Thursday 7th August at Toddington.
A half day in the greenhouse on steels.
We arrived late, to find Neal in the loco shed, discussing the repair of the bridge 28 parapets. They have been unloaded and attached to trestles to be worked on.
From the picture on the right (the trestles are mounted upside down) you can see that some of the lower angle has been completely eaten away.
The repairs will be done in house. Shotblasting is likely, and possibly galvanising - not decided yet at the time of writing.
Later Neal and Yours truly worked on the P2 canopy package. In the picture he has drilled and is test fitting a pair of the gusset plates that we have worked to strip of millscale, and paint.
There was talk of 400 holes remainiong to be drilled. The number seems to go up, and not down... anyway, the idea is to make the package as complete as possible, to enable an easier assembly on site. For the P1 building, many holes had to be drilled on site, which cost us time.
In the evening we attended a preview of the new Broadway station exhibition on the first floor of the Broadway museum.
The Railway Archiving Trust, supported by heritage minded volunteers, have put in a large number of hours to research the history of Broadway station, and in particular selected members of the staff over the years.
Unfortunately we failed to find a photograph of the very first stationmaster, George Fifield. However, we do have one of a subsequent stationmaster, William Barber.
If anyone has a photograph of original Broadway station staff, we'd love to hear.
Do go up there and take a look, it's good for an absorbing half an hour of your time.
On the way home we took this photograph:
Early evening at Broadway, upper High Street. No tourists, hardly any cars.
Imagine, this was once the A44, the main road out of town! Straight up Fish Hill, until the bypass was built in the 1990s.
Friday 8th at Broadway.
Two of us on site, with Neal drilling holes in the greenhouse at Toddington.
In the absence of the specials that we need, John is making a concerted effort on the rear of the building, where all the bricks are plain. He's concentrating on the southern half, where he is now just 3 courses short of where the corbelling outwards starts. With that included, we'd be at the level of the steels inside - for that part of the rear.
John's productivity is getting quite impressive, and all this to a high standard.
We'll need to catch up with the blocks inside at some point, but as you can see there are already 8 courses of blocks in place, so that's a lot more stable now.
On the bricks side the news is not so good. Above are the three brick types that we need (not counting the one with a dash of mortar on it).
The local brickworks provided samples of what they could make for us, based on a style and colour that we pointed out from fairly similar examples in a showroom. But when we opened the sample boxes, the contents were completely different to what we thought we had agreed. They were much paler, more orangey, and wrinkled, not smooth. So wrong colour, and wrong finish.
We asked what they suggested, and they pointed us to a website called the Brick Hunter. That is a middle man business that will find a match for any brick (and other services) . We will try that. As a back up, we have two or three suggested suppliers from blog readers.
Back from gone away - Saturday, 16th Aug, out with the gang.
We had a 5 day excursion to Northumberland, more of which later, as we 'look over the fence'.
Due to the ongoing drought, we were diesel only on Saturday (and other days...), but at least you get a ride behind a Tractor, like this one, with the first train to CRC.
The drought is also affecting our track. As embankments dry out, strange dips start to appear, such as this one at bridge 28 at Stanley Pontlarge. It was right on the transition between steel and the embankment.
We let two trains past, and the next gap allowed for a 30 minute line block, as another hydraulic jack failed on us. This meant we had to use the foolproof mechanical Duff jacks, which are not obstruction free.
This was the second train, 10 minutes later. So we had a 37 and a 47 out on the line on Saturday. We didn't see too many passengers at the windows, although Broadway station staff later said that they were quite happy with the takings.
This is what we did for most of Saturday - lifting just north of bridge 28, then packing the ballast with 4 men on Robels.
When all was done, Bert Ferrule checked the levels, and they already needed doing again. So we gave the whole lot a second lift.
All this lifting required a lot of extra ballast for the shovellers, so Dave in the Telehandler fetched it frrom Gotherington Skew yard, about a mile away.
After lunch the sun came out good and proper, and we started to be affected by the heat.
Here you can see the sun shining quite strongly, and the temperature reached 27 in the late afternoon. Target of the shot was 47 105, in blue & yellow.
At the end of the day our return to the yard was blocked by a carriage, so the 'back door' emergency route past the Usk hut was tried.
This has become harder, as there are now 3 gates to negotiate (none before) and the last one has two warning notices, and a padlock.
They shall not pass!
On the way back home we stopped at Broadway to water some trees, and check out the progress made while we were away earlier in the week.
It was pretty impressive!
Here is the view from the footbridge.
The southern half of the rear wall is now complete, as far as plain bricks are concerned. John reached the 33rd course. What a solo achievement!
The first row of the decorative corbelling around the top edge has also been laid.
By the store room the roof line is lower, but the brickwork has been raised up to the top of the window.
The two loose bricks represent specials that we do not have. We are talking to a brick finding company, which may be able to help source what we need.
Monday at Broadway.
Three of us on Monday, two building, and one making dagger boards. It was a long hot day, but we moved forward OK.
During our spell away some brick samples arrived from the Brick Hunter.
Here is Neal examining the samples, and noting down some references from the previous supplier.
These are the samples received, and below them some of the bricks that we are already using. You'll see that they already differ between themselves (the arch bricks are quite orange, which was hotly denied by the builder in 2017). The three bricks on the right are supposed to be all the same, so what shade do you tell the brick Hunter?
Do any of the three samples approach what we need? What do you think?
After study, we plumped for the middle one, this one.
Now we have to ascertain whether the supplier of the sample can actually make specials with it. We'll ascertain that shortly.
Having completed the southern half of the rear wall, John went inside and built up the supporting blockwork
At the end of the day he had done all the necessary rows but the top one. That one will support the internal roof. One more row to go then, after which he will start work to finish the bricks on the second half of the back.
We cut 90 bricks in half today, to make 180 headers. That is extremely dusty work. We had our overalls on, OK, gloves and a face mask, so the dust went in our hair instead ...
During the day Neal was spotted in the P1 workshop container, making dagger boards for the 'Auntie Wainwright' shed. Slightly more historic, but really just lipstick on a pig, in our view. It's still a garden shed, next to that other shed (plc shop)
Tuesday at Broadway.
Another bash at the blockwork inside the first half of the rear.
We're still running two diesels, due to the fire risk.
Here is 47 105 passing the P2 site at Broadway.
John spent a couple of hours on the internal blockwork in the morning.
As you might be able to see, it was time enough to complete the blocks on that half of the rear wall.
John was then unexpectedly called away, so it was up to Neal and Yours Truly to keep ourselves busy on site.
Although Neal does not usually do bricks or blocks, Tuesday was an exception, as John had left and there was still mortar left.
Neal built up two short sections of blocks between windows on the front.
His verdict of block laying: Harder than John makes it look!
The diesel on Tuesday was the green Growler, our favourite (diesel - ) loco. Numbers were still not too bad, although a passenger we spoke to first thing said that it was the steam loco that brought her to Broadway.
At the end of the day the completed first half of the rear was visible. Only three courses of corbelling remain to be laid at the top.
We covered John's work with plastic, as we may not be returning to this area for a little while, and the first winter storm is approaching for next week. Let's hope there is rain - good for our farmers, less good for brick laying and painting.
Wednesday with the Usketeers.
Three of us today, with a cold and windy morning. Surprise! We finally succumbed to a warmer jacket, while Paul regretted putting on his shorts this morning.
Today we continued with reinstating the ground around the hut, having laid the ACO drain last week. We actually saw it working this morning, after a short spell of rain. It was fine.
The ground will have equal areas of granite setts left and right of the access pit at the front, then tarmac in front of the door. This will match the tarmac that is already there, and replace a concrete slab that was in front of the door before.
Yours Truly cut the covers for the ACO drain to size.
Then we shovelled the left over spent ballast into the barrow and took it away.
The site is looking a teeny bit tidier now, as holes are being filled in, and excess materials are being cleared.
We discovered that we had too many granite setts, so the surplus of that will also be cleared.
Passing through one side of the yard to the other we ran into one of the two diesel trains in service today. You could hear the whistle of the class 20 from quite a distance away.
On the way back we stopped for a chat with the guys of our C&M department, who were taking down the old Building & Services workshop. It's a wooden framed building, and in many places now rotten, so it's coming down.
The concrete base will house the greenhouse in the distance, and several containers which will replace Carriage & Wagon spares currently stored in various wagons. Ground level storage is better - the PWay dept has similar plans.
Together with Greg from the RATs (Railway Archiving Trust at Toddington) we examined this interesting piece of kit, lying somewhat abandoned in a corner of the yard.
After consultation with an afficionado, we ascertained that this is a route indicator, which is normally attached to a signal post. There seemed to be room for 5 or 6 sliding panels, with brass letters fixed to wire netting. Everything was rusted solid, so we weren't immediately able to identify what these actually were.
Next to it is a colour light ground signal, believed to be from Honeybourne West Loop. The lens is orange in colour.
It seems doubtful that it will ever be used here.
The other item is thought to go with the route indicator.
From a nearby skip we rescued this lantern. It has a single lens at the front, and a small repeater at the rear, with two little sliding hatches.
There is an electrical contact top left (warning of the lamp going out?)
Top right is an extra thick plate, purpose unknown.
It's in reasonable condition too. We passed it into the care of the RATs, who might well offer it for sale, to raise funds.
Back at the Usk hut, Paul had finished bedding the setts, and was mixing a thin bed of concrete as a foundation for the Tarmac that will cover this hole.
Once the asphalt is in, that would just about complete the groundworks around the hut. The setts still need jointing, and there is some pointing to be done on the brickwork of the facade.
We are talking about the next stages now - planting a GWR lamp post, in its original place by the white gate post just visible top right, and building the platelayer's hut outside Greet tunnel. There will be some holiday absences though, so don't expect too much, too soon.
This was the last shot of the day - the concrete foundation layer is in, leaving just a couple of inches for the Tarmac.
It all looks rather neat, and splendid.
Wednesday on the PWay.
The gang headed to Laverton bridge, to complete the lifting of track that had sagged during the drought.
Even the main line railway is suffering from this, so we are not alone.
This picture was taken once the problem had been ironed out, as it were. There's robelling, and checking the level.
Here's the whole gang, resting on a convenient bridge. The parapets here, by the way, are new ones, as the whole bridge is new. The gas board took out the old one to lay a high pressure pipe nearby, and eventually fulfilled its promise to replace the old one with a new one in concrete. And new parapets.
Such a bridge also makes a handy viewpoint for passing trains. We're still all diesel.
Some stayed in the Ranger for their lunch - it's comfy, and there's a cup holder.
Here's the same train on a subsequent trip, waiting to cross the class 20 at Winchcombe.
We were intrigued by a group of 10 walkers who suddenly materialised outside the station. They sounded foreign (always interesting for yours truly, who spent 35 years abroad) and we then heard one ask for '10 tickets to Toddington, please.' That's only one stop...
It turned out that they were Italians, and had hiked from Sudeley castle. A minibus was waiting for them at Toddington, to take them to their hotel in Stratford.
So we are fulfilling some sort of transport function, albeit a reduced one. In 1960 they could have gone all the way to Stratford by train (or if we had been successful in our original enterprise, to link Cheltenham with Stratford)
A look over the fence - Beamish.
Monday a week ago we had a day in Beamish, perhaps the UK's most famous and extensive open air museum. It is so big that you need a vintage tram or bus to ride right round it, to plan your day.
It was our first time ever in Newcastle.
After initial misgivings (too much space for cars, crumbling concrete viaducts, an arrival through Gateshead...) we grew to rather like it.
Views like this one, and a wide riverside footpath with pubs and restaurants gradually changed our minds.
Busy little metro box cars rumbled constantly overhead.
The morning of the Beamish visit.
There was Fog on the Tyne. So the song was based on real events, but who sang it?
Beamish lies half an hour's drive south of Newcastle.
From the map below, you can see that it is a vast site, with a circular layout of groups of activities and periods. Mining plays a big role, but so do historical periods. The whole site is immaculate, and very well composed - someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to make it believeable, and succeeded in that aim.
You can easily spend a day there. We did, and still missed a few things.
The best way to get an overview is to take a double deck tram or bus, and do the circuit. Having seen the layout from the top deck, you can decide how you want to explore the site.
This is Sunderland 16, a 1900 built tram that ended its days as a football club changing room. No more !
The tram we took was ex depot, so the first thing to do was to reverse the trolley pole, so that it could travel round the circuit in a clockwise direction. The bells, sound of the compressor and moan of the electric motors was beautiful. The interior (lower deck here) was immaculate, with varnished wood and little period lights.
Our choice of starting point was the depot, so we did the circuit 1 1/4 times, to end up a bit beyond the starting point.
Here was a re-created tram stop with double track, and a lovely stone and cast iron waiting shelter.
Beware of wandering aimlessly in the street though, as double decker buses rumble through here as well, and they don't like you stepping into their path.
This is the depot, seen from the top deck.
We had a professional tram related question, and were invited behind the scenes for a chat.
This chat turned out to be somewhat shorter than hoped for, as Mrs. Blogger arrived outside in a bit of a steaming state, due to our unexpected vanishing act.
Feathers were unruffled moments later, at a resident funfair.
We didn't have much time for photography inside, but did snap this one as it was a double decker with a truck, which interested us. Looks like Newcastle No. 114.
Further inside was a workshop, and the charred skeleton of tram that had been the victim of a vandal attack.
Adjacent to the tram depot was this giant excavator, but no explanatory panel, so we had to look it up. Our suspicion that it was steam powered proved to be correct. It is a relative of the steam navvy that built our railway! It is a 1931 built Ruston Bucyrus, one of the last to be powered by steam, before the next generation changed to diesel engines. It weighs 125 tons, and used to work a chalk quarry.
You can get an idea of the scale from the sliding doors at the front and side, which must be approximately man sized.
Further along is a short railway line, and a station.
Here there is a stone built weighbridge, just like at Usk, and from the same company, Pooleys. Note that the downpipe has no drain as such, it just empties on to the setts.
The plate outside gives a weight of 5 tons, and a date of 1914.
The mechanism inside was similar to ours at Winchcombe, but on a smaller scale, most likely similar to the original one put there in 1905. Ours was then rebuilt in 1945 with a murch heavier plate, and a huge mechanism inside that needed a completely rebuilt pit, and ground level around it. That led to drainage consequences that we are seeing only today.
The coal office that most stations had was in wood, such as the one you can see behind P2 at Toddington. This was itself rescued from Winchcombe, just prior to a proposal to burn it by our earlier pioneers. The RAT has done a fine job with it.
In the same station area is this corrugated iron clad shed. Something like this would make a fine garage for a historic vehicle on our site.
Then comes the little railway station itself, after a level crossing and a reconstituted pithead coalmine site, with a real steam hooter - a substantial one at that - which sounded at regular intervals, to announce the termination of a demonstration inside.
The station is Rowley, and the little jewel of a building was rebuilt from its original location in County Durham, not far away.
Rowley had only 753 passengers in a year in 1938, and was therefore closed to passengers in 1939. The line itself closed to freight in 1969, and was dismantled in 1972.
It seems quite large for such a low number of customers.
This is the inside of the booking office. What a marvel! It is in use, as there are short passenger rides offered on certain days of the week.
What a difference from our booking offices, which are mostly modern inside.
In fact, throughout our visit we could not find any evidence of CCTV cameras, loudspeakers, modern signage, modern spotlights, £1000 warning notices, gas bottle cages or bright yellow defibrilators anywhere. It was a very authentic experience.
Here is an example how a modern requirement - a barrier to stop people leaving the platform - was made out of period materials.
(Incidentally, the two PWay workers in the distance were using electric Milwaukee tools).
At the other end of Rowley startion is the signal box. This is actually from Carr House East.
As the wooden steps were under repair, we couldn't see inside. A common problem, it seems.
Then came the Victorian High Street, perhaps the most famous part of the site. We certainly found it the most attractive, and spent the longest time there.
This shows about half of it. Out of sight, behind the camera, is a Victorian park leading to a tea room above the shops, and a row of terraced houses, each one of which was open to visitors for inspection. One was a dentist's.
This is one of three trams in service that day, Blackpool No. 31. The third was a single decker from Portugal, which ran a shuttle service.
Blackpool 31 was built in 1901 as a four wheeler with a truck. You can see its original length by the three large windows on the side, the shorter ones on each end being added in 1918, when it was rebuilt as a longer tram with bogies.
Here it is, parked outside Barclays Bank, and another beautiful tram shelter.
This was a lovely design, incorporating a sheltered waiting area in the centre, and Gents and Ladies toilets to the left and right, all beautifully tiled inside.
Several shops were open, either for displays and questions (see below), or as in this bakery, to see the manufacture of biscuits and such like, which you could actually buy.
The lady on the left had an ingenious tripple cutter, collapsible, with which you could slice three rows of tiffin at once.
A chemist had boxes of pills which could 'cure a cold in a day'.
A garage at the back had a unique car in it, one that we had never heard of. This was a SHEW of 1907. SHEW stands for Seaham Harbour Engine Works, and it was built in the nearby port of Seaham as an experimental articulated car, which steered a bit like a modern dumper. The petrolania around it was breathtaking in its quantity.
For us the most interesting find at Beamish was in the Co-op.
This had an ingenious system of communication with rolling balls containing messages.
When a sale was made the money and your Co-op number were put into a wooden ball, which unscrewed into two halves. When closed up again, it was placed into a little lift cage (box on the left) and pulled up to the ceiling by the sash pull (far left). There, it was tipped out into a sort of railway on a slope, which went right round the shop, through a wall, and into the cashier's office in the next room.
A lady in Victorian dress explained the workings of this, which we had never seen before, No doubt it predated the pneumatic messaging system some readers might have experienced in more recent times.
Once on its two rails under the ceiling, the ball rolled, slightly downhill, towards the cashier's office.
In the picture it is joined by a second line from another counter, and there is even a turnout with a point blade, which it passed in a trailing direction.
Once at the cash office, it dropped down through a net to slow it down, then back and forth one more time, before coming to a stop by the cashier's elbow.
The cashier would then open up the ball, note down the member's number, and make the appropriate entries in the ledger for the company, and also for the member and his regular dividend.
A receipt was then sent in the other direction.
The whole system was preserved in a time capsule behind a modern false ceiling in another shop, found when the place was being stripped out.
A Google search found more fascinating detail about this, the Cash Ball system, here:
http://www.cashrailway.co.uk/cashball.htm
Behind the Victorian High Street is plenty of room, and a start has been made on another era - the 1950s.
A second High Street is under construction, one which doesn't seem so antique at all, for this baby boomer...
The houses at the back include a local police station (do you still have one?), and on the left out of shot is a short row of shops selling 1950s electrical goods and toys, all things that stirred the memories, and which made the younger ones among us gasp.
The chip shop was particularly popular.
Our overall conclusion is - Beamish is the example of the 'Living Museum' that we proclaim to be, what a wonderful journey back in time. Such care and attention to detail, it really is charming. And it was very busy too, this on a Monday morning. Attention to our heritage clearly draws crowds.
Due to lack of time, we missed the Pockerley Wagonway - something for you to discover then.
