny).


Jinty at Midsomer Norton 2005.

One of the oddest things about all this New S&D thing is that I still occasionally get asked 'Is this a serious scheme?' It's deadly serious. I have studied the economics of Peak Oil, of transport and of railways and I still can't see any way - short of apocalypse - that this can't happen.

Consider two futures. One in which - somehow - economic expansion continues and some sort of alternative/s to oil is found. Roads would become increasingly congested, towns would continue to expand. Already our railways are bursting at the seams - new lines are not just desirable but inevitable. And in this (extremely unlikely) scenario economic expansion could lead to increased carbon output. How long before every government finally 'gets' what the rest of us have for years - that fuel efficiency is one way of reducing atmospheric carbon? Railways are at least FOUR times as efficient as road transport, much more than four times as efficient as air travel (which even in this scenario is doomed). Light and ultra-light rail are even more efficient.

The other future, the far more realistic one, will see economic expansion halt and even contract, and the road system grind to a halt due to a mix of sky-high oil prices, deteriorating maintenance of roads and ever greater limits on carbon output. This could happen over decades, years or even weeks. In this scenario rail expansion won't only be desirable but a matter of life or death, for communities if not for individuals. New railways will be opening everywhere, not just totally reversing the Beeching cuts but reaching places that never got a railway first time round, because in this scenario no railway = no way of continuing as an economic community.

The New S&D has never been about dreams, but more about stopping a nightmare. A New S&D is already needed, many feel that the original line should never have closed, in twenty years time only a few rocking lunatics won't see the need for it.

What we need - HAVE - to do is get organised NOW, develop our networks and contacts, within the rail industry, among local people, at local, regional and national political levels. It will be a struggle to get resources, human and financial. We will be competing with hundreds or even thousands of other routes desperate to reopen before the oil runs out. Serious? You could say that!

gartell at full pelt

(Courtesy John Penny)

Here are some shots from a very busy Gartell Light Railway on Bank Holiday Monday (13th April 2009). As you can see the brand new steam engine, No.9 'Jean', was out and running as they had hoped. It went out for a few times with their other steam engine, No.6 'Mr. G' for a few turns to check things out (which must be the first double-headed steam over the Somerset and Dorset for well over 40 years!) and then ran solo as you can see. There were only a couple of minor adjustments to do which is credit to its builder Dr. Alan 'Chalky' White, seen on the footplate with driver John Uphill and Alan's wife Jean.

Gartell's next open day is again a Bank Holiday Monday 4th May, and then again on 25th May. Please try to go along - you'll be pleasantly surprised!

quality track

(Photos courtesy John Penny)

Excellent pics of newly laid track on the Gartell Light Railway. Further to the stats given in an earlier post, there are nine lengths laid. It just requires a bit of time to settle in but it was laid with a laser level so it's all a lot better than was there before, which had merely spot resleepering and the occasional tweak over the last 20 years or so.

Gartell's first 2009 open day is 13th April - try to get along! This is still the only part of the S&D currently operating regular trains.