News

A new overall roof has been built covering both inspection pit roads at Beckfoot Engine Shed. Beckfoot shed can now provide covered accommodation for up to four locomotives.

New mining loco No.6 was taken out of traffic again following early in-service tests commencing on 23rd March 2021.

Further design modifications and additions were carried out in the works:

Despite having to run with a temporary power control wheel, brand new battery electric mining locomotive No.6 was released to traffic today from Low End Works.

The locomotive's very first outing was a test run from Beckfoot Shed to Swallowdale Shed and back.

Production at Low End Works is now held up due to Brexit border delays!

Loco No.6 is nearing completion but cannot be released to traffic until a proper power control handle has been installed on the driver's control panel.

Work on assembling the power control circuits for new battery loco No.6 has commenced.

Electrical components were supplied by Essel Engineering Ltd along with a very good wiring diagram. The components are:

The 1mm thick steel sub-frames have been ditched in favour of 2mm thick steel. This is intended to enhance adhesion when the loco goes mountain climbing!

The loco frame was drilled with 3mm bit to create mounting holes for the footplate brackets. These will be screwed to the frame with 6BA brass bolts and the holes in the brackets may need to be oversized to allow clearance.

Progress on new loco No.6. An iterative process of design development has been undertaken to produce a satisfactory design for the cab.

The experimental discarded patterns in card can be seen in the photos.

Problems with running in snowy conditions have been solved by using No.3 Mate Susan in place of the booked duty loco No.4 Capt John.

Susan is externally fired and so her wheels get hotter than John's! This greatly assists adhesion on icy rails.

An iterative process of successive 3D drawings (patterns) has led to the fabrication in steel of the cab and roof for new locomotive No.6.

Low End Works can report good progress on the design and building of brand new battery mining loco No.6.

At this stage the loco footplate and roof profile have been finalised and manufactured from sheet steel, whilst the cab is still in the 3D drawing stage.

On the afternoon of 8th February 2021 modest snow appeared to be no barrier to operating the Monday train services (freight and passenger).

The so-called Beast from the Baltic has arrived and the SdR route is already under a modest layer of fresh snow. But more appears to be on the way.

Work has now begun in Low End Works on the design and construction of brand new battery locomotive No.6, which is provisionally to be named DOT.

Battery-electric mining locomotive No.5 JACKY has now completed rebuild in Low End Works and returned to service on the SdR. Modifications completed are:

SdR engine No.2 BOY ROGER has been pressed into weekday service temporarily while electric loco No.5 JACKY is in Low End Works for rebuild and modifications.

Loco No.5 JACKY is now ready for paint shop having had new battery box and associated mountings fitted along with modified bodywork covering the electrical equipment control cubicle in front of the cab.

New battery box mountings have been designed and manufactured for No.5 being rebuilt and also for No.6 which will soon  be under construction as a new-build locomotive.

SADMC battery mining loco No.5 JACKY is now in the workshops at Low End for another rebuilding project. This time it has been decided to remove the cooling fan motor from the control cubicle as it is not really needed and uses a lot of battery power.

No.2 Boy Roger has now returned to traffic following a major rebuilding project. This consisted of the following completed works:

A new copper fuel line was supplied by Forest Classics and this was fitted into the existing Bix butane burner assembly in the firebox.

No.2 Boy Roger continues to undergo major rebuilding in Low End Works. Recent work included making and fitting cab access steps.

These required holes to be drilled in the cab floor to take the fixings.

Progress is being made on the new cab for Roger.

It was found that the doorways would need to be extended right up to roof level in order that a 16mm scale driver would be able to get in and out without bashing his bonce.

Cardboard patterns for a new cab for Roger have been made and finalised. Then the finished pattern was then flattened out and placed onto a sheet of steel, marked round in ink lining pen, and then the steel was cut to shape.

All-round footplate has now been fitted to Roger in Low End Works.

Cardboard templates have been made for the new all-round steel foot-plating being made for loco No.2. Once finalised the templates will be used to mark out the sheet steel for cutting.

No.2 Boy Roger is back in Low End Works for a major rebuilding project. The loco will have the following new features added:

The Sunday service train on 22nd November was operated by loco No.2 Boy Roger as an experiment to see whether the little Mamods are capable of hauling the new and heavy Mk2 steel coaches. The service was run as a single coach train using coach 206.

On Saturday 21st November Loco No.2 Boy Roger was put on blocks and run up on test. The engine recently underwent repairs to the fuel tank and adjustments were made to the gas burner.

It's that time of year again when autumn leaves cause a hazard to trains on the Swallowdale Railway. A clean sweep has to be made manually before the services can run, and drivers have to remain vigilant....!

Engine No.3 Mate Susan made a short visit to Low End Works recently for minor modifications: