Heritage Railway – August 01, 2019

THEVale of Rheido lRailw ay

(VoR) has announced its latest

improvementproject–the

enhancementoft he car and

coach parkat the line’s Devil ’s

Bridgeterminus.

Thenew facilitywill allow

the existing car park areato

be opened up asapedestrian

area forvisitors,with aseparate

coach park and will also be

convenientfor community

events at therecentlyconverted

communityhall.

Theprojecthas rece ived

funding through the

Welsh GovernmentRural

Communities–Rural

DevelopmentProgramme

2014-2020, which is fundedby

the Euro peanAgriculturalFund

forRural Developmentand the

Welsh Government(EAFRD).

Thetask isexpectedtobe

completebythe end ofAugust.

VoRgeneral manager Llyr ap

Iolo said:“The existingrailway

car park is inadequate forthe

number oftourists who are

nowcomingtothe railway and

visiting Devil’s Bridge.

“The newcar park will have

spacefor 78vehicles,including

disabled parking with an

accessible pathto the station

and four coach bays,which

will leave theareaaround the

station and cafetoapedestrian-

only area.This will improvethe

safety and the ambienceof

the station.We areextremely

grateful forthe fu ndingwe

have rece ived from EAFRD and

we look forwardtowelcoming

morevisitorsto thearea.”

Thenew pavementbeing

builtby CeredigionCouncil

will also improveaccess

and pedestrian safetyinto

the village.

SouthAfrican ‘Capegauge’articulatedNorth BritishGarrattNo. 4112

Springbokhas beenonopenair displayoutsidetheexhibition hallat

SummerleeHeritag eParkinCoatbridge for nearlythreedecades.

HUGHLLEWELLYN/CREATIVECOMMONS

Driftingdownhill,

Hawksworth

ModifiedHall

4-6-0No.6960

RaveninghamHall

passesEardington

Cottagewitha

matchingBRred

andcreamset.

Thelocomotive

isspend ingthe

summeront he

SevernValleyRailway

inexchangefor

GWR4-6-0No. 7802

BradleyManorwhich

isvisitingtheWest

SomersetRa ilway.

MATYARDLEY

Garrattfaceliftcontract

‘could save St Rollox’

ByRobin Jones

ONE of Br itain ’s greatsteam locomotive

buildingworks, which hasbeenfacing

theaxe aftermorethan 150 years, has

been thrownalifeline with an orderto

restor eanarticulatedGarratt.

North LanarkshireCouncil has

givenGlasgow’sStRolloxworks,

nowSpringburnrail depot,which

is facing closurewith the loss of

180 jobs,the task ofcosmetically

restoring 1956-built 3ft6in gauge

South African Railways GMAM class

4-8-2+2-8-4 No.4112Springbok.

TheGarratt,built locallyby the

North BritishLocomotiveCompany,

wasrepatriatedin1988and at first

wasdisplayedatthe entranceto

the Plym Valley Railway at Marshall

Mills nearPlymouth, beforebeing

movedtothe SummerleeMuseum of

ScottishIndustrial LifeinCoatbridge,

whereith as been displayedin

the open.

Respondingto concer nabout

its deteriorating condition, the

local authorityhas giventhe works

the task of stripping back and

refurbishing the engine.Asaresult of

theorder,the ScottishGovernment,

which hasresisted callsto nati onalise

the yard, can grant state aid and keep

the worksgoing whileowner Gemini

Rail triesto findnew operators.

Theworks ,nicknamed theCaley,

wasbuilt in 1856forthe Caledonian

Railway,which had movedaway

from itsworksatGreenock.Itw as

built on the siteofthe station of the

Garnkirk &GlasgowRailway,which

the Caledonian had absorbed,near

to the chemicalworksofCharles

Tennant, an dwas namedafter the

nearby parish church ofSt Roche.

It rapidlygrew to becomethe main

trainconstructionyard in Scotland,

bigger than the three otheryards

belongingto other companies

nearby.However,the final batches

of main line locomotives built on site

were30 LMS 4F 0-6-0 freightengines

Nos.4177-4206,completed in 1925,

and 10 moreofthe same,completed

in 1928.Thesiteswitched from a

locomotivebuilding facilitytoarepair

and maintenancecentr ein1929, and

still performsthe role today.

Afte rprivatisation in 1995, the

workspassed through the hands of a

series ofcorporateowners and parts

of the massiveworks weresoldoff or

wereabandoned.

Operator GeminiRail Services has

blamed an unsustainable decline in

the amountofworkatt he factory,

whichrepairs all of therolling stock

north of the border,for its movesto

close it.Recentworkhas included

overhauls of Class 156 and Class

158 DMUsand Class 320 EMUsfor

Abellio ScotRail.

Labour MPforGlasgowNorth

East Paul Sweeney said:“Sincethe

closureofthe Caley wasannounced

late last year,mycolleagues andIat

the Unitetrade union have left no

stone unturned in our effortsto find

away to keep 160years ofrailway

engineering in Springburnalive.”

Theunion’s regional industrial

officerPatMcIlvogue said:“Unitehas

beenworking tirelesslyto explore

ever yoption possibleto keep the

Caley open andto secu re work which

will buy moretime.

“The initiativetorefurbish and

refit the locomotivegives us that

opportunity. Unit elooksforward

to discussing thiswelcome

developmentingreaterdetail with

North LanarkshireCouncil and

heritage organisations.”

Council leader JimLogue said:

“We’re delighted to be supporting

this innovativeproposalby Paul

Sweeney MPto ensurethe Caley‘s

proud historyispreserved.”

32 Heritagerailway.co.uk indusonwww.facebook.com/heritagerailway

NEWS

Rheidol

improves car

and coach

parkingat

Devil ’s Bridge

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