Drone, drone, drone.

Drone, drone, drone.

It was the Friday gang, surveying the PWay yard pointwork. We needed an aerial photograph of the layout, in order to help plan the location of a replacement turnout that we want to instal there.

 

 

We engaged the services of local supporter Chris to make us some bird's eye shots of the PWay yard layout.

You can see the pictures that he took further down. 

 

 

 

 

 

There's a problem with the pointwork in the yard leading to the three sidings. C&W find it difficult to use the centre one, as there is a nasty kink in a sharp point leading up to it, which causes the buckeyes to disconnect.

How could we ease that? 

The kink from the opposite direction.

 

Our solution to easing the kink is to replace the turnout with the easier one that we recovered from CRC south. However, this one would go in the through road (to the RH siding) and have a LH spur, which could meet up very nicely with the centre road straightening from the curve.

To test if this would work we took the two switches and the crossing from the CRC turnout and placed them in their approximate future positions. 

That looked very workable. To confirm it, Paul invited supporter Chris (with thanks for his pictures) to take a number of drone shots from above.

 

This one here shows the two switches in the centre of the image, with the crossing a bit further to the right.

The tight turnout just above the switches would be plain lined, and lead to the third (mostly goods wagons) siding. This new arrangement would eliminate the reverse curves that are the problem for the buckeyes. 

Just as we had set out the switches and crossing the phone rang from the Bishops Cleeve slip site. The ballast drop wasn't going as intended, and could our gang (i.e. the three of us) urgently fit 4 crossing pads in the four foot opposite the slip? Luckily we were joined at the last minute by Andy, making four of us to handle the heavy pads.

We got to the site just north of Bishops Cleeve to find the contractor and our infrastructure manager (!) shovelling away a pile of ballast that had not dropped away to the side, but right into the middle of the tracks. The excavator below was finding it difficult to scoop away the excess out of the four foot, a problem that would be overcome if we filled it with crossing pads.

 

 

 

 

We brought STEVIE and the trolley with us. This had the refurbished parapet on it, so we left that on board, and added 4 crossing pads. In the picture the first pad has just been fitted.

 

 

 

The other three were soon fitted, making a raised platform for any further spillages towards the centre of the tracks.

 

 

 

In order to limit costs on the slip - we don't have the money, and it is being covered using the Trust's precious heritage funds - We opted not to hire in expensive equipment for discharging the ballast fill, but to use our own Dogfish, and fabricate a side shute to direct the flow of emptying ballast further away and into the hole. 

However, on the day a small part of the shute didn't fit, and further cutting/welding was required. It was expected to resume on Monday.

 

The Trust would be grateful if readers could replenish the funds spent on the landslip, which could otherwise have been used to support the museum that we would like to build at Toddington, or a carriage storage shed at Winchcombe.

 

How to donate is here:

 

https://www.gwrt.org.uk/donate/how-to-donate 

 

 

 

 

That was pretty much the end of Friday. On the way back we dropped off the parapet at Stanley Pontlarge.

It's now just waiting for an actual installation date, on a non-running day.

Back at Winchcombe, we put the CRC switches and the crossing back into store. 

The ballast train with the fill intended for the slip then arrived, still full. At least it's ready to go now, first thing on Monday.

 

 

 

Monday at Broadway.

Three of us on the building on Monday, including Neal, who was still coughing and clearly not yet right. But he's determined to soldier on.

 

 First thing, a buggy arrived with some contractors. The Pway have just obtained a buggy, but that's not it.

 This one was for weed killing the line (you can just see the mist).

 

 

Over on P2 we moved the tower scaffold along one window, allowing John to build up the third column - there are eight in total. It's slow work, with all the measuring and sorting out the right specials, but we are steadily moving along, every week a little bit further.

Someone with time to spare could work out how many bricks (approximately) John will have laid when the brickwork is done... There are also the blocks, on the inside.

 

 

 

 

Neal came to help, in particular with the inside of the window frames, and removal of the arch formers.

 

 

 

 

 

With the intricate brickwork around the windows we are currently only doing one mix per day, which takes us to early afternoon. It was also very hot, certainly for April. In fact it was unpleasant, cutting bricks with all the pink dust, overalls on, dust mask, ear and eye protection, gloves. Unfortunately there is nothing to stop the pink dust going in our hair. It also went around our coffee flask and in the mobile phone, there's no stopping the damned stuff.

 

 

At the end of Monday John had done the third column (LH side) and made a start of the twin 4th and 5th columns in the middle. Almost every brick has to be cut, certainly with these short runs.

 

John also raised the interior blockwork to match the bricks laid at this end so far. Once all the columns are filled it, it's the turn of the arches along here.

During the day an electrical contractor was working on the main station building. The work involved a lot of electrical conduits.  The work, we heard, was at the request of the users of the station, who say that on certain days it is too dark to see their way back to their cars on the forecourt. Some sort of a switch with a timer was proposed. 

 

 

You can see the grey switch here, together with the black plastic conduit that has been laid up to it.

It's not as bad as a big yellow box, but part of the slow watering down of our mission to give a 1904 experience to our customers, and to attract filming contracts. 

Also in the picture, a second key safe has been attached to the building, while earlier, an aluminium Baby Changing notice was glued to the door. 

The door itself has seen the Victorian doorknob removed, and replaced with a modern handle, and also a modern steel lock.

Each addition is a case of 'OK, if you must' but incrementally the 'living museum' experience is being spoiled. 

 

 

Tuesday, discharging and measuring.

 

It was meant to be a quickie job at Toddington to measure up the timbers required for a turnout at the yard throat, but as so often in this business, when we got to Churchward house it was something completely different. Oh well.

 

 

 

 

At Bishops Cleeve nursery entrance we were just in time to guide the propelling train across the foot crossing. We then joined Mark on the footplate, and continued to the slip site about a mile further along.

 

 

 

 

On site two excavators readied to help empty the 4 Dogfish, as the hoppers were pushed along in turn to the discharge site, where last Friday we had placed the 4 crossing pads.

 

 

 

 

The ballast material was somewhat reluctant to pour out as intended (there were many fines, and it was a damp day) so the upper excavator had to stomp around inside the discharging Dogfish to push the ballast down, aided by someone poking the chute with a shovel from underneath.

 

We got there OK, but it was intially slow going. 

 

 

 

 

Once the discharged pile was big enough, the lower excavator was able to position the fill to where it was actually needed.

 

 

The filling scene from below. Note the top excavator rummaging around in the Dogfish, while nothing comes out below.

 

 

 

 Here's a video of the goings on at Cleeve:

 

 https://youtu.be/To6V7Sfm0J8

 

 

Four trains, totalling 11 Dogfish were discharged that day.

Having assisted with the propelling move and one of the discharges, we moved on to the actual inteneded job for the day, which was measuring up the timbers required to reverse a turnout in the Toddington yard. 

 

 

 

On the way there we spotted the new sign at the top of the drive, warning drivers of high vehicles (over 3.00m) to use the old drive. This measure has been put in place to protect the high pressure gas main that runs under the new drive.

 

The sign was made by Alex of C&W, one of his many talents. 

 

 

The turnout that we intend to reverse is on siding 2, and leads into siding 3. When it was laid back in the 1980s we did not have a LH turnout, so used a RH one instead, and laid it back to front.  You can't do this on your model railway, but on a real railway, it is possible - of a sort. The result is not very correct, but do-able at very slow speed.

As we still want to finish the relay with concrete sleepers from Didbrook of siding two (now cleared and available to us) we will combine the two jobs. 

 

On the way back we saw the class 22 on its way to Winchcombe.

As it's mid week and the southern end of the railway is under a possession (see above) our services are curtailed mid week. Sad to say, the trains were almost empty, as was the Toddington car park.

 

As from the gala at the end of the month the full length of the line will be available again, for every service, not just weekends, as at the moment.

 

 

Wednesday with the Usketeers.

Three of us today, with Dave still not very well at home. Get well soon, Dave ! 

Yours truly spent (most of) the day cleaning the underneath of two of the corrugated iron sheets. Two more were done, making three completely done now, and three more with one side done.

 

 

This is an example of the sheets being treated. Completed sheets at the back, and 'bottoms up' at the front, half cleaned, as well as one on the trestle, already cleaned and primered.

It's a very noisy process, so we keep an eye open for coaches, when we stop to let people on/off in peace. 

 

 

 

 

 

By the weighbridge we are in a front line position, so it's the first stop for people who want to know something.

This lorry was bringing 2x 20 foot containers for the PWay, a long awaited facility, that was finally made possible by means of an anonymous donation.

Thank you ! The railway has its hands full with the landslip, so there's no money for luxuries like better storage.  

 

Down where those two containers are going we weren't quite ready. The lorry driver had to wait (Chris kindly sponsored him a mug of tea) while we put in the last two bearer concrete sleepers. They keep the metal container off the deck.

In the afternoon the two containers finally went down. 

Our pride and joy, at last, two containers for our heavy tools, at ground level.

 

 

We had one happy lorry driver, after a successful delivery and placing (and mug of tea).

Now we have 2 empty 20 footers, and would like to install all our PWay material in them. PWay material is heavy, so does anyone have any spare heavy duty racking that we could have? Send us a blogger contact form if you can help.

 

Meanwhile, the two remaining Usketeers walked up to the hut, and got to work with the build. 

 

Paul had brought a number of straps, which will be used to keep the sleepers in position (as they aren't buried in the ground)

Paul also had a good go at completing the chimney.

 

He raised it two more courses in red, then added a crown of blues. As far as bricks are concerned, that's it now. We just need a bit more pointing, but ran out of mortar today to do that.

 

We decided to give the chimney a traditional chimney pot, made out of an old clay drain pipe, just like the gangers used to do. It had a broken end (we almost always use second hand materials) so cutting it to size solved that problem.

 

Mid morning the RRV passed the hut, pausing briefly for a chat with Paul. They went to 3 Arch Bridge to swap out another rail, part of a longer programme to remove all rails with squat defects.

 

This was the defect cured today - a squat on top of a welded rail joint. OK at the moment, but has potential to break here.

We are getting better every day,  in every way.

 

Old and new rail can be seen here, thanks to RRV driver Walt, who took the pictures. It was hot today, but in the wrong place (where it was windy) it was cold. A strange weather day.

 

While Paul built up the chimney, Jules spent the day at the back, fitting all the strips that cover the gaps between the sleepers. Those strips are the only thing we have had to buy so far, and even then, we bought gravel boards, which we sliced down the middle to double the numbers.

 

At the end of the Usketeering day, the chimney was fully built up (bar some pointing) and the chimney pot fitted and part flaunched. It looked really good, we thought. It was a nice idea of Pauls to build the top part of blues, in a different colour. 

 

As we were painting the second of the corrugated iron sheets in bitumen paint, Paul and Jules returned from the tunnel mouth, and we treated ourselves to a cup of tea under the Winchcombe canopy. 

Just as Walt returned with STEVIE, the rail swap job being completed. 

 

On the way back home we called in at Toddington, following a report that the Toddington roundabout was blocked by a large, dirty locomotive. That had to be MANSTON ! 

And indeed it was. It's here for the May gala and then for several more weeks. Don't miss it!

For sale: A Western hydraulic cab door! 

PWay member Chris has this Western door for sale. It's from D1069, WESTERN VANGUARD. 

Here's a picture of the loco in question:

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/RTDieselHydraulics/posts/3059646450893567/

 

 

He's given it into the care of GC Railwayana Auctions, and we think it's going into the next one that they are running, on 6th June. (check this though)

The number is stamped on the door frame.

Why should we publicise this? Well, it's because Chris very kindly offered to donate the sale proceeds to the GWSR tool fund, and, even better, GCR auctions have been very kind and offered to cancel their usual commission. That's very nice of them.

So, if you want a genuine piece of a Western Hydraulic loco, why not put in a bid? If you win, then so will the GWSR. Everyone's a winner.

 

 

 

Chris's drone photos of Winchcombe can be see here:

In the centre here is the Bradstone built visitor centre, and along the bottom (L to R) the forklift company's yard and workshop, the 4 gable ends of Churchward House, and on the right, the full width of the original yard resumes, with containers for catering, C&M and lineside clearance.

The Usk hut can be seen peeping out from under the oak tree, top right. 

Looking north, showing Chicken Curve, up- and downside sidings, and the housing estate built up against the station yard on the left. The famous derailment occurred at this end of the curve, spilling over into the yard.

 

The station approach area has changed a lot since we bought the line over 40 years ago.Two additional houses and a garage have been built on a tiny plot of land that we sold (the diagonal ones, centre left).We also sold the wider area on the left, now occupied by a forklift company (blue flatbed) and indeed the yard and building of Churchward house, which we then re-purchased about 5 years ago, to form our plc Headquarters. (just below the picture)