An Oscar for the S&D

MIDSOMER NORTON SOUTH

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The SDRHT at Midsomer Norton were joint winners of the prestigious HRA/Steam Railway award for 2017 recognising the fantastic job the S&D community did to mark the 50th anniversary of closure of the line. I suspect there are MANY more awards to come as the line comes back to life all along the route. Well done to everybody involved. As a treat I'm posting a few photos of the actual event below.

Sentinel launch at Midsomer Norton.

MIDSOMER NORTON SOUTH

All pics 6.3.2016 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing

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Midsomer Norton South station will be open this Saturday (9 July, 2016) where, at 2pm, well known rail writer Paul Atterbury will be officially naming and launching the Trust's own steam locomotive, Sentinel 7109 'Joyce'. He will join the first steam run and afterwards be available to sign books.
Visitors will also be able to ride behind the diesel loco to view this authentic and growing section of the S&D.

The station will of course also be open on the Sunday as usual.

Yet another giant step for the S&D

MIDSOMER NORTON SOUTH

Thursday 18th February 2016: 

After many years of hard work, Sentinel 7109 finally leaves the shed under its own steam.
http://sentinel7109.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/rebirth-of-7109.html

Pic copyright Alan Price

The triumphant restoration duo of Andy Chapman and Nigel Dickinson are joined by ex Bath Green Park fireman Geoff Akers after a successful

test run of the Sentinel up the 1:50 bank from Midsomer Norton . 

This restoration is a marvellous achievement. ThisSentinel Steam Loco 7109 is planned to be in steam over the two commemorative weekends. Come along and see it. You will be made very welcome.

Text and pics above both via https://www.facebook.com/somersetanddorsetrailway

Video of the event

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I remember the Sentinel loco arriving at Midsomer Norton many years ago. It's steam, but not as we know it! The boiler sits astride the footplate which makes it the most inconvenient working area I've been in since DJing in Germany with the lighting console - and lighting operator - being between the two decks!

I think I own a share or two in the loco! Whilst I was there working 2 or 3 days a week occasional work would be done on it, amongst a thousand other jobs. But now she's finally in steam and actually running! A huge step forward for the S&D and great to see that such an unusual loco is back in the land of the living.

So Midsomer Norton will be running TWO steam locos over the coming two weekends, I shall wait for a nice sunny day and get down there myself to see a little bit of history in action. Whatever next?

Half hourly Steam on the S&D!

MIDSOMER NORTON SOUTH

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This is great news! Steam is returning to Midsomer Norton South on the weekend of the 50th anniversary of closure and the week before. And they will be running a HALF HOURLY service! 

The locomotive will be Jinty no 47406, and the Sentinel loco no 7109 will also be in steam on the anniversary weekend itself! There will be a vintage bus link from the car parks at Somervale School and the town centre as there is no parking at the station itself.

Deja vu! Jinty at Midsomer Norton in 2005.

S&D Telegraph 46

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Arrived this week - the latest edition of the SDRHT's superb magazine, the S&D Telegraph. As always this is the best magazine from a small heritage outfit in the UK. They outline their plans for the March 2016 commemoration of the closure of the original S&D, which include running trains over the weekend using a hired-in 4MT tank engine and three coaches, representing a typical S&D local service of the 60s. The Sentinel loco may well also be in steam at Midsomer Norton South.

It's worth joining the SDRHT for the magazine alone!

Sentinel progress at Midsomer Norton

Something a little different for today! Reprinted from the Sentinel Steam Loco 7109 blog. Words and pictures by Andy Chapman.

Pipe Reality Come True

My previous main steam pipe article was at the stage of it being persuaded into a shape that should fit. In practice, it wasn't that easy.

The first challenge was that, being such an awkward shape, it would have been easy for Sentinel to make it fit with 7109, the pipe and all tooling collocated in the factory. With the pipe being made five miles from 7109, it could only be made to approximately the right shape using a jig made using the old pipe geometry. Mendip Steam's Andy Melrose eventually gave in that some heat was going to be needed in the cab to make it fit. Thus 7109 had her first fire lit since 1968!

First fire in 46 years

Not much steam was created but it did seemingly allow the pipe to ease into place, or so we thought.

Everything was fine until the second challenge. The nice new end pieces were made to drawing size but that did not mean to say that the original mating joints were made that way.

Nice new end fitting exactly to drawing size

The mating end under the water tank had at one time been repaired and the hole into which the new pipe had to fit was not actually round! The two parts would not fit together.

There was nothing for it but to grovel about underneath with a miniature grinder (it's not made for a human to squeeze under the water tank) and make the mating hole bigger, not a lot of fun!

The underneath end finally in place

The fitting in detail...

...fed by a pipe around the firebox...

...fed from up here in the cab...

...from the regulator all the way up here!

So the pipe is at last in place. The white insulation is made from glass fibre ladder tape wound over partly dry, tacky red oxide paint to keep it in place. Finally the ends and a centre join are secured in place with galvanised wire.

Glass fibre ladder tape

The pipe joints are sealed using 3mm thick annealed copper washers, made from copper sheet, with lashings of SteamSeal. The copper washers were made by cutting the outer perimeter with a hole saw and the inner hole with a screw tightened hole punch. Glad I wasn't in a hurry for these, it took ages.

sentinel star

Okay, so she's skulking in the shadows at the back of this picture, but Midsomer Norton's Sentinel steam loco is very much the star of this blog!

I'm pleased to say I had a share in this historic and very unusual loco until it was bought out a year or so ago by a team who felt they could put far more effort into restoring it. The blog shows progress in detail and is a fascinating record of the work involved in getting a loco back up and running.

the s&d turns up in the weirdest places

I treated myself to the above whilst away on holiday and it is a surprisngly good read. I even learnt a few things - including the fact that Steep Holm in the Bristol Channel has an almost intact rail network!

But even the S&D gets a mention. Nothing to do with the line itself but with the cut-down locos that used to work from Radstock, the sister of which is now emerging at Midsomer Norton - the Sentinel. There is a photo of the MN Sentinel on page 47.

If you see this on sale grab it!

towards 2008

Hope you all had a great Xmas. We had a good December at the station with a Christmas meal (mainly for the volunteers) on the first Sunday, a wonderful Santa weekend with around 75 children in to see Santa then a family Xmas meal on the big day itself which was a unique experience.

2008 is going to be an important year for the line with a lot of new development. A large legacy came in just before Xmas will which allow a lot of progress - more please!

On the volunteer front we've had a lot of new regulars join the team in 2007, coming in nearly every week. The signalbox is FANTASTIC and an absolute credit to the line and to Graeme Mayes and John Rideout who have done most of the work. The museum should be completed in 2008, bringing another visitor attraction to the site. And the Sentinel restoration will be proceeding throughout the year - funding is in place.

Also expect 3 or 4 more issues of the Telegraph magazine, in my objective opinion easily the finest magazine produced by any of the smaller heritage set ups. And we can't wait to get started on tracklaying on the extension ...

I'm really looking forward to working at the site in the New Year, once I've got this bricklaying course under my belt!

sentinel

The Sentinel's hidden away in the goods shed at the moment whilst restoration work is being undertaken. It is gradually taking shape and should emerge like a butterfly some time in 2008, ready to work demonstration trains.

paint it black

Most of us have seen the nightmare that is no 88 down on the West Somerset Railway. I can't figure out how this happened, a classic S&D engine in a garish blue which surely doesn't please anyone except five year olds hooked on Thomas. No doubt it will revert to black at some time in the future.

We have a strict livery policy at Midsomer Norton, mid to late 50s style. It applies to carriages, wagons and, of course, locomotives. This is partly as a tribute to people like Ivo whose best photos happened to have caught the line in this era, it's partly to reward the small team of railway builders at MN and it's also purely financial - with a consistent livery we can easily offer photo charters in the future. Non-railway orientated visitors just want to see steam, the livery is unimportant.

Now the sad news. As the livery policy was not introduced until last year a couple of items don't fit. Unfortunately they're the locomotives, No 10 and the Sentinel! But there are now rumblings that No 10 should be turned out in two-tone green at its next repaint, and it's still not too late to stop the Sentinel being turned out in Persian (not Prussian!) blue, as the owners want to vote on it. A black Sentinel will be superb - smart and historically correct, and able to evoke real memories in those that remember them running. So I'll be voting black black black!!! when we get the chance ...

that sentinel again

More shots of the Sentinel with paintwork progressing. Norman is watching Dave Two Dogs brandishing the paintbrush. The first top coat is now going on, prussian blue for the first year before switching to BR black.

Donations for the Sentinel are always welcome - either by cheque to the station at Silver Street or via Paypal on the sidebar.