Episode One of ‘FULL SERIES’
Welcome to Strawberry Hill.... https://youtu.be/XYfqgH0bCWY?si=B8QbyUF586KEkVFI
Saying “Yes” and Saying “No”
What-ho, friends of Gordon! Greetings from Strawberry Hill. I hope that the New Year is treating you all well. As I type this, Minions Lynn and Lou are busy in the shed stripping seat backs; these are to be re-covered with fresh moquette to allow us to swap out some of the more tired trim onboard. It's all about continuous improvement and making the unit look better and better for anyone who chooses to board it. And while they're busy in the shed doing, I'm sat here typing on a keyboard to tell you about it.Since we're here, I'll tell you that we've already had a delivery of new lino flooring material this morning as well as having eaten a rather good breakfast washed down with a mug of tea.…
And Now, Breathe….
It's Thursday. A quiet, sunny Thursday. The gusty wind that's blowing hints at the approaching autumn and as I look out of the office window the trees that line the Fulwell Curve are just starting to loose their vibrant greens. Lynn is in Holland doing clever IT things with her other job (she doesn't just do Trim Shop Minioning, folks) and Buckie is ploughing through post-Bluebell paperwork whilst muttering to himself (as usual). Everything is calm (for a given value of calm), and after the last few weeks I can say with definite authority that calm is something that is underrated in railway preservation. 3417 is sitting demurely in the shed, doors open while she dries out after 3 days of being intermittently rained on, as if to say "What…
The Adventure Begins….
I am sitting in the SETG office at Strawberry Hill. The date is Wednesday 4th September 2024. It’s a sunny Wednesday morning. 3417 is sitting quietly in the shed. Buckie is sat next to me at his desk, going through timetables and muttering to himself. I say he’s going senile while he maintains that talking to himself is the only way he can be sure of intelligent conversation. He probably has a point. Our friend Nick is on his way in with goodies to deliver a surprise for our transfer move to the Bluebell Railway tomorrow afternoon. Lynn is on her way in to do some work in the Trim Shop and I am writing this. By the time you read this, 3417 will be standing at Sheffield Park Station…
Too Many Drafts, Not Enough Posts
Good morning all! I'll keep this short and sweet, since every time I start one of these updates I seem to lose my thread half-way through and things don't get published...First of all, you'll all be aware by now that 3417 will be making its long-awaited return to traffic at the Bluebell Railway's 2024 Diesel Gala: you can book your tickets HERE. We look forward to working with our friends from the Bluebell Railway, as well as old mates from Swanage and hope that the weather behaves itself - if it doesn't we're just going to hide in Sharpthorne Tunnel until the rain stops. Among other attractions including beer, food, live music, tours of resident rolling stock and engineering projects and of course visiting diesel locomotives, our Chief Engineer will…
Crowd Funding and One-Trick Ponies….
Railway preservation isn't cheap. In fact if you're going to do things properly it's bloody expensive. As Buckie is fond of saying "There are two prices for everything - normal and railway. For the railway price, take the normal price, double it and then add a zero." You need to get specialist contractors in to do certain jobs such as Ultra Sonic Axle testing and putting the unit back into capital stock. All the spares need to be kosher, you need calibrated tools, you need equipment in the back office to allow you to prepare and submit paperwork... It's a never ending and headache-inducing process but, when you're aiming to put a preserved train back onto the modern railway, you have to do things properly. It means approved suppliers (more…
‘The Day Gordon Went Back’
3417’s Return to The Mainline- 27/01/24 It all started with a phone call. As Steve Upton and I discussed at length the events of a few days before, both of us were still trying to process what had taken place. For everyone at the Southern Electric Traction Group (SETG) and its fellow supporters, it was a major milestone. The fact that 3417 had indeed, returned to the mainline was the ambition of many, achieved by few. Steve was, unsurprisingly, overwhelmed by the scale and response to their piece of Southern Region returning to life. Despite the events of January 27th having passed, he was still busy working through responses and media requests and looking to the next step for 3417. For those who support, live, and breathe railways, it never…
“The Worst Kept Secret on the Southern Region…” Part One.
3417 standing at London Waterloo, 27th January 2024. Writing Minion’s Note: As you'll all know by now, the everyone in the SETG has been in a flat spin for the last four months. Everything has been put to one side; family, shopping, housework, eating properly, a degree of sleep, good manners and (arguably) common sense. Us Minions are a tough breed, but it’s been a very very stressful few months. If you were at Waterloo on the 27th of January 2024, you’ll know why. For anyone else… Sit back and enjoy the tale! Part One:(In which the Minions wonder if they’ve bitten off more than they can chew) Be cautious about inviting old friends over for tea, friends. If it weren’t for the power of Old Friends and Tea,…
4VEP returning to traffic in 2024 with new Fundraising Appeal
Today marks the official launch of an appeal to raise £50,000 to help bring 3417 back into mainline operation. Over the past few years, despite COVID 19 and the enforced pause in the restoration of the unit, the SETG team have been patiently working towards bringing 3417 back into traffic on preserved lines. We are now on the cusp of that goal and are working towards an event in the New Year which will formally launch 3417 back into traffic. As part of that upcoming announcement, we are today unveiling plans to raise significant funds which will underwrite works including fitting GSM-R radio equipment and OTMR ‘Black Box’ systems to both driving trailers. Additionally we are going to undertake work to fit anti-override components to the buckeye couplers, fitting Controlled…
Onwards and Ever Sideways
Once upon a time there was a Minion. And this Minion was supposed to write updates for the SETG website, but his writing mojo deserted him and he grew distracted and disillusioned with the whole process. But lo! There came unto him a guiding light named Chris Buckland, who struck him about the head with a shoe paddle and spaketh with a Great Voice. "Good game, good game, cuddly toy, cuddly toy! Stop sodding about, Potter. Get on with updating the website, you great sack of jobbies in a belt", said he. And thus was Potter galvanised to his task. "I must write Things", he said whilst rubbing Savlon into the larger head lumps, "and I must inform the impatient readership (both of them) for there is news to impart."Now,…