Good News

KRS is pleased to announce that we have secured a further five year lease on the Works at Eastleigh, up until 31st December 2016.
This gives us a good secure basis to continue our expansion and is in line with the requirements of several of our key customers who have asked to use our facilities until then.
Given that we have only just celebrated our 5th anniversary on site, we can now look forward to celebrating our 10th in 2016.

On a less vital but very pleasing note, our newly acquired micro shunter (the KOf) is bedding in very well and has surprised everybody with its capabilities. Not only can it pull a four car train of 67 tube stock around the yard, but also during the first site tour of 2012 it was seen pulling a 120ton class 57. A very bizarre sight but its a sign of how well the little thing is behaving. We will keep trying it with heavier loads it until we find its useful shunting limit, but we have already found out that it can fly along when needed. We ran out of track to find its top speed but I would expect it to be about 25-30mph.

The other bit of shunter news is that work has resumed on ex MOD 428 ( 01508) which was purchased from the MOD as a source of spares, having been derailed and had its brake rigging cut off and its rods removed. 428 now has a full set of side rods and looks like a proper loco again, whilst the fitters have been making progress in determining why the clutch and torque converter seem not to have sufficient clearance to be assembled correctly. Something silly and obvious will turn out to be the problem and we will find it. After that, its straightforward to bring the loco back into working order, the engine having already been overhauled and the missing brake rigging acquired.

The work Arlington is doing in putting back the tracks at the South end of the site is progressing nicely with a temporary line between bays 3 and 2 already in situ. The first of the two cranes being installed in bay 2 has already seen use with the second due to be installed next week.

The rate of change on site is very evident and people are noticing. Apart from seeing Micheal Portillo on the tv last week being shown around bay 3 and the van shop, one of the visitors on the last tour had already been round once in November and was very surprised how many changes there had been.

Its going to be a good week for Cheltenham up as the boiler comes back for fitting to the frames. The progress with the project has been very impressive and its on line to be back in steam in the late Spring.

Finally the retaining wall for the new inspection pit in the former bosh shop has been installed and its getting closer to time to lay the track into the building. The bosh shop occupies the site of the roads that used to run into the original LSWR paint shops, so its another example of reinstating something that went before.

and so far I have kept to my new year's resolution to blog at least twice each month.
Can't be bad!