Easter Monday operations at Valkenburg

[tedp]

A few moments ago I published a video taken last Monday, of a normal operating day at the Valkenburg museum. Including a few surprises. Have fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaLefj9lIVY

Easter Monday was one of the first normal operating days on the Valkenburg narrow gauge line. Steam loco 4 (O&K) was in service, and two men were running back and forth with the small Diema no. 10 and two skips.

00:10 - running back and forth with the small Diema and two skips
01:40 - arrival of the steam train
03:30 - shunting in the station
06:30 - the new diesel shed
08:20 - the traverser in front of the new diesel shed
08:40 - a battery platform trolley
11:30 - derailed on an out-of-gauge point (73cms gauge instead of 70)
12:15 - the Diema in close-up
13:25 - the steam loco backs on to the train
15:30 - departure of the steam train

[MickT]

The new shed looks very impressive Ted. The changes to the museum lines over recent years have been quite significant.

Mick

[Krizzy]

Ted, thanks for sharing your video. Nice to see straight forward common sense to get the battery trolley back on the rails quickly without any fuss. Over here all stock movement would be stopped with all sorts of 'official' inquiries, investigations etc.

Roger

[tedp]

I'm not sure about health and safety regulations in these parts, but they probably are equally strict. However this wasn't a passenger service train - the battery trolley is really only a works vehicle. The driver took his family for a short run in the station and no eggs were broken as you can see! A derailment on a service train, depending on the consequences, would have been dealt with in quite a different way.

Having been jolted awake by your comments, I took the video off the public list. It can only be accessed now by someone who has the link.

We have two of these trolleys and they are used to carry round all kinds of equipment in the station yard - like two charged batteries. The problem is they have very narrow wheel treads compared to the other stock, as they came from a market garden system with very light track. Rather like the Corris engine that liked the ballast when it was first put to work on the Talyllyn. The point the trolley dropped into proved to be severely out of gauge - 73cms instead of 70cms. It's one of the old ones due for replacement.

We are increasingly having trouble with the old portable contractor's track and points that came from the original 70cm gauge system on the coast. An intensive programme of track replacement is almost completed on the main line, using much heavier rail and standard gauge sleepers sawn in half, as seen along the station building and the engine shed.

The only stretch remaining is about half of the short extension to the storage shed at the top end. This has now been closed to steam locos as it is sagging badly. On busy opening days we run a shuttle using a light diesel and 'flying benches' converted from skip chassis. Rather like a fairground train! You can guess what the next track replacement project will be.

[MickT]

Having been jolted awake by your comments, I took the video off the public list. It can only be accessed now by someone who has the link.

Sorry to have caused you to worry about this Ted. I don't think you need to remove the video, as I'm sure it doesn't run any risk of being seen to infringe any regulations.  I have removed the comment in my posting about H&S in the UK anyway, made in jest.

Mick

[tedp]

Well - perhaps it isn't good publicity for the museum if I left it on the public list with the derailment shown.  ;)