The Bristol Railway Archive

Well, yesterday was my first day of work on the BHR. The main task was to prep the Peckett 'Henbury' for the weekends work, among others!
Bristol harbour has a military visitor


I arrived to find Henburys fire lit having been dragged out of the shed.



The wagons covering the pit had to be shunted out of the way before oiling could be completed, once the loco had steam up and I ineffectually tried to clean some grease off the wheels!


Rob dropped the clinker out



All oiled up and ready to go, Rob collected the coal wagon from the middle siding and brought it back to the crossing where coal was loaded into the excavator bucket



Then brought the train forward to the crossover to load the coal into the bunker




Then a short jaunt down to the end of the line (By Ashton Swing Bridge) to collect the flat wagon of sleepers Rob and David had sorted previously in the week.





Before bringing the lot back to the yard and stashing them in the middle siding (Myself and Philippa on the flat wagon)






Henbury dragged her stablemate out of the shed to drain the water and remove a pipe (No idea what pipe yet though, training hasnt gotten that far!).







Then I had to run off to the office! But a very enjoyable day, thanks to David, Rob, Philippa and Rodney (For the loan of boots!)

Nice pictures. Looks like a great place to work, your own full sized train set! Is the railway open to the public while the museum is being remodelled? Or is it just maintenance work going on?

Are Portbury and Henbury built by Bagnall's

It is great indeed! Really nice with a small setup too, easier to learn names!

The railway is open for business (I believe it more or less manages to fund itself) while the museum is being rejigged - services run from the halt at the SS Great Britain to the Create Centre at the Ashton Swing Bridge - running weekend tomorrow and sunday in fact!

Andy - Henbury is a Peckett from 1937 I believe, and Portbury is an Avonside from 1917.

Corbs wrote:It is great indeed! Really nice with a small setup too, easier to learn names!

The railway is open for business (I believe it more or less manages to fund itself) while the museum is being rejigged - services run from the halt at the SS Great Britain to the Create Centre at the Ashton Swing Bridge - running weekend tomorrow and sunday in fact!

Andy - Henbury is a Peckett from 1937 I believe, and Portbury is an Avonside from 1917.

Thanks for the Info

Very nice photo's Thank you

No Problem! Hopefully be updating it soon!

What is boiler beside shed is it from a boat.

Yeah it's the boiler from the steam tug 'mayflower' I believe, currently being restored. Handy to have it near the tools, power etc.

Interesting collection of shots, but where were the sleepers being collected from?

There was a small feature on dockside lines including the BHR in the current issue of Heritage Railway. The writer claimed that it had been used for photo charters and illustated the point with a picture of the Pannier from the Weymouth Harbour line.

I believe they were originally part of the line running across the other side of the Ashton Swing Bridge, but subsequently lifted when the line over the bridge closed (The upkeep costs versus the benefits were too much) and stored at the create centre, where the running line ends. The BHR never throws anything away so they were sorted into the best examples which may be used in the yard, not sure yet.