Week 14 - 100 days

Another week with very limited activities of essential maintenance and measuring of track assets.

At least we can now say that we have recorded all the main line track assets from end to end, and can tick that item off our list of urgent requirements.

The last day of main line track measuring was south of Stanton, where about half a mile remained to be done. Thunderstorms interrupted the last session midway through the afternoon, as you may recall.

As it was quite a long walk, and the rails were rusty due to the absence of train movements, we decided to drive to our setting off point.

The car's SATNAV system must surely be mistaken, as it usually shows us going down the B4632 and yet in the picture we were travelling down a railway line...

Looking out of the window confirmed that the system was not mistaken, there was a Volkswagen Golf up ahead. We are very fortunate that we work on a former double track main line, so most areas can be reached by motor vehicle along the other former running line.

We did our measurements and recordings, and were pretty pleased to have ticked off this box. Unfortunately at the moment we are prohibited from doing any actual work, other than emergency (we have no emergency).

After the Stanton - viaduct work we moved on to Broadway, where the 3 turnouts laid 2 years ago needed recording.

First lunch though. Thankfully there are enough picnic tables there to allow one picnic table per man...

Having done the two turnouts at Broadway north, we headed off for the Toddington end to do the southern loop turnout.

The Broadway gang have only just started work themselves, and there is quite a bit of dust about, and these spiders' webs on the canopy lamps.

The weather was marvelous, and allowed this lovely picture of Mike knocking in a few Pandrol clips that we found loose.

We measured up this turnout as well, another recording job off the list. All part of the paperwork we are now required to have.

The Broadway embankment, a long time disposal point for ash and china wreckage from St James, continues to throw up interesting bits of pottery, and this time we found this shard of a GWR Hotels teapot, from the post 1935 era with the shirt button logo.

A complete teapot with the earlier crested logo went for over £400 at a recent auction. We tried to buy it for museum purposes, but it realised almost three times its estimate. Too much for us.



Anyone got a GWR teapot they don't want? After finding all the china pieces in the Broadway embankment, it occurred to us that a little exhibition of complete pieces would be an interesting thing for our visitors. The GWR restaurant car china was quite distinctive, with suppliers such as Spode, Minton and even Wedgwood. We have some cups, saucers and plates, but none complete.

At the end of the day a suggestion for a round of ice creams was made, and when yours truly offered to buy them, there was a rush for offers to help. Yeah, right.

Not sure about this one...

Moths? From where?

Your blogger's wallet was extracted from its dusty hiding place and carefully prised open.

Enough coins for three licky ices were found, and these were tested critically before consumption.

They passed the test.



On the subject of PWay, John Lees has generously made available the final box of his photographs of railway construction over many years since the early 1980s.
This box relates to the period 2015 to 2018. They have all been scanned now, and the first 125 have been put into a new folder about the Broadway extension (not all pictures are about this, but most. We had to stop working on the extension each winter to undertake various PWay projects that couldn't be done during running days)

Here it is:
Broadway extension through the eyes of John Lees

There will be just under 500 photographs in this section, with another 1700 in the Early GWSR section.

We hope you will enjoy the slow voyage through time, as seen from the rail head.






Broadway station

The Broadway team has been allowed to return to work for maintenance, essentially mowing the grass which is waist high in places.

Normally the slope behind P1 can be cut quite easily with a lawn mower, but over the last 100 days the grass and weeds have grown so high that Pat was obliged to use a strimmer and painfully slash his way through.

Pete and Tony then dealt with the arisings.

Brian and Dave race back to the station entrance.

The drive was also attacked, to start with on the village side.

In some areas a mower can be used, but when it encounters a pine cone there is a loud bang and you can see that the mower doesn't like them.

Monday and Wednesday saw a team pick up all the pine cones - two wheelbarrows full each day - but the trees responded cheekily by dropping more when their backs were turned. Ouch!

Nine more timbers have been cut and painted for the footbridge steps (all home work) and these have now been returned and stored up on the centre span.

The situation now is that all the timberwork for the P1 side is ready and could be erected in a short period of time. It just needs the boarding then.

P2 has some of the timberwork already done in anticipation.

As we write, we are not yet permitted to return to this job.








And now we come to: (Fanfare)

Last week's quiz answers:

1.     Which two locomotives were named King George VI?

6028 and 46244

2.     What was the name and number of the GWR’s only pacific locomotive?

The Great Bear no 111

3.     How many BR Standard locomotives were built and in how many classes?

999 locos in 12 classes

4.     Which was the only class of express steam engine that operated on BR without a red buffer beam?

A4

5.     Where was the northernmost depot employing GW designed locomotives?

Inverness

6.     What was the final GWR design of steam locomotive?

Hawkswoth 9400 class

7.     Which is the only preserved “Manor” not to have been rescued from Barry?

7808 Cookham Manor

8.     In what year was the Territorial Army formed?

1908, Britannia 70048 was named to commemorate the 50^th Anniversary

9.     Greet Tunnel at 693 yards is the second longest tunnel on a preserved railway.  Which railway has the longest tunnel, what is it called and how long is it?

The Bluebell Railway, West Hoathley/Sharpthorne Tunnel at 731 yards

10. How many sleepers are there in a mile of track?

2112

11. Which was the only ex LNER locomotive to survive from Barry scrap yard?

61264

12. What is the name of the most northerly junction on the BR network?

Georgemas Junction, where the Wick and Thurso lines diverge

13. What is the longest name ever carried by a “Castle” locomotive?

5017 The Gloucestershire Regiment 28^th 61st

14. Apart from locomotive 46220 Coronation, three other members of the same class carried crests above their nameplates.  Which locomotives were these?

46235 City of Birmingham, 46240 City of Coventry, & 46254 City of Stoke-on-Trent

15. Four locomotives were involved in the 1952 railway accident at Harrow & Wealdstone. What were the numbers and names of these engines?

42389, 45637 Windward Islands, 46202 Princess Anne & 46242 City of Glasgow

16. Between 1968 and 1990 how many locomotives left Barry scrapyard for preservation?

213

17. Which “Hall” class locomotive didn’t survive into BR ownership?

4911 Bowden Hall destroyed in an air raid in 1941

18. In 1952 4082 Windsor Castle swapped identity with which other class member?

7013 Bristol Castle

19. How many BR Standard 9Fs were fitted with mechanical stokers?

Three, 92165/6/7

20. Where and what is the steepest gradient in Britain today over which passenger trains are operated just by adhesion?

On the Mersey Railway between the bottom of the Mersey Tunnel and James Street station at 1 in 27

We've had a bit of correspondence about Q4, as reader Malcolm pointed out that the A4s were:

 

 'one of 4 classes that ran on BR without red buffer beams - the W1 (60700) and the 2 B17's streamlined in a similar fashion to the A4's, and the last LMS big Lizzies before they were defrocked (which was in BR days) did not have red buffer beams'.

This week's quiz:

What is the full name of the following railways?

1. LNWR                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

2. LB&SCR                          ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

3. GNR                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

4. WHR                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

5. GER                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

6. ELR                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

7. M&CR                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

8. LSWR                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

9. OW&WR                          ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

10. L&YR                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

11. GCR                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

12. NYMR                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

13. HR                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

14. LT&SR                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

15. SVR                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

16. RH&DR                          ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

17. NSR                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

18. MS&LR                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

19. GNoSR                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

20. TVR                                       ………….……….………………………………………………………………………………

Not so hard, this one, but it was just a quickie for amusement before the 2019 Christmas pud was served.

Answers next week.