News Archive - 2013

04/12/2013 - Urgent Appeal

Hello all, Foxy is poorly and needs your help. If you can please join us during December to prepare the locomotive for boiler removal and repair. It will be a hugely expensive repair and any labour you can offer may help to reduce this. 

7822 returned from her jolly holidays and was instantly sidelined with a crack in the right hand side of the throat plate. It is simply down to the age of the boiler, which is from the 1930's and was built for the original batch of Manor's (7800-19), we hope to get all this work done and get the engine repainted in black before the Spring Gala.

If you can help please contact me.

Mat Grindley

7822 Publicity 

12/11/2013 - Foxcote Update

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7822 has now returned from her jolly outings to the West Somerset Railway and the Avon Valley Railway. Her presence was felt as far away as the Strawberry Line at the Avon Country Park where drivers on the 5 inch guage diesels thought they were on steam, despite the Avon Valley Railway being almost a mile away!

She has returned with a couple of repairs to undertake which we hope will not hold her back beyond the completion of her impending repaint.

If you know how to find us at Llangollen and have a couple of hours spare please come down and help us clean and prepare the Manor for painting. There is plenty of brew mashing going on and the more the merrier.

We are also looking at some new merchandise and new members are always welcome. We would love to hear from you.

09/10/2013 - Avon Valley Visit

7822 is now at the Avon Valley Railway near Bristol, where she will be starring at the end of season gala on the 19th and 20th of October. Foxcote will also haul a fish and ship special on Friday 25th of October. If you wish to know more please head to http://www.avonvalleyrailway.org 

09/10/2013 - West Somerset Cambrian Gala

Foxcote Manor performed beautifully at last weekends Cambrian Gala at the West Somerset Railway where she was praised constantly for her responsiveness, efficiency and sound! The society is chuffed with the feedback! Galleries will be added soon and a small write up is on the news page.

23/09/2013 - Operation: Clean Foxcote Manor

We are looking for volunteers to assist with cleaning 7822 when possible before she goes off to the West Somerset Railway Cambrian Gala.

It is our hope that she will look spotless for her guest appearances which will be her last moves before repainting hopefully. The colour scheme is yet to be announced but watch this space. If you can give any time morning, noon or night at the Llangollen Railway it will be much appreciated. 

Foxcote Manor Society members are welcome to bring anyone interested in joining the society.​

05/09/2013 - 7822 Off On Her Travels 

​Foxcote Manor has been booked for a couple of Autumn galas at other railways in October, she will head to the West Somerset Railways Cambrian Gala first, which starts on Thursday 3rd October and finishes on Sunday 6th October. 

There she will be joined by other surviving members of the Manor Class,

• 7812 "Erlestoke Manor",

• 7827 "Lydham Manor"

• 7828 "Odney Manor".

As well as teaming up with other members which made Western metals their home,

• Hall Class locomotive No 6960 Raveningham Hall

• 2-6-0 GWR Mogul No 9351

• Castle Class locomotive No 5029 "Nunney Castle"

• GWR large prarie No 4160

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After this she will depart for the Avon Valley Railway Gala on Friday 11th to Sunday 13th of October, before returning to Llangollen for the festive season. We hope to see you there.

05/09/2013 - 7822 in 5-inch Guage

Foxcote Manor Society Chairman Neil Evans has recently visited Mike Butler of Market Drayton at Borth (Cambrian Coast) to see his excellent 5-inch version of Foxcote Manor, please see the gallery for pictures.

​14/08/2013 - Routine Running from 7822

Foxcote Manor has continued to perform well over the previous weeks since the last update and I hope to touch upon this. 7822 ran at the Foxcote Manor Society Summer Social where we had a high number of visitors and there was a good atmosphere at the station.

Since then the Manor has participated in the Llangollen Railway Classic Transport Weekend where she ran with the 2 newly refurbished suburban coaches, very fitting for a Manor that worked out of Oswestry! She has also appeared at the 1960's gala.

7822 has also just passed her 12 monthly inspection with minimum fuss as we head into the winter season. Thanks to everyone who supports the Foxcote Manor Society, your dedication and donations are accepted with the utmost gratitude.

Best wishes

Mat Grindley - 7822 Webmaster

25/06/2013 - More paint for the Manor

Graham Hoyland has been at it again........ he has painted the coal bunker of the tender, the handbrake and oil stores on the tender. These have been painted in black. Please see the picture below.

​28/05/2013 - Foxcote Manor brightens Bank Holiday Monday​

GWR designed, BR built Manor No.7822 "Foxcote Manor" was in action on Bank Holiday Monday and performed well despite the weather. Fireman Fuller wasnt overly impressed with the horizontal rain at 25mph but still enjoyed the day. The work to get the engine ready began on Sunday as Graham Hoyland, Martin Fuller and myself (partly) oiled up, cleaned out and fired up the loco so that detailed cleaning could be undertaken the following morning. Please view the 2013 section of the gallery to see the results!

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13/05/2013 - Looks aren't everything!
 

Despite the calls for a fresh coat of paint, Foxcote Manor looked fantastic in lined green this weekend! Many commented on her bark up Berwyn bank and she ran effortlessly on both days with 4 coaches in tow.

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FMS secretary Graham Hoyland worked tirelessly on Friday and Saturday to have her spic and span for service, even acting as steam raiser throughout the nights. He cleaned the engine from top to bottom on Friday and Saturday along with his footplate crew and Martin Fuller continued the work on Sunday along with his cleaner Maverick Hogarth. Thanks to all involved for all of their efforts.​
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​21/04/2013 - Manor at the gala​
 

Llangollen Railway welcomed 7822 "Foxcote Manor" into their 2013 Spring Gala this weekend and the engine didnt disappoint, FMS members Steve Carter and Mat Grindley crewed the engine on the Saturday with FMS member Jon Kerr assisting with the cleaning in the morning. There was a lot of interest in 7822 despite the visit of a GWR one off and some returning members of the home fleet.​

​​08/04/2013 - Back in Action

Llangollen Railway welcomed 7822 "Foxcote Manor" back this weekend from her winter maintenance. 7822 performed faultlessly all weekend on passenger services and a day of driver experience customers. Please see a short video of 7822 arriving into Glyndfrdwy on Sunday on the video page.​

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26/03/2013​​ - A work update from the secretary, Graham Hoyland.

"The axleboxes were fitted on Thursday 21st March and the tender rewheeled on the morning of 22/03/2013. The tender was then reattached to the loco and moved into the shed over the pit in the 'Manor Road' to enable the various components to be refitted. The horn ties have been refitted along with the vacuum brake pipe. It is proposed to steam test the loco and run to Carrog and back on Thursday 28th March, double heading with the service train, probably the 1500 service providing the outstanding work is completed."

26/03/2013 - A work update from the FMS Membership Secretary, Matthew Davies.

Dear All,

The tender wheels returned from the South Devon Railway workshops on 7/8th February with the new tyres fitted. There had to be extra work undertaken machining the tyres to fit the manor wheel sets due to the last set of tyres fitted being from a Class 08 loco.

The wheels have been painted in primer, then undercoat, before the final top coat has been applied. This was undertaken by some of our FMS volunteers. Scraping and cleaning is not the best of jobs but the final result always looks better! You wouldn't realise how much surface area is on a wheel set when you work through it, but with copious amounts of tea any job is possible! The axle boxes were de-greased, cleaned, primed, before the undercoat and top coat have been applied this to has been the same procedure for all the brake rigging and brake hangers etc.

Llangollen Eng. have inspected most of the brake equipment and machined and renewed metal bushes where needed before the rigging was set out for painting. This is now in the last throws of being completed with the final topcoat of paint waiting to be applied. The journal boxes have been re-metalled by Mike Pearce (what this man doesn’t know about steam locomotives is not worth knowing!) and are all set out ready for re-assembly. Now this is where the problem starts…………

Between the axle boxes and the wheel set there is a oil splasher seal, made from a wooden ring and a piece of leather, “that’s easy”, you may think? Several leads where taken by ourselves to source six replacement pieces. Most of your local places, markets etc now being closed down or unavailable so I ‘trawled’ the internet to see what was available? A small leather supplier just outside Chester in Tattenhall was contacted with the owner asking us to come and ‘browse’ what he had. I duly turned up to find this big warehouse full of leather hides. Inquiring what thickness of leather I was after the said material was produced. Inquiring on the price the helpful owner remarked “I do like steam engines and have enjoyed the Llangollen Railway when my children were young so you owe me nothing”. Result I thought!!

I
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I returned to make up the parts but with the wooden rings being past there ‘sell by date’ material was sourced and new ones made.
All these parts have now been returned to Llangollen ready for the tender to be lifted and the wheel sets to be returned. This should be happening later this week. A final check and test run is to take place before the loco again enters traffic for the summer season.
 

Regards

Matt

17/02/2013 - The work continues!​

7822 has had her re-tyred tender wheels returned this week and the usual suspects have begun the work of steam cleaning and repainting those wheels. Matt Davies, Steve Jones and Martin Fuller have done a fine job this weekend and will look to continue their work over the coming week to put the tender back on the wheels.

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11/02/2013​ - New pictures coming shortly

Courtesy of FMS member Iain Ross there will be a number of new pictures added to the website showing the reconstruction of 7822 in the 1980's and her subsequent first movements under her own power. The pictures were taken by Iain's father, a Llangollen Railway  founder member. Thanks to Rossy for allowing us to use them.

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I am also on the lookout for mainline pictures of 7822 from the days of steam, please get in touch if you wish to have yours posted.

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​08/01/2013 - New year Manor maintenance.

Foxcote Manor's maintenance work started in earnest on 28/12/2012, with a gang of members taking part in emptying the tender of its coal and removing the brake rigging in preparation for lifting the tender from its wheelsets.

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With help from Llangollen Railway staff the tender was lifted by crane and placed on blocks while the wheels were moved into the shed for cleaning.

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In the first week of January this cleaning has taken place ahead of the wheels being taken away for retyring on 09/01/2013.  It is hoped that it is only time these wheels are retyred in preservation. If you wish to help with cleaning the manor or wish to donate in some way please contact us.​