Monday 24 April 2017

Easter Fun and Frolics!

So Why on earth did we choose to spend the 4 days of Easter in a windy, dusty dirty loco yard?  Some say because we are daft, all we know is we had a good time!

The Project 27 sales and information stand at Sheffield Park during the Flying Scotsman Gala
We had a good 4 days over the Easter weekend chatting to people, selling them quality items and receiving their donations towards the restoration of SECR Loco No.27. We were Clive, Claire and Stuart B and assisted, on occasions by Stuart M and Matt.  We enjoyed the PR side of the job (and of course the selling of the quality items) and it was a good experience to enjoy the excitement that many of the visitors had of not only seeing what P27 are up to but also enjoying the visiting loco!
Flying Scotsman with a "The Flying Scotsman" headboard
It can't have been too bad a weekend as we took 8 empty boxes away with us, even after restocking!  The new 75H badges seemed to go down well as did the new "Can I have a P please?" pens and notebooks! We also had a new line in water bottles with the same logo!
During Easter Saturday Matt even had chance to paint another wheel into green undercoat as well as painting the front axle into red undercoat! The wheels are starting to look good.
We had on display a number of items that are waiting to be restored, being restored and have been restored. Some of these can be seen in the picture below and hopefully gives some idea of what we are up against and how good they are when they have been painstakingly cleaned, prepared and painted, all by hand.
Before, during and after
The wheels and front axle following an application of undercoat
Following on from our attendance at the Flying Scotsman Gala we had a sales stand at the Wealden Railways Group Exhibition on the 22nd which was at the other end of the visitor numbers spectrum, however we did have a good day chatting and looking at various layouts and demonstrations. We also released another couple of new lines.  We had some stainless steel thermal mugs with the "Can I have a P please?" logo and a new line in Button Badges for sale.  Both seem as though they will be popular.
The sales and information stand at the Wealden Railway Group exhibition
Our next sales stand will be on Platform 1 during Branch Line weekend (May 13th & 14th) we will be back to our usual site outside the bookshop. Hopefully we will see you there!

LB&SCR First World War Service Badge
an original War Service Badge

We are close to taking delivery of replica LB&SCR 1st World War Service Badges. these will be a numbered and boxed limited edition of 100 pieces. They will differ from the original item only by having a broach fastening as opposed to the half moon button hole fixing and will have the words "Fenchurch Fund Replica" on the reverse.   The badges will be made using vitreous enamel as per the original and will have bright metal lettering etc.  The price has not yet been fixed but is likely to be in the £12 to £20 range.

Thursday 13 April 2017

They're Here!


The new 75H Sheffield Park Loco Shed badges have arrived, and to prove it they are here! They will be on sale at the PROJECT 27 stand in the yard at Sheffield Park over the Easter Weekend for the sum of only £5 each.  All proceeds from these badges will go towards the restoration of SECR loco No.27, which is currently under overhaul in the yard.


In addition to the badges, we will have many more lines to tempt you with!  or of course just come along for a chat and to see how the restoration is going, that costs nothing!


Looking forward to seeing you at the weekend.

Monday 10 April 2017

It's nearly here!

Wow, the excitement is rising as Easter is nearly here and our monster stall will soon arrive at Sheffield Park!  Oh and Flying Scotsman will be at the Railway too!


We will be open on Good Friday right round to Easter Monday.  We are situated by the wheels and frames of 27 and will be on the main access route to the Loco Yard from the main entrance on the top car park.


We will have a vast array of pickles and preserves, together with clothing and P27 specific items. we are aiming to be open from Early to late!


We will also be able to escort you to see the restoration progress on the loco in "behind the scenes" tours!  These will be on an ad hoc basis and will only run when there are enough staff to run them.  Please ask if you would like to have a look at the loco.


It will be good to meet as many of our supporters as possible over the weekend, so if you are able pop along for a chat, and while you are there why not have a look at Flying Scotsman too!


There will also be plenty of other stands and stalls at the railway over the weekend so there will be plenty to see and do.


Hopefully the new lines for sale will arrive before the weekend!  These include pens, notebooks, thermal mugs, badges and much more!


We really do appreciate the support we have from our readers and we look forward to seeing the loco working again in the not too distant future.


Clive D. Emsley
Chairman - The Fenchurch Fund
Project Manager - PROJECT 27
A Sub-Committee of the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society
www.bluebell-railway.co.uk
 
Why not support us by making a donation at
http://www.justgiving.com/Project27
Or for Text donations Simply text "FENC72 £10" to 70070 to donate £10
    - you can donate £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10;
    - you can also elect to Gift Aid your donation;
    - your operator's standard text charge applies.

Tuesday 4 April 2017

Weekend activities

Well, that was good! 


A reasonably good weekend at this years Diesel weekend.  The sales and information stand was out and set up close to the wheels and frames of the loco.  It was no worse as far as fund raising was concerned being just a few pounds down on last years event.  This was partly due to the location of the stand.  Those that found us had a good selection of items to choose from and there were also plenty of interest in the new 75H Sheffield Park Loco Shed badge!


On Sunday Matt Holloway spent the afternoon grinding high spots on the front left wheel and then filling the low spots.  His aim is to have a locomotive in a finish that we can all be proud of!  Some of the smaller pieces he has painted are magnificent, and I believe that the locomotive as a whole will be equally as good!


We are now gearing up for 4 days at the Flying Scotsman event, I am sure it will be a lot of hard work, but hopefully rewarding and lucrative for the fund!  Below is the list of events we are aiming to be present at in one form or another.


April 14th to 17th - Flying Scotsman event - Sheffield Park
April 22nd - Wealden Railways Group exhibition - Steyning, West Sussex (http://wealden.weebly.com/)
May 13/14th - Branch Line Weekend - Sheffield Park
May 27/28th - Lego Weekend - Sheffield Park
June 24/25th - Model Railway Weekend - Sheffield Park
July 1st/2nd - Food Fare - Sheffield Park
August 19/20th - Seaside Weekend - TBA
September 23rd/24th - Steam through the Ages - Sheffield Park
September 23rd/24th - Worthing Model Railway Exhibition - Durrington (http://www.worthingmrc.co.uk/mrc/annual-exhibition/)
October 6th/8th - Deltic Weekend - Sheffield Park
October 14/15th - Shareholders Weekend
November 4/5th - West Sussex N Gauge Model Railway Exhibition - Angmering (http://www.wsng.co.uk/Show%20details.htm)


There may be some of these dates, mainly in italics that we will not be at, but we do aim to hit all on the above list.



Yours Truly getting his hands dirty a couple of weeks ago!
Clive D. Emsley
Chairman - The Fenchurch Fund


Project Manager - PROJECT 27
A Sub-Committee of the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society
www.bluebell-railway.co.uk


Why not support us by making a donation at


http://www.justgiving.com/Project27
Or for Text donations Simply text "FENC72 £10" to 70070 to donate £10
    - you can donate £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10;
    - you can also elect to Gift Aid your donation;
    - your operator's standard text charge applies.