With all of the recent excitement, it seems strangely out of habit to report on some of the projects that have quietly continued throughout the Great War Steam Fair and Horses at War events!  We have the Old King Coal event starting on Wednesday, and whilst Lilla was previously booked to run all five days of the event, we are now running the loco on the Friday/Saturday/Sunday due to the need for some staff to be elsewhere on the first two days of the event.  No.18 will be running in the Colliery throughout and there will also be a road steam presence throughout the event too.

RHEC

Below: The S&D coach is due to move back to the Waggonway next week, and the final touches have been applied to its paintwork and the numerous fittings restored after overhaul.  Its appearance is rather different to before, and it now nicely resembles the original 1834 coaches built to formalise company passenger train running on the Stockton & Darlington Railway.  The colours are based on the watercoloured drawing that we have copies of in the archive here.  Next winter ‘Experiment’ (the enclosed coach) will be tackled, and as it needs a new underframe, it may well be outshopped as one of the other 1834 coaches…

Below: Tony and Matt B have turned their attention back to the Duke of Sutherland’s saloon, with the luggage nets now in the workshop for overhaul and repainting.

Below: Matt B is also completing the lead tub which will provide a tender for Samson, with the frame now assembled and awaiting the whitemetalled bearings before the restored side sheets are reinstated.

Below: For Old King Coal, a pirate ship was requested!  This is for a float and will be decorated by participants in the event.

Outdoor Works

Below: With various other works needing priority, the progress on the narrow gauge triangle has slowed over the week, though is progressing.  The route is being ballasted and aligned at present.  This forms part of our desire to offer regular footplate rides on the narrow gauge (as has been the case today, on Lilla).

Great War Steam Fair

Below: Following on from yesterday’s post, horse operation on the narrow gauge continued today.  Marley the pit pony was harnessed to a U tub (ponies being used quite late in the small-mines in the north east, even into the 1980s).

Below: Duchess the Shire horse continued to operate with the D waggon, enjoying better weather today than yesterday!

Below: Here are just a few of the other horse drawn vehicles that were in action across the Museum today…