Volunteer Coronavirus Working arrangements_1_issued 17 05 20

               
                  Volunteer Coronavirus Working arrangements_No.1_issued 17 05 20


This document is issued by Peter Robinson on behalf of the Trustees setting out the first guidance to volunteers who feel able to restart operations at the museum.

Fundraising by Essex Lottery and direct on-line donations.

THE ESSEX LOTTERY fundraising for good causes.

The East Anglian Railway Museum has joined the Essex Lottery's list of good causes and we are appealing to you to buy as many tickets as you feel able to and support our much valued museum and restoration work.  You could win cash prizes up to £25,000 in the weekly draw so please go to: www.essexlottery.co.uk and search 'Railway Museum' to buy your tickets.  Good Luck!

 

Coronavirus or not, and can continue with this forever if we choose to. Take up was swift at launch, but the fundraising should continue.  Friends and supporters, encouraging them to buy as many lottery tickets as they feel able to and support the museum.

                                     Another method of support is Direct on-line donations

If you prefer not to gamble then in parallel a direct fund raising method to the museum is also available. Cash donations   are eligible for Gift Aid and a 25% boost from government. These are available online in various donation amounts £1 / £10 /£20 / and £50 units are promoted on the earm.co.uk web site. These payment transactions are then processed by through museum’s Merlin till system

If you can share this on social media channels that wopuld help get more support - this will only work if museum members get on board and mobilise themselves into action. Please spread the word.

Jubilee’s Cambridgeshire hide-away, and its Vintage coach partner

Jubilee’s Cambridgeshire hide-away, and its Vintage coach partner

 

Jubilee was one of the four locomotives in steam forming part of the Steam Gala line up,  it may be our smallest is but arguably our longest serving locomotive. Its movement was watched for the first time at Chappel, by its former owner Gerald Flueuss. Contact was made by Jack Cavie, who was researching photographs of the locomotive in service. Found by the powers of the ‘net, Gerald’s contact details were found so an invitation was made and accepted. Accompanied by his friend Tony Keeble travelled from East Sussex, to our Steam Gala day on March 15^th.

“Jubilee” was ordered by Edward Lloyd's in 1936, delivered and named in 1937 which was the silver jubilee (25th Anniversary) year of King George V. it was employed on a short length of standard gauge sidings between the Southern Railway branch to Sheerness and the Kemsley Paper works in Kent which at this time was the major newsprint paper manufacturer in the country. This loco’s duties included shunting paper bales and newsprint rolls, the product of the paper works. As originally built it also had sliding glass doors on the cab and smoke stack spark arresting equipment – a precaution required working with so much paper nearby, these have now been removed. It served all its working life at that singular location until the end of steam traction in 1970. It was said that the former driver was almost in tears, and said the boiler was “tight as a drum “– look after it -   as it was sold into preservation. Bought for £400 by Gerald, it was taken to the self-styled “South Cambridgeshire Steam Centre” at New Buildings Farm, Great Chishill.

At that location Agricultural contractor, and steam traction engine enthusiast Robert Drage, tried to set up a public steam museum. Being in a rural location, planning rules and opposition led to the abandonment of that plan.  As a result Gerald decided to sell up in 1976; it was a result of the intervention of Reg Robinson that this locomotive came to Chappel in October 1976, together with the components of No.11 in its unassembled state.

 

 

Gerald then developed his other interests, notabally  more closely associated with design and calligraphy – with specialist knowledge of the Edward Johnston – or London Transport’s typescript. His steam passion was directed to painting , as a talented artist, depicting steam in its last grimy, but atmospheric years of British steam, much as David Shepherd did.

Jubilee is drawn here in oils with the sliding doors on the side which was its original feature Ridham Dock

A train consist at New buildings Farm showing Jubilee hauling vintage 6 wheeler MS&L Coach 946 of 1888.

Jubilee had subsequent modifications in preservation included adding vacuum train brakes to make it safely compatible with passenger trains. For many years was the most regular use locomotive here at Chappel. It has now spent 44 years in preservation, so has spent more time in preservation than in industry.

Jubilee at the moment has the longest boiler certificate to towards the end of this year, therefore likely to be used in the smaller events after the colour of the van this outbreak is lifted

Also visiting that day was Tony Keeble who is a vintage carriage restorer and now a Trustee working for the Great Central Rolling stock Trust. Tony was born into a family of railway people over three generations and employed lastly at Cambridge on railway commercial works. He purchased a Great Central six wheeler coach. (MS&L 946 of 1888). .  This has local connections – Taken to Takeley for a while it also on it’s transport  away from Manningtree  (Former Camping Coach CC15 where it was purchased for £50) – got stuck in Halstead, which over the years has happened to many stock transfers! This coach has subsequently been restored over a 15 year period at the Ruddington base of the GCR(North) group.

I recommend a read of the group’s web site – and an account about vintage carriage restoration that has relevance to us at EARM too

https://gcr-rollingstocktrust.co.uk/

https://gcr-rollingstocktrust.co.uk.gridhosted.co.uk/our-projects/vehicles/m-s-l-no-946/

There is a download link to a pdf detailing the 15 year restoration scheme ( ) and I have to be a bit jealous – a photo of a Simplex locomotive propelling this vintage coach.  

 

 

 

Tony Keeble (L) and Gerald Fleuss (R) pictured in the General Waiting room, both enjoyed a ride in our Vintage stock, for coaches Number 553 & 19 where in service on the day, so we now know a little more of our own history

 

 

 

 

 

Wickham Bishops, it’s a magical model layout

Wickham Bishops, it’s a magical model layout.

Model of  a Waggon and Maschinenbau diesel railbus E99963 working on the Witham to Maldon branch line

Located on the former Witham to Maldon branch line, Wickham Bishops was one of two intermediate stations  located in the River Blackwater valley, one of the stations serving a village that was rather distant - about a mile and a half mile away up a steep hill. Always likely to be a lonely spot as a result, a single platform served passengers in the locality for 116 years. Unusually the platform was accessed after first crossing a railway track, this being a siding serving the station and nearby water mill. 

Its significance for the museum is high, as the Waggon and Maschinenbau diesel railbus worked rail services from 1958 to its closure in 1964.

Trumping that - there is also national significance in as the adjacent wooden trestle bridge is the sole survivor in this country of that type of structure.  While Wickham Bishops is small in stature, monster bridges were instrumental in the development of railways, especially transcontinental railways in North America. It was the engineer’s “daring do attitude" that got early railway built, using available materials to build relatively quickly and cheaply, as did the original  Maldon, Witham and Braintree railway. 

Len Wilkinson a local resident, railway author, and talented model maker, constructed his model which is 18 feet long and was housed in his garage at home in the village. It has been since donated by his family to the museum.

Len Wilkinson demonstrating his layout at home 

Pictured here we see Len viewing the layout; the trestle was faithfully recorded by Len who was a Draughtsman and Senior Designer at Marconi who obviously had an eye for detail. The structure is modelled in EM gauge the real thing was originally 130 yards long, but an embankment was placed in the middle section as an aid to reducing vibrations. Only light locomotives like F5 and J15 steam engines and Class 15 diesels where allowed on the branch as a result. Today 21 spans are still extant, a photo shows the span easily reached by from a footpath,  it is also a reminder of hot summers for in 2015 water had retreated to just a muddy pool in places

A scheduled Ancient Monument, the Wickham Bishops trestle seen in 2015 with a very dry river bed

Len's attention to detail included taking measurements himself of the trestle and all structures modelled, made to EM 1:76 scale. His published book "The Witham to Maldon Railway" A pictorial history shows his scaled drawings of the Trestle bridge 

Because of their diminutive properties, railbuses seemed to match a small country branch line, stories about being push started by passengers and staff on occasion, unscheduled stops to drop off passengers, being decorated for a honeymooning couple complete with trailing tin cans, all have a “Titfield Thunderbolt” comedic quality to them. Recreation of such things are in theory still possible, but most likely precluded for 21^st century regulations put a stop to such antics. (As a playful speculation - maybe if required by a non-passenger carrying, filming opportunity)?

David Reeve is pictured here enjoying a viewing, and hearing a story about the line

In its time the branch conveyed Jams, tinned fruit and vegetables from Goldhanger Fruit farms, Agricultural machinery from Bentalls at Heybridge, Sugar Beet, Wheat , Potatoes and Brewers grains, all of which is now completely absent from the modern railway. It’s a reflection of country railway that we are trying to show at Chappel; to speculate perhaps some more agricultural props could illustrate this link?

Len’s model is marvellous, which is a link to his other interest as “Marco the Mystic”, an amateur magician. I muse if he was trying to cast a spell and re-create the scene of yesterday; in a way the museum can help him continue in that quest. An illustration has been sourced from our archives, in a British Railways staff magazine also show the station and “bus”.

The museum is grateful for the donation of this layout, it shows the skill and dedication to the study of the trestle and railway line by construction of this model . It is to be hoped it conveys the tranquil and special atmosphere of this location.