Halcyon days

Saturday in Toddington cutting

Having connected the through road to the replacement crossing last Monday, the Saturday gang was tasked with connecting the diverging road. This did not meet the crossing ends, being three inches or so out.

We took the tools up to Toddington. Being a tad early - we can't do anything until 10 o'clock - we had a look in the diesel shed.

A rather beautifully painted class 47/0 sat in its shiny blue and yellow coat.

Bert Ferrule and Mike got a bit carried away, and tried to push it outside for a better look. Some resistance though was offered by 112 tons of the class 47/3 behind.

Finally the 10 o'clock train left for Cheltenham, here collecting the token from the Toddington signalman. We were then able to ask him for a line block for a trolley with which to push our kit up to the work site at the north carriage siding turnout.

Here it is. Bottom left is the joint that is 1 inch out; the other end of that was 3 inches out. In the centre is the through road, already in use if you can read the shiny wear mark correctly.

The southern end of that mismatch wasn't too hard. We just moved the first base plate to the side by an inch, re-drilled and re-bolted it. Fishplates on, job done.

The second half of the job was for the northern end, and that was a lot more work. The siding and the new crossing were 3 inches adrift. A major digging out of sleepers was required, to shift things into a better position.

Over a 10 yard length the chair screws were removed, and the base plates with a rail moved to one side. This exposed the old screw holes, which were then plugged.

 

 

The plugs then had to be sawn off, here done with great enthusiasm by Nick.

Getting down and dirty like that got Nick - very dirty. There was oil everywhere.

Trains ran of course, today with Dinmore Manor and as here, with P&O. Allowing for COVID seating restrictions, they seemed quite well filled, but this is our peak month too, under normal trading circumstances.

Things changed on Tuesday for the better, after the removal of legally required social distancing.

We look up at him, and he looks down on us. The driver of 35006.

We also had to slue the start of the siding over by 3 inches. This was done with 3 slueing jacks, and a big Duff jack against the running line (which we prayed would stay in place.)

Luckily the track moved, and the main line didn't.

After lunch, things really began to hot up, and we reached 29.5 degrees C. But - we had broken the back of the job, we were almost done.

Here is the 'end of the day' shot. Look how smoothly the two rails in the middle meet the (orange coloured) new crossing in the middle, and emerge in a straight line on the other side. Wasn't like that in the morning. The TSR is still in place, but should be removed after some minor jobs remaining on Wednesday.

The effect of the heat can be seen on the two volunteers on the right. By mid afternoon the small amount of shade to which we could escape (granted by the small tree on the right) had moved around, and we were completely exposed to the merciless sun.

Seven Magnums, please.

On the way home we stopped at the Spar shop, and treated ourselves to an armful of ice creams. Bert Ferrule was the generous buyer of todays' round.

Monday at Broadway.

 

 

 

 

More painting - will it never end? On Monday the 110 T&G boards were treated to a coat of undercoat on one side (55 specimens) and a coat of topcoat on one side (another 55 specimens).

That took pretty much all day, and left the centre span full of sticky bits of board all over the place, blocking all movement.

 

Neal had a good tidy up in the morning, and in the afternoon started fitting the risers on the Cotswolds side steps. 

Dealing with bent, old wood sometimes means using a G clamp, with a long stick and a hammer.

Monday was a non running day, right?

A distant 'bee-bah' woke us from our heat induced slumbers, to find the blue class 37 trundle into Broadway with three redundant PWay vehicles. Not so 'non-running' after all then.

The Growler ran round the little consist - a Mermaid, and two Dogfish - and then pushed them into the north headshunt.

We took a little video of the manoeuvre, but it wasn't exciting enough to put on YouTube - we don't want lots of 'dislikes' because a video is a bit slow.

The class 37 running into Broadway for the second time on Monday

We then resumed out undercoating / topcoating / riser fitting, when a short while later there was another 'Bee-bah' and the class 37 was back again, this time with a rake of 7 maroon coaches in tow.

With a higher weight in tow, this departure ought to be a bit more spectacular, but it wasn't, so that's another video we won't upload. The loco just sort of muttered off, and the driver only gave it some beans once it reached the Childswickham bridge, by which time any sound was already overwhelmed by the passing traffic under Broadway bridge. Oh well, maybe next time.

The second train, we learned, was a positioning move, to get the loco at the right end of the rake. With the Toddington South turnout currently plain lined, a run round possibility at Toddington is out of service for a while, until we get a new or repaired crossing for it.

 

 

Tuesday at Broadway.

An interesting day, the first operating day under the relaxation of the Covid rules. We celebrated with an extra train from CRC, which turned up at Broadway at 10.39 instead of the previous 11.49. We had a look at the population movement, and it seemed that as many people got off as got on from Broadway itself, about 30 of each. It looked quite busy.

Of course this first train is not necessarily significant, as it will take time for people to adjust to new possibilities. It was also very hot indeed, and perhaps people were thinking that this was not the moment to walk the 800 yards under the hot sun into the Broadway village centre. We did hear one couple ask where it was - still a mystery to some.

 

 For the three of us on the footbridge it was another day of painting undercoat on the T&G boards (for yours truly), while Neal and John spent the day fitting extension pieces to the treads, and, as in the picture, fettling the risers which need to go on the back.

John was underneath dealing with rusted off screws from the treads' time at Henley in Arden, while Neal was cutting the risers to fit.

Because it was judged necessary to raise the height of the HIA footbridge at Broadway to suit NR requirements (the subject of some debate), our treads have become wider and the rise higher than before. This is to accommodate the extra height it now has.

At the end of Tuesday quite a lot of risers had been installed on the upper part of the stairs. Not easy, indeed very time consuming, in view of all the old screws sticking out.

Traction for the day was 4270, 7820 and in the latter half of the day, also 37 215.

We are still getting passenger praise for Broadway station, almost every day and this 3 years after opening. People love the building, they are charmed by it, and some think it's an old building that has been carefully restored. Their eyes pop out when we reveal that everything they see, everything, is new, and that the site was levelled in 1963.

A recent anecdote was caught by a volunteer in the shop thus:

John told me that you want to know about the lovely compliments about Broadway and the railway that I received last Thursday when I was working in the shed.  I had just finished talking to some people who had been asking questions about rebuilding Broadway and was standing in the door way  to the shed when a small group of people came over and one lady (obviously from Merseyside)  said she just wanted to tell me that she thought we had done a wonderful job at Broadway.  She then added that she, and I assume the people she was with, were on holiday and returning home the following day and that “today's visit was the highlight of our holiday”.

The praise, even years later, underlines the value of going for a faithful recreation of a 1904 Edwardian building. It's worth it, even if it costs a bit more. At the time of the build some people tried to force through a building that 'looks OK from a distance', arguing that 'all people want is to go for a ride' and that 'people don't look up'.

We're proud of Broadway now though, aren't we!

Yours truly was very lucky to be offered a brief cab ride in 4270 today, his first ever on the GWSR, after 10 years of volunteering.

We found the regulator arrangement interesting, perhaps you will find this too?

It was the little cam on the RH side at the top of the red regulator handle that caught our eye - what was that all about? When you fully close the regulator by pushing the bottom to the left, the other end at the top actuates a linkage that works back down to  a valve at the bottom. What's that all about then?

We learned that the lubrication system works off regulator steam, and ceases when you close the regulator. When you coast with the regulator closed, the valve at the bottom ensures that oil is pushed through the system nevertheless.

Very ingenious. As Michael Caine would say: 'Not many people know that'.

 

 

The penultimate train from Broadway was headed into the station by Dinmore Manor, but that engine didn't run round. It nearly caught us out, as the train didn't stay long, there was a large blue class 37 on the other end, and that bellowed it back out of the station.

Here it is passing Hayles Abbey halt, where we were about to refit a 40 Shillings trespass notice on that vacant post in the foreground. The one we put on in 2017 soon rusted, so we had it professionally shotblasted and zinc coated - it's not going to rust again in a hurry.
 

 

Wednesday on the Usk Project

This must have been the hottest day of the year so far, with the thermometer reaching 31 degrees C in the afternoon. We were lucky to have the shade of the oak tree nearby.

Down boy, down.

We are now slowly getting through the pallets, indeed, we got through two more today, although mostly for storage by size, rather than laying.

Consequently, we decided to bring in a few more of the pallets of blocks and fill that were in the main PWay yard.

Jonathan directed Dave to where they should go.

We used up some of the old cement we had by making a weak mix, and using that and some old bricks to back fill behind the fireplace. We're not using valuable stone blocks for that! No one will ever see it.

Once again we had several visitors during the day. Paul always has the time to explain what we are doing, but from the faces of the visitors left and right of him, there was some scepticism of what we were up to.  Hmmmmmmmm.....

There was more good news too, as one Gentleman from C&W sauntered over and gave us a cash donation for more cement. That was followed by a completely unexpected telephone call from a blog reader, offering us a donation to buy several more bags. Brilliant! Aren't people kind. Thank you, Paul! And Richard!

We decided to work in the shade as much as possible, and this meant working on one of the sides, along which a row of 4 inch blocks had been laid in a suggested pattern. However, they needed backing up first (for support from behind) so that is what Dave is doing here. We also got out a quoin for the corner, which has been rolled away centre left for the backing up work. The top of the quoin is the 700mm cill level for the window on this side.

 

About lunch time the 4inch course we were laying was complete down the Malvern side. We had a line from the quoin on the right to the new quoin on the left, but it was tricky sticking to that, with all the uneven blocks that we find.

In the foreground is material for back filling the fireplace.

 

 

 

During the day the trains looked quite well filled, but the first one off CRC not so much. The same train arriving somewhat later from Broadway (and still earlier than it used to leave from there) did seem to be quite well filled. Let's hope people's travel patterns settle down once they see how the new timetable works.

The photo exhibition in the Winchcombe visitor centre is now open, and well worth a visit. Every department tells its story of the first 40 years of the GWSR. The Coffeepot seemed quite busy, and there were lots of cars in the Winchcombe car park, a sight we hadn't seen for 18 months.

When 4270 stopped at Winchcombe the stay seemed somewhat longer than usual, and here is why: it was an exceptional water stop. Chris, by the hand wheel for the water valve, explained that the loco had been thirsty. Not the only one around here either! The Usk gang repaired to the Coffeepot for a refreshing mug of tea after work. Best part of the day, that is. The Coffepot is now open until 4pm, and it had customers even without any trains being around.

During the day this arrived in the yard.

Eventually the trailer was manoeuvered down the road to a spot next to the goods shed, where the container was off loaded using the HIAB. We ascertained that this is to be a store/workshop for the restoration of the Mink van round the corner. Sounds like a good idea.

Derek's 1967 steam pictures.

In 1967 steam was now coming to a halt, and Derek turned his attention to the nascent Welsh preservation scene.

These pictures are 54 years old. The rolling stock looks pretty spic and span though. Love the station mistress in traditional costume!

A visit to the Welshpool and Llanfair Railway on 31st July 1967 and a view of 822 Earl with train at Eithiniog. [A17.24] 

 

 Then three views of the same train at Caereinion. [A17.25] [A17.26] [A17.27]

On 2nd August 1967 at the Ffestiniog Railway here with Prince crossing the road at Penrhyndeudraeth. [A17.34]

On 3rd August 1967 at the Talyllyn Railway Douglas is approaching Dolgoch Station. [A17.36] 

 

Then at Abergynolwyn the Station Mistress is about to return on the last train of the day. [A17.37] [A17.38] 

 

You can obtain full sized scans (about 5Mb) of any of these pictures from breva2011 (at) hotmail.co.uk