Perseverance
Member
- Joined
- 11 Jan 2012
- Messages
- 35
The Barry Rail Centre with the associated Barry Tourist Railway is a great place to test and commission a locomotive and we are pleased that Tom Clift has decided to bring his superbly restored 26038 to Barry. The quality of the overhaul that has been carried out on this loco makes it the best preserved diesel in the country in my book!
26038 arrived late last night behind 56312 which backed Tom's loco across the boundary of our main line connection. Waiting was our Class 73 loco 73118, which coupled on to 26038 and shunted it gently into our 5-road Barry Main Depot Shed.
At Barry, we have lots of dry storage, pits, workshop facilities for stabling, maintaining and testing traction, rolling stock and rail borne plant. In addition to this we have two miles of running lines for test running and highly experienced, friendly helpful staff to assist. We are really looking forward to working with Tom and his team to iron out the last few remaining mechanical and electrical issues by undertaking a phased testing and commissioning process. This will involve running 26038 hauling 73118 as a test load in the early stages. 73118 would also be available to rescue the loco should there be any problems, which hopefully there won't be! As we run parallel with Network Rail on two sections of our running line, having 73118 available would enable 26038 to be brought back to shed to be attended to should an issue arise adjacent to the Network Rail lines.
As the testing and commissioning progresses, our GATEX stock or vacuum braked stock will be used both to test 26038's train braking systems and of course provide an additional load. There should be some regular weekday running and I will try to keep forum members up to speed concerning this.
If all goes to plan we are hoping that 26038 will be fully commissioned and able to operate some service trains on the Barry Tourist Railway in early May prior to its scheduled 'tour' of other preserved lines this summer.
Whilst 26038 will not be ready to operate over the Easter Bank Holiday, we will be giving tours of the Main Depot Shed where it is kept along with 73118, Turkish 8F steam loco 45166 and the four remaining Barry Ten steam locos (92245, 44901, 2861 and 6686). We also give our passengers a brief history of Barry and the long gone scrapyard on the tour and point out important local historical buildings and landmarks.
We will be running the vintage railcar set, ex BR Research IRIS II which we have refurbished to a high standard at Barry, Why not pay us a visit?
Call 01446 748816 for more information or visit www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk and follow the links to Barry Tourist Railway.
John Buxton
Here is a link to a photo of 26038 at Barry Main Depot.
26038 arrived late last night behind 56312 which backed Tom's loco across the boundary of our main line connection. Waiting was our Class 73 loco 73118, which coupled on to 26038 and shunted it gently into our 5-road Barry Main Depot Shed.
At Barry, we have lots of dry storage, pits, workshop facilities for stabling, maintaining and testing traction, rolling stock and rail borne plant. In addition to this we have two miles of running lines for test running and highly experienced, friendly helpful staff to assist. We are really looking forward to working with Tom and his team to iron out the last few remaining mechanical and electrical issues by undertaking a phased testing and commissioning process. This will involve running 26038 hauling 73118 as a test load in the early stages. 73118 would also be available to rescue the loco should there be any problems, which hopefully there won't be! As we run parallel with Network Rail on two sections of our running line, having 73118 available would enable 26038 to be brought back to shed to be attended to should an issue arise adjacent to the Network Rail lines.
As the testing and commissioning progresses, our GATEX stock or vacuum braked stock will be used both to test 26038's train braking systems and of course provide an additional load. There should be some regular weekday running and I will try to keep forum members up to speed concerning this.
If all goes to plan we are hoping that 26038 will be fully commissioned and able to operate some service trains on the Barry Tourist Railway in early May prior to its scheduled 'tour' of other preserved lines this summer.
Whilst 26038 will not be ready to operate over the Easter Bank Holiday, we will be giving tours of the Main Depot Shed where it is kept along with 73118, Turkish 8F steam loco 45166 and the four remaining Barry Ten steam locos (92245, 44901, 2861 and 6686). We also give our passengers a brief history of Barry and the long gone scrapyard on the tour and point out important local historical buildings and landmarks.
We will be running the vintage railcar set, ex BR Research IRIS II which we have refurbished to a high standard at Barry, Why not pay us a visit?
Call 01446 748816 for more information or visit www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk and follow the links to Barry Tourist Railway.
John Buxton
Here is a link to a photo of 26038 at Barry Main Depot.
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