Yesterday was the Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway New Year Steam Up.

It was a great opportunity to get a ride on a train on a lovely sunny day and smell that delicious odour of steam, oil and smoke 🙂

Three locos were rostered:

• No.8 ‘Helga’ a 0-4-0 O&K well tank from 1936
• No. 6 ‘Eigiau’ a slighlty older O&K 0-4-0 well tank from 1912
• No. 5 ‘Bredgar’ a 0-4-0 Baguley-Drewry diesel loco

The line is a lovely ride, mostly through woodland… Click on a photo for a larger image.

The engine shed was open and there was a really interesting talk about the history of the line, and the operation and maintenance of the collection.

Running the line is not an easy undertaking. Every year each steam locomotive must be certified and this costs around £3000 per loco. Every 10 years each loco must have a more extensive overhaul and certification and this costs around £30,000. The B&WLR has 7 steam locos !

I really enjoy seeing loco sheds in their ‘as is’ state and I found the talk and the visit very interesting. Click on a photo for a larger image.

Inside the shed was a really super LBG model railway layout. It was really enjoyable to watch… Click on a photo for a larger image.

The collection includes all sorts of other vehicles. Click on a photo for a larger image.

The oldest item in the collection is this Victorian beam engine built in 1870 by Thomas Horn of Westminster. It operated in Ashford, Kent from 1870 to about 1950.

Here’s a short video of the pump operating….

In this video you can see the water being pumped.

I had a really enjoyable day out at the BWLR. Many thanks to all of the volunteers for running such a super event in the depths of winter.

The BWLR has a full series of events throughout the year and it’s well worth visiting !