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Well, that didn’t go to plan...
On Saturday morning there was a derailment of a diesel locomotive in Oxenhope yard which meant that Sir Lamiel was unable to get out of the yard for most of the day and was therefore unable to work the Hellifield Shuttles as expected.
But, hats off to the KWVR because within a short time of the derailment occurring they had top & tailed trains running from Keighley to Haworth with a vintage bus shuttle to Oxenhope, and they put in a normal steam service through the day. 
The diesel engine was re-railed during the day and Lamiel was able to get out of the yard ready to work the Ribblehead Flyer as advertised. We left Keighley in fine style with a seven coach train but unfortunately there was a mechanical problem on the engine near Cononley and it was decided to halt the train at Skipton to wait for the diesel locomotive which was to have joined the train to top & tail it back to Keighley.
Rumours abounded on the train as to the cause of the problem, with the most popular being that the problem had been caused by hitting a sheep. The engine was examined at Skipton (which apparently means “Sheep farm”) and no sheep were found. Once the diesel arrived, the train was worked back to Keighley.
This morning the support crew carried out a valve exam to try to ascertain the cause of the problem. The main symptoms were a bent reversing shaft, which had also bent the injector delivery pipe. We believe that we may have traced the cause of the problem, but until we carry out further investigations we are unable to categorically point to a cause. One thing is certain – there were no sheep in the valves.
Many thanks to the KWVR for their friendship and support and to the 5305LA support crew who put in so much effort this weekend. We hope to have Sir Lamiel up and running again as soon as possible. Further updates will be posted as & when we have more news.
By Info | Sunday, June 29, 2008 | Tags : 30777