Week 15

PWay

On Saturday a small gang, restricted in size due to COVID house rules, went to Broadway to do some work on the southern loop turnout, which we knew to be slightly tight to gauge.

This was highlighted by the track walkers, who reported clips coming out. They do this of course, but here it was always the same clips.

So we went to check this out, and found that the gauge was slightly tight.

One of the reasons for this was a weld whose location was a bit unfortunate, just on top of a base plate as you can see in this picture. This stopped the rail from seating properly.

Our ingenious solution was quite simple really, it was to move a small number of sleepers southwards, and this would widen the gauge sufficiently to be within the normal tolerances.

We've been stuck indoors for so many weeks now that muscles and general physical condition are going backwards, so it was quite tough to dig out several sleepers. It's not always fully appreciated that this sitting at home to avoid the virus also has consequences for physical and mental well being.

We laid the trip jacks in lengthways and ratcheted away, but of course it isn't always the intended sleeper that is the one that moves. Dang! In one place we had to put in five trip jacks, three to move the sleeper we wanted to move, and two more to prevent the one behind it from moving in the other direction.

Because of COVID distancing measures, we all had to bring our own cars to the work site at Broadway, so it got quite busy up there.

The new bracket signal looks good, but it still needs its signal arms, and we hope the box will open too. A working signal box is not just for a quicker run round, the whole paraphenalia around the working of the box is part of the railway atmosphere that we try to re-create.

The sky started to look a bit ominous then, because we couldn't see Cleeve Hill any more.



That is always bad news for Broadway, and soon after it started to absolutely bucket down.




Inside the Landie it was nice and dry, but regulations demanded that it was occupied by but a single worker, so most of us made a dash for our own cars, to sit in solitary silence while the rain rattled on our roofs.

Steve coughed once, so was told to stand over there for three days...

When the rain stopped everything was wet, but that didn't stop us from finishing the job. We moved 4 or 5 of the big timbers, then back filled, checked the gauge again, and the job was a good one.

Almost as a side effect, that weld was now off its base plate too, so this turnout is good to go and the Pandrol clips should stay in now.





Broadway

Here too, limited activity only, due to house COVID rules. This basically means minor maintenance only, like mowing the grass and sweeping the drive.

The pine trees, which we all love, have been very trying recently. We sweep the drive and the grassed over areas free of cones (the mower doesn't like them), and when you look over an area recently swept, you hear a 'plop' behind you and DANG, there goes another one.










A casual look into the gulleys revealed that they were full of needles, so we opened them to remove what had accumulated inside. The steel gulley in use at Broadway wedges shut to stop it rattling, but then along comes a 13T bus and rolls over it, and now it won't open any more...

But we got a lot out, mostly needles and the little curly flowers from the trees.

Over the last 3 months the grass has grown considerably, mostly in the form of weeds which can be waist high. Pat is currently our only strimmer / brush cutter, so it was a huge job for him.

He's done the drive now, and here we see him on P2 behind the running in board.

When the grass is back down to a couple of inches, it looks so much better and cared for.

Pat plodded on doggedly, for three working days now. Finally he got to the site of the P2 waiting room.

Time for a well deserved rest! It's quite tiring really, especially, as we said, when you've been at home doing nothing for three months. It takes a while to get back into shape, but it's good for you.



Now, a couple of questions.

On Monday a local resident came round to ask if we wanted something for our museum. In truth, we'd like a museum of the railway, but there are no current plans. After all, we are trying to show our heritage, and teach people what it was like in 1904. But we said yes please (it'll have to be stored off site, together with other stuff already accumulated) so 15 minutes later we were offered three items with a local provenance.

Unfortunately, neither the donor nor ourselves could say what they were, perhaps our readers can help?

Here they are:










This is a copper container, the height of a wine bottle, and with a small lip. It actually has Broadway provenance, as it was found on the slope opposite Broadway signal box (by the new car park entrance). It was all squashed up, but the finder had some metalworking skills and straightened it out a few years back.

Now we know that when Broadway signal box was knocked down, it was thrown down the slope by the car park entrance. So it could be an item from the box. On the other hand, that slope, particularly below the old goods shed, was also a dumping ground for ash from Cheltenham St. James, and in particular for items from restaurant cars that were broken, such as pottery, china, glassware, old bottles etc. So it might have something to do with a restaurant car.

The container has an inscription on it: W5050. That looks like the number for a GWR carriage, perhaps someone knows which carriage that was? Was it by any chance a restaurant car? Were wine coolers used in the 1930s, or is that a modern invention?

Next, a cast iron plaque from a wagon body in a local quarry. Not so old, but we'd still like to know something about it.



The maximum load stamped on it is only 5 tons, which seems low for a wagon.

There is also a date, not so visible: 8 - 62.

The number stamped on it is: 57359

What does S.T.H. stand for?






Finally, this one, a bit older and with a definite GWR heritage:

It's 7 inches across, and looks a bit home made. It's on a sheet of brass, without any apparent fixing holes, and there is a bit of rust/primer on the back. It's not obvious how it was attached to anything.

We Googled Maypole Southall and this turns out to be a large Margarine factory, with indeed a railway siding alongside. It was also a series of well known shops before the war, and the name (only) today, we read, is owned by Morrisons.

When containers are labelled, it is usually 'empty' to so-and-so, but this one is 'full'. What could have been transported in it? The Vale of Evesham is known for its fruit and veg, but not for the constituents of Margarine, and it sounds as if the container was for a liquid.

Any ideas?




And finally.....

A picture of our 2874 wheels being worked on at the South Devon Railway, courtesy of Richard Elliot, to whom our thanks.

Here the counterweights are being rivetted back on (remember the bolts in the last picture?) so progress is being made, it's not all doom and gloom.


PPS - the answers to last week's quiz of course.

Here they are:

What is the name of the following railways?

1. LNWR                                       London & North Western Railway

2. LB&SCR                          London, Brighton & South Coast Railway

3. GNR                                       Great Northern Railway

4. WHR                                       Welsh Highland Railway

5. GER                                       Great Eastern Railway

6. ELR                                       East Lancashire Railway

7. M&CR                                       Maryport & Carlisle Railway

8. LSWR                                       London and South Western Railway

9. OW&WR                          Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway             

10. L&YR                                       Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway

11. GCR                                       Great Central Railway

12. NYMR                                       North Yorkshire Moors Railway                                       

13. HR                                       Highland Railway

14. LT&SR                                       London Tilbury & Southend Railway

15. SVR                                       Severn Valley Railway

16. RH&DR                          Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway

17. NSR                                       North Staffordshire Railway

18. MS&LR                         Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway                                       

19. GNoSR                                       Great North of Scotland Railway                                       

20. TVR                                       Taff Vale Railway