Oct 11
25
Winter Meetings
The season of monthly meetings is now upon us. Please click on the button above for full details.
Oct 11
25
End of Running Season
Well, it was a great season – our best since the move to Dunaskin. We carried 2139 passengers and made a profit of nearly £3000. We also recruited a substantial number of new members. Many thanks to all volunteers who helped to make it such a success, and many thanks also to our visitors; we hope you enjoyed the experience and will come back next year.
Apr 11
19
New Website
Finally! Welcome to our new all-singing, all-dancing website which we hope will keep you, the public, up to date with all that goes on in the ARPG. In particular, we hope to revive the mailing list, to which some of you have already subscribed; this will be used to draw your attention to updates which have been posted here.
Recent locomotive news and information about open days will be found in other posts.
Meantime, the Group must express sincere thanks to Jamie Thom, who has designed this website for us and can be relied upon to iron out any difficulties, despite living on the other side of the world!
Apr 11
19
Locomotive News April 2011
Number 10 has been stripped down for its annual boiler exam. It is on track to be ready to steam on the first open day in May. Plans are in hand to repair leaks in the water tank, and hopefully this year will see a complete repaint.
Work continues on the Fireless locomotive. Unforeseen problems were detected in the course of stripping down, and this has prolonged the restoration process. New parts have had to be fabricated for the brake gear. However, it is hoped that the steam receiver will be hydraulically tested on the same occasion as Number 10′s annual boiler exam.
The Powfoot diesel continues to receive attention to its gearbox. Once again, new problems were discovered both on stripping down and while attempting to re-erect. New bearings have been ordered, and it is hoped this locomotive will be a runner again soon.
The “big Barclay” (BP Number 7) is a runner, although the vandalised dashboard can be difficult to work with. There are also signs of a radiator leak developing, which is bad news. It is hoped to give it a coat of paint this summer, which will go some way towards repairing the ravages of all those years spent in the open at Minnivey.
The Sentinel is also a runner, but there are still problems with its air supply system.
Apr 11
19
Steam Days 2011
Open Days at the Scottish Industrial Railway Centre, with a locomotive in steam, will be held on the following dates :
Sundays May 29th, June 26th,
July 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st,
August 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th
September 4th and 25th
Opening times 11.00am – 4.30pm (The last train will run at about 4.10pm)
Ticket prices : adult £4, child/concession £2, Family £10 (2 adults and up to 3 children)
For further information contact the ARPG information line on 01292 269260 or email info@arpg.org.uk
May 10
14
Locomotive News – May 08
Locomotive Number 10 (AB 2244/1948) passed its steam test on 26th April and was ready to enter service the following week. It has been a long process, starting with the exchange of boilers between Number 10 and Number 19, through the extended period when the boiler was away at two different boilermakers, to the re-assembly of the locomotive once the boiler came home. It has also been a very expensive one; we reckon the total cost at over £30,000. A substantial proportion of this cost was generously funded by East Ayrshire Council.
Work has now started on restoring the fireless locomotive to steam. Shell Refinery Number 8 (AB 1952/1928) was the last working steam locomotive in Scotland, and came to the Group in working order when the refinery at Ardrossan closed down. It last steamed in 1995. At the present moment, all the cladding has been removed, revealing that only a small amount of work is required on the steam receiver itself. A new sparge pipe will be fitted. One cylinder was found to be loose on its mountings; repairing this has necessitated dropping the rear wheelset, so the opportunity has been taken to skim the journals. New bolts will have to be specially made to re-mount the cylinder. When the cab floor was lifted an old bird’s nest was found. More seriously, the exhaust pipe from one cylinder was cracked all round. A similar break has obviously been repaired on the other side at some time in the past. Specialist copper welding will be needed here. Again, a grant towards the cost of this restoration has been received from Cumnock and Doon Valley Minerals Trust. It is hoped to have the loco back in steam by the end of the year, when we think that it may be the only working fireless locomotive in Europe.
The cosmetic restoration of Number 19 has been put to one side in the rush to get Number 10 finished and the site ready for public opening. We hope to get back to it soon.
Some work continues to be done on the diesel fleet. The Sentinel locomotive continues to have a clutch defect which defies diagnosis or repair. More work will obviously be needed here. However, Powfoot No 1 (AB 347/1941) has had its gearbox successfully adjusted and now runs in all three gears. A new air pressure safety valve has been fitted.
May 10
14
We’re Back in Business!
On Sunday May 4th 2008 the Scottish Industrial Railway Centre (now relocated to Dunaskin Heritage Centre) opened its doors to the public for the first time in six years (apart from a short spell in August 2005.)
71 visitors came; not enough to set the heather on fire, but enough to prove to us that we are indeed back in business.
A full season of summer Sunday running has been planned!
Feb 10
8
Stock Movement
On Saturday 13th February 2010, Barclay 0-4-0ST Number 10 was steamed, and the diesel locomotive which had remained at Minnivey since our initial move was successfully started.
Four trips were made on the Scottish Coal line, the first using the diesel, and the other three with Number 10. At the end of the day, the only items of standard gauge stock left at Minnivey were the large steam crane (which was too wide to go through the gates at Chalmerston), 0-4-0DM : AB 366/1943 and the remains of R & H 0-4-0 DM 421697/1959. The latter two could not be moved because of missing sleepers in part of the siding where they were stored.
There still remained the old Killoch narrow gauge diesel and manriders, some tipper waggons, plus rails, turnouts etc.
Jan 09
12
Locomotive News – Jan 09
Boilersmiths from the firm of Israel Newton, of Bradford, will be at Dunaskin at the end of this week to replace two rivets on the steam receiver.Once this has been completed, work can begin on putting the locomotive back together again.
Meantime, the replacement steam exhaust pipe has been fitted, the steps have been straightened out, and the external exhaust pipe has been removed for cleaning. A new sparge pipe is ready for fitting and new cladding plates have been rolled.
We are still hopeful of having the locomotive in steam at some point during the 2009 season.
May 08
14
Dunaskin Site News
Dunaskin Ironworks Museum, whose site we share, went into liquidation in August 2005. With the agreement of the liquidator, we were able to run brakevan rides in summer 2005, but were unable to do so during 2006 because of locomotive problems. Since October 2005 we have been in negotiations with The Coal Authority and Scottish Coal with a view to taking over the part of the site which we occupy.
At a recent meeting we were given a verbal assurance by a representative of Scottish Coal that we would be given a long lease of that part of the site which we currently occupy. So also will other site users, such as Dunaskin Doon Band.
Given that assurance, the Group has felt able to begin to “personalise” the site by the installation of new signs and by preparing certain buildings for a season of open days.
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