Stairway framework completed

Monday at Broadway

Back from a week away in Wales and North Devon, see below.

 

 

On the P2 footsteps Neal is now more than half way through making up the framework for the Malvern side walls, and it's time to start preparing the raw planking that will clad them.

In the background you can see Neal at work, while the foreground shows some of the T&G boarding receiving a coat of fungicide.

The centre span is our workshop now, especially now that the weather is more unsettled, another reason why the public can't go up there yet. At what will the public do at the other end? Time to start thinking about the next step, planning the P2 waiting room, to complete Broadway station.

Neal used to work down on the platform, but has now relocated to the Malvern end of the centre span. He's cutting a piece of square section timber here, for one of the diagonal crosses that you can already see on the P1 side.

This mid-day Monday shot shows the progress made in the last few days. You can see that Neal is nearly at the top again with the framework, then it's time to cut the boarding.

 

Over on the operational P1 a large plastic advertising board has been installed. How long will it be there?

             Broadway station, 1904?                                                      Your local discount supermarket.

Our mission statement is : ''To maintain and develop a railway museum for the benefit of the public, buffer stop to buffer stop, fence to fence'' and it is sad to see how such modern, plastic advertising paraphernalia gnaws away at the heritage effect that we have worked so hard to create.

 

 

 

Replica GWR poster boards attached to the fence behind would convey the Gala or Santa Special messages with far greater style, and for little outlay. What that would look like you can see on the picture here. Such boards are easy to make.

Tuesday at Broadway

Blue timetable! What does this mean? Well, we are now on the shoulders of the main season, so to limit costs we are running one steamer, and one DMU, but still to previous times. 

The first train into Broadway then was indeed a DMU, a three car one.

It was quite a novel experience for us. The DMU arrived quite silently, and occupied only a small part of the huge platform we built. It puttered away to itself, while the driver and guard scored takeaway coffees from the station cafe.

The destination board at the other end said TODDINGTON - should that not be CRC?

The day was damp and windy.

A last view of the DMU at Broadway,, before it set off with a handful of passengers. Rather more came later, and in the end it still felt like a fairly busy day.

A little milepost on the footbridge was reached on Tuesday, as Neal completed fitting the last of the structural timber on the P2 side. It all has to come off again of course, so that we can treat the cut ends, and paint the lot in undercoat.

However, completing the structural timberwork allowed Neal to resume cutting the boards, and in this picture, taken early afternoon, shows that he had done three fifths of the first side.

These boards too will come down again for further treatment and painting, before they are fitted definitely. The timing is good, as it looks as if we will complete the woodwork on the steps by the year end, and then it's time to assemble the last part of the P1 station canopy. That will be exciting!

Wednesday, back with the Usketeers.

A lovely sunny autumn day, but only 4 of us on site. But we had plenty of visitors, it's amazing the interest generated by the reconstruction of this little historic building from Usk. Loads of people wandered up for a look and a chat.

 

As it's getting a bit colder now - esp at 8 am when we kick off with tea - we have moved from the cool shade of the oak tree to outside, under the little warmth that the sun now has to give.

 

Tea drunk, and buns eaten, we started off. Today we attacked multiple sites around the 4 walls, and the first one was here, next to the smaller window. There we laid a row of 7 inch blocks up against the big one that we placed two weeks ago to hold up the window.

Maxie the mixer was playing up again, but we now have the measure of her. It was enough to add an extra plank under the feet at the rear, and she sang away sweetly. Leaning too far back, we now know, floods the carburettor, and then she cuts out after a few seconds.

In the background is Dinmore Manor, steamer of the day.

Paul was busy with a similar row exactly opposite Dave. This is a new row, on top of what Polly laid two Wednesdays ago.

Note how the side of the big window is now increasingly encased in blocks. Next time we should be able to take away the planks, which really get in the way.

In this shot of the inside, you can see how moving about is very much hindered by the cross of planks, and a pile of backing up stones in the middle. We need a pile there, so that the backer-uppers can pick and chose the right sort of stone for themselves.

Having finished his little row, Dave moved on to the front corner to do a bit of pointing around some blocks laid last week. During your blogger's 9 day absence just a small number of blocks were laid, and the gang spent a lot of time sorting out our tin hut and exploring the future water supply for the mess coach.

On the blue timetable now being used we saw the DMU in service, mostly empty at first, but somewhat busier later in the day.

Interesting jet noises overhead made us look up to see these two planes, which we didn't recognise, or see before. Anyone know what they are? They reminded us of the F111s, with their wings that could be swept back, or pushed forwards, as here in the picture.

We also had one of those strange Ospreys fly by. No picture of that; it sounded like one of the many helicopters that fly over, until we saw it and it was too late.

By special request Dave consented to lay some backing up stones along the south side, so that we could position more stock for next time. The stone selector always has to be one jump ahead of the actual layers.

Next Monday yours truly will have his second cataract operation, and it's not clear whether an attendance next Wednesday is feasible. The opthalmic surgeon frowns on dust and heavy lifting, unfortunately.

Paul moved over to the fireplace, where he added more blues to the front.

He promised to fill the hole at the back a little more, so that we can place the time capsule there. It is all sealed up and ready to go. Maybe next time then.

Mid morning we had a chat with Alex of C&W fame, but it was interrupted by Dinmore Manor pulling out of P2. There's something about GWR Manors, they have a lovely bark, louder than a Hall.

Alex very kindly offered to letter the replica leaflet holder that we have commissioned for Broadway, which will replace more plastic ones that have turned up in the booking office.

After lunch things started to warm up a little, so we got out the Hessian to cover those bits that were already completed for the day, mainly around the big window. When those rows L and R of it are stable, we can place the brackets that will secure the window, instead of the plank.

This is the NW corner, and it looks a bit higher again, although on the left it is only the selected stones in place, not yet bedded into mortar. The rear of that was backed up today, and we prefer to lay the heavy stones onto mortar that has had a week to set.

At the end of today the building looked like this. The Hessian covers all the sites on which we worked today, so that's quite a bit. One could venture that the height is now reaching the half way mark...

During the winter we will need to pause the project, as we can't work while frost is present, or forecast. However, the PWay department will be very busy in that winter shut down period, and would be grateful for as much help as possible, so we will be joining them until the spring. Several turnouts need replacing, so many hands make lighter work.

At the end of the day we caught Paul in a pensive mood.

      I look up....                                                                         ... and I look down.

Paul had a friendly chat with signalman Bob, who's other role is to support our FD with the accounts. He could do with some help, perhaps a reader could assist? 

Both Paul and Bob are very long standing volunteers, and go back to the earliest days. They have seen it all, including a very bare Winchcombe station site. Of course the signal box, like the Usk hut, is a building recovery from another site, in this case from Hall Green. Another useful rescue project, successfully completed.

 

Lastly, on the way back from Wales we dropped in at the former Usk station goods yard, where our hut once stood. Just to see what the site looked like now.

We were amazed to find that there was very little change at all. The site owner had indicated that he was planning to redevelop the site for industrial units, but perhaps Covid got in the way.

The red brick built GWR goods shed, similar to Toddington's, is also still there.

 

This is the view from the yard back to the road. Green grass marks the spot where the weighbridge once stood, by the yard entrance on the left.

The burger van across the road, once patronised by the GWSR Usk demolition gang, is still there and open for business.

 

 

 

Lastly, a snapshot of some work being done by the slabbing gang of our Construction and Maintenance department. There may be no blog for the moment, but that does not mean that they are at rest, au contraire.

 

 

  

Here they are laying a slabbed platform between the toilet block and the visitor centre. These guys are really practiced, they laid all of the slabs at Broadway, and that is saying something. There must be several hundred laid at Broadway, and more are in store for P2. 

The purpose of the slabbed area is to give the grill that we are stationing there in the summer some hard standing. With heavy use and the occasional shower of rain, the area had a habit of becoming a bit of a mudbath this summer.

 

 

A look over the fence at: Lynton & Barnstaple railway.

The occasion of a visit to the Exmoor Associates meeting in the area (of which more in the next blog) led to a visit of the Lynton & Barnstaple railway's operating company at Woody Bay. Sunday 26th September was one of their two gala days, and it was easy to spend the whole day there, in glorious sunshine - except for a heavy shower, which Mr. & Mrs. Blogger survived in the beer tent.

One of the tricky things with the L&B is that none of their stations were originally set out to have large car parks, and so it is for Woody Bay. During galas a useful car parking area has now been found near Blackmore Gate, and a free shuttle bus ran passengers from there at regular intervals.

We arrived to find 0-6-0 Axe drawing two carriages and a bogie loaded with coal (a nice touch) into Woody Bay station. The station has some great photographic positions, on both sides of the track.

 

Hang around a bit, and the 'Piece de la resistance' steams into view:

This is of course the wonderful new build Lyn, proudly lettered SOUTHERN and wearing the traditional wreath from the day the railway closed.

The sun was perfect for this passing shot, which also shows the location of the spectacular Heddon valley, a deep cut in the landscape which breaks out through the cliffs and into the sea. It's a great clifftop path over to the actual Woody Bay, which was hoped to be a resort but never made it. A pier constructed to receive day trippers from Wales was promptly blown into the sea by a storm, and that was kind of it for Woody Bay's hopes for more. Now it's just peaceful.

And here is Lyn on the return journey:

https://youtu.be/NFecVFrX3XY

A visitor for the gala was this Hunslet:

It's a narrow gauge WD frontline loco, with the wheel arrangement of a standard gauge GWR Hall!

Having filled the tanks with water, it moved off to take its place at the head ( / rear) of a train.

As it pulled away, it revealed the coaling stage and we wondered how on earth they replenished this. Of course, as an intermediate station along the line, Woody Bay was not laid out to coal up engines, and we learned that an interim solution today is to load the bogie that can be seen in the first picture, shunt it over to the coaling stage, and unload it again there. Awkward... but no doubt temporary, pending a relocation of the locos to Blackmore Gate at some point in the future.

Here is Lyn with its wreath and the Hunslet, lined up in front of the charming Woody Bay station building. The gala looked like a pleasing success, and it must be a great relief to all to be earning some cash again.

Now for some interesting bits for those of a heritage bent.

 

While Woody Bay has new built toilets, it was possible to visit the original Gents, and avail yourself of the facilities. An apologetic notice explained that better was nearby, but we liked this. 

The urinal is original, with slate back and slate dividers, and an original cast iron gravity fed cistern above, on original brackets. Note also the clay tile floor.

An enormous hook adorned the wall to hang your shotgun? Or what?

A similar original urinal is being restored at Chelfham - see next week's blog.

Seen also at Chelfham were these castings, which an explanatory notice said came from the old Pilton yard turntable. On the L&B's closure, this turntable was purchased by the RH&DR, but it has now returned to its origins.

And yes, at Woody Bay was the turntable itself, somewhat moth eaten, and not yet restored as the castings were. There is probably no hurry, and we imagine it will also be for Blackmoor Gate, when that station is reached.

Another thing we liked was the first class compartments in the coaches, which are all originals from the L&B, or replicas. Someone made a really good job of these.

The blue velvet and leather were absolutely stunning.

 

 

Another coach had similar seats, but a lot more legroom, compared to the above. If we understood this correctly, the reason is that one is a standard sized compartment fitted out in First Class, while the other is a purpose built First Class compartment, with much more legroom, and even a beautiful hardwood table.

The luggage racks, with their brass supports, are also splendid.

 

The ceiling is also well worth looking at (remembering a previous GWSR chairman's rebuke that 'people don't look up') with a Lincrusta papered ceiling, and a fine ornate glass and Nickel lamp globe.

Pay a small supplement, and this exquisite piece of rolling furniture was opened up for your use.

At Toddington we once had a unique (for the line) First Class Waiting Room. It most likely served the guests of Stanway House nearby. It's currently in use as a banal office. Wouldn't it be lovely if we could restore it to something like this standard? We do have that opportunity, when the present Toddington shop moves out to larger premises.

Finally, we had a friendly chat with the fireman of the brand new Baldwin, and he offered us a tour of the cab during a few quiet moments. How interesting to see American practise, when compared to the way we do things over here.

 

Now, who knows what the big red handwheel is for? (L&B members - hold back, you must already know this!)