Nick Simpson, MPD Manager, gives us an update on some of the sustainability practices at Grosmont Engine Sheds.

I am pleased to announce that I have been invited onto the newly formed Sustainability Board Support Group. We have had our initial meeting and at the close of the meeting we shared our already good practices on and around the railway, including here on shed. It was heartening to see that this is already in the minds of our people and in our practices, becoming more than just an idea.

The shed, on reflection, has an example of the ultimate in reuse - the steam and diesel locomotives that we keep running, which were destined for the cutters torch, have now been in preservation for longer than they were designed to run in the first place. With continued careful management and by replacing worn materials, we can continue to reuse them for many years.

Components that do wear out, bearings etc, and any materials we need, we try to buy locally. William Lane Foundry on Teesside is an excellent example and one we work closely with for our cast iron, brake blocks and bronze products, keeping road mileage to a minimum.

After the meeting while making my way back to shed other examples of M.P.D. sustainability came to mind:

• Washable hand towels.
• Scrap material graded and recycled.
• Laundered and repaired overalls for our team.
• Changing all the internal light fittings to LED.
• Using donated rags.
• Kitting out apprentices with passed along hand tools.
• Modernising existing equipment instead of wholescale replacement like the wheel drop repairs.
• Continuing using well built older machines everyday to maintain and make parts on site.
• Apprentice training programmes.
• On site training and assessment.

In the days following the initial support group meeting we held our monthly staff briefing where feed back was given to the fitting staff on site in attendance, the enthusiastic thoughts and ideas generated from the fitting group will lead to further local re-usability, sustainability, education, cost savings and longevity for the benefit of the railway and the M.P.D. The winter period is our maintenance and rebuild time – mending and reusing rather that replacing.

Read the Previous Entry and, if you are looking to join #TeamShed and help them in their work, please consider submitting a Volunteer Expression of Interest to start your volunteer journey at the NYMR.