This video has recently been produced detailing the work of a small group of volunteers that are based at Quorn & Woodhouse station on the Great Central Railway who maintain a privately owned fleet of 90+ (!) historic freight/non-passenger vehicles....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brX25tkkYrI

Whilst the vehicles are somewhat smaller than their US counterparts, they have achieved an awful lot in the last couple of years and have rightly been the winners of a couple of Heritage Railway Association awards in the last 12 months for their work.
Full details of their "fleet" and work can be found on their website...

https://quornwagonandwagon.co.uk/

Freight stock generally is regarded as "the bottom of the pile" when it comes to railway preservation, so it is a change to come accross a dedicated group like this.

70000 -

Great to see this. Enjoyed the video very much. Seeing vintage freight stock preserved is encouraging. Seen "vintage freight trains" run here in the U.S. where the bulk of the train is NOT historic cars. Glad they are taking a different attitude there at the Great Central in the UK and Nick Tinsley and his fellow volunteers deserve a pat on the back.

Would like to know more about volunteer Matt Baker's use of drawings with chalk on the back to transcribe the lettering to the cars. Not quite sure how the chalk is applied. More info please!

Les

I think they have done an incredible job there - particularly when they seem to have only been working as the current "team" (all 5 of them...) since 2017 or thereabouts.
Looking through my photos, the GCR "Goods Galore" gala in May of 2017 was when the first of the freshly painted vans appeared at an event.

There is a lot of information on their website and a full report on what they do each weekend work session is posted every Sunday evening. A read through previous editions of that Blog (under "News and Updates" on their website) will illustrate just how quick they seem to be able to get vehicles restored/overhauled/painted and back in service.

As regards the signwriting process, there are a couple of sections in the "features" part of their website
https://quornwagonandwagon.co.uk/features/
which deal with signwriting preparation and application. It appears the back of the drawing is just rubbed over with a large piece of chalk from one of the illustrations!

I've got no connection with the group, but I think their dedication deserves a wider audience.
The only US line that I have been to that ran a "historic freight" was the Conway Scenic back in 2013 which ran one between North Conway & Conway on a Railfan Weekend and you could ride in the caboose (which I did). I've seen the Strasburg revenue diesel freight workings, but they don't count!

I love the GCR. Fantastic stuff always goes on over there.

If you’re looking for historic freight consists, the Cumbres* and Toltec has run many freight consists for photographers, and I believe also for training. I don’t know much about other museums or railroads running photo freights here in the US, but I do know a few museums with operating running lines (such as IRM) restore cars and operate occasional “freight” trains during special events.

Edit: Damn auto correct, never ceases

I'm now imagining what the Cumbria and Toltec would look like........

70000 -

Thanks. I thought that might be how they did it, but the photo illustrates it very well. Here is a photo of what I, one day, will have to put on our tank car at Hoosier Valley. I did this lettering a number of years ago, using what was on the car. The other side had no lettering remaining. I've dragged my feet about doing that side. Now, I've got a good way to tackle it. Thanks!

Les

Impressive. A couple of questions come to mind. First, is there any freight potential on the GCRR; and, second, if so, could any of these freight cars be interchanged with the national system, or is there the equivalent of the 50-year rule, bans on plain bearings, etc. in the UK? It's fun to daydream about one of those cars actually being used in revenue service.

I don't think you would be able to get away with using any of that type of car on the UK National network nowadays - especially as they are mainly unfitted (handbrakes only) or vacuum operated brakes. Its all air braked on the "big network" now. and has been for several years (other than some passenger cars used on steam specials).
Even if you wanted to use them as a self-contained "historic demonstration" operation, say for special events, everything would have to be certified for use (ultrasonic wheel/axle tests etc) and it would cost an awful lot of £££/$$$ per vehicle.

The GCR is currently split into two sections - Leicester North (Birstall) to Loughborough and then Loughborough to Ruddington (just south of Nottingham) with the "Gap" between them which is now, slowly, being rebuilt at great expense.
The southern section is currently isolated from the National rail system, but the northern one is connected and is actually used for revenue freight traffic to a large gypsum plant at East Leake (Rushcliffe Halt), about half way along the line. Not sure how frequent they operate, but has been anything between 3 times per week up to daily in recent years.
One idea that has been floated in the past is that when the southern section is connected up to the rest of the network again, it could possibly be used to access the large quarrying operations in the Mountsorrel area. These currently have their rail access from the former Midland mainline, but increasing rail traffic has caused problems due to track capacity limitations whilst freights gain access to the sidings serving the quarry. The GCR route was suggested as an alternative, but personally I can't see that happening now.

Rather than create a new topic heading, some members of the team at Quorn station have diversified into producing some "retro 1950's" style films about operations on the GCR following the format of the British Transport Films of that era.

They have just released one on Quorn & Woodhouse station which is worth a look..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2TbVfc-2QA&t=2s

...and it's all filmed on the preserved GCR, with no historic footage!

Impressive! Pity about the pandrol rail clips, otherwise very believable 1950's.

People just walked slower in those days.