It stayed overcast throughout, with a light breeze and frequent drizzly showers drifting across the site. Only a small team was in, but even so we kept several jobs moving while waiting for the day’s deliveries which turned out to be rather special ones.
Work began with preliminary fabrication of the new coupling pins for the now restored Dough wagon, while shaping and sanding continued on the second end panel for the Wickham trolley. Stripping the old paint from Tinkabell carried on steadily, and the Wickham dashboard and end framing received their first green gloss topcoat. One face of the second Wickham end panel was undercoated, and a first green topcoat went onto the other. A tidy‑up session in the main workshop cleared one of the benches, making space for the next round of tasks.
But the real excitement came in on a large truck!
Just before 11am, the first lorry rolled in carrying two new arrivals: a 1984 Bishopton‑built Hunslet, number 15 one of only two of its type; and a compact Belgian Moes diesel locomotive from an old brick works and built just after the Second World War. Both were unloaded carefully, admired thoroughly, and covered up for safekeeping.
Then, at 3.30pm, the lorry returned with another pair of treasures: Bishopton Hunslet number 5, a twin to the existing Chris H called Betsy and now stored on behalf of a fellow collector, plus a Robert Hudson‑built RNAD Dean Hill wagon. With that wagon, the full set of RNAD manufacturers is now represented on site. A collection milestone. The delivery also included spare Bishopton wheelsets and axleboxes — always welcome additions.
By the time everything was unloaded, positioned, covered, and the yard secured, it was edging towards five o’clock. A day of steady workshop progress transformed into one filled with rare locomotives, new projects, and plenty of excitement.
Big thanks and shout out to ELP Transport who were excellent today.
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