New machinery and improved facilities are helping volunteer engineers undertake more specialist work in-house.
THE CORRIS Railway has invested in new workshop equipment and infrastructure improvements that are enabling its team of volunteer engineers to carry out more complex restoration and maintenance work on site.
The heritage railway has upgraded its machine shop with higher-specification equipment, including a Huron Mill and associated accessories, allowing greater precision in engineering projects.
A new crane, developed with Derbyshire-based manufacturers Yaplex, has also been installed. The crane’s specification was prepared by volunteer engineers Ian Cross and Phil Scott.
The crane is capable of moving through an arc that reaches all machines within the workshop, allowing the safe lifting and transfer of heavy components and attachments between workstations.
Further improvements have been made to the locomotive shed at Maespoeth Junction to accommodate the railway’s growing locomotive fleet.
Before the arrival of locomotive No.10, the inspection pit was extended and drainage systems upgraded. The machine shop and adjacent pit road within the shed have also been fully enclosed with insulated walls and large access doors, making it easier to move large machinery and engineering components.
Maespoeth shed has a long history dating back to 1878, when it was constructed following the introduction of steam locomotives to the railway, which had previously operated using horses and gravity-powered wagons.
The original workshop facilities were scaled back after the Great Western Railway took over the Corris Railway in 1930. Heavy locomotive overhauls were subsequently carried out at Swindon, while other engineering work was undertaken at Machynlleth.
Following the closure of the railway by British Railways in August 1948, the site was used by the Forestry Commission before being acquired by the Corris Railway in 1981, a key milestone in the restoration of services between Corris and the Junction.
The railway is now preparing for one of its major annual events, with the Corris Railway Society’s Model Railway Exhibition set to take place at Y Plas, Machynlleth, on August 29 and 30.
The exhibition will feature 13 model railway layouts alongside a range of traders and exhibitors. Trains will also be running throughout the Bank Holiday weekend.
