Progress in the heat

Saturday at Bishop's Cleeve

A nice, sunny day, time for T shirts and sun lotion, and extra supplies of water for us, who are out all day.

Winchcombe was busy on Saturday. An interesting brake van has been fished out of the sidings, and parked in front of the C&W barn.

This van sits on two bogies, and was built for the Southern Railway round about 1936 for express goods trains that were vacuum fitted. It was so large that it was named after another large 'vehicle' that was launched in the same year - the Queen Mary.

The Queen Mary brake is popular with preserved railways because you can fit a lot of people on to its enormous verandas. Work started straight away on cleaning it up.

Due to time pressure our C&M blog is not posting much at the moment, so here is a glimpse into what they have been doing - painting the front of our HQ, Churchward House. We have an awful lot of maintenance to do, and this building has so far not yet been painted by us.

In the siding where the third rake is stabled one of the NYMR carriages is getting a spring clean. 

This is for you, dear GWSR passenger! Hope you appreciate the work done by these unsung heroes.

 

But what of our valiant little PWay gang? Unfortunately our white Landie is still sick with a broken fuel pump, and this needs professional help to sort out. We can't do it ourselves. So once again we had to borrow the blue Transit, as the blue Landie on its own just hasn't go the capacity.

Here we have loaded two more disused concrete sleepers on it, to address another ballast retaining wall that needs raising.

 

We took the two sleepers and a blue Landie full of tools to a farmer's access bridge on the approach to Bishop's Cleeve.

We were saddened to find a large 6ft square 'Tag' painted on the wing wall underneath. We had cleaned this of graffiti only about 2 years ago, and a paling fence was put through. Somehow they had got over it, although today everything was overgrown with brambles.

In the background is a new housing estate, and these bring people.

 

 

 

 This underbridge already had ballast retaining walls, but they were too low and there was not enough ballast supporting the sleeper ends.

We were running a bit short of easily accessible military grade lighter sleepers, but found one, which is going in here. Even the lightweight ones are heavy. Four of us just about managed it.

 

 

 

The sleeper was for the northern end.

The other sleeper was for the southern end, and this was much heavier as it still had two rusted on cast iron chairs.

Never mind, we used it all the same.

 

 

By this time it was noon, so before doing part two of our job (shovelling ballast, and changing two sleepers on the same bridge) we decided to have a break for lunch.

This allowed us to see Dinmore Manor at Winchcombe; the other train being hauled by P&O.

 

 

Before starting work in the afternoon, we went to pick up two softwood sleepers from our very diminished remaining stock, which is by the Greet tunnel mouth.

It's an interesting journey through the long grass to get there, and you'll note that we didn't take the Transit down here.

The new sleeper was picked up by four of us on nips, and walked across the tracks to the Landie, which would take them down to Working Lane,  the nearest point where we could park the Transit.

Higher, Nick, higher!

 

 

 

 

The new sleeper was heaved on board. Being too long, it stuck out at the end but that was OK, as we didn't go on any public roads with that.

Down by Working Lane we heaved the sleepers from one vehicle to the other.

Then, back at Bishop's Cleeve, we used the two new softwood sleepers to replace two life expired ones on the bridge.

In the background Nick was hunting for a site with a bit too much ballast, so that he could bring the excess to the new ballast retaining sleepers and tie them in a bit.

An unusual jet aircraft noise made us look up. Recognise it? That plane is in its 65th operational year, and still being used.

Two other unusual planes flew overhead today - a Dakota over Winchcombe, and a Spitfire did a tight turn over Greet.

The second (heavier) sleeper in place, but before Nick got there with the ballast to tie it down.

The last shot of the day goes to the Peak, which trundled by at 15.00 on its way to CRC. A strange machine, with an extra axle apparently tacked on in front of the bogie as an afterthought.

Photographing some of the diesels is not very rewarding, as when you face them head on, as often on the PWay, you just see a yellow box getting bigger. We stepped into the brambles here, to get a bit of a sideways shot. Hope you appreciate that, we still have the scars around the ankle.

 

Monday on the footbridge

Getting hotter! The thermometer hit 27 1/2 degrees on Monday, and we were working in T shirts and sweating a lot nonetheless.

Neal is fitting the upper sections of the frames, and in the picture is working on the last one on side 1. The bottom sections are already on.

 

 

While John was working on dismantling some old treads (we have a few spares from HIA), Yours Truly started on levelling the area under the steps. At the moment it rises up to the cutting side. We need to get it back somewhere behind the wall around the tower, so that we can build a wall along the back.

Digging was a very hot job on Monday. After a while John joined it, and we took it in turns to hack with the mattock, or shovel away the spoil into the hole under the steps.

The shallow cutting here has had a lot of old spoil dumped on it. Either from the 1950s blanketing, or from the demolition in 1963.

As we got towards the rear, John struck metal. We weren't surprised, in fact we were expecting some remnants of the old spearhead fence to turn up.

What would it be?

It turned out to be a large steel pate with a few bolt holes in it.

Our best guess as to the purpose of this is that it secured the tie rods for the back of the canopy at the bottom of the rear wall of the former waiting room.

This digging out at 27 1/2 degrees was absolutely exhausting. We needed regular supplies of tea (see lower right) and water in order to carry on, even with long pauses.

Magnum time, you can't beat it.

At the end of the afternoon we did pretty much achieve what we set out to do, which is clear and level the area under the steps, where slabs will be laid at some point in the future.

 

Another thing that helped us along was an ice cream mid-afternoon. Here you see us sitting in the shade. Quite high up; we noticed that it became breezier, the higher we sat.

No trains of course, it was Monday.

 

Neal was also working on the diagonal braces, and has moved his 'workshop' from the platform up to the intermediate landing.

 

 

 

The bracing timbers have all sorts of angles, but it's no problem for |Neal. He knows them all.

An aid to the carpenter are these sliding bevels, which allow Neal to repeat various angles for each stage.

Near the end of the day Neal was working on the uppermost section on the first side. Yours Truly and John were digging underneath, interspersed with brief sessions sitting on the wall, and panting.

Tuesday at Broadway.

 

 

John and Yours Truly have been digging to level the ground beneath the P2 steps, and Neal, working above, came down to investigate and lend a hand. He couldn't resist taking a few swings at some roots we had.

 

The first train ex CRC came in, and we were delighted to see a good crowd of passengers on the platform. Sunday had been very quiet, strangely.

We had a coach come in, and during the day, this group of cyclists. Unfortunately we only seem to be a stopping point, and the cafe reported only a minimal trade with them. It's still good to know people use us as a reference point, such as the fire engine last week that dropped in for two cups of coffee.

Neal is in his 'workshop', half way up the steps. It's a bit hard to chart the progress, as he'll put something on, and then take it off again a few moments later, to make the next bit fit.

But it's clear that the progress is slowly coming up the steps. Here Neal is working on the topmost section, with that big, diagonal brace.

John and Yours Truly have been levelling the ground underneath, then digging out against the cutting to make a 2ft strip down the side. The spoil dug out serves to fill in the holes from the foundations of the step supports. All very clever.

P&O can be seen in the headshunt, while running round, as Neal works to place the big diagonal on the uppermost section.

An atmospheric shot of P&O, about to leave with a full train. All that is missing is the silhouette of the signalman.

Here is our end of the day shot. It's been very hot, but almost all of the bottom of the steps has now been dug out. A wall of blues will be built at the back here, to hold the cutting back and to give a limit to the site of the footbridge. Somehow a stretch of spearhead fencing will go here, probably from the corner of the P2 building yet to be constructed.

From the passenger side of things:

To the ticket inspector, on a hot day at Broadway:

''Does the driver have a problem with the air conditioning?''

It just goes to underline that we are here to teach people about history. No air conditioning in 1904. Or even in 1960, when our coaches were built.

Wednesday on the Usk building

Equally hot, but with a nice breeze. And we were working in the shade of the oak tree, which made for a very pleasant and productive day.

John, Dave and Paul muse about stuff. The cameraderie on the Usk project is a big part of why we do it.

We kick off with a cup of coffee and a brownie. Well, not quite true, this is blogger's privilege, the picture actually shows us having our elevenses. No doughnuts here recently, but some excellent cake-ey stuff from Mrs. Dave, which was heartily appreciated.

 

This is how we really kicked off, with a row of backing up by the door.

Back up a row, and you have the wherewithal to start the next row of outside blocks.

 

We felt a bit down first thing, as Maxie was playing up - again ! Dave pulled at the starter and pulled at the starter, and each time she would fire up, and die within 10 seconds. Tiresome girl!

Eventually we got there. We had forgotten about part of last week's solution, an extra one inch plank under the back legs. It was just enough to stop the carburettor from flooding.

Bizarre really, as she is now on her original stand. She seemed much happier parked on a stack of pallets, as at first.

Our mood boosted immediately we heard the steady muttering of a happily turning mixer. Dave has a large barrow of mortar here, while Paul has already put a second mix in.

4270 and 35006 were train engines today, and again the carriages seemed reasonably to quite well filled. There were school children yelling on the platform, and we heard that there were school parties almost every day now. Two coaches were reported at Broadway. We need to assemble a lot of cash (or make hay if you will) during these summer months, as the winter is a drain, boosted for a while by Santa. (now advertised, so get your family tickets soon)

We had a quick peep into the PWay yard to see what our colleagues were up to. They had sawn several short pieces of rail. These, we heard, were for a small display project at a nearby railway. Always good to help our fellow museums, could pay dividends later, you never know.

Back to our favourite stone building. Yours Truly laid out a lot of loose stones in the expectation of leaving early for a press appointment at Broadway. The large window frame also got another coat of paint, as we are now going to be leaving it outside, once we have erected (it see below).

Paul bought a special tube of sealant, something which will stick anything to anything, just what we need to bed the window down.

We put a big splodge 4ins from the edge of the cill, where the window will sit.

On the other side a row of loose blocks was selected and placed all the way along, leaving exactly 31 inches for the window which was placed underneath.

We didn't actually find the time to bed them down with mortar, but this means a good start can be made next time.

Then, back to the front, where the big window has really gone in for definite this time. There's a scaffolding plank on the inside holding it up.

Fingers crossed - you are crossing yours, aren't you - that the forecast change in the weather due on Thursday does not knock it down. But once we have increased the height of the blocks around it, we can tie the window into these. But it's vulnerable right now.

More activity elsewhere on site.

Jonathan here is digging a channel from a nearby mains water pipe to where the mess coach is stabled.

There will be a stand pipe where the blue tubing is, and a flexible hose will then lead directly to the mess coach kitchen. This new arrangement will ensure that the water supply is always fresh (and not stored in an intermediate cistern as before) but it will also ensure that the coach can be disconnected and used when we have longer jobs out along the line. And we have a few of these planned!

A rural idyll.... The setting for the Usk hut under the big old oak tree. In the foreground: large crates full of stones, mainly roughly cut, for the inside.. Centre left, 4270 just leaving. Centre right: 3 Usketeers engaging in a project discussion. As we like to call our sessions of brownies with coffee.

 

With the big window now finally in, Dave started the tricky job of backing up behind the massive cill we placed last week.

There's a 7 inch wide strip here that needs filling with reasonably flat stones (on two sides) to make the inside window cill, but without using any good quality stones we might need for the outside later on. So; find me a 7 inch square section stone with 2 flat sides, but not too good. And I want 5 or 6 of them.

Hmmmmmmm.

Behind Dave, by the door, the completed back fill started this morning, and the next row laid out on top. We found a fairly chunky quoin for the corner that was just the right length, but Dave wisely noted that the particular stone we had in mind would end in two vertical straight joints - alas, a no-no. So out it came, find better was the message.

Dave, slowly moving along under the window cill.

The big stone just in front of the yellow level with the pebble on it was a particular triumph of placement for us. It was normally a largeish quoin, but split itself horizontally down the middle. What to do with such an uneven, now tapered block with two dressed sides? We put it upside down here, over an unevenness in the underlying course, so that, being tapered, it came out level on top! Simples! Using that otherwise useless stone made us feel really good.

Our end of the day shot: The Hessian shows where most of the fresh mortar is. We need to fill in the platform side wall urgently now, since the window went in. We have laid blocks to match on both sides of the cill, lengthened it a bit to correspond with the longer replacement window, and backed the whole lot up from the inside. 

Now we have a level platform for next week, when we can start going up around it.

An extra quoin was also loosely planted on the nearest corner - another job for bedding down next week. Reaching up high with heavy blocks is just about starting to become a bit of a challenge.

More news of the PWay works today.

Reports of dipped joints south of Winchcombe saw the team go out and test the new Robels in the teeth of the action.

They are designed to be used in pairs, which is why we were so happy when two sponsors came forward and said they would sponsor one each. The ease of use was reported to be amazing, a real revelation.

Two sites were done, the one in the picture being just north of Bishop's Cleeve, where on Saturday we had put in more ballast retaining boards, and found additional ballast from a bit further along. Today was tamping, the logical next step.

Pictures, and below a short film, by Andy Smith. Thanks, Andy!

Our first film upload directly on to Blogger. Did it work?

Interesting little historical fact: If you visit the little museum on P2 at Toddington, there is a gate to the back garden of one of the former GWR cottages. Oftentimes this is open, and you can take a look at this old building. It is the former coal office from Winchcombe, saved in the nick of time in the 1980s when it was about to be pulled down by the PWay gang at the time as part of the site clearance. It was rescued, rebuilt, and reequipped with a lovely counter, flap, set of old drawers and all the accoutrements you might find in an old coalman's office like this.

 

 

The Usk building that we are putting up needs a purpose, and we plan to turn it into a little goods office on the corner plot by the new platform under the oak tree.

James Taylor was (we think) one of two coalmen that operated out of Winchcombe, possibly the first one.

 

With a bit of research, the flyer here was dug out. It describes the services provided.

Note also that two of the 'depots' are on the Honeybourne line - Toddington, and 'Winchcombe GWR'.

 

 

 

A look over the fence - North Bay Railway. 

One of the attractions of Scarborough (see last week's Scarborough Belle with Vintage Trains), but about a mile and a half north of the town. It's a bit of a slog (there are lots of coastal buses) especially if you have already wandered extensively through the old town and beach, and fancy the longer but flatter coastal route round the headland with the castle on it. But we got there, somewhat windblown, as the road goes along the North Beach which is windy and carries alarming notices warning of large waves.

The departure point at Peasholm Park, with 4-6-2 TRITON.

We weren't expecting much, so were quite surprised to find a complete 1930s holiday development, with an oriental themed park and lake, a 20 inch railway, another lake with an original water slide, station, refreshment chalet and modern outdoor theatre. All this in a side valley to the beach, with lots of shady trees, making for a very peaceful environment.

The route runs for just under a mile around the lake, under the cliff to a terminus by a SeaLife centre.

 

Map of the line:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_Bay_Railway_Map.jpg

The carriages don't pretend to be anything other than a type of man-rider, but the locomotives are beautiful, even if actually diesel-hydraulic underneath. They are still the originals, built by Hudswell-Clarke in 1932. There are four of them - three Pacifics, and a 4-6-4 tank engine.

A close up of TRITON, looking quite realistic and numbered after its year of manufacture, now 89 years ago. Only the little green windmill (a joke no doubt) spoils the look.

The running shed is next to Peasholm Park station, and is no more than that, as the associated North Bay engineering works are actually in Darlington. (but obviously related). Parked outside was the tank engine ROBIN HOOD, with a flap open in the rear 'water tank', where we suspect the engine is located. There's a cunning balloon loop around it, so that the returning loco can draw forward in the terminus, then reverse right round the running shed and re-appear the right way round at the other end, ready to return to Scalby Mills at the other end of the line.

Half way along the line, under the cliff, is a passing loop, a disused halt called Beach station. This is where the two trains handling the service from opposite ends cross. It's a very simple system, yet (according to Wikipedia) there was a frontal collision here in 1932 which killed the unfortunate driver. Then again, in 1948, this time fortunately with just a number of injuries.

The locomotive we crossed was Pacific NEPTUNE, in Brunswick Green (TRITON being in Apple green). It's all very slow speed and gentlemanly.

Triton being turned at Scalby Mills

At the Scalby Mills end there is a turntable, and more importantly, 5 minutes time to buy an ice cream. We scored these OK. The turntable, unusually, was a powered one.

Before the war the locos turned here using a balloon loop, yet the cliffs are just there, to the left of the picture. To deal with this the loop was partly in a curved tunnel. During the war this tunnel was used to store the musical instruments of the Royal Naval School of Music, a noble cause we all agree. Sadly, after the war the tunnel was never used again, although this would surely be a lovely photo opportunity, to watch the loco emerge from the tunnel on its balloon run round.

Cab detail of 1932 TRITON.

There are quite a few instruments in the cab on a fake backhead, with, we think, the diesel engine directly behind it.

The maker's plate is a lovely example, and engraved on brass. Again, this is from TRITON.

On the way back you get a lovely view of the sandy but windswept North Bay, as the train trundles along under the cliff.

The skyline in the distance is punctuated by a row of Victorian hotels along the top, and the remaining stump of Scarborough castle keep. During the Civil War it was a Royalist holdout, but the constant battering by Parliamentarian field guns eventually wore it down so far that Oliver Cromwell did not bother to slight the castle afterwards, as he did with so many others.

The South Bay is on the other side of the headland; you can imagine the long walk round it, and back to the station. Very healthy though.

On the return journey we noticed a large, well equipped outdoor theatre, and this wonderful little water chute, which dates back to the opening of the railway in 1931.

The technology is brutally simple: Release the boat with its fearful passengers, it rolls down the rails and enters the water in a huge wave; the boat gets pulled back up by a cable. Repeat. Few moving parts, lots of fun for a very modest price, we thought.

There's a video of it here:

https://youtu.be/3_GJmsBIvhM

On the way back to the station we passed through the historic town centre and saw this: The Mariners' Houses, built in 1836. Lots of little ground floor flats in a row, with a door and a window each. They were once called the Mariners' Asylum, and residence is for seafarers or their dependents only.

A similar row of alms houses exists in Chipping Campden (but obviously not for seafarers!)