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26038 to barry rail centre

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Perseverance

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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.
 
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Sulzer023

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26038 looks superb!! Does anyone have details of which railways she is to visit this year please?
 

12CSVT

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26038 looks superb!! Does anyone have details of which railways she is to visit this year please?

Keighley & Worth Valley diesel gala on May 26th and 27th

After that I think it is off to Bo'ness & Kinneil on long term loan.
 

Tim R-T-C

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I believe it, along with a Class 31 are going to be hauled to Keighley by a mainline certified Class 33 (that is going to be a great photo op, I hope someone will post details closer to the time!).
 

TGVDUDE

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I believe it, along with a Class 31 are going to be hauled to Keighley by a mainline certified Class 33 (that is going to be a great photo op, I hope someone will post details closer to the time!).

31466 from the DFR, I too will look forward to that move, Any chance the 26 will be out this weekend to view? On the timetable it says its a special weekend, no doubt for Easter!
 
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Perseverance

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We took 26038 for its first test run on the Barry Tourist Railway last Thursday and traced a minor fault with the cooling fan which one of my staff fixed straight away. We are proposing another test run this coming Thursday. If all goes to plan with the testing and commissioning, the loco should haul its first passenger trains for many a year on 6th & 7th May on our railway, top and tailing with a class 73....the 26 will be at the Barry Island end so will be the loco working up the grade.
26038 will then be off to the KWVR Gala, then the Boness Gala followed by the SVR Gala before returning to the Barry Rail Centre for the autumn / winter.
John Buxton
 

Perseverance

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After undertaking a fibreglass repair to one of the cab roofs, we took 26038 for its second test run on the Barry Tourist Railway today. The loco performed very well, had lots of power with the diverts coming in at the right amperage to prevent damage to the traction motors. The brakes also worked very well.
An oil leak was fixed whilst we were out testing and a few other minor adjustments will be made over the next week before we undertake a further test run next Thursday. The loco is also to receive a good jet wash and the roof will be primed and painted over the next few weeks.
Things are looking favourable for the loco to haul its first passenger trains on 6th & 7th May on our railway, top and tailing with a class 73, with the 26 at the Barry Island end and so working up the grade.
The Barry Tourist Railway is proving to be a good testing ground for 26038 in readiness for the loco's appearance at the KWVR Gala.
John Buxton
 

TGVDUDE

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After undertaking a fibreglass repair to one of the cab roofs, we took 26038 for its second test run on the Barry Tourist Railway today. The loco performed very well, had lots of power with the diverts coming in at the right amperage to prevent damage to the traction motors. The brakes also worked very well.
An oil leak was fixed whilst we were out testing and a few other minor adjustments will be made over the next week before we undertake a further test run next Thursday. The loco is also to receive a good jet wash and the roof will be primed and painted over the next few weeks.
Things are looking favourable for the loco to haul its first passenger trains on 6th & 7th May on our railway, top and tailing with a class 73, with the 26 at the Barry Island end and so working up the grade.
The Barry Tourist Railway is proving to be a good testing ground for 26038 in readiness for the loco's appearance at the KWVR Gala.
John Buxton

Really looking forward to seeing & enjoying a ride on the 6th May then! all the best for next weeks test runs! what time are you looking at running on the line? Thanks for keeping us updated John :)
 

Perseverance

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We undertook some further test runs with 26038 yesterday - all went very well and we managed to iron out a few more issues. All is looking good for 26038 to haul its first passenger train in preservation on the Barry Tourist Railway on 6 / 7the May.

John Buxton
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
26038 was top and tailing with 73118 on three GATEX coaches today as a test run for its Sun / Mon 6/7 May passenger debut. I wasn't able to be present at Barry today so missed the fun, but I gather that everything went well and the opportunity was taken to balance the air brake pressures and fix a few more small air and oil leaks. The locos ran on both of our routes viz. Barry Island to Gladstone Platform and the Waterfront. Just a few small jobs to do next Wednesday and all should then be ready for 26038's passenger debut in preservation.
John Buxton
 

TGVDUDE

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We undertook some further test runs with 26038 yesterday - all went very well and we managed to iron out a few more issues. All is looking good for 26038 to haul its first passenger train in preservation on the Barry Tourist Railway on 6 / 7the May.

John Buxton
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
26038 was top and tailing with 73118 on three GATEX coaches today as a test run for its Sun / Mon 6/7 May passenger debut. I wasn't able to be present at Barry today so missed the fun, but I gather that everything went well and the opportunity was taken to balance the air brake pressures and fix a few more small air and oil leaks. The locos ran on both of our routes viz. Barry Island to Gladstone Platform and the Waterfront. Just a few small jobs to do next Wednesday and all should then be ready for 26038's passenger debut in preservation.
John Buxton

Very much looking forward to it John, Thanks again for the continuing updates over the past few weeks
 

Perseverance

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I am abroad at the moment but have just heard that 26038 is fit and ready to work our passenger trains on the Barry Tourist Railway this coming Sun 6th and Mon 7th May. Fingers crossed that all goes well on her maiden passenger turns in preservation...and just to note that this is the first time she has worked passenger train for 20 years - the last time was for BR in 1992 I believe!
We'll be running on both our routes (to The Waterfront (1 in 60 gradient!) and to the Gladstone Bridge Platform)
I'm coming back to the UK for this......See you at Barry?
John Buxton
 
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WelshZ

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I plan to be there on the monday. first time visiting a heritage operation if you don't count the odd trip to Cardiff Bay on bubbles. Just a question what are going to be th prices?
 

Perseverance

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Return fares:
Adults £5
Children £3
Family (2 adults & 2 Children) £12

Day Rover Tickets:
Adults £8
Children £5

Cab Rides (one way) £5 extra

See our website for more details of the Barry Tourist Railway on

www.barrytouristrailway.co.uk

Hope this helps

John Buxton
 

WelshZ

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I take it the cab rides are going to be first come first served?. Good to see the website up and running now too as I look forward to dropping by monday to get me some rat action
 

Perseverance

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Yesterday I was again acting as Line Controller for the Barry Tourist Railway and also driving 73118 which was topping and tailing with 26038.
26038 again performed faultlessly.
Congratulations to Tom Clift and his team (Dave Owen and Phil Jones) on the excellent job they are doing on 26038.
A few more jobs to do before 26038 is off to KWVR later in the month - on the performance witnessed at Barry last weekend, Tom's loco should again be the star of the show!
In the evening, Black 5 steam locos 45407 and 44871 (+ 2 support coaches) arrived at the Barry Rail Centre off the Crewe - Pengam (via Central Wales Line) Special.
We were asked at short notice if we could arrange stabling at Barry Rail Centre for these steam locos as the normal stabling point at Cardiff Canton was not available. This is the first time that steam locos have used the main line connection to access the depot at Barry from the main line since 1965...and the first use of the connection by preserved steam.
As we have plenty of covered accommodation, we are able to keep the two locos and support coach under cover in our Main Depot Shed.
We are hoping that more passenger tour operators will use our excellent facilities at Barry in the future as we can offer full servicing facilities. When we get our 70ft turntable installed in 2014, the last piece of the jigsaw will be in place at Barry to enable us to offer 'on-site' turning rather than tender locos having to turn on the triangles at Newport or Cardiff.
The steam locos will be staying with us till Saturday and will be coaled on Friday.
John Buxton
 
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WelshZ

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I thoroughly enjoyed my outing on the railway, I was the one wearing glasses in the black raincoat on the 1.30 train. couldn't stay due to other commitments in the afternoon but I did enjoy my first time on a preserved line.
 
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