Daresbury Gazette

Latest update: 19th December 2021

EXTRA EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Deviation Completed & Track Now Open, Merry Christmas! – December 2021 Edition – Daresbury Gazette

Christmas has arrived early at Daresbury with the opening of the New Track Deviation, more on that below after some earlier updates from throughout the year.

Tom here for the last update of 2021, and there has been much activity at the track whilst covid rates were low through the Summer and Autumn months and as we headed into Winter.

 

It has been great to see many members at the church hall for our monthly meetings and guest speakers – lets hope Boris allows these to continue into 2022!

The club also held an AGM in October (which was originally delayed due to covid), and various topics were discussed and voted upon – the minutes of which (including committee meeting minutes) shall be available soon on the website.

In other news, some members have departed from the committee, and I myself have now been accepted and onboarded onto the committee – so that I can serve the club better with more frequent updates online.

 

The Cheshire Steam Fair 2021 was a very different affair for 2021 due to covid restrictions and no passenger running, but despite the pandemic the club still put on a really good show of engines with various traction’s of steam and diesel/electric and gauges – you can see the photos in the gallery here and also a video we live streamed on our Facebook page

Before we closed the track for the final stretch to be laid and connected for The Track Deviation completion, Barrie injected some excitement into the club during October – “nope it wasn’t another covid jab”, but the eagerly await Night Run 8 for 2021! Due to covid this was postponed back in 2020 – another great night with plenty of tea and cake, some new faces and new engines too – you can see the photos in the gallery also.

 

Jake also won Northern Association of Young Engineers 2021 in First Place – congratulations! I think we have had many a young member win from our club previously, including Amy in 2004 and Ben in 2008!

 

And now for the main event, what we’ve all been waiting for to end on a high for 2021 – The Track Deviation is now completed, allowing for our Daresbury track to reopen to members!

>> You can read the full Deviation Report from Dave here – and you can find the previous reports also!

You can see the gallery of the Deviation last year Winter 2020-2021 and also the latest gallery of the Deviation works this year to completion in 2021

To recap:- During the lockdown a start was made by a group of members to deviate the track from its route over the first bridge and round the water tank. The purpose of the deviation is to make a more direct transition on to the new extension.

Craig, Dave, Paul, ‘The Barries’, John, Bob (with the gallons of tea served) and many more members from our brilliant club have put an amazing amount of time and effort into making the Track Deviation happen over the past 2 years from planning to what we now have today. Im sure as members we are all very grateful and can’t wait to use the track once more – not to mention the many visitors who may want to try it also next year!

The last screw into the track on the Track Deviation was inserted by the 21st November, edging ever closer to being able to test!

Even as the snow came down towards the end of November, the track team were working through the cold weather; the Deviation was now ready for testing!

Early December The first test train on the Deviation was John’s Hymek (diesel electric) followed by the first steam train being Paul’s Duchess.

The following weekend, more engines of various sizes were tested and all of the club’s passenger vehicles were hauled around the track, and we are happy to report that following some minor adjustments in certain locations – all passed the clearance tests.

On the new Track Deviation section, there were three slightly loose track beam tie-down bolts and one missing beam packing (5mm, blue packer). These were all corrected.

Everything regarding the Track Deviation appeared to be in excellent functioning order, but a note to be aware of is a slightly loose pillar top at 495. This does not constitute a risk, but will at some convenient time next year require to be fixed in-place properly. Thank you to Craig and Dave for the details.

>> You can read the full Track Deviation Report from Dave here – and you can find the previous reports also!

 

You should note the proposal in the last Track Deviation report for what could be the next stage of the Track Deviation and our beautiful track – a new “Steam Fair Station” with improved visibility, access to passengers and a downhill start – something to think about for 2022 or 2023 to help recover from no passenger hauling during 2020 and 2021, its worth a thought or two indeed!

 

Some of the signalling equipment is undergoing repairs by Duncan and Patrick, please be careful when running at the track – we hope to report that they are fixed in the new year.

 

For the latest updates and bulletins with regards to running your locomotive at the track, we advise all members to join our WhatsApp group on your smartphone device – Please email myself or the Secretary for more details on how to join.

 

Merry Christmas to all and we wish you a healthy and prosperous 2022

 

Tom Taylor

 


Other related Daresbury Gazette articles:



<< Back to Daresbury Gazette

Daresbury Gazette Xtra

Read more Trackside Reports from the Daresbury Gazette Xtra… >>

Latest WDMES Committee Minutes

Are available at the club house – please contact the secretary for more information

Popular tags across the Daresbury Gazette

More recent articles from the Daresbury Gazette

A Varied Steam Fair Experience for 2021 – June Edition – Daresbury Gazette

Well after 16 months of Covid restrictions there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel! (excuse the pun!) It's been a long, very frustrating time especially as we are all getting longer in the tooth. Never in our lifetime have we experienced such restrictions on our hobby. BUT it will all be over within the next couple of weeks and we can start to get back to some sort of normality. During the lockdown a start was made by a group of members to deviate the track from it's route over the first bridge and round the water tank. The purpose of the deviation is to make a more direct transition on to the new extension however not all of us were in favour as the beauty of the meandering track demands more control of your engine and more akin to a branch line working instead of ...
Read More of this article

Happy New Year – Access Update – March 2021 Edition – Daresbury Gazette

Happy New Year Dear Members, We trust the start to 2021 has been good to you with plenty of time in the workshop during the cold Winter Months. Now with Spring almost upon us, the good news that the track is now reopen (limited availability, please read on for details) and the deviation work continues at pace is hopefully a good omen for 2021! As it appears unlikely that we can have an AGM for some time, your committee have been communicating via email and hope to meet soon (virtual or in person depending on restrictions) to sort out various matters for the club - if you have any concerns please email your committee members. COVID-19 - Track REOPEN - Limited Access - Latest Guidelines The track will now reopen to 2 members from different households as from 9th March and to groups following previous "Rule of 6" from 29th ...
Read More of this article

Seasons Greetings – COVID-19 and The Deviation Update – December Edition – Daresbury Gazette

Seasons Greetings Dear Members, In this season of goodwill to all and in this strangest of Christmas celebrations, cherish the "get together" with your loved ones and keep safe and healthy and raise a glass of something to warm the "cockles of your heart". I hope that the New Year will be one to look forward to with a proper reopening of the track and a resumption of meetings with Natter nights and Speakers and AGM's when we are allowed to meet again normally. I wish everyone a very Festive Christmas and an optimistic and happy New Year. COVID-19 - Temporary Track Closure from Boxing Day Following the news that Cheshire West, Halton and Warrington will be in Tier 3 from Boxing Day (and some areas now Tier 4), we will have to close the track from 26th December 2020 until further notice. However, limited access to the site for ...
Read More of this article

Track Temporary Closure and The Deviation Update – November Edition – Daresbury Gazette

Dear Members, The Club Track at Daresbury is temporarily closed until December 3rd.following the latest government announcements. However, limited access to the site for maintenance or security purposes may continue if the following rules are applied:
  1. One member working alone
  2. Two or more members from the same household (or support Bubble) working together
  3. A pair of members not from the same household
This does not have to be the same pairing on each occasion and social distancing must be maintained and track and trace register completed in the clubhouse. (Do not enter clubhouse for any other purpose) If undertaking maintenance work please arrange between yourselves. Please use common sense if more than one pair turn up as there will not be an online booking system available during this lockdown. You will need someone who has all the security codes for the gates and the containers and if you ...
Read More of this article

*NEWS FLASH! New Winner Announced for ‘How far round on less than a pound’ Challenge – Read here!*

 

More Daresbury Gazette articles in the Archive

2020 Daresbury Gazette
2019 Daresbury Gazette
2018 Daresbury Gazette
2017 Daresbury Gazette
2016 Daresbury Gazette
2015 Daresbury Gazette
2014 Daresbury Gazette
2013 Daresbury Gazette

  • Archives

    WDMES Social