Updated 29.12.2011

This page is an archive of previous 'Latest News' since the website was redesigned in November 2007.

The December draw for the '200 Club' has been made and the winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15 Number 20 Bill Watkin

2nd Prize £10 Number 13 Derek Thompson

3rd Prize £5 Number 36 Ken Ball 

December 2010

The snow has finally all gone from KSE (at least temporarily!) and yesterday (30th), our volunteers were able to undertake various 'housekeeping' tasks around the site. Hopefully, we will be able to get back to the trackwork etc shortly. The December draw for the monthly '200 Club' has been made and the winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 57. Mrs. June Thompson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 52. Maggie Yates

3rd Prize. £5. Number 59. Brian Wood

We have today (20th) taken delivery of the latest issue of the Newsletter from our printer - this will be in the post to all our regular subscribers shortly. The two new large timbers for Eden Valley Bridge No.3 have also arrived - they will be put into position once the weather improves sufficiently for work to restart on this aspecct of the project.

Today (17th) we are delighted to announce the launch of our new website which has been specifically designed to mark the 150th Anniversary of the opening of the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway (SDLUR) and KSE which falls in 2011. In addition to containing a considerable quantity of educational material, the site will also give full details of the celebrations planned for next year. The website, which can be found here, is currently still very much under development and further information will be added as soon as it becomes available. It is intended that reports of the various events will also be added to the site as they take place and it will remain 'online' as a permanent record of the anniversary celebrations. 

The last couple of weeks have seen snow lying approx. 2 feet deep on the site, so we have been very limited in what we we have been able to do - certainly outside. This weekend (11th / 12th), with something of a thaw taking place, we have been working both inside the building and around the site. The volunteers have been busy with a 'stock-take' in the shop, the boiler cladding on the Peckett and, outside, some timber sleepers / S&T work. Our latest Newsletter is now at the printers and we hope it will go out to all our regular subscribers shortly. 

November 2010

A freezing cold and snowy weekend (27th / 28th) at the East station. We did manage to make some progress with the Peckett - much of the work with the boiler / firebox cladding is now complete - a photo has been added to the album on the 2084 Overhaul page. This coming weekend (weather permitting), our Sales Stand will be attending the Kirkby Stephen 'Christman Fayre' to be held at the 'Kings Arms Hotel' - please come along and support the event if you can. Finally, the November draw for the monthly '200 Club' has been made and the winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 32. Vernon Pearson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 61. Mr. H. Mills

3rd Prize. £5. Number 31. Maureen Wilson

Today (24th), the volunteers undertook some final adjustments to the extension following the test runs of the 'Yorkshire Engine' last weekend. We can now complete the ballasting of this section and the job will be finished.

This weekend (20th / 21st) saw an important milestone in our project - a locomotive passed over Eden Valley Bridge No.2 for the first time since the last train - a freight trip returning from Hartley Quarry - on the 31st October 1975 - a couple of photos have been added to the new album on the Trackwork page. The locomotive made several runs over the extension to 'bed down' the new trackwork - some minor adjustments and full ballasting will now take place during the coming weeks. On Saturday evening, we held the second of the winter series of Slide Shows - John Midcalf came over from the north-east and treated us to a superb collection of photographs from the late John Boyes. On Sunday, some more clearance work took place and, inside the building, the volunteers were busy fitting the cladding to the Peckett. This also needs a slight adjustment and we will then be ready to put the saddletank and cab back on the engine.

On Wednesday (17th), the volunteers were out in the wind and rain undertaking clearance work and minor adjustments to the extension. Inside the building, preparations to refit the saddletank and cab to the Peckett continued. 

Saturday (13th) saw the sighting boards in use once more on the extension - the initial ballasting is now complete and we next intend to run a test train gently over this section to 'bed down' the trackwork before making final adjustments and adding more ballast etc -  a photo has been added to the new album on the Trackwork page. Inside the building, new lagging was fitted to the boiler / firebox assembly of the Peckett - a report and photo have been added to the 2084 Overhaul page. Off site, a number of our volunteers were busy at Stranton (on the Durham Coast Line) recovering Mackenzie & Holland lever and bearing assemblies for our planned Signal Box rebuilding programme.- many thanks to all who made this possible. These items were unloaded and sorted over the weekend. Yesterday (14th) saw more work take place on the Class 108 DMU and final preparations for re-fitting the cladding sheets to the Peckett.

Yesterday (11th), we were again lucky with the weather having managed to pick what appears to have been the only decent day of the week. The volunteers were busy ballasting the extension in the sunshine - approx. half of this has now been levelled to our satisfaction although, no doubt, it will need some final adjustments. In addition, all the timber panels for the new door now have a coat of gloss paint on both sides - we hope to start the installation work soon.

A brief dry spell over the weekend allowed work to take place on a number of projects. On Saturday (6th), the sighting boards were in use as work began in earnest to level and ballast the recently laid extension. In addition, painting of the timber sections for the new door continued - this is now almost complete. Yesterday (7th) we played host to a group of approx 20 members of the Cumbrian Railways Association who were with us for the morning, had lunch in the Buffet Car and then walked the Northern Viaduct Trust trail to Hartley over Podgill and Merrygill Viaducts - fortunately the sun shone and a good time was had by all. On site, work continued on the Peckett cladding sheets, Point No. 2 Facing Point Lock, the 'Planet' and the Class 108 DMU.  

Today (3rd) saw further progress on the recently laid section of the passenger-carrying line. The few remaining fishplate holes were drilled and the volunteers began the task of fine tuning the levels and ballasting the sleepers - attention today being on the section from Point No.1 to EVR Bridge No.2 - this will no doubt continue for the next few weeks. Work was also undertaken on the timber sections for the new door, cladding sheets for the Peckett, the station garden and Class 108 DMU. 

Saturday (30th) saw the closure rails fitted in the passenger-carrying line - this is now physically complete as far as EVR Bridge No. 3. The volunteers also continue to make excellent progress with the restoration of EVR Bridge No. 3 itself - the first section of the new timber decking was fitted into place yesterday - a couple of photos have been added to the new album on the Trackwork page. Inside the building, work has continued with painting the timber sections for the new door with many now having received a coat of gloss - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. Most of the cladding sheets for the Peckett have also been painted and the boiler lagging has arrived on site - we hope to start fitting this soon. Finally, the October draw for the monthly '200 Club' has been made and the winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 32. Vernon Pearson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 39. Dave Duncan

3rd Prize. £5. Number 31. Maureen Wilson

October 2010

Having undertaken the various calculations, Wednesday (27th) saw the volunteers busy with a slight realignment of the trackwork between EVR Bridge Nos. 2 & 3 - we are now satisfied with the curve and hope to fit the remaining closure rails, located just to the east of Bridge No. 2, this weekend. Elsewhere, work continued with painting the timber sections for the new door and the cladding sheets for the Peckett.

Saturday (23rd) saw the two closure rails cut to length and drilled. Once fitted, the passenger-carrying line will be physically complete up to EVR Bridge No. 3. There was further progress with undercoating / glossing the timber sections for the new door - this job should be completed within the next couple of weeks and we hope to have the contractors on site to fit them in approx. 3 weeks. Elsewhere, work continued on the cladding sheets for the Peckett, the Class 108 DMU and EVR Bridge No. 3. Finally, Saturday evening saw the first of our winter Slide Shows - for the first time ever (due to popular demand), we repeated a previous show featuring John Birkbeck's material on the demolition of the Stainmore route. As on the previous occasion, the Hall was full - many thanks to all who attended. 

Yesterday (20th), saw fishplates and keys fitted to the 60' panel of track spanning EVR Bridge No.2 - the volunteers also laid out the sleepers in readiness for the closure rails that will complete the passenger-carrying line up to EVR Bridge No.3. Inside the station, undercoating both the timber sections for the new door and the cladding sheets for the boiler / firebox assembly of the Peckett continued.

On Saturday (16th), sleepers and rails were laid over EVR Bridge No.2. The next job is to complete the panel with fishplates / keys and then connect this to the track layout east of the bridge - a photo has been added to the new album on the Trackwork page. Elsewhere over the weekend, efforts continued to prime, undercoat and gloss the timber sections for the new door. Work also took place on the Class 108 DMU and the Peckett - we hope to start fitting the lagging and cladding to the boiler / firebox assembly shortly.

Wednesday (13th) saw further progress with EVR Bridge No.2 - we are now ready to lay track over it - a photo has been added to the new album on the Trackwork page. Elsewhere, volunteers were busy measuring up for the timber required to repair EVR Bridge No.3 whilst, indoors, the last two days have seen primer and undercoat applied to many of the timber sections that will comprise the new door at the western end of the 'Darlington' trainshed. Finally, our hard working S&T gang have been busy off-site once more - this time recovering an ex-LNER 3-doll signal gantry which has recently been made redundant as part of the Scarbrough / Falsgrave re-modeling scheme. We are most grateful to Network Rail and Lawsons Haulage for all their assistance in making it possible for us to acquire this item for our project.

Over the weekend (9th / 10th), good progress was made with EVR Bridge Nos. 2 & 3. No.2 was cleaned and treated with bitumen paint - it now awaits a waterproof membrane and we hope to be laying track over it shortly. On No.3, cleaning and painting the underside of the main troughs was completed - a couple of photos have been added to the new album on the Trackwork page. Inside the building, the volunteers efforts were concentrated on priming / undercoating the recently arrived timber sections for the new door and painting various components from the boiler / firebox assembly of the Peckett. After a slight delay, the latest Newsletter is due to be collected from the printer and posted to all our regular subscribers on Thursday.  

Wednesday (6th) saw gales and very heavy showers at KSE. However, the track gang braved the rain and made further progress with the extension to the passenger-carrying line. Work also took place on the Class 108 DMU and the Peckett - with preparations underway to refit the lagging and cladding to the bolier / firebox assembly.

Saturday (3rd) saw the remaining section of the workshop at the western end of the Tebay / Penrith platform dismantled. The view of this end of the station building now looks quite different and we hope to start excavating the trackwell in the not too distant future - a photo has been added to the Door / Platform page. Elsewhere, work continued on the extension to the passenger-carrying line between EVR Bridge Nos. 2 & 3 - a photo has been added to the new album on the Trackwork page. Yesterday (4th), we had torrential rain for most of the day. However, the S&T gang braved the weather to fit roller frames to the stools which will take the rodding run to operate Point Nos. 1 & 2. There was also progress on the new doors, the Peckett and Class 108 DMU. Finally, the September draw for the monthly '200 Club' has been made and the winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 54. James Relph

2nd Prize. £10. Number 45. Bill Taylor

3rd Prize. £5. Number 36. Ken Ball 

Today (1st), we are very pleased to report that the boiler of the Peckett passed its formal hydraulic test in the presence of the Inspector - a report and photos have been added to the 2084 Overhaul page. In addition, 8 of the 10 completed timber sections for the new door at the western end of the 'Darlington' trainshed have arrived on site. The first of these has had two treatments of knotting solution and is now ready for priming - a couple of photos have been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. Elsewhere on site, further progress has been made with both the trackwork and the Class 108 DMU despite the heavy rain all day. Finally, the latest Newsletter has gone to press and should be with all our regular subscribers shortly.

September 2010

This weekend (25th / 26th), some of the amateur radio enthusiasts within our ranks took part in the annual 'Railways on the Air' event. Outside in the yard, efforts continued on the extension to the passenger-carrying line with clearance work and further repairs to EVR Bridge No. 3 taking place. Elsewhere, the Sales Stand made the regular trip over to 'Locomotion' for the Steam Gala - many thanks to 'Ant' and the team for an excellent event as always. It was also good to see a Sales Stand from the Eden Valley Railway Trust at the Gala and to have the opportunity for a good chat with their volunteers.   

Wednesday (22nd) saw further progress with the extension to the passenger-carrying line - sleepers / rails have now been laid almost to EVR Bridge No. 2 - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. In addition, we undertook a preliminary hydraulic test on the re-tubed boiler of the Peckett and, after attention to a small number of tubes and replacing the packing on the dome cover, all was well. We now await the formal exam next week.

There was a distinct feel of autumn in the air at KSE this weekend (18th / 19th) with cooler temperatures, strong winds and rain all day yesterday. However, work continued on the N.E. Brake van, Class 108 DMU, Peckett and restoration of the surviving timber from the Station Master's Office. This coming weekend (25th / 26th), we shall be taking the Sales Stand to the Steam Gala at 'Locomotion', Shildon - this year, it has an LNER theme with, in addition to the normal residents, guest locos D49 No. 246 'Morayshire' from the Scottish Railway Preservation Society base at Boness, J72 No. 69023 'Joem' owned by the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group and N2 No.1744 which is owned by the Gresley Society Trust and based on the Great Central Railway at Loughborough. Please come along and support the event if you can.

Wednesday (15th) saw further progress with the extension to the passenger-carrying line with more sleepers and 2 x 60' rails laid - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. In addition, further progress has been made with the Peckett - retubing is now complete and the boiler is full of water awaiting a preliminary hydraulic test - a couple of photos and a report have been added to the 2084 Overhaul page.

Firstly, apologies for the lack of an update last week - we were away for a short break down south. Last Wednesday (8th), work continued on the section of trackwork between EVR Bridge Nos. 2 & 3 - a photo illustrating the current position has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. In addition, further progress was also made on Bridge 3. Inside the building, effots continued with retubing the Peckett - a report and photo have been added to the 2084 Overhaul page. This weekend (11th / 12th) saw us participate once more in the English Heritage 'Heritage Open Days' programme with a display of John Birkbeck's photos of the demolition of the Stainmore route. With visitor numbers well into three figures, we had an excellent time and welcomed many first-time visitors to KSE. Elsewhere on site, the S&T gang were busy (a report has been added to the Signalling & Track page) and work continued on EVR Bridge No. 3 (a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page), the Station Master's Office, N.E. Brake van, the Peckett, both Class 37's, the Diesel Crane and the Class 108 DMU.

Finally in this update, we have some very exciting news to report. We are delighted to be able to announce that we have reached agreement with the National Railway Museum (NRM) for the loan of North Eastern Railway '901' Class locomotive No. 910. currently at 'Locomotion', Shildon. This locomotive, designed by Edward Fletcher and built in 1875, is the sole surviving example of a class of locomotives which operated over the Stainmore route and were based at KSE from the late 1880's through to the early 1920's. It is intended that the engine will come to KSE early next year on a rolling 5 year loan. We are most grateful to the NRM for agreeing the loan of this historic locomotive and very much look forward to working in partnership with them - further details will be available in due course.  

This weekend (4th / 5th) has seen further progress made with cleaning / painting EVR Bridge No. 3 - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. In addition, two more roller stools / frames for the rodding run between Point Nos. 1 & 2 have been placed in position. The boiler / firebox assembly of the 'Peckett' has been prepared for a first coat of heat-resistant paint and work has continued on the N.E. Brake van.

Volunteers have been busy on site over the last 2 days. On Wednesday (1st), further cleaning and priming of EVR Bridge No. 3 took place - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. On both days, further progress was made with the N.E Brake van, the rails have been prepared ready for lifting into place on the extension being constructed between EVR Bridge Nos. 2 & 3 and we have been busy expanding boiler tubes in the Peckett - a report and photo have been added to the 2084 Overhaul page.

August 2010

A very busy Bank Holiday weekend (28th - 30th) at KSE with visitor numbers well into 3 figures, largely as a result of our 'Jack the Station Cat' 10th Anniversary event on Sunday - many thanks to all who attended. Elsewhere on site - the volunteers have not been idle! Further work took place on EVR Bridge No. 3 and the roller stools  / frames for the rodding run between Point Nos. 1 & 2 are now roughly in position - a couple of photos have been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. In addition, there was further progress with the N.E. Brake van, Class 108 DMU, 'Planet' and ballasting the diesel siding. However, the most noticeable change this weekend has been the start of the work to dismantle the workshop at the western end of the Tebay / Penrith trainshed following our successful grant applications (please see below). Some photos have been added to a Gallery on the new Door / Platform page. Finally, the August draw for the monthly '200 Club' has been made and the winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 9. Derek Thompson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 57. Mrs. J. Thompson

3rd Prize. £5. Number 56. Mr. G.N. Barlow 

We are delighted to formally announce today (27th) that all 4 grant applications submitted to raise funds for the new door / repairs to the gable end and the platform extension at the western end of the 'Darlington' trainshed have been approved. We are most grateful to the following for their financial support:

Cumbria County Council 'Community Regeneration Fund' £15,000

Cumbria Waste Management Environment Trust (CWMET) 'Cumbria Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund'  £15,000

CWMET 'Landfill Tax Grant Scheme' £5,000

Cumbria Community Foundation 'Grassroots Grants' £3,315   

In addition, on behalf of all the volunteers and shareholders, we would also like to express a big 'thank-you' to our architect, Bob O'Neil of O'Neil & Petrie who prepared all the plans, engineer, Ian Walton, who did all the structural calculations (both most generously free of charge) and the many organisations who kindly supplied letters in support of our applications. We hope that work will start shortly and, as with previous projects, we will have a dedicated page on this website where regular updates will be posted.                                                                                                 

Lots of activity on site yesterday (25th). Another 16 sleepers were laid on the section of trackbed between EVR Bridge Nos. 2 & 3 and work continued to clean / paint EVR Bridge No. 3 - a couple of photos have been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. In addition, the second new corner pillar was fitted to the N.E. Brake van and progress continued on the Class 108 DMU with the engine running for most of the afternoon. Lastly, but most certainly not least, Phyllis tidied up the station garden and Ann cleaned the platform in readiness for the 'Jack the Station Cat' day on Sunday.

A busy weekend (21st / 22nd) at the East station. A various times, both Class 37's (674 / 146) and the Diesel Crane were started up to allow various checks to be undertaken. All the new tubes were inserted in the boiler barrel of the 'Peckett' - an update and photo have been added to the 2084 Overhaul page. In addition, the S&T gang were busy and work continued on the Station Master's Office, N.E. Brake van, Class 108 DMU and Eden Valley Bridge No. 3.

Yesterday (18th), the new set of tubes arrived for the 'Peckett' - we hope to start retubing the boiler this coming weekend. In addition, we also moved a large quantity of point rodding and safely stored away the rest of the signalling equipment from Parton which arrived last weekend. 

This weekend (14th / 15th) saw, on this one-off special occasion, just a 'skeleton' staff on duty at KSE. The great majority had made their way over to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) to travel on the 'Grosmont Pullman' on Saturday evening to mark the wedding of the SRC Chairman & Secretary. An excellent time was had by family, friends, work colleagues and, of course, our volunteers. Many thanks to everyone who attended and to the NYMR for all their efforts on our behalf - normal service will now resume at KSE! The Gallery below contains a few photos of the evening.

Yesterday (11th) saw the best part of another 60' panel worth of concrete sleepers laid on the section between Eden Valley Bridge Nos. 2 & 3 - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. Work also continued on the Class 108 DMU and, after removing and replacing the first, Phil has now removed the second corner pillar from the eastern end of the N.E. Brake van.

The last 3 days have seen the volunteers hard at work as usual. Saturday (7th), further progress was made with the trackwork between Eden Valley Bridge Nos. 2 & 3 - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. On Sunday, the S&T gang were busy as usual - in recent weeks they have been off-site at Parton on the Cumbrian Coast route - a report of their activities has been added to the Signalling & Track page. Work also continued on the Class 108 DMU and the N.E. Brake van. Yesterday (9th), much of the day was taken up with meetings although further progress was also made with the Brake van.

Yesterday (5th) saw a long 12 hour day at KSE with meetings to discuss various projects etc. In addition, the volunteers were busy tidying-up (i) both concrete and timber sleepers and (ii) some of the recently acquired signalling equipment from Parton on the Cumbrian Coast. Finally, several loads of ballast were transported up to the section of trackbed between Eden Valley Bridge Nos. 2 & 3 in readiness for further tracklaying this coming weekend.

Saturday (31st) saw the best part of another 60' track panel completed on the section between Eden Valley Bridge Nos. 2 & 3 - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. Yesterday, the S&T gang were hard at work and made good progress adjacent to Point No.2 despite the rain during most of the afternoon - a report and photo have been added to the Signalling & Track page and the new Gallery on the Trackwork page respectively. Elsewhere, efforts continued on the N.E. Brake van and Class 108 DMU. The July draw for the monthly '200 Club' has been made and the winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 1. David Rayner

2nd Prize. £10. Number 56. Mr. G.N.Barlow

3rd Prize. £5. Number 11. Derek Thompson 

July 2010

Wednesday (28th) saw the 1st two 60' panels of the 'bay' siding laid - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page - we will not be taking this any further until the 'Darlington' platform extension is completed as it would be likely to interefere with the ability of mechanical plant to undertake groundworks etc. In addition, Phil fitted the first of the new corner pillars to the N.E. Brake van and work continued on the Class 108 DMU. Finally, we also played host to a group of members from Skipton Model Railway Club who were busy photographing and measuring up the site. Their next project is to be a working model based on KSE which we very much look forward to seeing in operation.

Firstly, apologies for the lack of updates in the last week or so - our PC has been playing up and this has finally been diagnosed as a faulty monitor which has now been replaced. The volunteers have been busy as ever - another 45' panel has been added to the 'diesel siding' and we have started to construct the 'bay' between what were the two 'running' lines. In addition, tracklaying has continued on the section between Eden Valley Bridge Nos. 2 & 3 - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. Elsewhere, efforts have continued on the N.E. Brake Van, Station Master's Office and Class 108 DMU. Finally, our latest Newsletter has recently been published and should have reached all our subscribers - it is also available from KSE and the usual outlets. 

With our AGM on Saturday morning (17th) and rain all day yesterday, there was limited opportunity for the volunteers to get much work done outside. However, the weather failed to dampen the spirits of those visiting the site as part of the Annual 'Garden Trail' and we managed to complete the basics of the pointwork - all is now screwed down onto the timbers. We just have a few remaining fishplate holes to drill and other odd jobs to finish. Yesterday, some S&T work took place, efforts continued to clean up the surviving timber for reuse in the the Station Master's Office and some of the blanking plates and washout plugs were fitted to the 'Peckett' in readiness for the hydraulic test which will take place once we have fitted the new tubes - a couple of photos have been added to the Gallery on the 2084 Overhaul page.

Yesterday morning (14th), the Boiler Inspector arrived to undertake the formal 10-yearly examination of the 'Peckett' - we are very pleased to report that the only work required is to fit a new set of tubes - an update has been added to the 2084 Overhaul page. Elsewhere work continued on the 1st set of pointwork on the 'diesel siding' and with tracklaying between Eden Valley Bridge Nos. 2 & 3. Phyllis completed her preparations on the Station Garden in readiness for the 'Garden Trail' this weekend and Phil began to dismantle sections at the eastern end of the N. E Brake Van in preparation for renewing the timbers. 

An excellent weekend at Hartlepool Model Railway Show with our Sales Stand - the event gets bigger and better every year with some superb layouts on display. Many thanks to Paul and his team for all their hard work. A preview of the concert in Kirkby Stephen tomorrow night in aid of both the local church and our project can be found here - please go along and support all our friends from Japan if you can.  

Wednesday (7th) saw the steelwork for the 1st set of pointwork to be inserted into the 'diesel siding' essentially completed - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. The next jobs are to finishing drilling all the holes for the fishplate bolts, screw all the remaining chairs down onto the timbers and then get to work with the ballast. This weekend (10th / 11th), our Sales Stand will be attending the Hartlepool Model Railway Show at the Wynyard Rooms, near Billingham. This well established show is a joint venture between Hornby Magazine and Hartlepool Model Rail Group - opening times are 9.30am - 5.30pm on Saturday and 9.30am - 4.30pm on Sunday. Please come along and support the event if you can.

Saturday (3rd) saw work continue with tracklaying between Eden Valley Bridge Nos. 2 & 3 - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. In addition, all the remaining cladding and lagging were removed from the Peckett - a report and photo have been added to the 2084 Overhaul page. Efforts to repaint and carry out some timber repairs to the N.E. Brake Van also continued. Yesterday, saw our 1st Classic Car Rally take place and, by late morning, a very nice selection of vehicles had assembled in the Car Park. Unfortunately on this occasion, the heavy rain and gale force winds got the better of us but, undeterred, we will be back next year to try again - hopefully with some sunshine! A report and selection of photos have been added to the new Classic Car Rally page. 

On Wednesday, a second closure rail was cut and inserted into the pointwork on the 'diesel siding' and the route into the 'Tebay /Penrith' platform was set to gauge - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. In the evening, the volunteers undertook a couple of other jobs - the cladding and lagging on the firebox of the Peckett were removed and Mike cut the grass on the picnic area once more. A report and photo of the latest work undertaken by the S&T gang have been added to the Signalling & Track page and the new Gallery on the Trackwork page respectively. Finally, a preview in the 'Eden Valley Messenger' of this Sunday's Classic Car Rally can be found here.  

June 2010

A very hot weekend at the East station! On Saturday, the volunteers finished levelling the crossing timbers for the first set of pointwork on the 'diesel siding' and cut the first of the closure rails - a photo has been added to the New Gallery on the Trackwork page. Yesterday (27th), good progress was made with removing the cladding and lagging on the Peckett in preparation for the Boiler Inspector's visit - a report and photo have been added to the 2084 Overhaul page. The S&T gang were busy on both days inserting concrete bases for the point rodding and cranks adjacent to Point No. 2. Finally, work has now started to repaint and undertake some timber repairs on the N.E. Brake Van. The June draw for the monthly '200 Club' has been made and the winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 45. Bill Taylor

2nd Prize. £10. Number 44. Keith Richardson

3rd Prize. £5. Number 14. Mike Pattinson 

Today (25th), we made good progress with the 'Peckett' - removing both the saddletank and cab. A report and photos have been added to the 2084 Overhaul page.

Yesterday (23rd), work continued on the first set of pointwork on the 'diesel siding'. Almost all of the crossing timbers were set at their correct level and we are now almost ready to start cutting and drilling the closure rails. In addition, James was on site during the afternoon working on the signals we recently obtained from Parton on the Cumbrian Coast.

Sunday (20th) saw our 1st 'Steam Gathering' take place on site with a number of full-size / miniature engines and special guest, Mrs Sheila Dibnah, in attendance. Despite losing a number of exhibits at the last moment for various reasons beyond our control, we were very pleased with the event which raised an excellent four-figure sum for the project - many thanks to all the exhibitors and visitors who came to support us. We hope to hold a similar event next year - further details and photographs can be found on the Steam Gathering page. The Next Events page has also been updated to cover the 3 month period to the end of September.

Yesterday (16th), we completed preparations for the 'Steam Gathering' this coming weekend - all we need now is some sunshine! This morning, our special guest on Sunday, Sheila Dibnah, was interviewed live over the phone by Robin Wallington, one of our volunteers, on his regular show for Radio Teesdale.

Saturday (12th) saw good progress made with the pointwork on the 'diesel siding'. The switches and crossing were installed and the rail chairs have been set out in preparation for cutting and drilling the closure rails - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. In contrast to the good weather at KSE on Saturday, yesterday we had rain all day so much of the work was undertaken inside the building with preparations being made for the 'Steam Gathering' next Sunday. However, the S&T gang did get some work done outside on the signals which arrived from Parton last week. 

A busy day at the East Station yesterday (9th). First to arrive were 5 BR-pattern signals from Parton on the Cumbrian Coast Line - many thanks to Paul Dennison of Network Rail and Lawson's Haulage for making this possible. We then took delivery of a set of left-hand switches and a crossing for the first set of pointwork to go in the 'diesel siding'. We are pleased to report that work has now started in earnest on laying the next section of track between Eden Valley Bridges Nos. 2 & 3 - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. Finally, we have received two more entries for the 'Steam Gathering' on the 20th June - a miniature Burrell Traction Engine and 7 '00' Gauge Live Steam LNER Locomotives (Classes A3 / A4) - the Next Events page has been updated accordingly.

First of all, many apologies for the lack of updates over the last week or so - we have now returned from a short break at Spean Bridge near Fort William, so normal service should hopefully resume! Saturday (5th) saw our 1st Model Railway Show take place at the East Station. This was a great success with many people attending the site for the first time - a big 'thank you' to all our visitors and everyone who helped in any way - a Gallery of photos has been added to the new Model Rail Show page. The Next Events page has been updated with details added of the exhibits which will be attending the 'Steam Gathering' on Sunday 20th June. The S&T gang have been busy with various jobs and an update has been added to the Signalling & Track page. Amongst other news, we are pleased to report that the Planning Application we submitted to Eden District Council earlier in the year for permission to extend the 'Darlington' platform westwards, as requested by 'Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate', has been approved.

May 2010

Yesterday (26th), our volunteers completed a number of tasks between the heavy showers. Most notably, levelling / aligning the 45' panel which was laid last weekend and finishing the crossing - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. In addition, all the ex-LNER signals obtained from Brampton Fell were transported up the yard giving us more space around the station area for our forthcoming events. Finally, the May draw for the monthly '200 Club' has been made. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 54. James Relph

2nd Prize. £10. Number 44. Keith Richardson

3rd Prize. £5. Number 20. Bill Watkin

A very hot weekend at the East Station! On Saturday (22nd), much of the effort was concentrated on laying another 45' panel on the siding east of the crossover - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. In addition, work continued on both the garden and establishing the ground levels prior to tracklaying between Eden Valley Bridges Nos. 2 & 3. Yesterday, we managed to get some more work done on the Peckett - an update has been added to the 2084 Overhaul page. Throughout the weekend, efforts continued on the restoration of the Station Master's Office and one of our regular contractors paid us a visit re. plastering the new ceiling.

On Wednesday (19th), a 10-hour stint saw the volunteers lay a further 45' panel on the standing line to the east of the crossover and extend the current road crossing - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page.

This weekend (15th / 16th) saw progress on a number of fronts. On Saturday, we managed to complete the ballasting of another 45' panel of the 'diesel siding' -  a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. In addition, volunteers were also busy painting some of the ex-LNER signals we obtained from Brampton Fell. Yesterday, work continued on the Class 108 DMU, further progress was made with regard to fitting vacuum equipment to the 'Planet' and there was another step forward with the 'Peckett' - a report and photo have been added to the 2084 Overhaul page. Lastly, but most certainly not least, work continued over both days on the restoration of the Station Master's Office.

Yesterday (12th), the work to repair the picnic area embankment was basically finished - we now just await some turf to complete the job - we also cut the grass on the picnic area itself for the second time this year. Elsewhere, the volunteers realigned the current end of the standing line to the east of the crossover so that it will ultimately form the loading / unloading ramp in the second car park to be constructed on the northern side of the building - we are now ready to lay two more 45' track panels which will take us up to just short of the temporary fencing. Once this job was completed, we then undertook some further ballasting of the 'diesel siding' - the section from Point No.2 to Eden Valley Bridge No.1 is now finished - a photo has been added to the new gallery on the Trackwork page. Finally, the 'bund' which forms the southern boundary of the car park received some attention - we hope to be sowing wild flower seeds on it very shortly.

Saturday (8th) saw much of the volunteers efforts concentrated on finishing the repairs to the embankment alongside the path to the picnic area - this is now almost complete with perhaps one more days work to undertake. Yesterday (9th) saw more clearance work taking place on the section of land between Eden Valley Bridge Nos. 2 & 3 - yet more granite ballast has recently been delivered and, once we have established the correct levels, tracklaying will take place. Elsewhere, efforts continued to repair the timberwork rescued from the Station Master's Office and some further work took place on the 'Peckett' - we hope to empty out the boiler barrel and start cleaning up the tubeplate holes next weekend. Finally, as usual, the S&T gang were hard at work - their main efforts yesterday revolved around putting together as a 'trial fit' the 4 lever Ground Frame that will control Point Nos. 1 & 2 on the passenger-carrying line - an update has been added to the Signalling & Track page.

Last November, the access to our new picnic area was blocked as the result of a landslip which occurred following eleven inches of rain in one week. Since then, our volunteers have worked to firstly clean-up, and subsequently repair the damage by constructing a new stone retaining wall alongside the path. We are very pleased to report that, following three more days of work this weekend (1st - 3rd May), the picnic area is now open for use once more. We still have some further work to undertake, but hopefully the worst is now over. Elsewhere on site, work continued on the Station Master's Office - more of the plasterwork and the timberwork rescued from the room have been repaired. The S&T gang have been busy as usual and a report has been added to the Signalling & Track page. We have some slight changes and additions to report to our Events Programme - unfortunately one of the Traders booked for the Model Railway Show on Saturday 5th June (ACE Trains) is no longer able to attend. However, we are pleased to report that, to compensate for this, we have booked another layout, 'Cuddies Yard' (EM), which makes 9 in total. In addition, our Steam Gathering on Sunday 20th June will also now feature a seven and one quarter inch scale live steam miniature railway which, for a small additional charge, will be giving rides to the public - the Next Events page has been updated to reflect these alterations. Finally, our new all colour Information Leaflet and Share Purchase Forms have been printed with the aid of a £500 grant from Eden District Council (EDC). We are most grateful to EDC and Tourism Manager, Sally Hemsley, for all their help and support. The leaflet and form are now available at KSE and we have had a number distributed to all the Tourist Information Centres in Cumbria plus a few selected others - a press article can be found here.

April 2010

This weekend (24th / 25th) has seen efforts continue to clean up the surviving timber for reuse in the Station Master's Office. Further site clearance work has taken place and the S&T gang were busy packing ballast around the expansion compensator and in the cess alongside the rodding run from Point No.3A to 3B. It is hoped to complete this work and undertake some further minor adjustments next weekend. A planning meeting for the Steam Gathering on 20th June took place yesterday with some of the exhibitors and the arrangements for the event have now been agreed. Finally, the April draw for the monthly '200 Club' was made over the weekend. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 3. David Rayner

2nd Prize. £10. Number 58. Rob Murray

3rd Prize. £5. Number 12. Derek Thompson

Yesterday (21st), work continued to sort through the crossing timbers stored on site - a full set has now been laid out for the new pointwork at the eastern end of the 'diesel siding' and we have also begun to put together those required for a second set which will be needed later in the year. A photo has been added to the new Gallery on the Trackwork page.

A couple of further photos taken by Dave Greenhalgh on Sunday illustrating the joys of removing boiler tubes have been added to the Gallery on the 2084 Overhaul page.

Another weekend of good progress on a range of projects. The main focus was directed towards clearance work between Eden Valley Bridge Nos. 2 & 3 - we hope to be able to lay track on this section shortly. In addition, efforts continued in the Station Master's Office with a start being made on the plasterwork. Yesterday, Phyllis continued to prepare the garden for our visitors to enjoy and undertook some clearance of the embankment adjacent to the picnic area. The S&T gang were busy making minor adjustments to the operation of Point Nos. 3A / B. Finally, on the motive power front, efforts continued on the Class 108 DMU, good progress was made with fitting the vacuum gear to the 'Planet' and all the remaining boiler tubes were removed from the 'Peckett' - a photo and report have been added to the 2084 Overhaul page.

Yesterday (14th), two 45' panels in the 'diesel siding' were removed to make way for the first set of pointwork - by the end of the day, we had sourced most of the timbers required from those stored on the site and we hope to take delivery of a pair of left-hand switches and a crossing shortly. On Saturday (17th), our Sales Stand will be attending the Model Railway Exhibition promoted by the Rotary Cub of Newton Aycliff in Aid of Polio Eradication. Please support this event if you can. 

At last, we have something which resembles spring! This weekend (10th / 11th), has seen the volunteers busy on a wide range of projects. Firstly, we have been tidying-up both inside and outside the building after the Rally last weekend. Work has continued on the Station Master's Office with two of the window frames being removed for repairs. The realignment of the 'diesel siding' is now essentially complete, so this week we hope to start laying out the crossing timbers for the first set of pointwork. Class 37 146 and the Class 108 DMU were both started-up for more checks / repairs to be undertaken. Efforts have begun to prepare the East Station Garden for the summer season and our annual contribution to the 'Garden Trail', 'Cumbria in Bloom' etc. On Saturday evening, we held the last of the 2009-2010 season of Slide Shows - despite the weather over the winter, this has been very successful yet again - many thanks to everyone who has supported us and to all those who have made it possible - we look forward to seeing you all again in the autumn. Finally, the S&T team were busy yesterday with the final angle crank linking the rodding run to Point No. 3B. There are now some final adjustments to be made and the job will be finished. 

Last weekend (3rd / 4th) saw another hugely successful Easter Rally with over 2500 visitors to KSE despite the cold, rain, hail and very occassional sunny period. Many thanks to all who came out over the two days to support the event - a new Gallery of photos has been added to the Easter Rally page. It is also a pleasure to report that, for the first time, three of the mainline diesels (Class 20 169 and Class 37's 146 / 674) were started up together on Sunday afternoon. On Easter Monday (5th), further S&T work took place filling-in many of the roller stool frame pits on the rodding runs to Point Nos. 3A / 3B - a report has been added to the Signalling & Track page and a couple of photos have been placed on the new Gallery on the Trackwork page. Finally, the Next Events page has been updated to cover June / July.

March 2010

Saturday (27th), saw completion of the new ceiling in the Station Master's Office - well done to all concerned - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the KSE Station page. Further progress was also made with realigning and levelling the 'diesel siding' - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. Elsewhere, efforts continued over the weekend to prepare for the Classic Commercial Vehicle Rally at Easter, more work was undertaken on the Class 108 DMU and the S&T gang were busy with the foundations for the angle crank adjacent to Point No. 3B. The latest Newsletter has now been published and has gone in the post to all our regular subscribers. Finally, the March draw for the monthly '200 Club' was made over the weekend. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 15. Mike Pattinson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 52. Maggie Yates

3rd Prize. £5. Number 31. Maureen Wilson   

Yesterday (24th), another two panels of the 'diesel siding' were realigned and levelled. In addition, further progress was made on the Class 108 DMU. Inside the station, work to prepare the shop and buffet car for the new season continued. In the evening, we attended a meeting of the Eden Classic Vehicle Group to agree arrangements for the Classic Commercial Vehicle Rally to be held over the Easter weekend - an update has been added to the Next Events page.

Another busy weekend at the East station. On Saturday (20th), further progress was made with the Station Master's Office - all the roof insulation is now in place and two more ceiling boards were fitted. A photo has been added to the new Gallery on the KSE Station page. Yesterday (21st), Class 20 169 was started up for various checks to take place. Work is now well underway to prepare the building and site for the Classic Commercial Vehicle Rally held over the Easter weekend - on Saturday we had a 'LoadHaul' operating to help with tidying the site and much effort has also gone into reorganising the shop to enhance the display space - we now also sell drinks from Kendal Cordials and have taken delivery of a number of Cumbria / Lake District related titles from Countryside Books.

This weekend (13th / 14th) saw good progress made on a number of projects. On Saturday, the volunteers made a start installing the roof insulation and new ceiling in the Station Master's Office - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the KSE Station page. Our Sales Stand was in attendance at the Settle (ScoutRail) Model Railway Show - many thanks to Dave and his team for another excellent and very enjoyable exhibition. Today, the S&T team were hard at work installing the expansion compensator in the rodding run from Point No. 3A to 3B - a photo and report have been added to the Trackwork and Signalling & Track pages respectively. In addition, volunteers were busy getting the shop organised and tidying up the site in readiness for the new season.

Yesterday (10th), work started in earnest to realign what is currently the 'diesel siding' with the trackwell of the Tebay / Penrith platform - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. The latest Newsletter also went to the printers and we hope that it will be in the post to all our regular subscribers in the next week or so. 

On Saturday (6th), the Diesel Crane was started up and a number of jobs were undertaken. In addition, we managed to get some more time on the 'Peckett' (an update has been added to the 2084 Overhaul page) and the volunteers began to remove the remaining items from the Station Master's Office. Today (8th), work continued on the Office, the S&T gang have been busy (a photo has been uploaded to the Gallery on the Trackwork page and a report added to the Signalling & Track page), the Class 108 DMU was started up to check various items, more tidying up took place and the bird feeders were refilled. Next Saturday (13th), our Sales Stand will be attending 'Scout Rail' Model Railway Exhibition at Settle Primary School (10am - 5pm) - please come along and support this event if you can. 

Yesterday (3rd), we marked out the new alignment for the 'diesel siding' and levelled much of the ground ready for the track to be slewed over. In addition, Phyllis was busy with some preparatory work on the station garden and we continued to tidy the site in readiness for the new season.

Unfortunately, the snow beat us again last Wednesday (24th) and the mid-week working party had to be cancelled. However, this weekend the weather was a little kinder (although still very cold) and we managed to work at KSE on both days. On Saturday (27th), most of our efforts were concentrated on shunting all the rolling stock from the diesel siding onto the pasenger-carrying line - please see the photos added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. This will now allow us to realign the siding with the Tebay / Penrith trackwell, level / ballast and insert two more sets of pointwork. Yesterday (28th), efforts continued with the restoration of the Station Master's Office - approx half of the roof timbers were denailed and volunteers began the task of cleaning the sections of woodwork that can be reused. The S&T gang were at work - a further photo has been uploaded to the Gallery on the Trackwork page and a report added to the Signalling & Track page. In addition, further progress was made on the 'Peckett' - there is an update on the 2084 Overhaul page. Finally, yet more tidying-up took place and all the bird-feeders were re-filled - we are now having to do this on a very regular basis as our wildlife population are eating their way through large quantities of food each week. Our Company Secretary recently made the February draw for the monthly '200 Club'. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 11. Derek Thompson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 15. Mike Pattinson

3rd Prize. £5. Number 12. Derek Thompson 

February 2010

This weekend (20th / 21st) saw good progress on Saturday, but the snow yesterday prevented most of our volunteers from getting to KSE. The 'Yorkshire Engine' was successfully started in readiness for the planned shunt of rolling stock but, in the end, this had to be postponed because of the weather. In addition, a good start was made on Saturday with fitting the vacuum pipework to the 'Planet' - again, we had intended to finish this yesterday, but were beaten by the snow. We also managed to get some more work done on the 'Peckett' and an update has been added to the 2084 Overhaul page. Inside the building, our volunteers have been busy starting to get the shop organised for the Easter Rally which is now fast approaching and, outside, some more clearance work took place around the station building. Finally, a new Gallery has been started on the KSE Station page which will illustrate the restoration of the Station Master's Office.

Yesterday (17th), we completed ballasting the connection between the 'diesel siding' and the main layout - all is now ready for us to move the rolling stock onto the passenger-carrying line. In addition, some further work was undertaken on the standing line west of the crossover. Finally, we spent a little time tidying up following the clearance work which has taken place on the northern embankment over the past couple of weekends. 

Saturday (13th) saw the restoration of the Station Master's Office commence in earnest. The remains of the ceiling were removed and plans made for the next stage of the job - we hope to include regular updates and photographs as the project proceeds. In addition, the 'diesel siding' was connected up to the passenger-carrying line - some minor adjustments and ballasting are now all that are required before we move everything off the siding so that it can be re-aligned, ballasted and two sets of switches inserted - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. Elsewhere over the weekend, the S&T team continued with the rodding run and expansion compensator between Point Nos. 3A / 3B, more work took place on the Class 108 DMU and there was further progress with site clearance.  

Yesterday (10th), we turned our attention to the 'diesel siding' and connecting it to the rest of the system - good progress was made and hopefully the work will be completed at the weekend. In addition, further efforts continued to install the base for the expansion compensator to be inserted in the rodding run between Point Nos. 3A / 3B. At the end of the day, a further meeting with our architect, Bob O'Neil, took place to discuss the drawings for the new door and platform extension at the western end of the building - this project is progressing steadily.

It is with the greatest sadness that we report the death of our regular volunteer, Richie Gregory. All at KSE have been deeply shocked to hear the news and we send our deepest sympathies to his wife, Cath, and the family - a tribute page can be found here. As you can imagine, there was a subdued atmosphere at KSE this weekend, but I am sure Richie's death will only serve to make everyone more determined than ever to drive the project forward.

On Saturday (6th), all the pipework arrived to enable us to fit vacuum gear to the 'Planet' and, in the afternoon, we made some further progress on the 2084 Overhaul. Outside in the sunshine (just for a pleasant change!), ballasting of the standing line and vegetation clearance work continued. Yesterday (7th), the Parcels Van was shunted along the standing line, the temporary panels were dismantled and the track was slewed back into position - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. The S&T gang also continued to make progress and an update has been added to the Signalling & Track page.

Yesterday (3rd), the standing line was briefly connected to the isolated section of track so that the Parcels Van could be moved onto the main layout. Work then began to dismantle the temporary track - the next stage will be to slew the standing line back onto its correct alignment in preparation for constructing the new loading / unloading bay in the northern car park. 

January 2010 

This weekend (30th / 31st) has seen progress on a number of projects. Volunteers have been busy on clearance work - taking advantage of the (slightly!) better weather before the nesting season starts. In addition, there was a meeting on site to assess and organise the work required to restore the Station Master's Office and, finally, efforts have continued to relay and then slew the standing line so that the Parcels Van, currently on an isolated piece of track in the north-east corner of the yard, can be brought onto the main layout - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page.

Yesterday (27th) saw the first mid-week working party of 2010. Progress continued with the Standing Line to the east of the crossover and two more 45' panels were relaid - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. 

This weekend saw our first volunteer working parties of the year. Inside the building, we were busy measuring up for the pipework required to fit vacuum gear to the 'Planet' so that it can work passenger trains - we hope that installation of the equipment will start shortly. Outside, efforts continued to re-lay the siding that will ultimately become the loading / unloading ramp in the Car Park on the north side of the station building. Our Company Chairman recently made the January draw for the monthly '200 Club'. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 35. Ken Ball

2nd Prize. £10. Number 10. Derek Thompson

3rd Prize. £5. Number 15. Mike Pattinson

The next Volunteers Meeting will be held on SUNDAY 28TH FEBRUARY AT 1PM in the mess room at KSE. All welcome.

Thankfully all the snow and ice have now disappeared, so we will re-open to the public for the first time in 2010 this weekend (23rd / 24th). The 'Eden Valley Messenger' has recently published an interesting article on Iain Robinson, one of our volunteers who regularly travels over from Japan - please see here for more details.

A Happy New Year to you all!

With the current snow, ice and freezing temperatures and, apparently, yet more snow on the way, KSE remains closed for safety reasons until further notice - please watch the website for updates. Our Company Secretary, Sue Jones, recently made the December draw for the monthly '200 Club'. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 4. Mike Thompson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 19. Bill Watkin

3rd Prize. £5. Number 14. Mike Pattinson

The next Volunteers Meeting (weather permitting!) will be held on SUNDAY 24TH JANUARY 2010 AT 1PM in the mess room at KSE. All welcome.

Finally, many thanks to those of you who have recently renewed your annual Newsletter subscription and / or taken out a subscription to the '200 Club' - your continued support is greatly appreciated.  

December 2009

If you would like to see more photos of our latest event on Saturday 5th December, Alan Usher has added a 'Santa 2009' Gallery to his Kirkby Stephen East website.

With the snow and freezing temperatures, little work has been undertaken at KSE the last few days and the site is now officially closed to the general public - it will formally re-open on Saturday 9th January. We are pleased to report that Newsletter No.32 has been delivered and that it is now in the post to all our regular subscribers - hopefully it will arrive in time for Christmas. It is, of course, also available from various outlets including the local Newsagents etc. Finally, we thank you all for your interest and support and wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Saturday (12th) saw our 3rd Annual 'Santa' event with visitors arriving on the free bus service from Brough and Kirkby which was operated by Cumbria Classic Coaches. Despite the cold weather, there were many smiling young faces which made all the effort to decorate the platform and construct the grotto worthwhile. A report in the 'Eden Valley Messenger' can be found here.Yesterday (13th) saw the volunteers back at work on more familiar duties - the first panel of the standing line which had been lifted for attention to the trackbed was relaid and the S&T gang made excellent progress with the rodding run to Point No.3B - an update has been added to the Signalling & Track page.

Yesterday (9th), work started in earnest on the section of standing line vacated by last weekend's shunt of rolling stock. The consensus view was that the best way to proceed would be to dismantle the 3 panels of track and regrade the trackbed - this was completed yesterday and we also had time to start relaying the sleepers for the first panel - a couple of photos have been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. In addition, the S&T gang were hard at work installing the remaining roller frames for the point rodding which will operate Point No. 3B on the crossover - these are now all in position and completion of this part of the project is in sight! All is now ready for our 'Santa' event this coming Saturday (10am - 4pm) - please support us if you can. Finally, the latest Newsletter has just been finished and should go 'to press' this weekend.

This weekend (5th / 6th) saw the successful completion of the latest stage in our plans to create a loading / unloading bay on the northern side of the station building. On Saturday, a shunt took place to move the 'Yorkshire Engine', Class 31 410 and the 'BG' up to Point No.3B adjacent to the crossover. Today, work commenced on the remaining section of the standing line which has now been vacated by the shunt - a couple of photos have been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. Elsewhere, the S&T team have continued to progress the point rodding operating the crossover and further work has taken place on the Class 108 DMU. Inside the building, preparations for next Saturday's 'Santa' event are now essentially complete - all we need now is some decent weather! Finally, a couple of photos have been added to the Gallery on the 2084 Overhaul page.

Yesterday (2nd), just for a change, we had a nice sunny (but cold!) day at KSE. The volunteers took advantage of this change in the weather to finish ballasting the section of standing line up to and including Point No. 3B on the crossover. The next stage in the work is to move the 'Yorkshire Engine', Class 31 410 and its support vehicle up to the crossover so that we can then work on the section of track on which they are currently standing. In addition, Graham and John from 'West Coast Railways' were on site again and good progress was made with the boiler work on the Peckett - an update has been added to the 2084 Overhaul page.

November 2009

Last Wednesday, the mid-week volunteers had to cancel their regular session due to the terrible weather Cumbria has been experiencing which continued over this weekend (28th / 29th). However, undeterred, further progress has been made. Outside, braving the elements, the guttering on the south-facing wall which was damaged in the storms has been repaired and we managed to ballast another panel of the standing line east of the crossover - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. Inside the building, Santa's grotto has been completed and much of the 'Darlington' platform has been decorated in readiness for our 'Santa ' Event on Saturday 12th December - please see the Next Event's page for more details. In addition, further items have been removed from the Station Master's Office in readiness for its restoration and, on Saturday afternoon, we managed to find time to remove the first batch of boiler tubes from 2084 - an update and photo have been added to the 2084 Overhaul page.

Following the Volunteers Meeting, the November draw for the '200 Club' was made. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 27. Dave Greenhalgh

2nd Prize. £10. Number 17. Richie Gregory

3rd Prize. £5. Number 19. Bill Watkin

The next Volunteers Meeting will be held on SUNDAY 24TH JANUARY 2010 AT 1PM in the mess room at KSE. All welcome.

First of all, many apologies for the lack of updates during the last two weeks - we have just returned from a much-needed holiday so, hopefully, normal service will now be resumed! In our absence, progress has continued on a number of projects including the S&T work (an update and photo have been added to the Signalling & Track and Trackwork pages respectively) and the Class 108 DMU. In addition, the Station Masters Office has been emptied in readiness for restoration work to begin in earnest. Work outside has been hampered by the terrible weather that Cumbria has experienced - we have been fortunate to escape relatively lightly when compared to some areas. However, we have lost some material from the Picnic Area embankment and this will be subject to repairs as soon as we are able to do so. 

Yesterday (4th), Graham and John from 'West Coast Railways' at Carnforth were busy cutting the boiler tubes in 2084 in readiness for their removal - a report and photos have been added to the 2084 Overhaul page. Elsewhere, there was more progress with the trackwork and efforts continued to tidy up the site. The Next Events page has been updated with the latest news of the 'Santa' event on Saturday 12th December and Alan Usher has added some recent photos to his Kirkby Stephen East website.

Despite more bad weather again this weekend, particularly today (1st) with gales and driving rain, progress continues. Yesterday saw the last two remaining rotten timbers removed from Eden Valley Bridge No.3 so we are now in a position to make a full assessment of the condition of the steelwork. In addition, further tidying up work continued on site and, inside the building, excellent progress has been made with the initial construction phase of 'Santa's Grotto' in preparation for our event on 12th December. 

October 2009

Wednesday (28th) saw the volunteers at work 'jacking and packing' the siding. The first three panels to the east of the crossover are now ready for final ballasting to take place - once this has been undertaken, we will be ready for the next phase of our plans to build a new loading / unloading ramp - this will be to move the Class 31, BG and Yorkshire Engine up to the crossover so that the siding can be temporarily realigned. 

This weekend (24th / 25th) has seen the first really unpleasant weather of the winter with gale force winds and driving rain. However, the volunteers have been busy regardless - quite a bit of tidying up has taken place both inside the building and outside in the yard - further progress has been made with the S&T (an update and photo have been added to the Signalling & Track and Trackwork pages respectively) and additional work has taken place on the Class 108 DMU.

Following the Volunteers Meeting, the October draw for the '200 Club' was made, this time by Tamsyn Rayner. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 7. Mike Thompson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 1. David Rayner

3rd Prize. £5. Number 34. Ken Ball

The next Volunteers Meeting will be held on SUNDAY 29TH NOVEMBER AT 1PM in the mess room at KSE. All welcome.

With bad weather forecast for Wednesday, the volunteers switched to working on site yesterday (22nd). The last two remaining track panels on the passenger line were ballasted thus completing the section up to Eden Valley Bridge No. 2 - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page.

Saturday (17th) witnessed a gang busy on the track once more - the ballasting of Point No. 2 was completed and the first panel towards Point No.3A was also finished - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. In the evening, we held the first of the 2009 - 2010 Slide Shows and were treated to a most informative (and amusing!) presentation by Kit Spackman, one of the tilt design engineers, on the design and testing of the Advanced Passenger Train. Yesterday (18th), volunteers were busy on lineside clearance, S & T work, the Class 108 DMU and the recovery of trackwork materials off site.

Wednesday (14th) saw further progress with the trackwork. A number of fishplates were cleaned and oiled and the ballasting of Point No. 2 on the passenger line was almost completed. A photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. 

On Saturday (10th), the ballasting of another panel of track on the passenger line was completed. Steady progress continues when time allows with the boiler overhaul on 2084 - a report and some photos have been added to a new Gallery on the 2084 Overhaul page. Yesterday (11th), work continued on the Class 108 DMU, the S & T team were busy on the crossover and, after two days work, the volunteers successfully 'fired up' the diesel crane late in the afternoon.

Following the successful test train a couple of weeks ago, work has now started to finish ballasting the new section of passenger-carrying line. After a little remedial 'jacking & packing', yesterday (7th) saw Point No.1 adjacent to the site of the Junction 'box essentially completed - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. In addition, painting of the door at the eastern end of the Tebay / Penrith platform was finished and some routine cleaning and oiling of fishplates also took place. Finally, last night one of our directors received a cheque for £100 which has been donated to the project from the proceeds of the 'Kirkby Stephen Garden Trail' which took place on the 18th / 19th July. We are most grateful to the Committee who organise the 'Trail' for their support - many thanks folks. Further details can be found here.

This weekend (3rd / 4th) saw further ballasting work on the pasenger and standing lines adjacent to the crossover - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. Apart from a couple of very minor jobs, the new access ramp at the eastern end of the building is now finished and ready for use - a photo has also been added to the second Gallery on the KSE Station page. Further clearance of vegetation adjacent to Point No.1 also took place and work continued on 2084 in preparation for the removal of the cab and saddletank.

This week has seen further progress with ballasting the standing line to the east of the crossover and we have also started to manufacture some large tubs which should enable us to have some nice floral displays for the large car park next year. The latest newsletter has now arrived from the printers and will go in the post today to all our regular subscribers.

September 2009

Yesterday (26th) saw the 'Planet' propelling the NE Brake Van and Class 20 to the present limit of the passenger-carrying line adjacent to Eden Valley Bridge No. 2. The purpose of this was to 'bed down' the ballast and expose any areas where further work is required before ballasting is completed. The exercise was a complete success with very little further work needed - a couple of photos have been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. In addition, the 'Planet' was also used to shunt the two Gresley coaches beyond the crossover so that additional work can be undertaken on the standing line. Today (27th), the fencing on the new ramp was completed - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the KSE Station page. In addition, further vegetation clearance was undertaken, a coat of gloss paint was applied to the door at the eastern end of the Tebay / Penrith platform, further progress continued on the DMU and the S & T team were also hard at work. Finally, the last loads of material from Durham and Greetland Signal Box also arrived.

The September draw for the '200 Club' was also made, this time by Dave Greenhalgh. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 31. Maureen Wilson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 24. James Redfern

3rd Prize. £5. Number 33. Maggie Yates

The next Volunteers Meeting will be held on SUNDAY 25TH OCTOBER AT 1PM in the mess room at KSE. All welcome.

Wednesday (23rd) saw more progress with ballasting the standing line adjacent to the crossover (Point Nos. 3A / 3B). In addition, our regular contractor, Paul Thompson, has been hard at work during the last two days. Jobs completed include fitting new guttering at the eastern end of the building (a photo has been added to the Building Restoration Gallery on the KSE Station page), a minor roof repair and finishing the end of the new ramp - there is now just the last bit of fencing to put up and the job is complete. In addition, all the flagstones on the external section of the Tebay / Penrith platform and the ramp have been power-washed and they now look much better. Finally, for photos of the 'Steam Gala' at 'Locomotion' last weekend, please see the 'Volunteer Away Days 3' Gallery on Alan Ushers 'Kirkby Stephen East' website.    

The 'Steam Gala' at 'Locomotion' was very successful - all our volunteers thoroughly enjoyed themselves as usual and more funds were raised to aid our project - many thanks to Anthony and the team for all their hard work. Elsewhere, more components for the two 'Stevens' Lever Frames were retrieved from Durham and safely stored at KSE - this job is now almost complete. Finally, the latest Newsletter should go to press this week so hopefully it will be with all our regular subscribers shortly.

Today (18th) one of our regular contractors, Paul Thompson, undertook the repointing of the wall at the eastern end of the station building. We hope that the last two jobs we have planned for this year, a minor roof repair and completion of the new ramp, will be finished shortly.

Yesterday (16th), ballasting of the standing line adjacent to the crossover (Point Nos. 3A / 3B) continued and some lineside clearance work was also undertaken - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. In addition, efforts also continued to remove the remaining sections of rotten timber from Eden Valley Bridge No. 3. This coming weekend will see a number of our volunteers assisting with the 'Steam Gala' at 'Locomotion', Shildon. The mainline guest locomotive due to arrive on Saturday evening is 70013 'Oliver Cromwell'. As usual, our Sales Stand will be in attendance on both days, so please come along and support the event if you can.

Firstly, may we apologise for not having added any updates during the last 7 days. On Tuesday evening, our faithful PC finally gave up the unequal fight and refused to work anymore! However, we are now back on-line, so hopefully 'normal' service will be resumed. As ever, there is much to report. A number of our volunteers have been working off site over the last 10 days or so to recover the Lever Frame from Greetland Signal Box - this work is now essentially complete and the frame is safely stored at KSE - a Gallery illustrating the work involved has been added to the Signalling & Track page. This weekend (12th / 13th) saw us participate for the first time in the English Heritage 'Heritage Open Days' event - this was very successful (particularly yesterday) with visitor numbers well into three figures and several hundred pounds raised for our project - many thanks to everyone who supported us. Elsewhere, work continued on the track, Class 108 DMU and the door at the eastern end of the Tebay / Penrith trainshed is now in undercoat - hoprfully we can get it finished before the weather turns against us. Finally, following a boiler inspection, work has now commenced to return Peckett 2084 to steam - a new page which will describe the work as it proceeds has been added to the website - 2084 Overhaul. 

This weekend (5th / 6th) saw our 2nd Car Boot Sale and another very useful sum raised for the project. Elsewhere, some work was undertaken on the main drain running along the northern boundary of the site and ballasting continued on the cross-over at Point Nos. 3A / 3B. On Thursday / Friday, our volunteers were busy recovering items from Greetland Signal Box - we hope to have a report and some photos available shortly.

Yesterday (2nd), the volunteers were hard at work as usual between the frequent showers. Ballast 'shoulders' were added to the right-hand curve just to the west of the footbridge and attention then turned to completing the ballasting of Point No. 3A on the passenger line - this is now almost finished. Today we have taken delivery of our first batch of stock from 'Hawkshead Relish' - this should be on sale from next weekend onwards - further details are available on the SRC Shop page.

The Bank Holiday weekend (29th - 31st August) saw progress on a number of fronts. Outside, further ballasting of the passenger line took place and a couple of our volunteers were busy removing the rotten timbers on Eden Valley Bridge No.3. Work continued on the DMU and the S & T folk were busy as usual - there is an update on the Signalling & Track page and a further photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. Inside the building, a slight reorganisation of the shop was taking place to accomodate more stock which is due to arrive this week and we have finally got around to painting the outside of the door at the eastern end of the Penrith / Tebay platform - this is currently in red oxide primer and will ultimately be a dark green as per our planning permission.

Following the Volunteers Meeting, the August draw for the '200 Club' was made, this time by Marjorie Cowin. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 4. Mike Thompson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 52. Maggie Yates

3rd Prize. £5. Number 27. Dave Greenhalgh

The next Volunteers Meeting will be held on SUNDAY 27TH SEPTEMBER AT 1PM in the mess room at KSE. All welcome.

August 2009

This week, because of the bad weather, our volunteers were on site yesterday (27th) rather than the normal Wednesday. The work of ballasting the passenger line continued and Point No. 2 is now complete - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page.

A photo of Pesspool Signal Box - the source of the 22 Lever 'Stevens' Frame recently donated to our project has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page.

This weekend (22nd / 23rd) saw volunteers starting to sort out the ground levels in readiness for the next section of tracklaying between Eden Valley Bridges Nos. 2 and 3. In addition, ballasting of the recently completed passenger line up to Bridge No.2 continued - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. Elsewhere, good progress was made inside the station with the Education Room, further work was undertaken on the DMU and the S&T gang were busy with a number of jobs - a report has been added to the Signalling & Track page.

Yesterday (19th) saw the delivery of more granite ballast and the volunteers soon started to put it to good use on the passenger-carrying line. Hopefully it will not be too long now before we are in a position to utilise some of the rolling stock to 'bed down' the line as far as Point No.1 adjacent to the site of the Junction 'box. 

Saturday (15th) was a busy day for our volunteers. Firstly, one group was at work in Durham collecting items for the S & T Department - we have been donated two complete Stevens Lever Frames which will subsequently be used in our new signal boxes at KSE. The first of these is a 22 Lever Frame from Pesspool (near Hetton) and the second is a 50 Lever Frame from Tynemouth North (a photo of the latter 'box has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page). We are most grateful to the estate of Chris Woolstenholmes, together with John Midcalf and Richard Pulleyn of the Signalling Record Society who made the necessary arrangements, for their most generous support of our project and hope that it will not be too long before the two frames are back doing the job that they were built for. Secondly, we held our first 'Coffee Morning' - this went well given the appalling weather and many thanks to all who attended (and those who provided the delicious cakes!). Finally, at KSE over the weekend, the volunteers continued to work away at a number of tasks despite the rain and strong winds.  

One of our regular contractors (and shareholder), Paul Thompson, has been busy on site the past couple of days (12th / 13th). The remaining section of guttering at the western end of the Tebay / Penrith trainshed has been fitted and Paul has also been busy with the lime mortar repointing the south-facing wall at the eastern end of the building. A photo has been added to the 'Building Restoration' Gallery on the KSE Station page. On Wednesday (12th), it was a pleasure for us to receive a visit from the judges as part of Kirkby Stephen's entry in 'Britain in Bloom' - hopefully they were impressed with the recent progress which has been made with our project - further details can be found here. In addition, the regular team were at work on the Class 108 DMU and ballasting of the standing line continued - late in the afternoon, the 'Works Train' was moved up to Point No. 1 adjacent to the site of the Junction Signalbox. This is the first step in our plans to create a more appropriate loading / unloading area for rolling stock on the northern side of the building.

This weekend (8th / 9th) saw further ballasting of the running and standing lines - a couple of photos have been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. In addition, two plaques gratefully acknowledging the financial assistance of the 'Cumbria Waste Management Environment Trust' have been attached to the picnic area - a photo of one of these has been added to the Gallery on the Picnic Area page. Work also continued on the DMU and further finishing touches were made to the new ramp at the eastern end of the building.

On Wednesday (5th), good progress was made with ballasting the running line and slightly realigning the adjacent standing line. In the evening, we played host to some 30 members of the 'Eden Valley Vintage Tractor Club' who were given a tour of the station building and site - a good time was had by all.

Three photographs taken in September 1998 which illustrate only too clearly just how heavily overgrown the site was when it was purchased for the railway project have been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page.

With the running line up to Eden Valley Bridge No.2 now essentially complete, this weekend (1st / 2nd August) saw a serious start being made to get it levelled and ballasted. In addition, yesterday saw the S&T gang hard at work on both the crossover and Point No.1 and further progress was also made on the new ramp at the eastern end of the building - after much effort this is now approaching completion.

July 2009

It is a great pleasure to be able to report that, having recently won firstly, the 'Cumbria', and then the 'North England' titles, Kirkby Stephen has now been declared the '2009 Calor England Village of the Year' - many congratulations to all the hard working individuals behind the bid - well done folks! We are delighted that our project has been able to make a very small contribution towards the award - further details can be found here. 

At 7.30pm on Friday (24th) evening, our new picnic area was formally opened by Councillor Mrs Margaret Albon, Vice-President of The Cumbria Wildlife Trust - fortunately the rain held off and our invited guests were able to enjoy drinks and a buffet. Some photographs of the event have been added to the Gallery at the bottom of the Picnic Area page - this facility is now availble to all members of the local community for events such as birthday parties, meetings or even a picnic!

We are very pleased to report that our shop is now able to offer for sale small tubs of delicious English Lakes Luxury Ice Cream - further information is available on the SRC Shop page.

On site this weekend (25th / 26th), further progress was made with the trackwork, the new ramp at the eastern end of the building and the Class 108 DMU.

Following the Volunteers Meeting, the July draw for the '200 Club' was made, this time by Tamsyn Rayner. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 13. Derek Thompson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 3. David Rayner

3rd Prize. £5. Number 19. Bill Watkin

The next Volunteers Meeting will be held on SUNDAY 30TH AUGUST AT 3PM in the mess room at KSE. All welcome.

The 'mid-week team' were hard at work on Wednesday (22nd) completing the picnic area - this is now finished and ready for use. A brief report and further photograph have been added to the Picnic Area page. In addition, the two closure rails linking Point No.1 to the rest of the passenger line were cut to length so that our 'running' line from the Darlington platform to Eden Valley Bridge No.2 is now essentially structurally complete - the next job will be to level and ballast it. A photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. 

This weekend (18th / 19th) saw a steady stream of visitors in association with the 'Kirkby Stephen Garden Trail' - many thanks to those who attended and to Phyllis for all her hard work with our garden. On site, a gate has been fitted to the new ramp at the eastern end of the building and two picnic tables and a bench have been purchased for the remaining external section of the Tebay / Penrith platform - a couple of photos have been added to the new Gallery on the KSE Station page. Elsewhere, work has continued on the Class 108 DMU and the S & T gang were busy yesterday with some minor jobs on the crossover - a brief report has been added to the Signalling & Track page. 

The sales team enjoyed a very successful weekend (11th / 12th) at Hartlepool Model Railway Show - a big 'thank you' to Paul & the gang for putting on such an excellent event. At KSE, further progress was made with the new ramp at the eastern end of the building, the Class 108 DMU and the mechanical operation of the 'cross-over' adjacent to the footbridge.

Our latest Newsletter has created considerable interest - particularly the World War II diary of Barnard Castle Station Master, Mr. Percy Wrightson -  one of our shareholders familiar with many of the station staff at 'Barnie' has made some interesting comments and we hope that more information will be made available in the forthcoming months. 

The mid-week volunteers continue to make good progress with Point No.1 adjacent to the site of the Junction Signalbox - we hope to have this completed and connected to the main running line in the next couple of weeks. This weekend (11th / 12th), our Sales Stand will be attending Hartlepool Model Railway Show (which for the second year is to be held in The Wynyard Rooms, Wynyard Park, Billingham - just off the A19) - please support the event if you can.

Yesterday (5th) saw our first 'Car Boot Sale' held on the site. This was very successful with well over 200 folk attending - a similar event has provisionally been arranged for September - please watch the 'Next Events' page for further details. We were also delighted to host a visit from members of the 'Merseyside Industrial Heritage Society' - a pleasure to meet you all. Elsewhere on site over the weekend, our volunteers made further progress with Point No.1, the new ramp at the eastern end of the building, the Class 108 DMU and the S & T team were busy working on the 'cross-over'. Keith's joinery skills have been tested once more - this time he has made a new 'Donations box' for the 'Darlington' platform. A photo has been added to the 'Building Restoration' Gallery on the KSE Station page.

With the work on both the picnic area and visitor car park almost complete, the 'mid-week gang' are now able to turn their attention back to the track. Yesterday (1st), good progress was made towards completing Point No.1 and a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. We have also set up a couple of 'planters' outside on the Tebay / Penrith platform and these should be supplenmented shortly by a new bench and picnic table. 

June 2009

This weekend (27th / 28th) saw the new set of steps giving access from the car park to the Tebay / Penrith platform completed - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the KSE Station page. In addition, the S & T gang were at work on the cross-over, more Brunswick Green paint was applied to the 'Yorkshire Engine', further progress was made on the Class 108 DMU and phyllis was busy preparing our entry in the 'Kirkby Stephen Garden Trail' which is now just 2-3 weeks away.

Following the Volunteers Meeting, the June draw for the '200 Club' was made, this time by Robin & Paul Wallington. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 9. Derek Thompson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 4. Mike Thompson

3rd Prize. £5. Number 23. James Redfern

The next Volunteers Meeting will be held on SUNDAY 26TH JULY AT 3PM in the mess room at KSE. All welcome.

The 'mid-week gang' were hard at work on Wednesday (24th). Much of the day was spent putting the finishing touches to the tables and benches in the picnic area and work also commenced on constructing a 'rose arbour'. There is now just this to finish and the nesting boxes, feeders etc to hang and it will be ready for use. In the evening, the last two flagstones comprising the new set of steps giving access from the car park to the Tebay / Penrith platform were cemented into place. All that now remains is some 'pointing' work and the construction of a handrail and that will be another job finished. The latest Newsletter is now at the printers and we hope that it will be in the post to all our subscribers next week.

Saturday morning (20th) saw our AGM take place - many thanks to everyone who attended for their input. The rest of the weekend saw progress on a number of fronts: the last batch of benches for the picnic area were completed, the painting gang were busy on the 'Yorkshire Engine', the S & T team were hard at work on the cross-over (Point Nos. 3A / 3B) and Phyllis was attending to her plants in preparation for the annual 'Kirkby Stephen Garden Festival'.

This weekend (13th / 14th), the volunteers have been busy with a number of tasks. On Saturday, another replica station sign was fitted above the toilets on the Darlington platform, the side gate at the western end of the new car park was completed and work began in earnest to construct a new set of steps up to the Tebay / Penrith platform - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the KSE Station page. On Sunday, work progressed on the 'Yorkshire Engine', the Class 108 DMU and the S&T gang were busy installing point rodding on the cross-over. A report and photo have been added to the Signalling & Track and Trackwork pages respectively.

Yesterday (10th), the 'mid-week gang' were hard at work on the Picnic Area once more. The grass was cut and all the tables are now finished - hopefully the remaining benches will be completed next week - the job is almost done. A further photo has been added to the Gallery on the Picnic Area page.

Last weekend (6th / 7th) saw further progress with the Car Park area - a new side gate has been fitted to the Tebay / Penrith platform - all we need to do now is complete the steps leading up to it - a photo has been added to the new Gallery on the KSE Station page. In addition, we have also identified a suitable source of picnic tables for the platform and we hope to acquire these shortly. The S&T gang have also been busy working on the cross-over adjacent to the footbridge. A report and additional photos have been added to the Signalling & Track and Trackwork pages respectively.

May 2009

Yesterday (28th), we had rain for most of the day. However, the mid-week regulars managed to put together some more tables and benches for the Picnic Area. We are now roughly two-thirds of the way towards completing all the 'furniture'.

The Bank Holiday weekend (23rd - 25th) saw our participation in the Kirkby Stephen 'Family History Week'. This was very successful with many visitors attending and it was a great pleasure for us to welcome a number of ex-employees and their relatives to KSE. Perhaps most notable amongst these was Maurice Yeates who started in the Locomotive Department in 1937 - Maurice came all the way over from York for the event with members of his family on his 90th birthday! Over the 3 days, a very considerable amount of additional information was obtained and this will be incorporated into our displays in conjunction with the Civic Trust Open Days to be held in September. Elsewhere on site over the weekend, the S & T Department continued to make excellent progress (an update has been added to the Signalling & Track page) and further fencing has been constructed in association with the new picnic area (a report and photo have been added to the Picnic Area page). Finally, the foundations have been prepared for the set of steps up to the Tebay / Penrith platform from the car park.

The May draw for the '200 Club' was made by Marjorie Cowin (wife of Brian Cowin who started in the Locomotive Department at KSE in 1943) during their visit on Sunday. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 53. Maggie Yates

2nd Prize. £10. Number 15. Mike Pattinson

3rd Prize. £5. Number 25. James Redfern

The next Volunteers Meeting will be held on SUNDAY 28TH JUNE AT LUNCHTIME (1PM) in the mess room at KSE. All welcome.

On Wednesday (20th), the double gates and side gate were fitted at the western end of the car park - a couple of photos have been added to the new Gallery on the KSE Station page. In addition, the volunteers also put together the second table, with its associated benches, for the picnic area. A photo illustrating some of the recently acquired nesting boxes, feeders etc has been added to the Gallery on the Picnic Area page.

We have had a mixture of sunshine and heavy showers this weekend (16th / 17th). However, progress has continued on the 'Yorkshire Engine', Class 108 DMU, the gates for the new car park and the S & T gang have been busy installing further roller stools and point rodding. In addition, we have also prepared the station building for our Local History Event next weekend - please see the Next Events page for further details.

The 'mid-week gang' were hard at work on Wednesday (13th). Mike has completed the new dry stone wall at the bottom of the picnic area ramp allowing the last 3 sections of fencing alongside the ramp to be completed. A couple of photos have been added to the Gallery on the Picnic Area page. In addition, all the roller stools between Point Nos 1 & 2 on the passenger-carrying line have now been installed along with much of the point rodding. An update has been added to the Signalling & Track page and a further photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. 

Firstly, may we apologise to those of you who have been trying to access the site over the last 4 days. We have had a problem with the server which, much to our relief, has now been solved. On site at KSE, the volunteers have been working hard as usual - further fencing has been erected at the front of the picnic area and alongside the ramp leading up to it (a couple of photos have been added to the Gallery on the Picnic Area page) and fencing has also been put up in the north-west corner of the new car park (a further photo has been added to the new Gallery on the KSE Station page). In addition, the S&T gang were hard at work yesterday digging the pits for the roller frames which will carry the point rodding which will control Point Nos 1 & 2 on the passenger-carrying line.

The Bank Holiday weekend saw our volunteers working on a variety of projects including the Class 108 DMU, Class 20 169 and the 'Yorkshire Engine'. In addition, further progress was made by the S&T team (a report has been added to the Signalling & Track page) and some of the last jobs to completely finish the new car park and wheelchair / pushchair ramp were undertaken - a couple of photos have been added to the new Gallery on the KSE Station page.

April 2009

Yesterday (29th), we had a visit from Andris Bergs who is employed at Gayle Mill - suppliers of the timber for the Picnic Area. The 'mid-week gang' spent the day constructing the first picnic table and part of the new fencing. A couple of photos of the work have been added to the Gallery on the Picnic Area page.

During the evening of Friday 24th, an all-night possesion took place at Brampton Fell on the Carlisle to Newcastle route. Through the generosity of Jarvis Rail, we were able to obtain 4 LNER - period Lattice Post Signals from Brampton Fell and 1 BR (North Eastern Region) - period flat-braced 2-doll Lattice Post Bracket Signal from Low Row. We would like to express our grateful thanks to (i) all the Jarvis Rail employees involved, particularly Site Managers Paul Mullane and Vinny McCoy, and Project Manager Matt Tupling, (ii) Jim and Colin Lawson for making it possible to load and transport the signals and (iii) our own volunteers who were on site throughout the night. A New Gallery containing photographs of some of the work involved has been added to the Signalling & Track page.

We are very pleased to be able to announce that we have now complied with the two conditions imposed upon us by Eden District Council when we submitted our first Planning Application i.e. the removal of 7,500 tonnes of contaminated waste from the site and, more recently, the construction of a crushed stone Car Park. As a result, we are now able to formally open to the general public 12 years after volunteers first began work on the site. This is a major milestone in the development of our scheme. On site this weekend, further progress was made with the new Car Park and Wheelchair / Pushchair Ramp, restoration of the 'Yorkshire Engine' and in the S&T Department. In addition, a number of our volunteers were working off site throughout Friday night and we hope to be able to release more news regarding this shortly. Alan Usher has added a small Gallery of photos of the 'Diesel Gala' at 'Locomotion' to his Kirkby Stephen East website.

Following the Volunteers Meeting, the April draw for the '200 Club' was made, this time by a member of the S&T Department. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 15. Mike Pattinson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 26. James Redfern

3rd Prize. £5. Number 22. James Redfern

The next Volunteers Meeting will be held on SUNDAY 24TH MAY AT LUNCHTIME (1PM) in the mess room at KSE. All welcome.

The 'mid-week gang' were on site yesterday (22nd). Further progress was made with the fencing around the Tebay / Penrith platform and at the western end of the Car Park. A couple of photos have been added to the new Gallery on the KSE Station page.

On site this weekend (18th / 19th), further progress was made towards finishing the fencing associated with the new Car Park. In addition, the S&T Department were at work and an update has been added to the Signalling and Track page. Away from KSE, our volunteers had a most enjoyable (as always!) and successful few days at 'Locomotion' - many thanks to Anthony and the team for all their hard work. Finally, we have added a new page to the website - Next Events describes the forthcoming Open Day on Saturday 23rd May in association with the Kirkby Stephen Local History Week.

This weekend (18th / 19th), a number of our volunteers and the Sales Stand will be attending the Diesel Gala at Locomotion, Shildon. This is the second time that the event has been held and it was a great success last year - please support it if you can. 

The basics of the visitor Car Park were finished on Thursday 9th - a few more photos have been added to the new Gallery on the KSE Station page. This was just in time for the Easter Rally which was a tremendous success - glorious sunshine on both days and 3000 visitors to the East Station site - a new record attendance as was that to the Slide Show on the Saturday evening - many thanks to everyone who helped and supported the event. A new Gallery has been added to the Easter Rally page showing a selection of the vehicles which attended. Alan Usher has also added a Gallery of photos of the Rally to his Kirkby Stephen East website. Yesterday, the S&T Department were on site and they have now started work on Point No. 2. An update has been added to the Signalling & Track page and a photo placed in the Gallery on the Trackwork page.

For the last three days, we have been working hard with our contractors to complete the Wheelchair / Pushchair Ramp and new Car Park in time for the Easter Rally this weekend. Although there are one or two bits and pieces still to do, the job is basically finished - a big 'thank-you' to everyone involved - another half a dozen photos have been added to the new Gallery on the KSE Station page. In conjunction with the Rally, Saturday evening sees the last in the 2008-2009 series of Slide Shows - Mark Keefe will be presenting 'Things you don't see every day' - the venue is the Methodist Hall in Kirkby starting at 7.30pm. Admission is £2 and includes refreshments and a free raffle - all welcome. Finally, Ken Taylor (who recently wrote an excellent article on his time as a child at Bowes Station [1948-1955] for our Newsletter), will be giving a short talk as an introduction to a discussion about the life of Bowes Station in the early 1950's at Bowes Village Hall on Thursday 23rd April starting at 7.30pm - all welcome.

Last week, we began to construct both (i) a Wheelchair / Pushchair Ramp at the eastern end of the station building and (ii) our new Visitor Car Park. The former is almost complete and we very much hope to have the latter finished by the end of this week. A Gallery illustrating the work undertaken to date has been added to the KSE Station page. Our preparations for the Easter Rally this coming weekend are almost finished - now all we need is some good weather! Elsewhere on site, work has continued on Point No.3 - an update has been added to the Signalling and Track page and a photo placed in the Gallery on the Trackwork page. Finally, our latest Newsletter has just been published - this can be obtained from local newsagents in Kirkby, from KSE or by annual subscription.

March 2009

This weekend (28th / 29th), preparations were being made to ready the station and site for the Vintage Vehicle Rally at Easter which is now less than two weeks away. Work also continued on the 'Yorkshire Engine' and pits for the last two roller stools operating the Mechanical Facing Point Lock (FPL) on Point No.3 were excavated. An update has been added to the Signalling and Track page and a further photo placed in the Gallery at the bottom of the Trackwork page.

Following the Volunteers Meeting, the March draw for the '200 Club' was made, this time by Sue Jones. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 13. Derek Thompson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 14. Mike Pattinson

3rd Prize. £5. Number 27. Dave Greenhalgh

The next Volunteers Meeting will be held on SUNDAY 26TH APRIL AT LUNCHTIME (1PM) in the mess room at KSE. All welcome.

Yesterday (25th), the 'mid-week gang' were completing the preparatory work for the new car park. In addition, now that Point No.2 in the passenger-carrying line is essentially complete, they have turned their attention to Point No.1 located adjacent to the site of the Junction 'box. This Saturday (28th), our Sales Stand will be attending the Settle Model Railway Exhibition (10am - 5pm in the Primary School) - please support this event if you can. Finally, the latest Newsletter is at the printers and we hope that it will be in the post to all our subscribers next week.

This weekend (21st / 22nd), much of the effort has been concentrated on the trackwork. Point No. 2 is now essentially complete and a photo to illustrate this has been added to the Gallery on the 'Trackwork' page. The gang have also been working hard on the 'Yorkshire Engine' and restoration of the cab is now progressing nicely. A photo of the current position has been added to the Gallery on the 'Industrial Diesels' page.

Our Contractors have now finished the access ramp and picnic area - they have done an excellent job and we are very pleased with the finished product - an update and a number of photos have been added to the Picnic Area page. Today (18th), we have taken delivery of the timber from Gayle Mill which will be used to manufacture the fencing, picnic tables and benches - this is now all safely stored away on site. The volunteers have also been busy with trackwork and checking over the Class 108 Power Car which arrived last week.

Today (16th) our Contractors have begun to tarmac the access ramp - further photos of the work have been added to the Gallery on the Picnic Area page.

Last Friday (13th), the Class 108 Power Car (51572) arrived from the Wensleydale Railway. This is in full working order and will be used with the Trailer Car (56274) already on site which was delivered from the Rutland Railway Museum. Our Contractors continue to make excellent progress with the Picnic Area which has now been turfed. An update and further photos have been added to the Picnic Area page. Saturday evening (14th) saw another very successful Slide Show with presentations from Mike Thompson and Mark Keefe, whilst on site this weekend, our volunteers have been busy with the 'Yorkshire Engine', trackwork and installation of the first Mechanical FPL. An update has been added to the Signalling and Track page and a further photo placed in the Gallery at the bottom of the Trackwork page.

Today (9th) our Contractors have been busy fitting a new drain to remove the water running off the embankment. An update and photos have been added to the Picnic Area page. 

Our Contractors continue to make excellent progress with the Picnic area. The major earthworks to construct the 'Terrace' are now essentially complete - further photos have been added to the Picnic Area page. On site this weekend (7th / 8th), despite the terrible weather once more (!), preparations for construction of the Visitor Car Park continued with the movement of the two containers to their new location. Off site, our Sales Stand had a very successful weekend at the Kendal Model Railway Show - many thanks to Martin and his team for all their efforts in putting on the event and to our volunteers who came over to help run the Stand.

Once again, our Sales Stand will be attending Kendal Model Railway Show at the Leisure Centre this weekend (7th / 8th: 10am - 5pm both days). We will also have a Poster Display and information leaflets available at Birtley Model Railway Exhibition (Birtley Community Centre: 10am - 5pm Saturday; 10am - 4pm Sunday) - please support these events if you can. Our Contractors continue to make excellent progress with the Picnic Area and further photographs will be added to this site in the next couple of days - please watch for updates. 

Our Contractors undertaking the work on the Picnic Area have now arrived on site and are making good progress. An update and some photos have been added to the Picnic Area page. The 'Midweek gang' were busy today (4th) with the trackwork and preparations for the construction of our new visitor Car Park. 

This weekend (31st / 1st) has seen excellent progress in a number of areas. Work has been undertaken on the Picnic Area, Car Park, 'Yorkshire Engine', track and S & T. An update has been added to the Signalling & Track page and a diagram showing the latest S & T arrangement for operating the Mechanical Facing Point Lock to Point No.3 has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. Finally, we have been informed that our Contractors undertaking the work on the Picnic Area will be arriving on site Monday / Tuesday this week and that the job will take approx. 2 weeks. We hope to include regular updates on progress.

February 2009

In comparison to the last few weeks, this weekend (21st / 22nd) we were treated to some very mild weather which enabled us to make good progress in a number of areas. Work continued on removing the tree stumps in the Picnic Area and the container at the bottom of the embankment has now been moved giving our Contractors full access so that they are able to undertake the work on the ramp etc - an update with photos has been added to the Picnic Area page. In addition, the S&T Department were hard at work installing the first of the Facing Point Locks to the passenger-carrying line - again, an update with photos has been added to the Signalling and Track and Trackwork pages. The 'Yorkshire Engine' gang continue to make good progress and this is another loco that will look very smart once the current work is completed.

Planning for the Easter Rally is now well underway and details will appear on this website shortly - please watch for updates.

Finally, also in April, we will be holding the first of what we hope will become an Annual 'Civils Week' to undertake specific tasks on the railway. This year it will be held the week after Easter during the School Holidays (13th-19th) in order to try and allow as many people as possible to attend. If you are able to help, even for a few hours, please let us know.

Following the Volunteers Meeting, the February draw for the '200 Club' was made, this time by Julia Lawrence. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 33. Maggie Yates

2nd Prize. £10. Number 43. Phyllis Richardson

3rd Prize. £5. Number 42. David Duncan

The next Volunteers Meeting will be held on SUNDAY 29TH MARCH AT LUNCHTIME (1PM) in the mess room at KSE. All welcome.

The 'mid-week gang' were on site again on Wednesday (18th). Work undertaken included the removal of yet more tree stumps from the picnic area, the errection of another bay of pallet racking and some minor repairs to the covers on the LNERCA coach, 3857.

At last, the weather has improved and most of the snow has gone. This weekend (14th / 15th), our volunteers have undertaken further preparatory work on the Car Park and Picnic Area. Yesterday afternoon, it was good to see and hear Class 20 169 burst into life once more. There was another excellent turnout on Saturday for the 'Open Night' Slide Show - many thanks to all who attended, particularly those presenting their slides, for such an interesting evening.

With the weather forecast predicting a thaw, we have taken the decision to open the site as normal this weekend. However, if you are intending to visit us, please ensure that you have a good pair of waterproof boots - there will be a lot of slush and water about! Saturday evening (14th) sees the second of the 2009 Slide Shows. This features our 2nd Annual 'Open Night' for which we encourage folk to bring and present their own slides (maximum 10-12 slides). Last year we had everything from the railways of Peru to snow scenes on the Settle & Carlisle. The Show starts at 7.30pm at the Methodist Hall in Kirkby - admission is £2 including refreshments at the interval and a free raffle.

This weekend (7th / 8th), with frozen snow covering the site, difficult driving conditions and more snow forecast, we took the decision to keep KSE closed. At present, there is no indication of a thaw taking place, so it remains a possibility that the site will be closed again next weekend. Notice of any such closure will appear on the homepage of this website - please watch for updates - thank you.

Yet another freezing cold weekend at the East Station! Inside the building, our volunteers managed to put up another two bays of pallet racking - this has greatly increased the storage space we have available. Outside braving the elements, further work was undertaken on the 'Yorkshire Engine' and the gang were busy once more clearing the new picnic area. We had a visit from our Contractors last week and it is currently intended that they will be arriving on site around the middle of this month - weather permitting! The job to construct the access ramp etc is projected to take roughly a couple of weeks.

January 2009

The 'mid-week gang' have been busy today (28th). There has been further progress on the Picnic Area with the removal of 3 very large tree stumps (a couple of new photos have been added to the gallery on the Picnic Area page). In addition, we have begun to put together some recently acquired pallet racking which will be used to store all our signalling equipment.

For the first time this year, we had two semi-decent days of weather this weekend (24th / 25th). Our volunteers were hard at work on the overhaul / repairs to Class 20 169 and the 'Yorkshire Engine'. In addition, the 'Picnic Area gang' continue to make good progress removing the remaining tree stumps. Following the Volunteers Meeting, the January draw for the '200 Club' was made, this time by Derek Thompson. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 33. Maggie Yates

2nd Prize. £10. Number 36. Ken Ball

3rd Prize. £5. Number 49. Phil Champion

The next Volunteers Meeting will be held on SUNDAY 22ND FEBRUARY AT LUNCHTIME (1PM) in the mess room at KSE. All welcome - please note the change of time in order to take advantage of the limited daylight working hours available at this time of year.

This weekend (17th / 18th) our volunteers were again subjected to the worst that the Cumbrian weather could throw at them - an apparently random mixture of gales, rain, sleet, hail and snow! However, further progress was made in preparing the ground for the new picnic area, work was undertaken on the 'Yorkshire Engine' and some of our S&T team were busy off site. On Saturday evening, we were treated to an excellent Slide Show by John Midcalf who presented a selection of John Boyes photographs taken on the Settle and Carlisle Railway - another excellent turnout despite the gales and heavy rain. Many thanks to John and all those who braved the weather to attend.

KSE has now officially re-opened after the Christmas and New Year break. Last weekend, the atrocious weather and subsequent traffic problems on the A66 over Stainmore conspired against us - although a number of our volunteers did make some progress on site - hopefully this week will see an improvement in the weather.

Next Saturday (17th) sees the first of the 2009 Slide Shows. We will be welcoming back John Midcalf from the north east who will be presenting more of the excellent material from the John Boyes Collection covering northern England.The presentation starts at 7.30pm at the Methodist Hall in Kirkby - admission is £2 including refreshments at the interval and a free raffle.

December 2008

In the last few days, we have added a page to describe the work being undertaken on our new Picnic Area. In addition, galleries have also been added to the Steam at KSE and KSE Station sections of this website. Finally, the December draw for the '200 Club' has been made and the winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 33. Maggie Yates

2nd Prize. £10. Number 3. David Rayner

3rd Prize. £5. Number 13. Derek Thompson

We have recently added a First Aid page to our website. This skill, which is so important in a railway environment, has a very strong tradition at KSE. It is particularly so in a relatively isolated environment some distance from major hospitals and we have taken additional precautionary steps to safeguard the wellbeing of our volunteers and visitors.

We have also added our latest publication, ' Bambles the Platelayers Puppy' to our SRC Shop page. This has been written and illustrated by two of our regular volunteers, Richie and Cath Gregory. The book is aimed at the 5-10 year old age group and all proceeds have been most generously donated to the project.

Photos of last weekend's 'Santa' event have now been uploaded in the 'Santa 2008' Gallery on Alan Usher's Kirkby Stephen East website.

The latest newsletter is now at the press and we hope to have it in the post this weekend for all our regular subscribers.

We shall be taking a short break to recharge our batteries and the site is now officially closed to the general public. It will re-open again on Saturday 10th January.

We thank you all for your interest and support and wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

This weekend (6th / 7th) saw our second 'Santa' event. This was the first public event on site that we had organised entirely ourselves and we are pleased to report that it was very successful. Over the two days, some 400 visitors braved the freezing weather (it was reportedly minus five degrees in Kirkby on Saturday night!) to visit KSE and enjoy the festivities. A big 'thank you' to everyone who came to see us and to all our volunteers who worked so hard to make it happen. We hope to have some photographs of the event available shortly.

The construction of Santa's Grotto and preparation of the Darlington platform in readiness for next weekends (6th / 7th) 'Santa' event is now complete. For full details, please see the 'Santa at KSE' page. Outside the building this weekend, our volunteers braved the freezing weather to begin the work of removing the tree stumps on the section of embankment that will become our new picnic area, the S&T team continued to progress the equipment needed to operate the first Facing Point Lock on our Passenger-carrying line and the 'diesel gang' were busy sorting out their stock of batteries.

Following the opening of the new shop last weekend, Alan Usher has uploaded a series of photographs of the event on the 'New Shop' page of his Kirkby Stephen East website.

Yesterday (30th November), the latest draw in our '200 Club' took place at the monthly Volunteers Meeting. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 14. Mike Pattinson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 5. Mike Thompson

3rd Prize. £5. Number 9. Derek Thompson

All the winners have kindly donated their monies to a fund initiated to purchase a replica double-sided flanged enamel British Railways platform sign which will hang over the entrance to the new shop - many thanks folks.

In view of the Christmas and New Year break, our next Volunteers Meeting will be held on SUNDAY 25th JANUARY at 3PM in the mess room at KSE. All welcome. 

November 2008

Friday evening (21st) saw our new shop formally opened by the Rev. Alan Cliff at a private event held to thank the funders, contractors and volunteers involved in the project. On the Saturday morning, the book signing broke all previous records with 68 'Jack' books being sold in 2 hours! In the 24 hours from the Friday evening to the end of the Slide Show (another excellent presentation - this time from Dennis Atkinson) on Saturday night, we sold the wonderful total of 96 books! A huge 'thank-you' to everyone who braved the freezing weather to support us over the weekend and to Alan, his wife Rosemary, and son (and book illustrator) Nigel, for coming up from North Wales to Kirkby to open the shop. 

Yesterday (23rd), the 'Santa' team were hard at work preparing the platform and grotto in readiness for our event on 6th / 7th December. All should be in place by the end of next weekend.

Elsewhere on site, the clearance gang have continued their work on the new picnic area and the S&T folk have made further progress with the installation of the Facing Point Locks on the Pasenger-carrying Line.

After one final effort this weekend (15th / 16th), the new shop is now ready for the formal Opening. Alan Cliff, author of the award-winning 'Jack the Station Cat' books, and Keith Richardson, author of the acclaimed 'Kirkby Stephen East - A Station Remembered', will both be present between 10.30 - 12.30 on Saturday 22nd to sign copies of their books. Please come along and support them if you can and take a look around our new shop at the same time.

On site, there was further progress with the new picnic area. In addition to yet more clearance work, the Yorkshire Engine was started up and was used to push the 'BG' and Class 31 410 further along the siding allowing the short section of track on which it was standing to be removed. This is the first step towards providing access to the embankment for our Contractor who will be undertaking the work on the wheelchair / pushchair ramp up to the picnic area. 

Tuesday (11th) saw the last major piece of the jigsaw fall into place in the new shop with the fitting of the window blinds. Three of the four are now in place, but a very minor alteration is required to the last one. This will be fitted shortly. Elsewhere, the mid-week gang have been busy as usual with further progress being made on the trackwork and clearance of the new picnic area. For the latest photos, please go to the 'Signal and Telegraph' and 'General Photographs' galleries of Alan Usher's Kirkby Stephen East website. In addition, Alan has also added a 'Class 108 DMU' gallery featuring our latest arrival.

Yet another weekend (8th / 9th) of heavy rain and high winds at the East Station. However, our intrepid clearance gang were hard at work on the new picnic area. This project is progressing rapidly and the designated area of the northern embankment is now looking completely different thanks to their hard work. Inside the station building, almost all of the final painting in the new shop is complete and yesterday we started to move the display cabinets into position. 

Yesterday (6th), our Contractors fitted the floor covering in the new shop - both rooms now look very smart. The work is almost complete and we are virtually ready to move all the display cabinets and stock into their new home. Our mid-week gangs have also been busy and there has been further progress with the trackwork, installation of the Facing Point Lock mechanisms (please see the Signalling and Track page for an update) and the picnic area.

This weekend (1st / 2nd) saw our Sales Stand attending the 'Lancashire and Yorkshire DCC Model Rail Group' Annual Exhibition at Rawtenstall. A big 'thank-you' to our shareholder, David Warner, and his team for inviting us and for all their hard work in putting on such an excellent event.

On site, the S&T gang has really started work in earnest with the aim of fitting all the equipment which will enable the 2 Lever ex-LNER Ground Frame to operate the set of switches controlling the cross-over from the Passenger-carrying line to the Standing Line. We hope to include regular updates on this work on the Signalling and Track page for those who are interested in this aspect of our project.

October 2008

There is good news and bad news to report from the last few days. The good news is that the Trailer Car of our Class 108 DMU (56274) was off-loaded this morning (30th) following its arrival from the Rutland Railway Museum. This vehicle and the Power Car (which we hope will also arrive in the not too distant future) are both in full working order and will be painted in Brunswick Green with cream lining and 'speed whiskers'. A number of these vehicles were based at Darlington working to locations such as Bishop Auckland. If anyone has details of any Class 108 workings over Stainmore to KSE, we would be very interested to hear from you.

The bad news is that our beloved station cat, 'Rabbit', has been missing since Sunday evening. In view of the current cold weather and the fact that we estimate she is 17 years old, we obviously now fear the worst, but continue to hope that she will turn up unharmed. 

The last two days (25th / 26th) have seen all the electrics completed in the new shop and excellent progress made with the final painting. Our Contractors have also fitted the last new window and plastered the surrounding area - the end of the job is now in sight! Following the grant award last week, work started yesterday on preparing the land which will become our new picnic area - there is much to do!

Saturday evening saw the first in our regular winter series of Slide Shows presented on this occasion by David Bousfield (the next will be held on the 22nd November) which was well attended given the horrendous weather conditions. On Sunday, Glenys Lumley made the latest draw in our '200 Club' at the monthly Volunteers Meeting. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 14. Mike Pattinson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 2. David Rayner

3rd Prize. £5. Number 44. Keith Richardson

Mike, David and Keith have very kindly donated their winnings back to the Company.

Our next volunteers meeting is SUNDAY 30TH NOVEMBER 3PM in the mess room at KSE. All welcome. 

We are delighted to report that we have been informed today (24th) that the Cumbria Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (CALSF) has awarded us a grant of £10,473 for the provision of a Picnic Area with Wheelchair access. CALSF is a DEFRA funded scheme, administered by Cumbria Waste Management Environment Trust on behalf of Cumbria County Council. We are most grateful to them for their support of our project and to the many organisations who kindly provided letters in support of our application - thank you all.

Last weekend (18th / 19th) saw all the wiring installed in the new shop and further progress on the painting side. Elsewhere in the building, the new architraves and dado rails in the Booking Hall received their final coat of gloss paint and look very smart. Work outside in the yard was somewhat limited due to the atrocious weather for much of the weekend, but the S & T team have now begun to prepare all the concrete bases which will be needed for the point rodding runs from the two Ground Frames to the Facing Point Locks. For the latest photographs, please see the 'Signalling and Trackwork' Gallery on Alan Usher's Kirkby Stephen East website.

The last 3 days (11th - 13th) have seen the crossing and switches for the pointwork adjacent to the site of the Junction Signalbox placed in position and aligned. In addition, a further 60' panel has been added to the standing line.

Inside the station building, work has continued on the new shop. All the conduit is now in place in both rooms. Gloss paint is starting to appear and, on Sunday evening, 'self-levelling compound' was added to the floor in the ex-Porters Room which was quite rough in some places. This has considerably improved matters although there is still one area which requires further attention.

This weekend (4th / 5th) saw our volunteers subjected (not for the first time!) to extremes of weather at KSE. On Saturday, with torrential rain all day, we were confined to the new shop and the room at the eastern end received its first full coat of paint. Volunteers were working under temporary lights until well into the evening to get as much done as possible.

Sunday was a complete contrast with glorious sunshine all day. The 'track-gang' were taking full advantage of this with a further 60' panel added to the standing line and, in addition, the track-bed was prepared for the next set of pointwork on the passenger-carrying line and a full set of crossing timbers were organised in readiness for this phase of the work to begin (for the latest photos, please see the 'General Photographs' Gallery on Alan Usher's Kirkby Stephen East website). A couple of members of the team were also up on the station roof repairing some minor leaks which had shown themselves the previous day. Finally, the latest Newsletter was published on Thursday and is now in the post to all our subscribers. If you would like to be included, please see the details on our 'Join SRC' page (back numbers still available are listed on the 'SRC Shop' page). It can, of course, also be purchased at KSE.  

The plasterwork in the new Retail Outlet is almost complete and fitting all the electrics has now begun in earnest. Last weekend (27th / 28th September) saw all the conduit completely finished in the first of the two rooms and started in the other. The painting gang were taking advantage of the glorious weather with gloss being applied to the external windows and undercoat to the internal doors.

Away from the building, excellent progress was made with the trackwork. The crossing and switches for the next set of pointwork (a right-hand B8) on the passenger-carrying line were positioned / aligned and the standing line on which the mainline diesels are stored was extended by a further 45' panel.

In addition, our volunteers continue to work to tidy up the site and to prepare the area for our new visitor Car Park.

Sue Jones made the latest draw in our '200 Club' at the monthly Volunteers Meeting. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 21. Graham Harris

2nd Prize. £10. Number 5. Mike Thompson

3rd Prize. £5. Number 34. Ken Ball

Mike has donated his winnings back to the Company.

Our next volunteers meeting is SUNDAY 26TH OCTOBER 3PM in the mess room at KSE. All welcome. 

September 2008

Last weekend (20th / 21st) saw a dozen or so of our volunteers make the journey over to 'Locomotion', Shildon, for the Annual 'Steam Gala'. This was an excellent event enjoyed by us all - particularly those who helped with the preparation of the locomotives, stewarding of the 'Photo Shoot' on the Friday evening etc. The Sales Stand was very busy throughout and many useful contacts were made - a big 'thank-you' to Anthony and the team at 'Locomotion' for all their hard work (for photos of the event, please go to the 'Volunteers Away Days!' Gallery on Alan Usher's Kirkby Stephen East website). Meanwhile, back at KSE, on Sunday, we played host to another visit from 'V-Involved' volunteers associated with the Kendal group. We are most grateful to them for their help and look forward to seeing them all back at KSE again soon. Finally, Newsletter No. 27 is now finished and will be going to press later this week. We hope to have it in the post to all our subscribers shortly.

The last few days (15th - 18th) have seen the arrival on site of more track materials from the Shrewsbury area and substantial further progress on the new Shop. Work with the plasterboards is now essentially complete in both rooms and final plastering of the first of the two rooms has begun - we hope to have this finished by the end of next week.

This week (3rd / 4th) saw 2 contractors and 4 / 5 of our volunteers working for 2 days in the shop to undertake all the rendering. This will now be allowed to dry for 2 weeks before we undertake the final stage. Photographs of the work have been uploaded into the album on the SRC Shop page. We have also commenced repairs to the remains of the Tebay platform outside the shop which will be used as a small picnic area.

Our Contractor has now finished fitting the doors and windows to the new Retail Outlet - we are delighted with the standard of workmanship and the appearance of the Darlington platform at the eastern end of the building has been transformed. The walls of both rooms are now ready for 'rendering' and this should take place in the next few days. In addition, the new guttering has been fitted and is working well.

The main south-facing wall has now been cleaned and we have commenced fitting new guttering - this should be completed shortly.

Last weekend (30th / 31st August) saw Richie Gregory make the latest draw in our '200 Club' at the monthly Volunteers Meeting. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 19. Bill Watkin

2nd Prize. £10. Number 1. David Rayner

3rd Prize. £5. Number 38. Ken Ball

Bill has kindly donated his winnings back to the Company - many thanks Bill.

Our next volunteers meeting is SUNDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 3PM in the mess room at KSE. All welcome. 

August 2008

We had a working visit to-day (27th) from 'V-Involved' volunteers (16-25 years of age) based in Kendal who did a really excellent job undertaking clearance work on the north embankment. Many thanks for all your help folks and we look forward to working with you again soon.

Today (19th) we have received the new print run of a further 100 copies of Keith Richardson's excellent book - 'Kirkby Stephen East - A Station Remembered' - the first edition of 500 having sold out. If you would like to purchase a copy, they are available from both KSE at weekends and by post. For details of the latter, please follow the link below to our shop.  

The new doors and windows are now being fitted in the old Porters Room and Motive Power Office which will be our new shop. If you would like to see more pictures of work on the shop, please follow the link to the SRC shop page.

                View of the Darlington Platform showing the bricked up doors and windows

                                 7th August 2008 - 2 windows and 1 of the doors unblocked

                                          14th August 2008 - New doors and windows fitted

The exterior windows have been replaced and the stone-work cleaned. Note that you can now see into the Darlington Platform as the windows on the other side of the room have been unblocked 

We very much hope that work to fit the new doors and windows to our permanent Retail Outlet will begin in the next few days and we can then get on with the plastering, fitting electrics etc. New guttering for the shop and south-facing wall has arrived on site and is awaiting fitting.

This weekend (2nd / 3rd August) saw the July draw (we are a week later than usual due to attending Hartlepool Model Railway Show last weekend) in the '200 Club' at the monthly Volunteers Meeting - we currently have 46 numbers taken up - many thanks to everyone who is supporting us in this venture. The winning numbers and prizes drawn on this occasion by Phyllis Richardson are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 23. James Redfern

2nd Prize. £10. Number 27. Dave Greenhalgh

3rd Prize. £5. Number 25. James Redfern

James has (again!) very kindly donated his winnings back to the Company - a big 'thank-you' James.

Our next volunteers meeting is SUNDAY 31ST AUGUST 3PM in the mess room at KSE. All welcome.

July 2008

We are delighted to announce that we have been informed today (29th) that we have been elected to full Corporate Membership of the Heritage Railway Association. We are most grateful to all those who have supported us, particularly the Caledonian Railway Brechin and Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society who kindly proposed and seconded our application respectively.

Last weekend (26th / 27th) saw our Sales Stand attending Hartlepool Model Railway Show. A big 'thank you' to Malcolm, Paul and Co. for all their efforts in putting on such an excellent event with all profits given to such worthwhile charities - well done folks. We have already booked to return again next year.

The event also saw us sell the remaining few copies of Keith Richardson's book 'Kirkby Stephen East - A Station Remembered' - all 500 copies have now gone! However, the good news for those of you who have yet to purchase a copy is that we have ordered a reprint and this should be available shortly so please keep the orders coming!

This weekend (19th / 20th) saw a good number of visitors on site to view the station garden which was part of 'Kirkby Stephen in Bloom'. We have now collected the remaining mechanical signalling equipment which we purchased from the Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway - most of this originally came from Hitchin on the East Coast Mainline. Elsewhere, good progress continues to be made with both the track layout and clearance work for the new Visitor Car Park.  

We are very pleased to be able to report that the Holehird Trust, one of the funders associated with the Cumbria Community Foundation, have kindly awarded us a grant of £750 towards a wheelchair / pushchair ramp at the eastern end of the station building. We are most grateful to them for their support.

Good progress continues to be made with preparations for the new visitor car park and it is likely that our Contractors will undertake the work on the car park and wheelchair ramp at the same time.

Inside the building, the ceiling in the second room of our new Retail Outlet has been completed and the initial stages of rendering the walls has begun. Off site, progress continues to be made with the replacement doors and windows and our Contractor hopes to have them all fitted by the end of the month. This will dramatically alter the appearance of the Darlington platform at the eastern end. 

Last weekend (28th / 29th June) saw the latest draw in our recently formed '200 Club' at the monthly Volunteers Meeting. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 20. Bill Watkin

2nd Prize. £10. Number 15. Mike Pattinson

3rd Prize. £5. Number 23. James Redfern

James has very kindly donated his winnings back to the Company - many thanks James.

Our next volunteers meeting is SUNDAY 3RD AUGUST 3PM in the mess room at KSE. All welcome. This meeting has been put back a week from its usual time as we are at Hartlepool Model Railway Show with our Sales Stand during the weekend of 26th / 27th July.

June 2008

Our AGM was well attended this weekend (14th) and shareholders enjoyed a lovely buffet afterwards courtesy of Donna and Carol. The rest of the day was taken up with trackwork and moving signalling equipment which soon burnt off the calories consumed over lunch. Even 'Rabbit' and 'Quaker' enjoyed the buffet! Our nesting birds are starting to fly and the weather is waming up nicely.

            A Wren on one of the Mainline diesels

Last weekend (7th / 8th) saw the last major step in the overhaul of 20 169 with the re-fitting of the roof. Other major progress to report concerns the Retail Outlet where approx. half of the new ceiling in the second room was fitted on Saturday. This should be completed soon and some of the initial rendering work on the walls will begin. Our Contractor is currently busy manufacturing all the new doors (3) and windows (4) and aims to have these in place by the end of July. Work also continues on the track, car park and station garden, the latter in preparation for our entry in 'Kirkby Stephen in Bloom' which takes place over the weekend of 19th / 20th July. The next edition of the newsletter is almost complete and we hope that this will go to press at the end of the week.

20169 with the roof replaced and awaiting removal of the scaffolding

        Phyllis Richardson's green fingers are working hard on the KSE garden 

May 2008

This weekend (24th / 25th) saw the first draw of our recently formed '200 Club' at the monthly Volunteers Meeting. The winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize. £15. Number 5. Mike Thompson

2nd Prize. £10. Number 20. Bill Watkin

3rd Prize. £5. Number 8. Mike Thompson

We are pleased to be able to report that our Chairman has re-invested his £20 in the Company! Please consider taking a number (or numbers) in the draw (see the '200 Club' page) - after all, it is the best way of trying to ensure that this is the one and only occasion that the Chairman wins a prize! We currently have 26 numbers allocated and the next draw will be held on Sunday 29th June.   

We are delighted to be able to inform you that the 'Friends of the Lake District' (FLD) have offered us a grant of £1000 towards Phase 1 of the repairs (stone work on the buttresses / centre pillar and Hydragrit blasting) to the footbridge which carries the public footpath (335008) over the railway approx. 200 metres west of the station. The footbridge is an historical artifact dating from the time of construction of the railway and is believed to be a design by Sir Thomas Bouch. In addition, subject to the results of a detailed survey to be undertaken upon completion of Phase 1, FLD have also offered a further grant in principle of £4000 for Phase 2 of the work which will involve repairs to the steelwork. We are most grateful to them for their support and work continues towards raising the necessary funds to allow Phase 1 of the repairs to commence.

This weekend (10th / 11th) saw a working visit on the Saturday morning from 12 Kirkby Stephen Scouts (and their leaders / parents) who did an excellent job both painting the bases for the new seats in one of our Gresley coaches (60505) and beginning the task of degreasing / cleaning the frames of our Yorkshire Engine Company Industrial Diesel Locomotive (305). Thank you all for your efforts - we hope you enjoyed yourselves and look forward to seeing you again next time.

Freshly painted seat bases for TT0 60505 and a degreased wheel courtesy of Kirkby Stephen Scouts

                 Our Chairman demonstrating the work in hand for the Scouts

Other major progress to report this weekend is the fitting of the new ceiling in the first of the two rooms which will become our permanent Retail Outlet - a difficult job in very hot conditions!  

         
                         Views of the ceiling before and after initial restoration work

We are pleased to report that this week (ending 4th May) our Contractors have completed the roof repairs in the second room which will form half of our new Retail Outlet. Other work has also been ongoing in the building and much of the Booking Hall has been repainted in time for our summer visitors - it now looks very smart. On site, the 'Clarty gang' have finished the new drains and they are working very well. Efforts to prepare the area for the new visitor car park also continue and steady progress is being made on the trackwork and signalling equipment.

Next Slide Show: Saturday 10th May in Kirkby Stephen Methodist Hall at 7.30pm. The speaker is Dr. Peter Rodgers who will present 'The greatest railway journey in the world - A look at the route from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley'. Admission is £2 including refreshments at the interval and a free raffle.

April 2008

Contractors have recently completed roof repairs in the first of the two rooms which will become our new Retail Outlet. The roof timbers have also been 'de-nailed', so we are essentially ready to fit the ceiling. It is hoped that the contractors will complete their work in the other room this week. Elsewhere in the building, both the Ladies and Gents toilets have been completely repainted and the Ladies has been upgraded with the addition of further facilities.

Cath and Sue: busy at work in the toilets

On site, we are very pleased to report that Class 20 169 has been successfully restarted following its engine overhaul. The drainage gang continue their excellent work and further progress is being made with the trackwork and signalling equipment.

The weekend 12th/13th saw our Sales Stand at the 'Diesel Gala' at 'Locomotion', Shildon and a number of our volunteers assisted on the site over the two days and during the photo charter on the Saturday evening.

  Sales stand at Locomotion (Picture: Alan Usher)

Next Slide Show: Our April Slide Show has been put back a couple of weeks from its usual slot and will be held on Saturday 10th May in Kirkby Stephen Methodist Hall at 7.30pm. The speaker is Dr. Peter Rodgers who will present 'The greatest railway journey in the world - A look at the route from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley'. Admission is £2 including refreshments at the interval and a free raffle.

November & December 2007

Keen-eyed folk will have noticed that our website has changed. David Houston is working with SRC to redesign our site and make it more user friendly. We hope that you like the new format and will bear with us whilst it is developed.

The slide show season got off to an excellent start in our new venue of Kirkby Stephen Methodist Hall. Mark Keefe gave a great talk using a wide range of archive material from John Birbeck and others showing the Stainmore and Eden Valley lines.

Our Christmas Fayre Event at KSE in conjunction with Cumbria Classic Coaches and Kirkby Stephen Town Forum was a great success. Thanks to all the volunteers for their hard work on the day. There were 28 SRC volunteers of all ages including Santa who got very wet travelling up from the town on his pony and trap. Tom Cowing came over from Hexham to play his accordian on the platform and performed a number of requests for our visitors. Even 'Rabbit' got into the festive spirit with her collar and she also posed for the local press. 'Jones the Steam' (Will Hamer of Cumbria Classic Coaches) enthralled young visitors with stories of 'Ivor the Engine'. Plans for next year are already underway for a bigger and better event.

Views of the event at KSE are on the Santa at KSE page - for more pictures see Alan Usher's site.     

Back to home page

December 2011

November

A wet and very windy weekend at KSE (26th / 27th). Preparations for next Saturday's 'Santa' event (3rd December) are now essentially complete. Today (27th) has seen work undertaken on the track and further progress with the Diesel Crane, the Stevens Lever Frame and Gresley TTO 60505 - we now have all the vertical mirrors installed and have started on the horizontal mirrors which are fitted at both ends of the saloon.

A busy day today (23rd) at KSE despite the weather. There was further progress with painting Class 31 410, the S&T gang continued rebuilding the Stevens Lever Frame, more work was undertaken on fitting the mirrors in the saloon of Gresley TTO 60505 and Neil, one of our contractors, was busy rebuilding the window in the Station Master's Office - a photo has been added to the appropriate album on the KSE Station page.

The main focus for the volunteers this weekend was decorating the station building and preparing the Grotto for Santa's visit on the 3rd December. In addition, further work was also undertaken on the Stevens lever frame. Saturday (19th) saw a visit from Richard Meakin, our Independent Competent Person, to discuss the next phase of trackwork at KSE.

More steady progress at KSE again yesterday (16th). In preparation for ultimately rebuilding the original Stockton & Darlington Railway Signal Box which stood by the footbridge, the volunteers have put together the first 5 lever section of a Stevens & Co. frame - it is intended that this, along with a further 15 lever section, will be cleaned and painted as one of the S&T projects over the winter. In addition, further painting was underway on Class 31 410 and there was yet more vegetation clearance as a prelude to bridge reinstatement on the Tebay / Penrith formation. Our colleague, Brian Thomson from the SRPS at Boness, was on site working on the Diesel Crane with a view to subsequently renewing the certification so that it can be used on site and there was further progress with TTO 60505 - all the coat hooks have now been fitted in the saloon and the first of the LNER mirrors is also in place. Finally, although we had not originally intended to do so, following the success of the '150' event in August, we have decided to run a 'Santa' event on Saturday 3rd December - further details can be found on the Next Events page.   

The next load of ballast has arrived at KSE, so volunteers were busy yesterday working on the bay siding alongside the new platform. In addition, James completed the work on Point No. 3A on the passenger-carrying line, so this is now back in operation. We have also been digging out sections of the Stevens & Co. Lever Frame with a view to putting together a complete 20 lever section in the coming weeks. 

A gloriously sunny but cold weekend (5th / 6th) at KSE. The volunteers were busy on a variety of projects, predominantly outside, before the Cumbrian weather turns for the worse - these included, the mainline diesels and DMU, the Planet, Diesel Crane, Gresley TTO 60505, trackwork on Point No. 3A, vegetation clearance on the Tebay / Penrith formation as a prelude to bridge reinstatement, the Station Master's Office and the valley gutter / station roof. 

Yesterday (2nd) saw further progress with the rolling stock at KSE. Phil has now finished painting the Peckett, Pete was busy with Class 31 410 stabled alongside the station building and work was underway with the saloon light spinnings and torpedo vent regulators for TTO 60505. In addition, some adjustments to Point No. 3A on the passenger line were also undertaken. Finally, with all the time and effort that went into the '150' event, I have got somewhat behind with the '200 Club' for which I sincerely apologise. I have now finally found the time to catch up with this and the numbers have been drawn as follows.

August:

1st Prize £15 Number 45 Bill Taylor

2nd Prize £10 Number 5 Mike Thompson

3rd Prize £5 Number 33 Maggie Yates

September:

1st Prize £15 Number 31 Mrs Maureen Wilson

2nd Prize £10 Number 61 Mr. Howard Mills

3rd Prize £5 Number 39 Dave Duncan

October:

1st Prize £15 Number 51 Phil Thompson

2nd Prize £10 Number 58 Rob Murray

3rd Prize £5 Number 7 Mike Thompson 

The draw for the December '200 Club' has been made and the winners are as follows:

1st Prize £15 Number 61 Howard Mills

2nd Prize £10 Number 52 Maggie Yates

3rd Prize £5 Number 59 Brian Wood

We were somewhat stunned recently to be told that we had finished as runners-up to the 'Electric Railway Museum' in the Heritage Railway Association (HRA) 2011 Annual Award for 'Small Groups'. We had no idea that we had even been nominated for this award which is given for 'an outstanding achievement in railway preservation', so a big 'thank you' to those members of the Awards Committee who nominated and supported us - to finish as runners-up in this UK-wide competition is a great honour. Very many congratulations from all involved at KSE to the 'Electric Railway Museum' on their award and to all the other organisations that were considered.

The weather was a bit milder at KSE today (21st) and the volunteers took advantage with a little more progress with stripping the old paint from the roof timbers. This is likely to be the last update this week, so I would just like to take this opportunity to wish all our supporters a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2012. Let's all hope that the next 12 months bring as much progress as in 2011 - a momentous year for the project with passenger trains returning after an absence of almost 50 years.

A cold and damp weekend (10th / 11th) at the East station. As a result, the volunteers have been concentrating on indoor jobs. A good start has been made on cleaning the roof timbers / associated metalwork and, in addition, there has been more progress with priming the components of the Stevens Lever Frame.

Despite snowstorms for most of the day (7th), progress was made with the Station Master's Office and most of the morning was given over to our contractors putting up scaffolding at the eastern end of the station so that we can start on the next phase of restoration work on the building - over the next 3-4 months, we plan to undertake repairs to the Gable End and clean, paint and replace the glass in the first two roof bays. An initial inspection this afternoon suggests that the timberwork is in good condition - a photo has been added to the new album on the KSE Station page. 

Yesterday (3rd) saw a very successful visit from 'Santa' despite the less than ideal weather conditions - very many thanks to all who came along to support the event. Today (4th), the volunteers spent the day inside the building tidying up - this was just as well as we had the first snowfall of the winter - some very heavy and prolonged showers which gave the new platform extension its first covering of the 'white stuff' - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page.

A noticeably colder day at KSE yesterday (30th). Neil was on site once more working on the windows in the Station Master's Office - we are now at the point where the plasterwork can begin in earnest. Elsewhere in the building, there was further progress with painting components of the Stevens Lever Frame and all the mirrors have now been fitted to the saloon of 60505 - the next job is to fit the radiator covers after we have undertaken some minor alterations to the steam heat pipework. Outside, the volunteers were working on the timber crossing adjacent to the Tebay / Penrith platform. Fingers crossed for some decent weather for Santa and his helpers on Saturday!  Finally, the draw for the November '200 Club' has been made and the winners are as follows: 

1st Prize £15 Number 68 Marsden Cross

2nd Prize £10 Number 36 Ken Ball

3rd Prize £5 Number 19 Bill Watkin

October

A wide range of jobs were undertaken at KSE this weekend (29th / 30th) - there was good progress on Class 31 410, TTO 60505, the Station Master's Office and the S&T gang were busy on Point No. 3A of the crossover.The Peckett is now almost finished and looks resplendent in BR Lined Black livery.

The volunteers were working hard again yesterday (26th) at a variety of tasks - these included renewing boundary fences, some modifications to Point No. 3A and, we are please to report, efforts have begun again now things are a little less frantic to complete the restoration of Gresley TTO 60505. Finally, Phil was busy varnishing the cab / saddletank on the Peckett and we hope that this job will be completed by the weekend.

A busy 3 days at the East station. Over the weekend, volunteers were busy on, amongst other things, the Station Master's Office, Class 37 674 and Gresley TTO 60505. On Sunday, we started a major shunt on site to prepare for a 'Photo Shoot' yesterday (24th). We had been contacted by Denvir Marketing who are preparing an advertising campaign for 'Black & Lizars', Scotland's largest independently owned opticians. It was an early start on Monday to bring 60505 into the new platform for the photograhers and actor / actress involved in the 'Shoot'. A most interesting and successful day, after which, we had to shunt everything back into its normal place. It is really good to see that our considerably improved facilities are beginning to attract this kind of external contract work to the railway.

Another dry day at KSE today (19th). Amongst a variety of jobs undertaken outside, volunteers were busy cleaning the diesels on the siding to the north of the station building, some repairs were undertaken to the guttering and Phil was busy painting the left-hand side of the chassis on the Peckett - a photo has been added to the album on the 2084 Overhaul page. 

A nice sunny weekend at KSE for the volunteers. Outside, the 'diesel gang' were busy with Class 37 674, Class 47 785 and the Class 108 DMU, whilst others were painting and water-proofing in readiness for the approaching winter. Inside the building, work was taking place on the Station Master's Office and Phil was making good progress lining out the Peckett - a couple of photos have been added to the album on the 2084 Overhaul page.

A new page has been added to the website covering the momentous events of Stainmore 150. 

Another wet day at KSE again yesterday (12th) such that much of the work was undertaken indoors. The volunteers were busy with a general 'tidy-up' trying to make some more space to work in, whilst Phil continued with repainting the Peckett - two coats of gloss have now been applied to the top half of the loco and we are not too far away from starting the lining-out. 

A pretty wet weekend at KSE. However, good progress was made cleaning Class 37 674, whilst inside the building, the first coat of BR Black gloss is appearing on the Peckett courtesy of Phil Anderson - a photo has been added to the album on the 2084 Overhaul page. We also took the opportunity during a brief dry spell yesterday afternoon to take 2084 outside and drain the boiler off for the winter - all that basically remains to be done now is to remove the cab gauges and the loco will be fully 'winterised'. The latest Newsletter is now with the printer and we hope to have it in the post to all our regular subscribers by the end of the week.

December 2011

September

This weekend (24th / 25th), our sales team attended the Annual Steam Gala at 'Locomotion'. This year was the busiest ever and, in addition to the locos on site, there was also the twice daily shuttle directly from the NRM at York which brought in additional visitors - many congrats and thanks to 'Ant', 'Rich' & Co. for all their efforts. At KSE, work continued as usual - James was busy with the S&T installations and a brief report and photos have been added to the Signalling & Track and Trackwork pages respectively.   

Yesterday (21st) saw the departure of the final item of rolling stock from the '150' event and, at last, I have been able to return home after spending 33 out of the last 36 days at KSE - not something I intend to repeat! As you can imagine, I have, amongst others, a mountain of paperwork to catch up with and a Newsletter to produce which, I am afraid, is inevitably going to be a little late on this occasion - I hope you will understand in the circumstances. The volunteers were busy doing 'inside' jobs yesterday as we had very heavy rain for much of the time. Good progress continues with the repainting of the Peckett and, as you can see from the couple of photos added to the 2084 Overhaul page, Phil has been busy with the undercoat.   

This is just a brief update as our webmaster is still at KSE and out of PC range. The weekend saw a steady stream of visitors complimenting us on the reports in the local press and 'Steam Railway' Magazine. Visitors who hadn't been for a few years were most amazed by the progress and we were visited a 101 year old gentleman who was pleased to pose by '910' as this was one of the few things on the site that was older than him! Next weekend we will have a stall at 'Locomotion', Shildon for their 'Steam Gala' and, as a result, there will be fewer staff than usual on the KSE site, but it will be open and visitors are most welcome. Volunteering opportunies are varied at KSE and John, one of our trackgang, took on a new role of 'meeter and greeter' with great aplomb on Saturday. Work is continuing in the Station Master's office and the Peckett is being rubbed down in preparation for repainting in a new livery. James has been busy in the S & T department and other volunteers were doing trackwork and painting the Class 47 between showers. Please look at our volunteering page to see the range of jobs we have at KSE to suit all people.

We are putting together a gallery of pictures of the 'Stainmore 150' event which we hope will appear soon on this site and we are also in the process of updating the Stainmore 150 website. Many thanks to all those people who have kindly sent us photographs of the event.

Well - what a weekend! Your webmaster has just returned from 17 continuous days at KSE, so this will just be a brief report for the time being. The event was, I think, everything we hoped it would be and more - some 4,500 visitors came to see passenger trains operating once more after an absence of almost 50 years. Thank you to all who supported the event and to those who have sent letters, emails etc in praise of the event - it is greatly appreciated. KSE is a working railway once more!

The draw for the December '200 Club' has been made and the winners are as follows:

1st Prize £15 Number 61 Howard Mills

2nd Prize £10 Number 52 Maggie Yates

3rd Prize £5 Number 59 Brian Wood

We were somewhat stunned recently to be told that we had finished as runners-up to the 'Electric Railway Museum' in the Heritage Railway Association (HRA) 2011 Annual Award for 'Small Groups'. We had no idea that we had even been nominated for this award which is given for 'an outstanding achievement in railway preservation', so a big 'thank you' to those members of the Awards Committee who nominated and supported us - to finish as runners-up in this UK-wide competition is a great honour. Very many congratulations from all involved at KSE to the 'Electric Railway Museum' on their award and to all the other organisations that were considered.

The weather was a bit milder at KSE today (21st) and the volunteers took advantage with a little more progress with stripping the old paint from the roof timbers. This is likely to be the last update this week, so I would just like to take this opportunity to wish all our supporters a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2012. Let's all hope that the next 12 months bring as much progress as in 2011 - a momentous year for the project with passenger trains returning after an absence of almost 50 years.

A cold and damp weekend (10th / 11th) at the East station. As a result, the volunteers have been concentrating on indoor jobs. A good start has been made on cleaning the roof timbers / associated metalwork and, in addition, there has been more progress with priming the components of the Stevens Lever Frame.

Despite snowstorms for most of the day (7th), progress was made with the Station Master's Office and most of the morning was given over to our contractors putting up scaffolding at the eastern end of the station so that we can start on the next phase of restoration work on the building - over the next 3-4 months, we plan to undertake repairs to the Gable End and clean, paint and replace the glass in the first two roof bays. An initial inspection this afternoon suggests that the timberwork is in good condition - a photo has been added to the new album on the KSE Station page. 

Yesterday (3rd) saw a very successful visit from 'Santa' despite the less than ideal weather conditions - very many thanks to all who came along to support the event. Today (4th), the volunteers spent the day inside the building tidying up - this was just as well as we had the first snowfall of the winter - some very heavy and prolonged showers which gave the new platform extension its first covering of the 'white stuff' - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page.

A noticeably colder day at KSE yesterday (30th). Neil was on site once more working on the windows in the Station Master's Office - we are now at the point where the plasterwork can begin in earnest. Elsewhere in the building, there was further progress with painting components of the Stevens Lever Frame and all the mirrors have now been fitted to the saloon of 60505 - the next job is to fit the radiator covers after we have undertaken some minor alterations to the steam heat pipework. Outside, the volunteers were working on the timber crossing adjacent to the Tebay / Penrith platform. Fingers crossed for some decent weather for Santa and his helpers on Saturday!  Finally, the draw for the November '200 Club' has been made and the winners are as follows: 

1st Prize £15 Number 68 Marsden Cross

2nd Prize £10 Number 36 Ken Ball

3rd Prize £5 Number 19 Bill Watkin

November

A wet and very windy weekend at KSE (26th / 27th). Preparations for next Saturday's 'Santa' event (3rd December) are now essentially complete. Today (27th) has seen work undertaken on the track and further progress with the Diesel Crane, the Stevens Lever Frame and Gresley TTO 60505 - we now have all the vertical mirrors installed and have started on the horizontal mirrors which are fitted at both ends of the saloon.

A busy day today (23rd) at KSE despite the weather. There was further progress with painting Class 31 410, the S&T gang continued rebuilding the Stevens Lever Frame, more work was undertaken on fitting the mirrors in the saloon of Gresley TTO 60505 and Neil, one of our contractors, was busy rebuilding the window in the Station Master's Office - a photo has been added to the appropriate album on the KSE Station page.

The main focus for the volunteers this weekend was decorating the station building and preparing the Grotto for Santa's visit on the 3rd December. In addition, further work was also undertaken on the Stevens lever frame. Saturday (19th) saw a visit from Richard Meakin, our Independent Competent Person, to discuss the next phase of trackwork at KSE.

More steady progress at KSE again yesterday (16th). In preparation for ultimately rebuilding the original Stockton & Darlington Railway Signal Box which stood by the footbridge, the volunteers have put together the first 5 lever section of a Stevens & Co. frame - it is intended that this, along with a further 15 lever section, will be cleaned and painted as one of the S&T projects over the winter. In addition, further painting was underway on Class 31 410 and there was yet more vegetation clearance as a prelude to bridge reinstatement on the Tebay / Penrith formation. Our colleague, Brian Thomson from the SRPS at Boness, was on site working on the Diesel Crane with a view to subsequently renewing the certification so that it can be used on site and there was further progress with TTO 60505 - all the coat hooks have now been fitted in the saloon and the first of the LNER mirrors is also in place. Finally, although we had not originally intended to do so, following the success of the '150' event in August, we have decided to run a 'Santa' event on Saturday 3rd December - further details can be found on the Next Events page.   

The next load of ballast has arrived at KSE, so volunteers were busy yesterday working on the bay siding alongside the new platform. In addition, James completed the work on Point No. 3A on the passenger-carrying line, so this is now back in operation. We have also been digging out sections of the Stevens & Co. Lever Frame with a view to putting together a complete 20 lever section in the coming weeks. 

A gloriously sunny but cold weekend (5th / 6th) at KSE. The volunteers were busy on a variety of projects, predominantly outside, before the Cumbrian weather turns for the worse - these included, the mainline diesels and DMU, the Planet, Diesel Crane, Gresley TTO 60505, trackwork on Point No. 3A, vegetation clearance on the Tebay / Penrith formation as a prelude to bridge reinstatement, the Station Master's Office and the valley gutter / station roof. 

Yesterday (2nd) saw further progress with the rolling stock at KSE. Phil has now finished painting the Peckett, Pete was busy with Class 31 410 stabled alongside the station building and work was underway with the saloon light spinnings and torpedo vent regulators for TTO 60505. In addition, some adjustments to Point No. 3A on the passenger line were also undertaken. Finally, with all the time and effort that went into the '150' event, I have got somewhat behind with the '200 Club' for which I sincerely apologise. I have now finally found the time to catch up with this and the numbers have been drawn as follows.

August:

1st Prize £15 Number 45 Bill Taylor

2nd Prize £10 Number 5 Mike Thompson

3rd Prize £5 Number 33 Maggie Yates

September:

1st Prize £15 Number 31 Mrs Maureen Wilson

2nd Prize £10 Number 61 Mr. Howard Mills

3rd Prize £5 Number 39 Dave Duncan

October:

1st Prize £15 Number 51 Phil Thompson

2nd Prize £10 Number 58 Rob Murray

3rd Prize £5 Number 7 Mike Thompson 

August

The work for 'Stainmore 150' is reaching fever pitch with over 30 volunteers on site over the weekend. Rolling stock started to arrive last week and the two Mark 1 coaches look very fine in the completed platform. The NE Clerestory Coach arrived on Saturday and this week the locomotives will arrive. There has been a major move around of stock and both the Yorkshire Engine and the Planet were in action. Our DMU moved under its own power and the Class 47 is looking very smart as its EWS livery is spruced up. The NE Brake van is undergoing a repaint into NE Brown  (the bad weather last year halted all work on this, so it is half painted in undercoat). In the station building, the shop was thoroughly cleaned and spruced up and the platform scrubbed. The Belah model was passed by our model railway team and now works and will operate over the weekend.

Off site, work continued on the summit sign with ground works undertaken during the week and painting work. The Trip to unveil the summit sign is now fully subscribed and the sign will be erected this week as a fitting tribute to the 150th Anniversary of the route. If you wish to contribute to the sign and receive a commerative certificate for donations of £10 or more, please send a cheque payable to 'Stainmore Railway Company Ltd' to the secretary (see home page for details).

The new platform ready for the Stainmore 150 Event and Ellie Belah Keefe with her Mum painting the Summit Sign.                                                                                      Photos Mark Keefe

The new platform is now basically finished and looks superb - a great credit to all who have worked so hard to make it happen - some photos have been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. On Saturday, the Tebay / Penrith trackwell was connected to the rest of the layout and, yesterday evening, Gresley 60505 was moved inside. Tracklaying has also taken place on north side of the building with a siding being constructed alongside the station wall in preparation for 'Stainmore 150' which draws ever closer - a couple of photos have been added to the first album on the Trackwork page. Finally, a report and further photos of the cosmetic restoration of J21 65033 (courtesy of Stephen Foxton) have been added to the J21 65033 page.

Heavy rain and strong winds greeted the volunteers and contractors again at KSE yesterday. However, by the end of the day, all was ready for the tarmac to be laid on the new platform today / tomorrow. In addition, James was on site all day and made further excellent progress with the S&T - this work is also rapidly approaching completion - an update has been added to the Signalling & Track page.

A couple of weeks ago, our project featured in Paul Paxton's 'North Country' series on BBC 'Look North' - it can now be viewed here.

A further weekend of progress despite heavy rain for much of the day on Saturday (6th). Most of the smaller 'anti-slip' flagstones are now in situ and we are still hopeful that the tarmac will be laid later this week. Inside the building, volunteers have been painting both the 'lanterns' for the new heritage lighting and the replica NER 'No Trespass' signs which will shortly be installed at the platform ends - some photos have been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. The S&T gang were busy yesterday (7th) - an update has been added to the Signalling & Track page. Finally, we have recently heard that we have been granted full planning permission to erect the replica Stainmore Summit sign - sections of this are curremtly being painted and we hope to start work on site shortly.

Another busy day yesterday (3rd) with much of the effort focused on completing the platform extension. The fourth lamp standard is now in place and all but six of the large flagstones have been laid. The current timetable we have for the tarmac is Wednesday / Thursday next week, so there are a busy few days ahead to get everything finished in time. The S&T gang were also hard at work and an update has been added to the Signalling & Track page.

Last Saturday (30th) saw painting of the new door to the Tebay / Penrith trainshed completed and work started to lay a stone base on the platform extension ready for the tarmac which we hope to have laid early next week. Yesterday, the volunteers continued with this and a number of the 'anti-slip' flags were also laid. The S&T gang made major progress - fitting the expansion compensator and installing the new Ground Frame which will control Point Nos.1 & 2 - the former is already connected up and operational - a photo has been added to the new album on the Trackwork page. In addition, we are very pleased to report that all 3 exhibitions that we have prepared as part of the 150th Anniversary Celebrations have now been completed and can be seen at various venues in the local area over the coming months. Finally, this weekend saw a very moving memorial service for Iain Robinson who sadly passed away recently - this was held in Northumberland and was attended by two of our volunteers on behalf of the railway.

Today (1st) work has continued on the J21, 65033, at Shildon. Efforts have concentrated on emptying the tender of the mainy components that have been stored in there for some time since the loco moved back up to the north-east from Norfolk. The loco has now been painted black and the springs / coupling rods have been fitted - a photo has been added to the second album on the J21 65033 page.

The July draw for the monthly '200 Club' has been made and the winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize £15 Number 60 John Warner

2nd Prize £10 Number 33 Maggie Yates

3rd Prize £5 Number 47 Trevor Thomas   

July

Yesterday (27th) saw more progress with the platform extension and the section of trackwork that will soon connect the Tebay / Penrith trackwell with the rest of the system. Finally, we are very pleased to announce that the Peckett passed its formal steam test during the afternoon - a report and photos have been added to the 2084 Overhaul page.

A very hectic last 3 days. Over the weekend (23rd / 24th), more work took place on the platform extension - much of the wiring for the new lights is now in situ and we also had a trial fitting of one of the lanterns - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. Elsewhere, there was further progress with the S&T installation, the trackwork for the bay platform is now complete and awaits ballasting, we have started to gloss the new doors to the Tebay / Penrith trainshed LMR maroon to match everything else and the diesel gang were busy repainting the Class 47. This afternoon (25th), a number of volunteers / members of the 'Stainmore 150' Steering Committee attended the funeral of our close friend and colleague, Iain Robinson, in Lancaster - a very sad and moving occasion - he will be greatly missed and never forgotten. 

Yesterday (20th) saw more progress with the trackwork at KSE - the last of the life-expired rails in the passenger-carrying line was changed and most of the trackwork in the bay platform was keyed-up, fishplated and roughly aligned. Elsewhere, we had a big tidy-up along the northern boundary of the site, more fencing was erected where the breeze-block wall of the old workshop used to stand and, finally, last night, Billy Treloar arrived from Haltwhistle with the first 2 tonnes of steam coal for the August Bank Holiday event - this is now safely stored away.  

Three of our volunteers have been over at 'Locomotion' again today assisting with the cosmetic restoration of 65033 - a report and photos have been added to the J21 65033 page. In addition, the replica 'Stainmore Summit' sign has been collected from Hydram Engineering Ltd, nr Ferryhill, and should arrive at KSE later this week.

A somewhat subdued atmosphere at KSE this weekend following the sad news about Iain, but he would, I am sure, have wanted us to get on with the job. The end of last week saw further progress with the platform extension - the 'bay' is now taking shape, the first of the two main drains has been installed and the two LNER 'Serpent head' seats are complete and now just await a coat of varnish - some photos have been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. Elsewhere, trackwork has continued, the S&T gang have been busy, the new ceiling in the Station Master's Office has been plastered, the painting gang have been at work and the Peckett is now ready for its formal steam test.

We have just received some terribly sad news. Iain Robinson, a member of the Steering Committee organising 'Stainmore 150', who was responsible for the wonderful website dedicated to the event, passed away during the night following a short illness. We are all totally stunned by the news and send our deepest sympathies to his wife, Edera, and family.

More good progress on site yesterday (13th). All the new flagstones are in place on the north side of the platform extension and the track which will form the 'bay' now awaits keys, fishplates, final alignment and ballasting. Today (14th), work has begun to fit the new platform drains - a couple of photos have been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. Elsewhere on site yesterday, the S&T team were busy adjacent to Point No.1, some new rails were prepared for the passenger-carrying line and there was further progress with installing the sleepers which will form the two panels that will link the track in the Tebay / Penrith trainshed with the rest of the network. Inside the building, Neil, one of our contractors, was making good progress with the new window in the Station Master's Office - a photo has been added to the appropriate album on the KSE Station page.

Yesterday (11th) saw work commence on the cosmetic restoration of J21 65033 at 'Locomotion' Shildon in preparation for its appearance at 'Stainmore 150' - a report and photos have been added to the J21 65033 page. In addition, some recent press reports on further funding for 'Stainmore 150' and the successful initial steaming of the Peckett can be found here and here.

As now seems to be the norm, this was another very busy weekend at KSE. Saturday morning saw our AGM take place on the 'Darlington' platform whilst outside, a major shunt was underway to clear the passenger-carrying line. Volunteers were also busy on trackwork in a number of locations. Today (10th) saw a visit from our colleague, Roly Johnson, who has kindly undertaken to design and construct all the tappet interlocking for the new Ground Frame - many thanks Roly. The S&T gang were busy as usual as were the painting team who were working on a number of projects both inside and outside the building. Finally, this weekend witnessed the return to steam of the Peckett - some 8 years after it last operated on the site - some photos and a report have been added to the 2084 Overhaul page.  

Thursday (7th) saw more progress on site with further flagstones laid on the new platform and grading of the remaining section of trackbed outside the Tebay / Penrith trainshed completed. Our contractors were also busy sorting out the drainage for the extension. Finally, the Classic Car Rally page has been updated with an album of photos from this year's event.

A very busy day on site yesterday. One of the main tasks was to grade the trackbed for the 'bay' platform - this was completed and timber sleepers were then roughly laid out in preparation for the installation of the track - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. Work then began on grading the trackbed that will take the two 60' panels which will link the Tebay / Penrith trainshed with the rest of the layout - this should be completed today whilst efforts to lay the new flagstones on the platform extension also continues. Elsewhere, the volunteers were busy undertaking some of the trackwork identified by Richard Meakin, our 'Independent Competent Person' overseeing the track / S&T work. Inside the building, another of our contractors was making good progress with the new window for the Station Master's Office - hopefully this will be installed shortly.  

Yesterday (3rd) saw our 2nd Annual Classic Car Rally and, unlike the torrential rain of last year, we were blessed with glorious sunshine. The event was a great success with 40 exhibits on display for our visitors - well done to organiser, Phil Thompson, for all his hard work. An article in the 'Eden Valley Messenger', with a link to further material on 'YouTube', can be found here. On Friday, two replica NER Trespass Notices arrived from Halifax Castings (these will be erected at the end of our platform extensions) and two replica LNER seats for the main platform extension were delivered from Procast - thanks Graham. Some photos of these, the current state of play with the platform extension and the initial stages of painting the new doors at the western end of the Tebay / Penrith trainshed have been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. Elsewhere over the weekend, volunteers were busy painting various items, the S&T team were hard at work as usual and the Peckett is now ready for an initial steam test. Finally, the June draw for the monthly '200 Club' has been made and the winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize £15 Number 38 Ken Ball

2nd Prize £10 Number 2 David Rayner

3rd Prize £5 Number 32 Vernon Pearson  

 December

June

Yesterday (29th) the volunteers / contractors made excellent progress with the decking on the last section of the platform extension and it is now possible to appreciate the huge increase in area that we will have available - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. Elsewhere, the S&T gang were busy on site all day and there was further progress with both the trackwork and Peckett overhaul.

This weekend saw the rest of the decking for the platform extension really begin to take shape - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. Yesterday (26th), our friend Roly Johnson was on site to assist the S&T team with the interlocking for the new Ground Frame - this is progressing well. Volunteers were also busy painting EVR Bridge No. 2 and on the Peckett - the boiler is now full of water and an initial steam test is not far away. Finally, the latest Newsletter has been published and is in the post to all our regular subscribers.

Some more good progress yesterday (22nd) 'back-filling' and fitting yet more concrete sleepers on the platform extension. Unfortunately, at about 3pm, some of the heaviest rain we have seen for a long time descended upon us and we had monsoon conditions for a couple of hours which finished the outdoor work for the day - hopefully it will be a little better at the weekend. Inside the building, work continued on the Peckett and we now have, bearing unforeseen problems, probably just a couple more days work before the loco is ready for an initial steam test.

Another pretty wet weekend at KSE - so much for 'flaming June'! However, Saturday saw more good progress with the platform extension - 3 of the 4 new lamp standards were set up in position and then another dozen or so of the new flagstones were laid - a couple of photos have been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. Yesterday morning (19th), the volunteers were out in the rain working on Point No. 1 and, in the afternoon, the S&T team were busy once more - some photos and reports of their efforts during the last week have been added to the new album on the Trackwork page and the Signalling & Track page respectively. Progress continues with the overhaul of the Peckett - an initial steam test is now not too far away.

On Monday evening (13th), we played host to 30 members of the Cumbria Steam & Vintage Vehicle Society - a brief Introductory talk was followed by a tour of the building /site and tea / cakes in the Buffet Car - an enjoyable evening was had by all. Over the last two days, volunteers & contractors have been busy with the platform extension - the walls and supporting pillars for the rest of the structure are now in place and we intend to complete the decking shortly - some more photos have been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. We are also pleased to report that the first of the new flagstones was laid yesterday (16th) and we hope that this next phase of the work will proceed rapidly. Elsewhere, the S&T gang have been busy and there has been further progress with the trackwork and Peckett overhaul. Finally, the latest Newsletter is now with the printer and it should be in the post to all our regular subscribers shortly.  

Excellent progress continues with contractors and volunteers on site for the last 6 days. The basic structure of the main platform extension is now complete - some photos have been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. Yesterday (12th), despite the rain for most of the day, the S&T gang were at work and efforts to complete the Peckett overhaul also continued. Finally, we played host to a group of North Eastern Railway Association members who were on a weekend trip covering numerous locations on the Stainmore route. 

Yesterday and today (9th) have seen further progress with construction of the walls for the second half of the platform extension - this coming weekend we hope to start fitting the decking. In addition, the volunteers have made a start on various items of trackwork requiring attention that were identified by our Independent Competent Person on a visit last weekend.  

Saturday (4th) saw our 2nd Annual Model Railway Show. Many thanks to Dave for all his help with organising the event, the exhibitors and visitors. In the current economic climate, we regard the event as having been very successful with several hundred pounds raised for our project - the 3rd Annual Event should be enhanced by the operation of passenger trains! Outside, volunteers and contractors spent the day constructing the two walls that will form the basis of the other half of the platform extension - one more days work should see this part of the job finished. Yesterday, the volunteers started on the first section of what will become the retaining wall at the end of the bay platform - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. Elsewhere on site, the volunteers were busy repairing the stone wall at the back of the picnic area, painting EVR Bridge No. 2 and pressing on with the S&T work.

The last two days have seen our contractors and volunteers hard at work constructing the new walls for the second half of the main platform extension - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. All the other foundation trenches for the shorter extension to the Tebay / Penrith platform were also finished and, late in the day, the concrete was poured so that we are now able to commence the block work. In addition, volunteers were busy preparing materials for the platform deck which we hope to construct in approx 7-10 days time. Elsewhere, efforts to repaint EVR Bridge No. 2 continued, some S&T work took place, Donna was busy repainting the Ladies Toliets, there was further work on the Peckett and preparations for our 2nd Annual Model Railway Show this Saturday (10am - 5pm) were also underway - further details can be found here.

Our 'Stainmore 150' web site is having several pages added at the moment, including separate pages for each of the event days and a page to apply for the Belah/Stainmore trip on 27th August. Follow the links on the 'Next Events' page.

The draw for the December '200 Club' has been made and the winners are as follows:

1st Prize £15 Number 61 Howard Mills

2nd Prize £10 Number 52 Maggie Yates

3rd Prize £5 Number 59 Brian Wood

We were somewhat stunned recently to be told that we had finished as runners-up to the 'Electric Railway Museum' in the Heritage Railway Association (HRA) 2011 Annual Award for 'Small Groups'. We had no idea that we had even been nominated for this award which is given for 'an outstanding achievement in railway preservation', so a big 'thank you' to those members of the Awards Committee who nominated and supported us - to finish as runners-up in this UK-wide competition is a great honour. Very many congratulations from all involved at KSE to the 'Electric Railway Museum' on their award and to all the other organisations that were considered.

The weather was a bit milder at KSE today (21st) and the volunteers took advantage with a little more progress with stripping the old paint from the roof timbers. This is likely to be the last update this week, so I would just like to take this opportunity to wish all our supporters a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2012. Let's all hope that the next 12 months bring as much progress as in 2011 - a momentous year for the project with passenger trains returning after an absence of almost 50 years.

A cold and damp weekend (10th / 11th) at the East station. As a result, the volunteers have been concentrating on indoor jobs. A good start has been made on cleaning the roof timbers / associated metalwork and, in addition, there has been more progress with priming the components of the Stevens Lever Frame.

Despite snowstorms for most of the day (7th), progress was made with the Station Master's Office and most of the morning was given over to our contractors putting up scaffolding at the eastern end of the station so that we can start on the next phase of restoration work on the building - over the next 3-4 months, we plan to undertake repairs to the Gable End and clean, paint and replace the glass in the first two roof bays. An initial inspection this afternoon suggests that the timberwork is in good condition - a photo has been added to the new album on the KSE Station page. 

Yesterday (3rd) saw a very successful visit from 'Santa' despite the less than ideal weather conditions - very many thanks to all who came along to support the event. Today (4th), the volunteers spent the day inside the building tidying up - this was just as well as we had the first snowfall of the winter - some very heavy and prolonged showers which gave the new platform extension its first covering of the 'white stuff' - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page.

A noticeably colder day at KSE yesterday (30th). Neil was on site once more working on the windows in the Station Master's Office - we are now at the point where the plasterwork can begin in earnest. Elsewhere in the building, there was further progress with painting components of the Stevens Lever Frame and all the mirrors have now been fitted to the saloon of 60505 - the next job is to fit the radiator covers after we have undertaken some minor alterations to the steam heat pipework. Outside, the volunteers were working on the timber crossing adjacent to the Tebay / Penrith platform. Fingers crossed for some decent weather for Santa and his helpers on Saturday!  Finally, the draw for the November '200 Club' has been made and the winners are as follows: 

1st Prize £15 Number 68 Marsden Cross

2nd Prize £10 Number 36 Ken Ball

3rd Prize £5 Number 19 Bill Watkin

November

A wet and very windy weekend at KSE (26th / 27th). Preparations for next Saturday's 'Santa' event (3rd December) are now essentially complete. Today (27th) has seen work undertaken on the track and further progress with the Diesel Crane, the Stevens Lever Frame and Gresley TTO 60505 - we now have all the vertical mirrors installed and have started on the horizontal mirrors which are fitted at both ends of the saloon.

A busy day today (23rd) at KSE despite the weather. There was further progress with painting Class 31 410, the S&T gang continued rebuilding the Stevens Lever Frame, more work was undertaken on fitting the mirrors in the saloon of Gresley TTO 60505 and Neil, one of our contractors, was busy rebuilding the window in the Station Master's Office - a photo has been added to the appropriate album on the KSE Station page.

The main focus for the volunteers this weekend was decorating the station building and preparing the Grotto for Santa's visit on the 3rd December. In addition, further work was also undertaken on the Stevens lever frame. Saturday (19th) saw a visit from Richard Meakin, our Independent Competent Person, to discuss the next phase of trackwork at KSE.

More steady progress at KSE again yesterday (16th). In preparation for ultimately rebuilding the original Stockton & Darlington Railway Signal Box which stood by the footbridge, the volunteers have put together the first 5 lever section of a Stevens & Co. frame - it is intended that this, along with a further 15 lever section, will be cleaned and painted as one of the S&T projects over the winter. In addition, further painting was underway on Class 31 410 and there was yet more vegetation clearance as a prelude to bridge reinstatement on the Tebay / Penrith formation. Our colleague, Brian Thomson from the SRPS at Boness, was on site working on the Diesel Crane with a view to subsequently renewing the certification so that it can be used on site and there was further progress with TTO 60505 - all the coat hooks have now been fitted in the saloon and the first of the LNER mirrors is also in place. Finally, although we had not originally intended to do so, following the success of the '150' event in August, we have decided to run a 'Santa' event on Saturday 3rd December - further details can be found on the Next Events page.   

The next load of ballast has arrived at KSE, so volunteers were busy yesterday working on the bay siding alongside the new platform. In addition, James completed the work on Point No. 3A on the passenger-carrying line, so this is now back in operation. We have also been digging out sections of the Stevens & Co. Lever Frame with a view to putting together a complete 20 lever section in the coming weeks. 

A gloriously sunny but cold weekend (5th / 6th) at KSE. The volunteers were busy on a variety of projects, predominantly outside, before the Cumbrian weather turns for the worse - these included, the mainline diesels and DMU, the Planet, Diesel Crane, Gresley TTO 60505, trackwork on Point No. 3A, vegetation clearance on the Tebay / Penrith formation as a prelude to bridge reinstatement, the Station Master's Office and the valley gutter / station roof. 

Yesterday (2nd) saw further progress with the rolling stock at KSE. Phil has now finished painting the Peckett, Pete was busy with Class 31 410 stabled alongside the station building and work was underway with the saloon light spinnings and torpedo vent regulators for TTO 60505. In addition, some adjustments to Point No. 3A on the passenger line were also undertaken. Finally, with all the time and effort that went into the '150' event, I have got somewhat behind with the '200 Club' for which I sincerely apologise. I have now finally found the time to catch up with this and the numbers have been drawn as follows.

August:

1st Prize £15 Number 45 Bill Taylor

2nd Prize £10 Number 5 Mike Thompson

3rd Prize £5 Number 33 Maggie Yates

September:

1st Prize £15 Number 31 Mrs Maureen Wilson

2nd Prize £10 Number 61 Mr. Howard Mills

3rd Prize £5 Number 39 Dave Duncan

October:

1st Prize £15 Number 51 Phil Thompson

2nd Prize £10 Number 58 Rob Murray

3rd Prize £5 Number 7 Mike Thompson 

October

A wide range of jobs were undertaken at KSE this weekend (29th / 30th) - there was good progress on Class 31 410, TTO 60505, the Station Master's Office and the S&T gang were busy on Point No. 3A of the crossover.The Peckett is now almost finished and looks resplendent in BR Lined Black livery.

The volunteers were working hard again yesterday (26th) at a variety of tasks - these included renewing boundary fences, some modifications to Point No. 3A and, we are please to report, efforts have begun again now things are a little less frantic to complete the restoration of Gresley TTO 60505. Finally, Phil was busy varnishing the cab / saddletank on the Peckett and we hope that this job will be completed by the weekend.

A busy 3 days at the East station. Over the weekend, volunteers were busy on, amongst other things, the Station Master's Office, Class 37 674 and Gresley TTO 60505. On Sunday, we started a major shunt on site to prepare for a 'Photo Shoot' yesterday (24th). We had been contacted by Denvir Marketing who are preparing an advertising campaign for 'Black & Lizars', Scotland's largest independently owned opticians. It was an early start on Monday to bring 60505 into the new platform for the photograhers and actor / actress involved in the 'Shoot'. A most interesting and successful day, after which, we had to shunt everything back into its normal place. It is really good to see that our considerably improved facilities are beginning to attract this kind of external contract work to the railway.

Another dry day at KSE today (19th). Amongst a variety of jobs undertaken outside, volunteers were busy cleaning the diesels on the siding to the north of the station building, some repairs were undertaken to the guttering and Phil was busy painting the left-hand side of the chassis on the Peckett - a photo has been added to the album on the 2084 Overhaul page. 

A nice sunny weekend at KSE for the volunteers. Outside, the 'diesel gang' were busy with Class 37 674, Class 47 785 and the Class 108 DMU, whilst others were painting and water-proofing in readiness for the approaching winter. Inside the building, work was taking place on the Station Master's Office and Phil was making good progress lining out the Peckett - a couple of photos have been added to the album on the 2084 Overhaul page.

A new page has been added to the website covering the momentous events of Stainmore 150. 

Another wet day at KSE again yesterday (12th) such that much of the work was undertaken indoors. The volunteers were busy with a general 'tidy-up' trying to make some more space to work in, whilst Phil continued with repainting the Peckett - two coats of gloss have now been applied to the top half of the loco and we are not too far away from starting the lining-out. 

A pretty wet weekend at KSE. However, good progress was made cleaning Class 37 674, whilst inside the building, the first coat of BR Black gloss is appearing on the Peckett courtesy of Phil Anderson - a photo has been added to the album on the 2084 Overhaul page. We also took the opportunity during a brief dry spell yesterday afternoon to take 2084 outside and drain the boiler off for the winter - all that basically remains to be done now is to remove the cab gauges and the loco will be fully 'winterised'. The latest Newsletter is now with the printer and we hope to have it in the post to all our regular subscribers by the end of the week.

September

This weekend (24th / 25th), our sales team attended the Annual Steam Gala at 'Locomotion'. This year was the busiest ever and, in addition to the locos on site, there was also the twice daily shuttle directly from the NRM at York which brought in additional visitors - many congrats and thanks to 'Ant', 'Rich' & Co. for all their efforts. At KSE, work continued as usual - James was busy with the S&T installations and a brief report and photos have been added to the Signalling & Track and Trackwork pages respectively.   

Yesterday (21st) saw the departure of the final item of rolling stock from the '150' event and, at last, I have been able to return home after spending 33 out of the last 36 days at KSE - not something I intend to repeat! As you can imagine, I have, amongst others, a mountain of paperwork to catch up with and a Newsletter to produce which, I am afraid, is inevitably going to be a little late on this occasion - I hope you will understand in the circumstances. The volunteers were busy doing 'inside' jobs yesterday as we had very heavy rain for much of the time. Good progress continues with the repainting of the Peckett and, as you can see from the couple of photos added to the 2084 Overhaul page, Phil has been busy with the undercoat.   

This is just a brief update as our webmaster is still at KSE and out of PC range. The weekend saw a steady stream of visitors complimenting us on the reports in the local press and 'Steam Railway' Magazine. Visitors who hadn't been for a few years were most amazed by the progress and we were visited a 101 year old gentleman who was pleased to pose by '910' as this was one of the few things on the site that was older than him! Next weekend we will have a stall at 'Locomotion', Shildon for their 'Steam Gala' and, as a result, there will be fewer staff than usual on the KSE site, but it will be open and visitors are most welcome. Volunteering opportunies are varied at KSE and John, one of our trackgang, took on a new role of 'meeter and greeter' with great aplomb on Saturday. Work is continuing in the Station Master's office and the Peckett is being rubbed down in preparation for repainting in a new livery. James has been busy in the S & T department and other volunteers were doing trackwork and painting the Class 47 between showers. Please look at our volunteering page to see the range of jobs we have at KSE to suit all people.

We are putting together a gallery of pictures of the 'Stainmore 150' event which we hope will appear soon on this site and we are also in the process of updating the Stainmore 150 website. Many thanks to all those people who have kindly sent us photographs of the event.

Well - what a weekend! Your webmaster has just returned from 17 continuous days at KSE, so this will just be a brief report for the time being. The event was, I think, everything we hoped it would be and more - some 4,500 visitors came to see passenger trains operating once more after an absence of almost 50 years. Thank you to all who supported the event and to those who have sent letters, emails etc in praise of the event - it is greatly appreciated. KSE is a working railway once more!

August

The work for 'Stainmore 150' is reaching fever pitch with over 30 volunteers on site over the weekend. Rolling stock started to arrive last week and the two Mark 1 coaches look very fine in the completed platform. The NE Clerestory Coach arrived on Saturday and this week the locomotives will arrive. There has been a major move around of stock and both the Yorkshire Engine and the Planet were in action. Our DMU moved under its own power and the Class 47 is looking very smart as its EWS livery is spruced up. The NE Brake van is undergoing a repaint into NE Brown  (the bad weather last year halted all work on this, so it is half painted in undercoat). In the station building, the shop was thoroughly cleaned and spruced up and the platform scrubbed. The Belah model was passed by our model railway team and now works and will operate over the weekend.

Off site, work continued on the summit sign with ground works undertaken during the week and painting work. The Trip to unveil the summit sign is now fully subscribed and the sign will be erected this week as a fitting tribute to the 150th Anniversary of the route. If you wish to contribute to the sign and receive a commerative certificate for donations of £10 or more, please send a cheque payable to 'Stainmore Railway Company Ltd' to the secretary (see home page for details).

The new platform ready for the Stainmore 150 Event and Ellie Belah Keefe with her Mum painting the Summit Sign.                                                                                      Photos Mark Keefe

The new platform is now basically finished and looks superb - a great credit to all who have worked so hard to make it happen - some photos have been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. On Saturday, the Tebay / Penrith trackwell was connected to the rest of the layout and, yesterday evening, Gresley 60505 was moved inside. Tracklaying has also taken place on north side of the building with a siding being constructed alongside the station wall in preparation for 'Stainmore 150' which draws ever closer - a couple of photos have been added to the first album on the Trackwork page. Finally, a report and further photos of the cosmetic restoration of J21 65033 (courtesy of Stephen Foxton) have been added to the J21 65033 page.

Heavy rain and strong winds greeted the volunteers and contractors again at KSE yesterday. However, by the end of the day, all was ready for the tarmac to be laid on the new platform today / tomorrow. In addition, James was on site all day and made further excellent progress with the S&T - this work is also rapidly approaching completion - an update has been added to the Signalling & Track page.

A couple of weeks ago, our project featured in Paul Paxton's 'North Country' series on BBC 'Look North' - it can now be viewed here.

A further weekend of progress despite heavy rain for much of the day on Saturday (6th). Most of the smaller 'anti-slip' flagstones are now in situ and we are still hopeful that the tarmac will be laid later this week. Inside the building, volunteers have been painting both the 'lanterns' for the new heritage lighting and the replica NER 'No Trespass' signs which will shortly be installed at the platform ends - some photos have been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. The S&T gang were busy yesterday (7th) - an update has been added to the Signalling & Track page. Finally, we have recently heard that we have been granted full planning permission to erect the replica Stainmore Summit sign - sections of this are curremtly being painted and we hope to start work on site shortly.

Another busy day yesterday (3rd) with much of the effort focused on completing the platform extension. The fourth lamp standard is now in place and all but six of the large flagstones have been laid. The current timetable we have for the tarmac is Wednesday / Thursday next week, so there are a busy few days ahead to get everything finished in time. The S&T gang were also hard at work and an update has been added to the Signalling & Track page.

Last Saturday (30th) saw painting of the new door to the Tebay / Penrith trainshed completed and work started to lay a stone base on the platform extension ready for the tarmac which we hope to have laid early next week. Yesterday, the volunteers continued with this and a number of the 'anti-slip' flags were also laid. The S&T gang made major progress - fitting the expansion compensator and installing the new Ground Frame which will control Point Nos.1 & 2 - the former is already connected up and operational - a photo has been added to the new album on the Trackwork page. In addition, we are very pleased to report that all 3 exhibitions that we have prepared as part of the 150th Anniversary Celebrations have now been completed and can be seen at various venues in the local area over the coming months. Finally, this weekend saw a very moving memorial service for Iain Robinson who sadly passed away recently - this was held in Northumberland and was attended by two of our volunteers on behalf of the railway.

Today (1st) work has continued on the J21, 65033, at Shildon. Efforts have concentrated on emptying the tender of the mainy components that have been stored in there for some time since the loco moved back up to the north-east from Norfolk. The loco has now been painted black and the springs / coupling rods have been fitted - a photo has been added to the second album on the J21 65033 page.

The July draw for the monthly '200 Club' has been made and the winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize £15 Number 60 John Warner

2nd Prize £10 Number 33 Maggie Yates

3rd Prize £5 Number 47 Trevor Thomas   

May

Another predominantly wet and windy weekend at KSE although we did finally see some sunshine yesterday afternoon. On Saturday (28th), we had a LoadHaul operating - predominantly to (i) complete the basic construction of the first half of the platform extension (for which, all the new flagstones have now arrived) and (ii) to move various items around the site so as to begin to clear the area immediately south-west of the station in readiness for the August Bank Holiday weekend. Inside the building, work continued on the Station Master's Office and the overhaul of the Peckett. On Sunday, their was further progress with the S&T installation - a report can be found on the Signalling & Track page.

Finally, the May draw for the monthly '200 Club' has been made and the winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize £15 Number 60 John Warner

2nd Prize £10 Number 44 Keith Richardson

3rd Prize £5 Number 6 Mike Thompson  

The latest update on our Stainmore Summit sign appeal can be found here.

Some much better weather yesterday (25th) at KSE with excellent progress made on a number of projects. Having taken the views of both the Railway Inspectorate and our Independent Competent Person, we have made the decision to double the width of the new platform extension - this will then enable us to ultimately use both faces as an 'operational' platform. So our contractors and volunteers set to with a vengance and, by the end of the day, both trenches for the two new walls had been excavated and the concrete for the foundations had been poured - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. Elsewhere, final ballasting of the extension continued and the painters were busy with the new platform lights, Ground Frame and EVR Bridge No. 2 which is now resplendent in black gloss - a photo of the latter has been added to the new album on the Trackwork page. Inside the building, a couple of the lads from West Coast Railways at Carnforth were on site assisting with the overhaul of the Peckett - the major task yesterday was to bolt down the saddletank - a specialist job for John who is one of the few folk who can actually get inside the tank! Finally, Paul Paxton from the BBC was on site filming for his 'North Country' series which appears on BBC 'Look North' on a Wednesday evening - we understand it will be screened in approx. 3-4 weeks.

The last 3 days have seen some wild weather at KSE with tremendous gales yesterday in particular. As a result, much of the work has taken place indoors although there was some progress with the S&T by EVR Bridge No.2 on Sunday. Inside the building, the last section of flagstones on the 'Darlington' platform was completed, the new Ground Frame has received another coat of paint and further work to replace all the fittings on the Peckett has taken place. Hopefully the weather will be a bit calmer later in the week so that we can continue to progress the platform extension.

Yesterday (18th) saw the volunteers and our contractors busy with a number of projects. Work has begun to rebuild the stone-facing on the external section of the Tebay / Penrith platform - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. The handrails and supporting timberwork of the recently installed 'Limited Clearance' signs on EVR Bridge No. 2 received a coat of fresh paint and are now ready for the black gloss - a photo has been added to the new album on the Trackwork page. Elsewhere, the S&T gang were busy, there was further ballasting of the extension to the passenger-carrying line and painting of the components of the recently delivered Ground Frame also took place. Finally, we had a successful visit from the Railway Inspectorate and our 'Independent Competent Person' (ICP) to assess both our Safety Management System and the physical / operational components of our railway.  

The last few days have seen progress with a number of projects at KSE. On Friday, the 60' panel of track at the western end of the Tebay / Penrith trainshed was completed - hopefully it will not be too long now before this section of trackwork is connected to the rest of the layout. On Saturday (14th), one of our contractors completed the short length of stone wall and further work was undertaken on the new section of platform - a couple of photos have been aded to the album on the Door / Platform page. Inside the building, the fireplace was fitted in the Station Master's Office and more components were replaced on the Peckett. Yesterday (15th), saw excellent progress with the S&T - a number of volunteers were busy painting components of the new Ground Frame whilst others were hard at work on the installation betwen Point Nos. 1 & 2. A report and photo have been added to the Signalling & Track and Trackwork pages respectively.

Yesterday (11th) saw construction of the last section of breeze block wall linking the new, with the old, section of platform. In addition, another of our contractors was busy building up the tapered stone wall section of the old platform to the height of the new platform which is regarded by the Railway Inspectorate as a 'new build', rather than having any form of 'Grandfather's Rights' - a couple of photos have been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. In addition, good progress was also made in the western end of the Tebay / Penrith trackwell - at the end of the day, all the sleepers were in position and two 60' rails were ready to lifted into the chairs - a photo has been added to the 'Station Restoration' album on the KSE Station page. 

Last Saturday (7th) saw the volunteers put the finishing touches to the work of raising the edging stones on the 'Darlington' platform - this job is now complete. We also played host to a group of 30 walkers who were covering the Ravenstonedale to Hartley area - many enjoyed a cup of tea, soup and a 'toasty' in the Buffet Car which did an excellent trade. On Sunday, the 4 Lever Ground Frame which will operate Point Nos. 1 & 2 arrived from Loughborough courtesy of Ian Alison - many thanks Ian - hopefully it will be put to good use shortly. Yesterday (9th), work continued on both the Peckett and preparing the shop for the forthcoming summer season. Finally, we are delighted to announce that we have received a grant of £1,319 from Eden District Council's 'Community Fund' - we are most grateful to them for their support. The funds will be spent on granite ballast and 'stepped' fishplates for the passenger-carrying line.   

More good progress with the platform extension yesterday - one of the last sections of wall, constructed to link the 'new with the old', was completed - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. In addition, the volunteers finished levelling the recently excavated western end of the Tebay / Penrith trackwell - this is now ready for track-laying to commence. Finally, after much thought, we have decided, given our other commitments this year and, with all the building work that is currently underway on site, to cancel the 'Steam Gathering' planned for Sunday 19th June. We feel that this is the best decision in order to be fair to both the engine owners and visitors alike - however, we fully intend that the event will return in 2012.  

The glorious sunshine comtinues at KSE! On Saturday (30th), we had our first attempt at using a 'dogfish' wagon and the 'Yorkshire Engine' to ballast the passenger line extension - this went very well and is obviously much quicker than the manual method we have used previously. We now await the delivery of some more granite so that we can complete the job. Sunday saw the S&T gang hard at work installing the Facing Point Lock and associated cranks etc to Point No.1 adjacent to Eden Valley Bridge No. 2 - a report and photo have been added to the Signalling & Track page and the new album on the Trackwork page respectively. Yesterday, our contractors were busy preparing the foundations at the eastern end of the main platform extension where it will ultimately link up with the existing structure - this week we hope to construct the final sections of new wall. In addition, the volunteers were also busy finishing off the new door by glossing various previously inaccessible areas.

Finally, the April draw for the monthly '200 Club' has been made and the winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize £15 Number 63 Mr. GN Barlow

2nd Prize £10 Number 20 Bill Watkin

3rd Prize £5 Number 11 Derek Thompson 

April

A new album containing some photos of the recent 'Classic Commercial Vehicle Rally' has been added to the Easter Rally page. We hope to have further photos shortly. 

Excellent progress yesterday (27th) with the main platform extension - much of the basic structure is now complete and ready for the flagstones etc to be fitted - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. 

A very hot and hectic few days at the East station. On Friday (22nd), the volunteers were busy with the main platform extension - we have now started to make up the main concrete deck which, ultimately, will be covered with flagstones and tarmac - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. On Saturday / Sunday, we played host as one of the sites for the 13th Annual Classic Commercial Vehicle Rally - this was hugely successful with 2500 visitors to KSE over the two days and record takings despite the recession - many thanks to all who came to support the event and we look forward to seeing you again next year. Yesterday (25th), efforts began in earnest to replace all the fittings on the Peckett and good progress was made.

We are delighted to announce that yesterday (20th), we received further sponsorship for the 'Stainmore 150' celebrations planned for this summer - T.N. Hodgson & Sons of Kirkby Stephen have generously contributed £500 towards the event - we are most grateful to them for their support. In addition, we are pleased to report that our 'Stainmore Summit Sign Appeal' has now reached the point at which we can start cutting metal and we hope to have some photos of the initial stages of the work shortly. On site yesterday, our contractors were busy rendering the walls of the main platform extension (and are continuing to do so today), there was further progress with the flagstones on the 'Darlington' platform and we also excavated most of the foundation trenches so that we are able to construct a further, shorter extension, to the western end of the Tebay / Penrith platform.

Efforts are well underway to prepare the East station for the Classic Commercial Vehicle Rally this coming weekend - further details can be found here. Yesterday (18th) saw a major step forward in the overhaul of 2084 with the re-fitting of the cab and saddletank - a report and photo have been added to the 2084 Overhaul page. In addition, the excavation of the western end of the Tebay / Penrith trackwell was completed - measurements have shown that this needs a little more material removing to get the necessary height clearance under the Bobbin factory roof and we will then be ready for track-laying to commence. Over the weekend (16th / 17th), work continued on a number of projects - the window on the 'Darlington' side of the Station Master's Office was removed for repairs, paint was being applied to the recently arrived lamp posts for the platform extension, Graham was busy with the 'N' gauge 'Belah' model and the S&T gang were hard at work adjacent to Eden Valley Bridge No. 2. Finally, a photo has been added to the album on the Door /Platform page showing the completed walls for the main extension. 

An update on the S&T work undertaken over the last 10 days or so has been added to the Signalling & Track page along with 3 photos which have been placed in the new album on the Trackwork page. 

A distinctly cooler and wetter day yesterday, but good progress was made all the same. The two walls for the main platform extension were completed and the lamp posts for the new heritage lighting arrived from the foundry in Halifax. During the afternoon, work began on the construction of the foundations for the posts which are now ready to be cleaned up and painted before they are installed. Inside the building, excellent progress was made with the 'Darlington' platform - the full width of which is now available for the first time since Bobbin Factory days - a photo has been added to the first album on the KSE Station page. Work also continued on the Station Master's Office and one of our contractors was busy installing a new door at the eastern end of the building. Finally, further progress was made with the S&T installation adjacent to Eden Valley Bridge No. 2.

What a difference a bit of sunshine can make! A very pleasant weekend at KSE. Now that the work on the gable end / door is complete and the scaffolding has been removed, we are able to turn our attention to the Peckett once more. The boiler cladding has been finished and we hope to have the cab / saddletank back on the loco for Easter - there will then just be the fittings / pipework to replace before we are able to 'light-up' once more. With the warmer weather and lighter nights, Saturday saw some of the volunteers undertaking some tidying-up work on site, whilst yesterday, the S&T folk were busy working adjacent to Point No. 1.

Wednesday (6th) saw further progress with the platform extension - we estimate that there is just one days work left to complete the two walls - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. There was also some minor 'tweaking' of the new door which is now running smoothly and one of our contractors also delivered the new timber door for the eastern end of the 'Darlington' trainshed - this was treated with knotting solution and primer. We have recently launched an appeal to construct an exact replica of one of the 'Stainmore Summit' signs as part of the 'Stainmore 150' celebrations - please support this if you can - details can be found here. Finally, the latest Newsletter has arrived from the printer and is in the post to all our regular subscribers. It can also be purchase from the shop at KSE, various outlets in Kirkby Stephen etc.

Another busy week at KSE. Last Wednesday (30th March), the scaffolding surrounding the gable end / new door was removed as the work (both inside & outside the building) is now essentially complete - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. In addition, progress with the construction of the walls for the platform extension has been such that, weather permitting, it is intended to see them finished this week! Excavation of the western end of the Tebay / Penrith trackwell is almost complete and last weekend (2nd / 3rd April) saw more work on the flagstones inside the 'Darlington' platform - again, we hope to have this job pretty much finished in the next few days. The Peckett overhaul has now recommenced and the lamps for the heritage lights which will be installed on the platform extension have now arrived from 'Metro Electric' - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. Some more ballasting of one of the standing lines has taken place and the S&T team has been busy laying out the point rodding and roller frame stools that will control Point Nos. 1 & 2.

Over on the 'Stainmore 150' event web site we have added a page giving some information about the appeal we are making for funds for the Stainmore Sign replica. 

Finally, the March draw for the monthly '200 Club' has been made and the winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize £15 Number 9 Derek Thompson

2nd Prize £10 Number 58 Rob Murray

3rd Prize £5 Number 38 Ken Ball

March

An excellent weekend (26th / 27th) with the volunteers efforts firmly focused on excavating the western end of the Tebay / Penrith trackwell. Great progress was made despite coming across both the loading ramp and loading bay wall which were put in by the previous owners when the building was in use as a Bobbin Factory - the job is now approx. three quarters finished and it will be great to see track being laid inside this section of the trainshed in the not too distant future. The latest Newsletter is now with our printer and we hope to have it in the post to all our regular subscribers shortly.  

At last, clear blue skies and some warmth in the sun at KSE! An excellent days work yesterday (23rd) - tremendous progress was made with both the platform extension and relaying the flagstones in the 'Darlington' platform - photos have been added to the albums on the Door / Platform and KSE Station pages respectively. In addition, preparations were being made in readiness for digging out the western end of the Tebay / Penrith trackwell, one of our Contractors was 'fine-tuning' the new door in readiness for the removal of the scaffolding and a number of small jobs were undertaken as part of the requirements of our Safety Management System. Finally, we have revamped the layout of the website - hope you like it.

Today (22nd), we have launched our new 'on-line' shop which can be found here. We intend to add a range of specially commissioned 'Stainmore 150' products shortly.

It was almost 'spring-like' at KSE on Saturday (19th) - the volunteers took advantage of the weather and made excellent progress with the platform extension - the second wall is now starting to take shape as approx. 300 blocks were laid in the day - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. Saturday also saw the last few bits of painting completed on the Gable End, new timber doors and the first section of the roof before the scaffolding is dismantled which we hope will take place this coming week. Yesterday, the S&T gang were busy with Point No.2 - excellent progress was made - a photo has been added to the album on the Trackwork page. Elsewhere this weekend, other jobs have included some upgrading work on the Ladies Toilets, further progress in getting the Shop ready for Easter and more work on the Class 108 DMU. Finally, Iain Robinson, the webmaster of our 'Stainmore 150' site has set up a 'Stainmore 150' blog which can be found here - this will contain all sorts of bits and pieces of news that may not appear on the main site.

The volunteers made good progress on site yesterday (16th) - the first wall of the platform extension continues to rise from the foundations - a photo has been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. In addition, further work was undertaken on the Gable End and there is now probably just one more day required to finish the job - the scaffolding can then come down. Another half a dozen or so flagstones were replaced on the 'Darlington' platform - this project is also proceding steadily and is on course for completion in time for the Easter Rally - a further photo has been added to the first album on the KSE Station page.

Yesterday (13th) saw the 'Yorkshire Engine' running with some of the Dogfish wagons up and down the passenger line extension for a good part of the day to 'bed-down' the trackwork - we are now ready to complete the ballasting on this section. Volunteers were also busy moving blocks into position so that our contractor can continue with the platform extension this coming week, the S&T gang were active, progress continued with the Station Master's Office and we were also getting the shop ready for the Classic Commercial Vehicle Rally at Easter which is fast approaching! The weekend also saw numerous smaller 'housekeeping' jobs undertaken to keep the site as tidy as possible with all the construction work on going.

Firstly, apologies for the lack of updates over the last week or so - we have had some computer problems to deal with.The excellent news is that we have been awarded a grant of £33,400 by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) towards our planned 'Stainmore 150' celebrations this summer - we are hugely grateful to the HLF for their support. On site, the volunteers have been as busy as ever - the foudations for the platform extension have been poured and work has commenced on constructing the walls. In addition, further ballasting has taken place, the S&T team have been busy working adjacent to Point No.1 and on the 'Diesel siding', painting of the gable end is now almost complete and additional work on the flagstones in the 'Darlington' platform has also been undertaken. This weekend, our Sales Stand will be at 'Scout Rail' Model Railway Show in Settle on Saturday (12th) - please come along and support the event if you can.

A very busy weekend (26th / 27th) at the East station. On Saturday, the volunteers were busy with a mini-digger and dumper excavating the two trenches that will form the foundations for the new walls of the platform extension - a couple of photos have been added to the album on the Door / Platform page. The track gang were busy starting to ballast the siding where the 'Works Train' is currently stabled - a photo has been added to the new album on the Trackwork page. In addition, the breeze block external wall at the western end of the Tebay / Penrith platform was removed and the new doors were fitted. Inside the building, progress continued with painting the gable end / roof and raising the platform edge in the 'Darlington' trainshed - a couple of photos have been added to the first album on the KSE Station page. On Sunday, there was further progress with the S&T installation - an update has been added to the Signalling & Track page. Finally, the February draw for the monthly '200 Club' has been made and the winning numbers and prizes are:

1st Prize £15 Number 13 Derek Thompson

2nd Prize £10 Number 55 Andrew Metcalfe

3rd Prize £5 Number 31 Mrs Maureen Wilson