The Usketeers forge ahead.

Monday at Broadway.

No PWay work on Saturday. It's been very quiet recently, although there are two larger jobs planned at Toddington and Southam in the coming weeks.

Monday then. The camera got a bit misted up in the excitement, so you'll have to bear with, until we realised and gave it a wipe a few pictures further on.

Three of us took the refurbished Hayles Abbey Halt sign back to the halt. It's had a complete going over, after the previous paint peeled off in a major way over the winter.

Letters off, new paint, lots of sealant in all the gaps to prevent water ingress. And by design of course there is no moulding underneath, to stop any water sitting there.

That sign was heavy! We struggled a bit, had to walk it most of the length of Broadway's platform, out of the gate and on to the truck, and at Hayles most of the way down the platform, and then up, to shoulder height. But we got there in the end. It's up, ready for when any passengers alight here (not before July in any case).

With the same journey we took an old stone window sill that's been at Broadway, unused, for many years, down to the Usk project, where it will be used as a sill for the door. It's made of sandstone, so will be very suitable, and it's just the right length. We think it emerged from the rubble of Broadway station round about 2010.

Then back to Broadway, where we found Neal trial fitting the first of the T&G boards for the sides of the steps. John was primering various gaps in the paintwork, ready for us to give it another conserving coat of undercoat.

This is the first board here, so quite a moment in the rebuild of the footbridge. They are already painted (ones that 'we prepared earlier') but need the ends trimming at various angles to make them fit under the hand rails, and on to the treads.

Once he had the bit between his teeth Neal made good progress. We did have to stop several times to answer questions from potential customers. It's amazing, but they will approach a guy in working clothes, all orange and boots, and ask him where is their electronic receipt after they made an on-line booking! We did our best to help.

It was another day of sunshine and showers, the last in a series just recently. Just look at the sky darkening here, as another load is about to be dumped on us. But you do get a nice view from the footbridge.

This is what the centre span looks like at the moment. It's becoming quite the carpenter's workshop, as Neal cuts the T&G and there is sawdust and shavings everywhere. The fitting is only temporary, as we have to treat the newly cut ends with a fungicide to give the wood a longer life, and a coat of primer/undercoat each time.

Here are the boards, starting to go down the steps, with John's primering also evident. 

To remind you, this is what the sides are due to look like, with this one original panel from HIA fitted to the other side as a demo piece.

Tuesday at Broadway.

First a quickie to Toddington, where our galvanised posts were waiting for a coat of primer.

As you can see this, they've has that coat - dark stone undercoat is next.

Outside, the trains seemed a little busier, now that we have allowed people to get on at CRC and at Broadway.

After lunch, we went to Broadway to continue with the footbridge steps.

We opened up the fencing, and found 4270 chugging in with its train. One day. you'll be able to take this picture.

One of us felt that from up here, the railway seemed like a model one, so far down.

Here is the passing shot, as the loco trundled underneath the bridge and came to a halt at the platform end.

As you can see, the weather was much more cheerful on Tuesday.

Neal wasn't here for most of the day (on a mission to retrieve a milling machine donated to us) but we noticed how far he had got on Monday late afternoon. 

The first panel is almost cut. These planks have to come out again, as the cut areas need to be treated against rotting, and then painted as well.

The Broadway gang have been busy with the fencing, and that allows this more interesting shot of 4270 returning across the bridge, from behind the newly planted fence. Such a change from the weeds and wild tree growth that we found when we started here in 2008.

By the BROADWAY running in board the loco slowly rolled up to the rake and coupled on.

John gave the Cotswolds side another layer of undercoat, while yours truly fitted some more extension strips to the treads.

Wednesday on the Usk Project.

A great day, with lovely dry weather, not too hot, and good progress made, as we got to work straight away at 08.30. No doughnuts! Not for this dynamic team.

On site we were met by a sea of sandstone blocks, and more arriving all the time. Our small team of 5 split into two halves, with two laying blocks, and three cleaning and re-positioning them according to size.

In the foreground you can see a growing pile of blocks with an angle. These are for the top of the gable ends.

 

We started on the Cotswolds side, where Paul was laying and Jules was fetching.

Sadly, Jules had to leave us mid-morning for an unexpected domestic issue. Hope you got it sorted, Jules!

On the preparation team were John and Jonathan, chipping away old mortar, which yours truly then carried (or tried to carry, some were too heavy and were left alone for later) to the pallets with the different sizes.

After completing the Cotswolds side first row we paused, and watched the first train out of CRC accelerate away with the token for Toddington.

This, and the first train out of Broadway, is better filled, and reflect the freedom that our passengers want.

After the break, we decided to do the first row on the Malvern side. 

The first row we did last week, on the southern (gable end) side seems to have gone off satisfactorily. We are covering our work in hessian and sheets of plastic, but the storm we just had blew them off, despite the bricks we laid on top.

Jonathan left at lunch time, and we were down to four workers. Here is Dave with a little trolley we are using, pulling one of the corner quoins for fitting near Paul.

Dave took over Jules' role of fetching for Paul, and together they were able to lift the heavy blocks on the DPC, one by one. 

A little tap from the rubber hammer would settle them down well, or level them out if they were not quite level. We are working with roughly hewn natural stone here, so there are many irregularities, which is all part of the attraction of such an old stone building.

Our guess is that the stone came out of the debris extracted from boring the tunnel at Usk station, which is cut through the same type of rock.

 

 

Today's Winchcombe station, formerly at Monmouth Troy on the same line as Usk, is made out of the same pink sandstone material, so our new historic building will suit the main station building much better than the modern Bradstone out of which the toilet block, P2 waiting room and more recently the visitor centre were constructed.

And here is the Malvern side first row, just completed.

Peter from the PWay team has come over to have a look at what we have achieved.

Having laid an 8 inch row of blocks along the Malvern side, we added a corner quoin on the end. This will help when we place the next row.

The hessian has been laid out, ready to cover the work to protect it from excessive drying out.

We had a bit of mortar over, so added another block on the northern gable end as well. Then, finally, a second row quoin on the corner.

Here's the overview of today's work, just before we covered it all up. Although it's an 8 inch row, we have tried to use a few bricks of different sizes in the middle, as you can see. We've now got the first row on three, and some on the fourth sides. The area of the door will be done at a later stage.

The original blockwork pattern was almost random, with a few straight lines, but most rows changed in height with a step upwards or down along their length. But at the end you do have to come back to an 8 or 9 inch corner quoin, as they are all of that size.

Tricky....

Derek's steam in colour

These photographs are from the final two days of the Oxford University Railway Society visit to the West Country. The first four were taken on 19^th May 1965.

A view of Brunel's 1859 Royal Saltash Bridge. [A09.29]

Taken on board a train between Newton Abbot and Teignmouth with another train approaching. [A09.30]

The oncoming train is hauled by a Western Diesel Hydraulic, and has no fewer than 13 coaches in tow. The whole train is in maroon.

From the same train approaching tunnel. [A09.31]

This is Parson's tunnel through Hole Head, near Teignmouth. The sea is right up against the trackbed, and the cliff above the tunnel looks fragile. As part of the resilience programme, Network Rail is about to build an extension to the rock shelter on the other side of the headland.

Last picture of the day is a view through the cab of the DMU at Sidmouth Junction with a service to Sidmouth. [A09.32]

A new day, 20^th May 1965, and BR Standard 4MT 80146 is at Bath Green Park with the 1:10pm for Templecombe. [A09.33]

Standard tank was allocated to Bournemouth when Derek took the picture in 1965, so would be working up and down the Somerset and Dorset line. This Brighton built loco was only attached to three sheds - Brighton in 1956, Eastleigh, and Bournemouth in 1964. It was withdrawn on 9th July 1967 (see also below) and was scrapped by Birds of Risca in November. This newish loco had just 10 years in service.

And here's an extra little curiosity:

BR Standard Class 4MT No.80104 on the Swanage Railway spent 2017 renumbered as No.80146.

Why, might you ask?

2017 marked the 50th Anniversary of the end of Steam on the Southern Region of British Railways.

On the 18th June 1967 80146, hauled the final steam hauled passenger train on the Swanage branch.

Remember, if you want a full sized scan of any of these pictures, contact breva2011 (at) hotmail.co.uk.

Continuing on board this train it is seen here about to take the token at Bath Junction. [A09.34]

You can just make out the Standard tank heading the train, as it rounds the curve. The signalman looks as if he's going to be run over, but in fact the train will pass him on the left, after receiving the token.

Our group had split up for this last day and the next two photographs are again taken from the Bath to Templecombe train showing the approaching 11:40am ex Bournemouth just south of Radstock North. As you can see the others in the group were looking after our headboard! [A09.35] [A09.36]

The crossing train, on magnification of the picture, can be identified as being hauled by 75072, with, as Derek says, the OURS headboard on the buffer beam. Nothing like a bit of advertising!

Like the Standard tank hauling Derek's train, this loco on the crossing train was also a modern loco with a short life span, again just 10 years. 75072 entered traffic at the end of 1955, was based at Templecombe when Derek photographed it, and was withdrawn at the end of 1965, i.e., the same year the picture was taken.

The final shot is taken from our train as it approached Templecombe with a general view of the S&D facilities. [A09.37]

What a great picture of the S&D shed, with at least 4 stream locos visible, of which three in steam. One is attached to a bright red carriage, which could be a part of a breakdown train. It's also in steam, you never know!

Yours truly was once invited to tea in such a red breakdown train carriage. That was at Stewart's Lane in London in the 1970s. The biscuits had 'BR' baked into them, and the tea leaves, hot water and milk all came out of one giant teapot! Atmosphere, or what?