Gertrude on display in Hall 5 of the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

As part of the Warley Model Railway Club’s NATIONAL MODEL RAILWAY EXHIBITION hundreds of visitors stepped onto the footplate of Gertrude, while a historic display of her life, and of where she worked in industry – the Alfred Hickman ironstone quarry at Sydenham, near Adderbury, and the Stewarts & Lloyds steelworks at Bilston – could also be viewed, along with photographs and video of Gertrude’s preservation activities with Exmoor Transport.

Les Driver, Andy Richards, Shaun Robins and Jim Pounds, the leading lights of the November 2006 to August 2009 big-push to complete Gertrude’s restoration, were on hand to talk about the 1918 built engine and the activities of Exmoor Transport and Exmoor Associates, as were Mike Selby and Jenny Driver.

Also attending were representatives of Porthmadog’s Welsh Highland Heritage Railway, Gertrude’s current base, Sarah Westmacott, Gertrude’s owner, and it was also a pleasure to meet David Maidment, the founder of the Railway Children charity, and people who had worked for S&L while Gertrude was in use there, as well as some that had helped the Westmacott family with her early restoration.  A complimentary stand acted as a meeting place for former workers of the Bilston Steelworks, where Gertrude served between 1925 and 1959.

There was a constant queue for footplate access

Part of the Sydenham Ironstone Quarry/Bilston Steelworks double-sided display, which covered about 18 metres, as provided by Andree Hickey, the former Welfare Officer at S&L Bilston, her husband Eddy, both sitting, and Andrew Kennedy of Oakwood Visuals and Steam Days magazine. The display boards were supplied by the Welsh Railways Research Circle.
Exmoor Transport, the present custodians of Gertrude, have been thanked by the Warley Model Railway Club management for providing a great chance for local families to step onto the footplate of this former Oxfordshire and Black Country engine, and for providing such a complete exhibition area for enthusiasts. Even one or two forums have seen specific comments -

“The extensive display around narrow gauge loco Gertrude, explaining its history and where it worked, was excellent and made far more sense than just having the loco there without setting it in context.”
- Steven Oakden

On the way to the exhibition it should be noted that with Porthmadog bypass construction work potentially compromising the Gelerts Farm rail to road loading point of the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway, the nearby Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway stepped in to ensure that Gertrude would definitely get to the NEC by taking her across Britannia Crossing and along The Cob in Porthmadog to enable the rail to road trans-shipment to be carried out at Minffordd. Duncan Milner performed the road move, and generously allowed an extra day in his schedule so that Gertrude could visit Bilston for the first time since 1960; our engine was greeted by Lord Bilston, himself a former Stewarts & Lloyds employee, and the Express & Star newspaper attended.

The photo-call was at the Springvale Social Club, once part of the Stewarts & Lloyds premises, but now one of just two surviving buildings from the 1979-closed Steelworks. The original ‘S&L’ gates to the former steelworks’ sports ground exist on either side of the Midcounties Co operative owned premises, and we are grateful to all those that allowed us to take this opportunity for Gertrude to relive some of her history.

Gertrude at the former S&L site at Bilston

At 4.30pm on the Sunday of the exhibition, Pete Waterman picked out the winners of Gertrude’s Grand Prize Draw, run on behalf of the Railway Children charity – this was appropriate as Pete’s Garrett locomotive was in fact the very first load pulled by Gertrude in preservation, and as our locomotive was withdrawn in 1959, and the first move was in 2009, that was quite a moment!

Exmoor Transport are delighted to announce that Gertrude’s appearance at the NATIONAL MODEL RAILWAY EXHIBITION has resulted in £518.20 being raised for the Railway Children (Registered charity 1058991).
The total is made up of 501 raffle tickets sold, added to the contents of three Railway Children donation boxes on the engine and on the associated Exmoor Transport display area.
This Prize Draw would not have been possible without the generosity of our friends in the railway fraternity, prizes being donated by the WELSH HIGHLAND HERITAGE RAILWAY, ARRIVA TRAINS WALES, JONATHAN CLAY, THE STATFOLD BARN RAILWAY, HORNBY HOBBIES, THE LEIGHTON BUZZARD NARROW GAUGE RAILWAY, STEAM DAYS magazine, and OAKWOOD PRESS & OAKWOOD VISUALS. Thanks are also due to the Warley Model Railway Club and Pete Waterman, and of course to everyone who purchased tickets.

Finally thanks to William Shelford (LBNGR archivist)and Andrew Kennedy (Oakwood Visuals) for use of the photographs. A few more photos can also be found in our Warley 2011 Gallery.

For a £1 ticket you could find yourself living the dream of driving a steam locomotive for a whole day!

1st Prize: A full day Driver Experience on Gertrude on the WHHR, including FREE travel to Porthmadog from your nearest ARRIVA TRAINS WALES station.
2nd Prize: Original framed painting of GERTRUDE by transport artist JONATHAN CLAY
3rd Prize: Evening Driver Experience course with GERTRUDE on the WHHR
Other Prizes Include: A pair of tickets to a Statfold Barn Railway gala day, including a VIP cab ride
Four tickets to ride on the Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway, the home of sister engine Doll
A 2012 subscription to Steam Days magazine
A £50 voucher to spend with Oakwood Press & Oakwood Visuals
…there are also many other exciting prizes to be announced at the show!

Come and visit us and Gertrude in the NEC next weekend where you can buy draw tickets, see Gertrude and ask questions. Winners will get drawn at 4.30pm on Sunday next to Gertrude. Tickets will be on sale throughout the exhibition from Gertrude, as well as The Railway Children, The Oakwood Press, The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway, and from other draw prize partners’ stands.

We hope everyone has a great weekend and we look forward to seeing you there!

There will be a photo-call to mark Gertrude’s homecoming to Bilston at noon on Thursday at Springvale Social Club, Millfields Road, Bilston, WV14 0PR. This is the former Stewarts & Lloyds Social club and is one of the last remaining buildings of the Bilston Steelworks. Lord Bilston, Dennis Turner, a former S&L employee, will be on hand to say a few words. Following this she will be making her way on to the NEC in Birmingham.

During the show at Warley, there will be a Stewarts & Lloyds display alongside Gertrude. We will also have a meeting point for former S&L staff, who we would really like to encourage to come along!

The trip was to facilitate Gertrude’s outward journey to the Warley Model Railway Exhibition at Birmingham’s NEC. WHR Ltd director Richard Harrison was at the helm, as the loco was towed by F&WHR diesel Criccieth Castle, driven by F&WHR General Manager Paul Lewin.

Road haulage contractors had expressed concern about how easily a low loader might access Pen y Mount following alterations to the end of Pen y Mount Lane from the new Porthmadog bypass roundabout and rather than risk delays and inconvenience when time was short, WHHR Chairman Martyn Owen asked the F&WHR for assistance. A low loader will collect Gertrude from the Ffestiniog Railway’s Minffordd Yard on Wednesday.

Gertrude’s return may be via Pen y Mount Lane when time is not so tight, and highway engineers will be on hand to observe events.

Earlier this year, Gertrude assisted WHHR resident loco Gelert in a series of braking trials on the newly-reopened Welsh Highland Railway.

More photos can be seen on our FR Photo Album, our thanks to Andrew Thomas, Andrew Goodwin, John Kerr and Dave Hill for the photos.

The train left WHHR metals at around 1800 and headed for the foot of Nantmor Bank – the start of the almost continuous 1 in 40 six mile climb to the summit of the line at Rhyd Ddu which makes the WHR the toughest railway in the UK.

After the satisfactory completion of brake tests from speeds of up to 20mph to measure stopping distances on the level and on Nantmor Bank, Gelert proceeded through the Aberglaslyn Pass and tunnels to Beddgelert to take water, before returning to Hafod y Llyn to rejoin Gertrude and the train for the run back to Porthmadog, arriving back at around 2230.

This is the first time a WHHR train has travelled beyond the site of Traeth Mawr Loop – the end of the section of the railway laid by WHHR volunteers as their contribution to the rebuilding of the whole 25 miles of the Welsh Highland. The location is now marked by one of the ‘Tin Tunnel’ accommodation bridges built for farm access.

“This is an historic moment for both railways,” says WHHR Chairman Martyn Owen. “At times it seemed that it would never happen, but the wait has definitely been worthwhile.”

Further tests are planned over the coming months and the next movement from Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland to WHHR metals is likely to be the visit of historic de Winton vertical boiler locomotive Chaloner on its way from Caernarfon to Porthmadog in July.

“We’re very pleased to be working with our colleagues at the WHHR,” adds F&WHR General Manager Paul Lewin. “The new spirit of cooperation can only bring benefits to both our organisations and to tourism in the area.”

More photos can be found of the event in the WHR Photo gallery. Our thanks to Andrew Kennedy and Oakwood Visual for the photos.