Heritage Herald: Storm Bram.

Friday, and a quick little storm.

Quite a good team, with seven of us, plus two Usketeers, to move their stuff to the tunnel mouth. That job would be first, and after it, we would continue with the assembly of the replacement CRC south turnout.

Picture by Paul.

The day before, Paul had closed off a number of car parking spaces. This was to allow the construction of the two switches, which would extend out this way.

As we were a bit under pressure not to take up too many car parking paces, we decided to use this area, but give it back at the end of a day. Quite a challenge!

Usketeers Paul and Dave (as well as yours truly of course) had turned up this additional day, to use the RRV and its trolley to move the necessary materials for the platelayer's hut chimney up to the tunnel mouth site.

Anyone who knows railway preservation will know that this is not what played out on the day...

A phone call the evening before informed us that a signalman could not be found for the day (and the RRV), so we would have to PUSH ! The alternative for the day offered was two track trolleys, loaded and unloaded by the Telehandler. Then roll up your sleeves and push them half a mile uphill to the tunnel.

Two rather sceptical Usketeers then watched young David in the Telehandler load up two PWay trolleys before their eyes. The load comprised:

- 240 second hand reds, and 12 blues (for the fireplace arch)

- A half bag of sand, and a bag of cement

- 6 concrete blocks (site repair, after removal of the stump)

- Maxie the mixer

- Three chairs recovered from the skip (well, we have to sit somewhere to have our tea break)

Paul helped to guide in the pallet of second hand bricks.

We loaded this at an angle, because the trackside on arrival was cramped, and the Telehandler could not stand at 90 degrees. Gotta think ahead, you know.

We did a little test run to calm the sceptics, but it was OK really. Dave and young David went ahead with the Telehandler across the fields, and down the slope here, to access the trackbed to the tunnel mouth.

We even had the time to do a little run past, just for the photographer.

Young David did the honours. His steed is parked just ahead.

Railways are amazing things. Thanks to the low rolling resistance, you can move surprising weights with very little effort.

On arrival at the site we unloaded everything. The heaviest thing, the bricks, went into the middle of the site. The mixer will be where Dave is standing, on the corner. The chimney will be on the right.

Two of the Usketeers then returned to their daily lives at home. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, when we hold our annual Christmas dinner. Then back next Wednesday, to start the build, if the weather permits.

Meanwhile...

The rest of the Friday gang had resumed work on the turnout in the yard.

We needed to fetch two more (out of a total of 4) plain rails, which you can see STEVIE lift in here. We had a lovely sunny start to the day, but the forecast for the afternoon was dire, with heavy rain and high winds forecast. You can see the clouds starting to form here, but for the moment we were still dry.

As young David nudges one of the switches, Alistair performs a rain warning off dance, a traditional PWAY method of keeping us dry when bad weather is announced.

STEVIE lifted in the two switches, on additional timbers laid out along the area closed off by Paul.

They were not quite equal in position, so the Telehandler was drafted in to give one a bit of a nudge

Once we were happy with the positions of the switches, they were drilled, and here is Walt using the 'Pogo Stick' to screw them down, as a supervision committee checks what the hell he is doing.

Bert Ferrule put in the bolts, as young David used the IC impact wrench to screw them down.

If it's a big job, it's worth firing up the IC impact wrench, as the battery powered tools do admittedly have a limited range.

STEVIE was then used to lift in more closure rails.

Some of these will need cutting to size though.

Here is a stock rail being cut to size, for example.

The now low light emphasises the stream of hot particles shooting out at the back.

Always a great spectacle.

This was the position at mid afternoon. Switch rails at the far end, stock rail on the right still to go in.

From this picture you can see how the weather deteriorated as the afternoon progressed.

It's now wet, as the second stock rail was lifted in.

This picture was taken a short period afterwards, as the rain became so heavy that we threw in the towel.

To make good our promise not to block the space behind the barriers (see further up) we lifted the end of the turnout with the switches on top of the other two thirds of the turnout.

This is not ideal for us, as to do any further work we will need to call STEVIE out again, and we only have a limited number of operators, and their free time.

So watch this space, to see how we complete this turnout, and take it all to bits again, to move it down to CRC.

After the storm...

A broken lamp top at Broadway, and another at Toddington.

This is the Broadway one.

It is pretty comprehensively destroyed. Not blown off its mounting as we had first thought, but the whole top is in pieces, after the 4 side struts failed at their attachment points on the corners of the base.

A bit of background to the Broadway tops: Those on P1 were bought from a UK supplier, boxed, who we think got them from somewhere like India. The shape was the required Windsor model, but instead of a side door, the roof was hinged. While working on the interior of one a while back, with the top hinged open, a gust of winds tore it off its hinges, and we saw that the construction was somewhat flimsy. However, the other tops along P1 seem OK for the moment.

Those along P2 were sourced direct from an artisan coppersmith in the UK, and have the correct side door. They seem a little more robust.

The top at Toddington had failed in a similar way, but was from an earlier supplier, not known to us. It is fitted with a rather ugly, grapefruit sized bulb, which gives an industrial orange glow. There is no side door, which is the way the porter would place the oil lamp. That's not possible if the opening is through the roof.

Inspection of the other tops at Toddington revealed a possible second candidate at risk of failure. (Left) Others seemed OK for the moment.

The issue at Toddington is that the soldering at the bottom sometimes has insufficient area on which to grip the side struts, so that, as in the case on the right, two struts can let go, and the lamp flips over itself. The same orange bulb is in all of them.

Our verdict is that three should be replaced with those supplied by the coppersmith, and two more held in reserve, one for each station. Five coppersmith ones would be about £1500. The railway is mulling its options, no budget being the usual hurdle.

On returning to the engine shed, we were dispappointed to notice that along both Toddington platforms these modern signs have been placed in the ground:

Do other railways do this? We think not. They clearly detract from our heritage railway objective.

What someone might have done is found one of those old earthenware markers, and had it copied 10 - 12 times by a pottery (such as the one in Becketts Lane). Much more discreet, and in keeping with our aim of being a 'Living Museeum'. A plastic sign off Ebay is not.

Out in the car park we came across this well wagon. It's pretty enormous. Possibly a Crocodile? (albeit with BR axle boxes, and signs of a removed wagon plate.)

This is a private owner, believed to be going to another railway for a special purpose.

Inside the well it was interesting to see the bed supported by a web of.... Brunel bridge rail.

Is there no limit to the uses that bridge rail can find?

We went to the shed on Monday to paint rivet heads. With the winter weather it is important that these be protected from rust.

Neal and a small team have been attaching brackets to three of the 4 fascia boards (the front ones; one is at the rear of the canopy below the footbridge steps). The objective was to anticipate as many rivets on site as possible, in order to make final assembly quicker.

We are reliably informed that these are the last rivets to be applied at Toddington. Hmmm....

Elsewhere in the shed the Santa locomotives were asleep, some still warm from Sunday.

Wednesday with the Usketeers.

Storm Bram had passed over, and the three Usketeers were ready for action on the platelayer's hut.

Now that we are by the tunnel mouth, it's quite a long drag up across the field, down the slope, and along the trackbed.

Here is Paul, with what the French call 'un necessaire de voyage'. No, not a lady's handbag, but a barrow full of brick laying tools, and a few little snacks (of course).

We set up camp by the future hut, and before long a gang of actual plate layers arrived, and stopped to quiz us. What are you doing there? What's it going to look like? How much is it costing?

They then walked on, into the tunnel, out of which we heard various rattles during the day.

Today was our first actual brick laying day, so we had to have a little think about how it was all going to look. The chimney will need to be slightly offset, as there is only room on the foundations for a 3+2 sleeper wall by the fireplace, not 3+3 as in the drawing (kindly supplied by a supporter). So the fireplace had to be exactly in the right place, or else the sleepers would not fit come the day we were going to install them. Too late to move the fireplace then.

The design of the fireplace will be a hybrid between two that we have seen. One has a better hearth, the other a better back wall to fit in with the upright sleepers. We're also going to go with a brick arch, and not the steel plate that we have seen in one of the two designs.

How is your Haldex coupling? Mine's making a bit of a funny noise...

A second lot of plate layers came by. They too paused to discuss things they have in common.

Finally a Ranger paused for a chat. It's occupants found a more comfortable solution to the long drag up the line, and into the tunnel.

When all was quiet again we got on with the job of preparing for brick laying. We wondered if there was some sort of a door step in front of the entrance, and some digging revealed that there was. That would make a good stand for Maxie, the mixer.

Many of the blocks here are damaged or missing. We wonder if the track layers back in the 1980s had taken them, to beef up the supplies for the temporary platform by the Royal Oak (which in the event was abandoned) ?

We have brought a few spares, but need to hack out space for them in the rubble.

This is the site of the fireplace and chimney then. We decided to corbel out the chimney itself, so that the upright sleepers could be up against the blocks at the back.

Some chopping out of broken blocks is happening on the left - the mix used in the day is extremely hard though.

Here is Paul, just starting the actual laying.

We don't really have any essential services on site, in particular no water or electric supply, so need work arounds for that.

The first lot of water, used today, was created by allowing storm Bram to fill three buckets naturally. That worked a treat.

Future supplies will come from one of the catch pits in the cess. We had a little peep last time, and there is water down there.

During the day the little site looked like this. Quite crowded. We have some chairs, sourced from a skip, but when we are done it might be more fun to have two sleeper built benches inside.

From clearing the dirt around the entrance we found some more shards. This is tea making stuff: a teapot with lid, a BR china cup, and the top of a Camp coffee extract bottle. Last time we found the handle of their kettle.

Yours truly went home early, as he was feeling the rather unpleasant after effects from a shingles jab the night before. This is Paul, just completing the third course. Consulting the photographs that we have, we can see that it's six courses to the start of the arch.

Paul can't wait to get off his knees! He made a good start though.

PWay news.

A very crowded mess coach today, every seat taken, and standees only.

One reason for the crowd (besides the excellent weather today) was digger refresher courses going on in the yard.

The PWay yard - at the moment - is ideal for this, as we have a large if tatty pile of spent ballast and that was used to (re-) train the operators, from various departments.

The main gang was in the tunnel today (see above), while the RRV was on the Broadway extension, dropping ballast.

Here is STEVIE, passing through Toddington, as seen from the box. We have a possession for the line at the moment.

These dumpy bags are ideal for ballast drops that are less than a full sized Dogfish. At the moment we have enough, but we are regular users of them, so if you have any, stay in touch. They need to be fairly fresh though, otherwise they will rip when lifting with nearly a tonne of ballast in them.