It seems that a very successful weekend was enjoyed by members who went to Snibston with AB 1964.
This elderly tank wagon was seen on the site:
and upon closer inspection, the following signature was spotted:
Was this painted by our long-established member before he joined Chasewater or was he moonlighting?!
Meanwhile, at Chasewater, ‘Linda’ decided that she didn’t want to play and refused to steam properly. Out came Class 08 to take over for a time, until ‘Linda’ was eventually taught the error of her ways and got moving – taking an insurance policy with her!
As for the museum this Sunday, well, I have been saying for some time now that I would like to get out and see some trains – if only for a short while. I certainly got my wish – I couldn’t even get in!! The lock was stuck. It wasn’t just stuck for me, at least 4 others had a try at unlocking it with no success.
Today, Monday 16th, the museum team have been on a course run by the Staffordshire Museum Network and Renaissance West Midlands at the County Museum, Shugborough, the subject ” Sustainable Collections: Principles and Practice of Collections Management” . What does this mean in a climate of reduced public funding, ecological concerns and rapidly accelerating technological change? How long should we be aiming to preserve our collections for? Is there a time limit on sustainabilty? All in all, it was one of the more interesting courses and demonstrated that we cannot just stand still, we have to keep on learning. Mike Guthrie from the Claymills Pumping Engine Trust gave an interesting short talk on “Collections with Working Objects” – of particular interest to us if it is decided to include some items of rolling stock in the collection. Incidentally, their next steaming is Bank Holiday Weekend, May 29th & 30th.
Inside Claymills Pumping Station.
Going back to the locked museum – the last time we had trouble with this lock, Adrian managed to sort it out. Well, obviously he was at Shugborough and was told of the problem. He was thrilled to bits to be going back to Chasewater to fix it again (especially as he was having trouble with his back!), but, gritting his teeth, he set off with Barry Bull to see what he could do. Not too long later, I received a text message of four words: “Got into museum straightaway”
“Golly” said I – well there were two ‘ll’s in the word anyway!!!
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