Zambezi is still on bocks with the rear suspension in pieces.  We have however machined new parts and located a spring that should give us a better ride.  In addition we have freed up the blocked oiling holes in the bearings.  All in all – the unexpected maintenance is going well.

Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway volunteer Elliot Jones has won the Steam Apprentice Club’s Volunteer of the Year award. The award was for someone who gives up their time to volunteer within the road steam movement away from the club, and Elliot was chosen for his work at the railway where he helps with these […]

Chris from SVEC presented Bill with a generous donation from the collections of SVEC members. Presented in July 2025 on a hot sunny day, hence the casual attire!  The funds were put to good use restoring and maintaining our collection. Our thanks to all as SVEC

Work is underway to resolve issues with the rear pony axle suspension.  The rear spring is not correct and is not providing adequate shock absorbance and some bearings are worn and scored. More updates to follow – we expect Zambezi to be back in service for the Christmas 2025 trains

15th July 2025 Our Diesel Bredgar had a failure of the parking brake last week and the cast brake shoes were found to have excessive and uneven wear.   Now replaced and back in service.

At the end of 2024 the ladder truck had a few issues with some tyres deflating. Not fast but consistently enough to be really annoying.  Having removed all eight wheels at the back and had them inspected we have concluded that although the issues could be resolved, the tyres are getting closer to their “sell […]

Update May 2025 We collected replacement boiler tubes however on detailed inspection when we got them home we discovered an error in that they had been swaged up instead of the required down.  Hence they were unusable and are now in the processes of being replaced by the supplier – a simple mistake by the […]

During regular checks of our infrastructure it was noted that the steps to the Stoney Shaw signal box were getting unsafe.  We lifted them our and returned them to our workshop.  They barely survived the move!  After detailed review the volunteers dismantled them and used the rotten timbers as templates to build a replacement.  We’re […]

A detailed track inspection over the winter identified 40 sleepers that needed replacement.  Volunteers selected the first 3 Thursdays in March and worked hard to replace them all.  This included lifting 2 lengths of track and replacing most of the sleepers plus a number of single ones.  Normally we pull them out but many just […]

Our US fire ladder truck has a number of bookings in 2025 and to be ready for the season it is in for checking.  The ladder cables needed adjusting and during inspection we noted that 2 pullies were worn.  Not an off the shelf item so we have made them from scratch.  Now refitted and […]