Today (11/2/14) we were featured extensively on Andy Potter’s afternoon broadcast on BBC Radio Derby.
if you missed this you can catch up on bbc.co.uk/derby and use the “listen again” feature.
The main topic was the restoration of the Spondon locomotive.
ALRS member and supporters who have not (yet) been able to volunteer for, or visit, our workshops recently may be interested to view photographs of some of the activity taking place there.
To view the photos, please follow the “gallery” link on the right hand side of this screen, which will lead you to the Flickr site.
(example)
Over the next few months this website will be profiling the locomotives currently on the stock book of the ALRS, beginning with “Spondon”, the subject of a current restoration appeal.
Details of the locomotive and its restoration appeal can be found by clicking on the link on the right hand pane of this page.
The parish council in Ashover has received a number of grants to refurbish the public toilets in Ashover village, and also decided to set up a village information point in what had been a telephone cubicle.
The ALRS expressed an interest in being involved in this venture, and the council welcomed our proposal to mount a small display about the Ashover Light Railway in the information point. We now have a map showing the former route of the railway, a link to this website and a permanent display of our publicity leaflets.
The toilets and information point were formally opened on December 18th 2013.
The illustrations below show the official opening, even Santa found time to put in an appearance!
The results of the December draw are shown below:-
1 LK of Winchester wins £38.25
2 DF of Lower Pilsley wins £22.95
3 DV of Chesterfield wins £15.30
An application form to become a member of the ALRS charity tote can be found on the membership page of this website. Just click on the link on the right hand side of this post and then follow the membership page its foot. Good luck!
Issue no 28 of “Where The Rainbow Ends”, the quarterly journal of the Ashover Light Railway Society has just been published. WTRE is produced free of charge to ALRS members, back issues can be purchased by following the links on the right hand side of this page to the sales/merchandise section.
This issue of WTRE contains a detailed report of the activities in the Sheffield workshops, an article about the influences of Colonel Stephens and the Jackson family on the railway and the Clay Cross area, a report on the continuing restoration of Ashover coach no 4 at the GVLR and finally some “new” photographs of the ALR in Clay Cross yard and Ashover Butts station.
The sales/merchandise section of this website has been revised, so that you can now download and print off our sales catalogue, all nine pages of it in full colour PDF format. If ordering items by post or email could you please ensure that you use the current version of the order form as this contains all the correct prices, reflecting the fact that some prices have recently been reduced! (You may need to clear or refresh your browser cache to ensure you get the 2013 version of the order form.)
Halloween is fast approaching. Our friends a Amerton Farm (we recently had a members’ visit there) have asked me to publicise their Halloween events. Details on the Amerton Farm website.
Similarly, I have also been asked to mention the Palace on Wheels. This is a luxury train service operating in India. Once again, consult their website for full details.
SEPTEMBER TOTE DRAW
The draw was made at the trustees meeting, and the results are:-
1st prize no. 39 JW of New Zealand
2nd prize no 5 LL of Newark
3rd prize no 7 DF of Lower Pilsley
Congratulations to the three prize winners. Anyone can join the ALRS tote and this will give you the chance to win some money, whilst at the same time helping the Society raise much needed funds to progress its activities further. Anyone over the age of 16 can join the Tote, and it will cost £12 per year per entry (there is no limit on how many entries you can have). Any income generated by the Tote will be split 50% towards the Society and 50% towards prizes. There will initially be 4 draws a year, 3 prizes per draw, with 1st place receiving 50% of the prize fund, and 2nd and 3rd places getting 30% and 20% respectively.
Download the Tote Form in MS Word Format(*.doc, 130K)
Download the Tote Form in Adobe PDF Format (*.pdf, 125K)
WORKSHOP PROGRESS
Work is progressing here with further time being devoted to progressing the Ruston. Some details about the restoration of this locomotive appear below, along with a link to Youtube where you can see (and hear) the Ruston in static action. Negotiations are continuing which may see the locomotive operational at a nearby heritage railway site within the next twelve months.
ALRS PHOTO ARCHIVE
A recent generous donation has seen the expansion of our photo archive with a substantial number of photographs. Work is continuing towards identifying the location and subject of several of the scenes.
Restoration has now reached the point where it hs been possible to start up the Ruston diesel locomotive, currently housed in the ALRS workshops.
This Youtube video shows the engine (admittedly still incomplete!) being started. (Click on the image or on the link below)
The ALRS charity tote draw was made for June.
The results are:-
1st prize - £42.75 won by AE of Sheffield
2nd prize - £25.65 won by JL of Ripley
3rd prize - £17.10 won by DV of Chesterfield.
Details of how to contribute to the tote, and hopefully win a prize, can be found at the foot of the membership page of this site, although available to non members too.
Congratulations to all the winners!!