Fabrication - the last push

Saturday along the line

Some odd jobs today, for small team on a brilliantly sunny day. Summer is definitely on its way.

We kicked off at Gotherington Manor Lane, where we entered the trackbed to go to the end of the CWR at Bishop's Cleeve to grease the breather joint.

That's the second week where we thought we'd finish with the Interflon, and another little greasy job pops up. Dang. Let's hope this really is the last time.

On Saturday we had two trains out, and Dinmore Manor has now joined 4270 in pulling our trains. Here is the Manor passing our Landie, which has paused to let the train pass.

The breather looked pretty well greased up (from last year) but not with the new miracle product Interflon, so we gave it a good go around. As the weather gets warmer, this little expansion joint needs to work more.

We received a compliment from the loco dept today, in that they felt the Broadway extension ran so well, and that their locos consumed less coal on it, and it was a delight to drive on. Could we not have other CWR stretches?

After doing the other end at Bishop's Cleeve, we had lunch on the patio outside the goods shed, then discussed a potential project with the loco guys there, had an ice cream from the Flag & Whistle (another day, another ice cream) and then went on to Stanton, where we parked up again to let another train pass, this time with 4270.

We were now joined by Bert Ferrule, who brought a ring spanner, a feeler gauge, and a picture about greasing breather joints. It was a bit hard to see in the bright sunlight.

Another issue was a report of a seized bolt, which we couldn't find last week. It was on 'P8' and we thought - Platform eight?

Turned out to be panel 8.

 

The Caravan site at Broadway, empty a week earlier, is now rammed. We had some spectators while we tried to undo the seized bolt.

A nice lady leaned over the fence and asked if we all wanted a cup of tea. We certainly did! Asking for crumpets as well was pushing the boat out a bit too far, we felt.

 

Taking pictures today was a bit tricky. The sunlight was strong, and the two locos were both facing north, so any smokebox first picture would be straight into the sun.

Here is a passing shot as Dinmore rolls into Broadway, past the full Caravan Club site.

You can get service from the Broadway station cafe from the door, while the loco runs round.

 

 

No doubt all these measures are temporary, and we hope that in the not too distant future all our passengers can get on and off again as they please.

 

 

 

An extra day's fabricating.

We are close to completing the manufacture of the Broadway canopy steelwork, and felt it prudent to fit in an extra day on Sunday to boost the progress a little.

Sunday was also the first time we experienced the new goods shed extension, which is now officially open. Next to additional machining space for the workshop, it has toilets, showers, wash and changing rooms, a medical office, general office, a meeting room and of course a large canteen. It is all very professionally laid out, and we hope it attracts a lot of new volunteers.

At the southern end is a large platform, comprising the fire escape and dirty boots access to the mess room. We quickly realised what a marvellous viewing platform this was, even if perhaps that wasn't its primary purpose.

Here we are, testing the new viewing platform. You can hang out, chat to the signalman, people walking underneath, or just watch the passing trains pick up their tokens.

 

Then to work! This picture shows the angle grinder being used to square off some welding work where the simulated cast iron jackets will end. This was a lot of work, and just when you thought you had finished, the welder would come and lay down another line for you to grind level.

On the other post Neal and John were busy preparing the embellishment that goes on the bottom of the post. This was quite tricky. To simulate the original cast iron shape, we took a piece of round, cut it down the middle, and today we cut a diagonal in the end, so that when fitted together, four of them made a ring round the column.

Once welded on, the lengths of half round had to be repeatedly ground to shape, then re-welded for more texture.

Neal had a go at grinding as well, it is rather wearing after a while.

For lunch we took some of the garden chairs previously outside the now redundant mess coach and brought them up on to the new terrace. They sit really comfy! The mess coach, 'TINA', is for sale. It's a converted Mk1, formerly an exhibition coach, so it has a number of corridor compartments (currently wash/changing rooms) and a larger mess room at one end.

This is the sort of picture you can take, with Dinmore Manor leaving Toddington and about to pick up the section token for Winchcombe. From our elevated position you could see the train for miles, skirting the Cotswolds Edge on its way to the next station. We'll take a picture of that next time.

Here's the effect we are trying to achieve. It's not yet completely finished, but you can see the idea. There is a sort of beading cast into the original, which we are replicating with the half round, which is welded on.

This is what it is supposed to look like. This actual example is from sister station Hall Green, so the supplier is different, but it's clearly the same era as Broadway.

Here we have as foundry Hill & Smith, whereas on the Honeybourne line all the steel and foundrywork was by E Finch, of Chepstow.

You can see the beading in place now.

Here it is, almost finished. That took us the best part of a day. Only the 'jacket' still needs welding on, it was what we were doing at the end of the day.

This picture shows an original column, and the casting detail we are replication on the new steel post.

We won't be replicating the little door. This gave access to the downpipe, which was routed through the inside of the casting. It was a weakness in the design, and when the posts were knocked down in 1963, this is where they broke.

This picture shows the whole of the bottom of an original post. We dug two of them out at Broadway, where they had been buried behind platform two.

The slanted pipe is the outlet for the interior downpipe.

All three of us were grinding away all day long, with occasional bursts of welding to build something up again.

Outside 4270 was in charge of the other train. Strange to say, the trains were not well filled, which came as a surprise. Given that everyone was desperate to get out from Lockdown, we were at a loss to explain the modest passenger show.

Monday at Broadway

A long held wish came to fruition today. The quad royal notice boards we have at Broadway are actually temporary examples, made of plywood and a plain beading.

Back in our little heritage workshop we have made replacements in GWR style, as well as a quad royal sized poster board for two posters. Alex of our C&W department lettered all three boards for us, and he did it masterfully.

 On Friday we brought them back to Broadway. Here are the two outdoor ones, and behind them is the space we left for the one with the posters.

 

Neal came to Broadway to fit them. Here he is on his hands and knees, fitting the supporting strips that we find on the old photographs. Why the GWR did it like this we don't know. Possibly it was to allow the boards to be taken off when the posters were changed (paper ones in the old days, which didn't last very long in the wind and strong sunlight) but in any case we need to do the same to make it look like 1904.

The board for the booking office replaces another that was made of a sheet of thin plywood and plain beading, put up to get the station going.

Here is how Alex lettered it - in gold, with black and shadow shading. He also did the two double royal boards left and right, a couple of years back. 

The blue timetable colour advice now has a wood coloured snap frame instead of the brushed aluminium in use before. The modern frame is almost invisible now.

Outside was this plain notice board, fitted to get the station going.

We have replaced it with this one:

 It has the correct moulded frame, has been lettered GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY by Alex, and the string of brushed aluminium snap frames has been replaced by black painted ones, which will be less conspicuous. Three frames have been treated, and three more are in production.

The third board was for two double royal posters. As we have mentioned in a previous blog, these posters are originals printed on to aluminium backing boards, which will not tear or fade. The two new ones are for Gloucester, and the Wye valley. In 1904 Broadway station, platform side, was covered in such posters, covering every available space. The only thing not completely in keeping with our 1904 time scene is the posters themselves - they are from the 1930s. We could not find any original posters of 1904, unless someone knows a source?

And to our surprise we received a very kind gift from George, the former signalman from Moreton in Marsh box.

 

 

 

It's an original leaflet holder from the GWR. It's the first one we've ever seen. We have made some replicas based on photographs we've been shown, but here is an actual GWR one, offering 'Attractive Tours of Windsor, Oxford and the Shakespeare Country'.

Our first thought was to put it in the Booking Office, to replace plastic leaflet holders that have been put there, but on second thoughts we think it may be easily stolen. So we'll have a go at making a couple of replicas for daily use, and this original could go in a GWSR museum, when we have one.

Underneath, the little leaflet holder was boldly stamped G W R ! You can't steal that.

Since writing this up, we've tried and failed to find some mahogany or similar wood for to replicate this leaflet holder. Does anyone have some for us that would be suitable? Mahogany, or sheets of Sappele, something reddish in hardwood is what we'd need.

Wednesday on the Usk hut

At last work has restarted on the little Usk weighbridge hut.

There were Paul, Dave, John and yours truly on the little job.

Other Uskovites have yet to show their faces - surely you've been vaccinated now?

To start with we took a look at the level between the top of the platform blocks, and where we need to be with the damp proof course.

We determined that we needed a single row of blues, before starting on the stonework. We don't have an unlimited amount of stone, so a little blue band will be seen at the bottom in order to save a course of them.

A few members of today's PWay gang came to see what we were doing, then set off to remove a twist on Chicken Curve.

Here's a quick snap of Paul laying the first brick. Quite a historic moment, as we are now going up.

So what do you do now?

The area where the mess coach is parked has become very wet, despite the drought we've been having. This is because, it is believed, contractors working on the Isbourne last year may have crushed the mains pipe running through the yard.

As we had a few spare moments, Paul suggested that we use divining rods to find out where the mains pipe ran exactly. After a little skip diving we found some suitable bits of wire which we bent to a right angle. Paul demonstrated how they worked.

Doug mosied over and expressed a little scepticism over this apparent flim-flammery. He tried them out, but failed to get any reaction out of them at all. We told him, we said, this is because you have to believe, Dougie! It was no good, they ignored him.

All the bricks we laid today were cleaned by John, who was working on the other half of the yard, slowly filling up a pallet of them. These are reds, good for areas that won't be seen. John treated an entire dumpy bag full today.

We had one train out today, hauled by 7903 Foremarke Hall. Passenger figures remain very low, which puzzled us.

So what do you think of my work, eh?

 

 

At the end of the afternoon we had another visit from the PWay gang, who had now finished, digging, levelling and packing, and who wanted a relaxing chat.

Here's the site of the little Usk hut at the end of the day. It now has a row of blues around it. In the top LH corner is what we are going to do next, which is lay two more rows, so that the base is 47cm wide. That is the width of the original stonework, which will rise above.

If we have the time, we are going to do a little exploratory dig where the divining rods said the water pipe lies. We believe... we shall know next week whether the pipe really is where we marked the ground with a coloured dot.

Derek's 1964 steam in colour

Back in Oxford now and here on 22^nd September 1964 9F 92244 is with a freight passing the Stratfield Brake level crossing. This is on the short, now closed, link between the Worcester line and the Bletchley line north of Wolvercote. [A07.28]

A very atmospheric evening picture. That 9F was 6 years old at the time, and managed only another 12 months or so, for a total service life of just 7 years. Some, like Evening Star, had a life of just 5 years. And yet it was such a numerous and successful design, with 251 built and as many as nine surviving the scrapping. Six of them have run in preservation so far.

On the 29^th September 1964 the 12:05pm Worcester to Paddington train running an hour and a half late has just passed Wolvercote Junction with a Standard Class 5 having come to the rescue of a failed Hymek. [A07.29]

Isn't it nice to see a steamer coming to the rescue of one of those new fangled diesels! With steam to spare too. Derek didn't record the number; by zooming in on the scan of his slide that we have we can make out the last number: a four. (other than the 73XXX). Could it be one of the Caprotti fitted engines delivered to the WR? In that case it would have to be 73134. Five examples have been preserved. Twenty of the series were named, but the one in the picture is not one of them.

On 1^st January 1965 West Country 34024 has just left Oxford on the southbound Pines Express. A freight is waiting on the through line. [A08.09]

34024 was TAMAR VALLEY , a Bulleid Pacific introduced into traffic in 1946, with its first recorded shed allocation being Exmouth Junction. In its 21 year career the locomotive only visited two other sheds - Salisbury and Bournemouth, from where it was withdrawn in July 1967.   It was scrapped by Cashmore's of Newport a few months later.

A week later, on 8^th January 1965 the next two pictures are of derailed wagons from a Bromford Bridge to Fawley oil empties just south of Kidlington station. [A08.10]

Later, the breakdown crane came into action. [A08.11]

On 14^th January 1965 Merchant Navy 35030 is passing Hinksey with the southbound Pines Express. [A08.14]

 35030 was ELDER DEMPSTER LINES, a MN pacific allocated to Dover Marine in 1949. About half way through its 18 year career it was rebuilt without the streamlining in 1958, and in September 1964 this Southern engine was allocated to the GWR shed at Weymouth Radipole. And that is how you see this Southern engine in GWR territory, pulling away from Oxford! The Pines Express was behind it all.

35030 was withdrawn in 1967 and scrapped in 1968, with a relatively low mileage (for this main line express locomotive) of 850.000 miles.