The foundations are excavated

Monday at Broadway

We're back with the mouldings, and the promised revelation of how Neal was going to add the curved piece at the top, out of the straight lengths of board that we had.

The lengths attached on Friday have now had their screw holes filled in, and also given a second application of undercoat.

Neal then used the bevel to measure out the angles, if the curve were to be divided into several little segments.








He then did a test installation with 4 pieces of plywood cut to the calculation results, and when that looked satisfactory, he cut off the actual pieces of the moulding board.










A sample of this can be seen on the right. The plywood piece is at the bottom, the actual piece of moulding to the same shape is at the top.

Two of the 4 pieces were then screwed on, while Neal can be seen juggling with the remaining two lengths in the middle which, despite the test run with the (thinner) pieces of plywood, wouldn't quite go on.

We left him to it for a while, as we went off to primer 4 more lengths of T&G board.

When we came back the 4 segments were in, and the screw holes covered with filler. Later they got a rubbing down and another layer of undercoat, but Neal's intention is to improve the shape a bit more with a little sander he has. But basically this completes the mouldings on both sides of the P1 steps.

Unseen but nonetheless doggedly busy was John, who started applying top coat to the P1 stringers.

Everything is in a shade of dark stone, but in this shot you can just about make out the difference between undercoat and topcoat. Topcoat is a bit more shiny.

We spent almost the whole day on the scaffolding, even to address some visitors, who almost always ask the same questions. John's legs can be seen in the middle, where he's applying topcoat to the stringers.

From above a little cameo could be seen down below by the neighbour's new gate.

Peter doesn't know he has an admirer....

Oi, do you mind, stop leaning on my new gate !

The cameo was interrupted by Peter K, the brain behind the new sliding gate for the B&B....

During the afternoon, we found Dave expertly crafting a replica GWR leaflet rack. We found the inspiration for this on the internet, and with it we hope to replace the perspex leaflet holders currently in use in the booking office. It's now off for varnishing and lettering.

Towards the end of the afternoon, all painting and fillering now done, we afforded ourselves three mugs of tea, and a sit down on one of the station benches.

All was observed by the unblinking eye of the CCTV camera. We can thank Dave for this screenshot of us just sitting there, doing nothing. (it was alleged)


Wednesday at Winchcombe

Great excitement at the site for the Usk building! We are going to dig the hole for the foundations at last.

Stevie 'Wonder' was there with his JCB digger, and here you see the team measuring one last time the distance between the side of the building and the platform. It has to be very precise.

Last time we reported on the back filling of the platform. Big mistake! We did this on the basis of a photograph supplied of the Telehandler emptying a bucket of infill into the void. However, as you can see on this picture, that is all they did on that day. It doesn't pay to be away for a day.

Finally we had it all measured out, and Stevie started digging out the hole for the concrete pad for the Usk building.

Only a few yards away the PWay gang were digging out another timber, one of several marked a fortnight ago as in need of rapid replacement.

As the ground was very hard in this area (no ballast used in these early days of the 1980s) it was arranged for Stevie to dig out an area next to the turnout, into which the dug out timbers could be pulled. This made life easier, but digging out of the timbers themselves was still required.

The first one was dug out in the morning, and the Telehandler was dispatched to fetch a replacement of similar length, which it duly brought and shoved into pace.

The first timber was hard work, especially in today's heat, but they got it out and back in, screwed on tight, and then a start was made on a second one. Unfortunately that one wasn't on the list, it was discovered to be life expired during today's digging, so at lunch time the score was one replaced, and one more rotten one found. Net nil...

We had the King out today, always interesting to watch, especially as it's going to go home again one day (during August in fact). So get you trip in, if you haven't yet.

There was a huge discussion about the siting of the Usk hut foundations when another group came along and argued about it.

Eventually it was decided to move the hole along a bit, a couple of feet this way, and some inches that. Stevie handled it all with aplomb, the pile of diggings mounting steadily higher in the middle.

Jim helped to gauge the depth of the foundations.







Paul called out the measurements, so that the bottom of the slab was +/- level.

Once the hole was dug - about a foot deep - Steve spooned out the spoil into the gap behind the platforms.

Now we could finally say that the platform was being back filled.

The back filling moved slowly along, until the area under the tree was reached, which was very rough. Here Steve leveled and dug, and again the surplus was dropped behind the wall. It was getting hotter all the time too.

Great was our joy when Jim turned up with a box full of ice lollies. We all took one and sucked on them thoughtfully. It was nice and cool under the shade of the oak tree.

When Stevie had finished the area between platform and foundation hole looked really great. The area behind the stop block still needs finishing, a return around the stop block needs to be build, so that the sloping concrete sleepers can be buried under spoil.

So this is to be the area for the new goods platform. This used to a covered in weeds with random rubble tipped over the years underneath. Quite a pleasing transformation, isn't it?

Now we are waiting for a final quote for the rebar within the concrete slab. It is more complicated than it looks at first, so we need to be patient. Next we build the shuttering, and pour the concrete. Some shuttering was fetched by Neil and yours truly from Stanton yard today, formerly stuff used for the Hayles job. It all gets recycled.

After work we treated ourselves to tea, or even cans of lemonade, in the Coffepot, while waiting for the King to arrive.

Going the other way was the spluttery class 24. It's strange, but it always seems such an occasion when a train slowly hauls itself into the station, especially when there is already one on the other side waiting to go out again. Everyone stops what they are doing, to look.

We stopped off at Broadway on the way home, to find that Neal had fixed the moulding onto the lower half of the Cotswolds side of P2. So P1 is indeed finished. The entire P1 scaffolding will be removed next week.

We're going to carry on on Friday, after a quick exploratory visit of the GCR with 7 of the PWay fun guys tomorrow. No doubt a 'look over the fence' will follow.

On Friday - Sunday we will hold our annual diesel gala.

Bet you won't see anything like this: Three Growlers pulling into Toddington from the Broadway direction. Photograph by John Lees.

Now you're going to ask: Which ones then?

Sigh. It was 37 324, 37 215 and 37 219. Happy now?

A day on the cushions.

Monday at Broadway

Things are hotting up again, but only for the weather. We are taking the opportunity of the plentiful sunshine to paint, paint, paint.

First thing we went down to Winchcombe to borrow a Transit and bring back the timbers we took down the other day. They have now been shaped into mouldings. They will be set at a 45 degree angle, under the corrugated sheets where they stick out. This gives their overhang a bit of extra support.

Once all the timbers were back at Broadway we treated them straight away with the 'ole knotting fluid. This is a sort of varnish, and it dried quite quickly. The idea was to primer them immediately afterwards.

After an 11 o'clock cup of tea we returned to the mouldings, and indeed also to a dozen more boards that we fetched out of storage.

After a while the whole of our painting area on P2 was a white glare of primer.

The Broadway gang took the neighbour's new sliding gate for a walk today. They returned soon afterwards, but with the gate.

Don't tell my wife I'm here!

After lunch they took the gate for a second walk.

Thanks - Mum's the word....

It is the gate itself that you see there, part of a sliding gate that we are building for our B&B neighbour. There are lots of mechanical bits involved too, expertly handled by Peter, who also made all our spearhead fencing.

On the subject of neighbours, the 7 others who live up the station approach (all in former GWR staff houses) are having their part of the drive resurfaced, probably for the first time in at least 50 years.

Clearly we led the way with our forecourt and station approach tarmaccing.

In the picture are 4 semi detached cottages, that you can also find at Toddington. To the left is the former stationmaster's house, now a B&B. To the right is a further pair of semi detached houses, an addition to the staff accommodation at Broadway that was built 5 or 6 years after opening. They are in a completely different style.

Neal spent most of the day fixing gutters to the bottom of the steps. This is where the water arrives that fell on the roof of the steps. In the picture he's doing the P2 ones.

Here he has moved over to P1 and is just cutting a piece of cast iron Ogee guttering to length.

John carried on with painting the steelwork. You can +/- see that he has got about 3/4 of the P1 stringers in undercoat now. This end of the station is starting to look quite colourful.

It was hot on Monday and Tuesday, especially after you stood in the sun for hour after hour, applying knotting fluid first to one side, then the other of the mouldings, and later again when the 12 boards were moved across. Then further hours painting the whole lot in white primer, one side after the other. Towards mid afternoon we treated ourselves to a cup of tea on a platform bench, in the shade of the canopy. If you look up, this is what you can see.

A neat little addition is this GWR system map which has been hung in the booking office. It's an original, probably a folding pocket one once.

Together with the timetable on the poster board on the opposite wall, you can now work out your journey. 70 years ago, that is....

On Tuesday at noon the now usual crocodile of GWSR customers set off to spend money in the establishments of Broadway village. Everyone benefits.



Wednesday - on the cushions.

A pencilled in visit from the K&ESR GWR 4253 project at Rolvenden was suddenly confirmed today, and we had 6 of their gang over to do some 'business' at Toddington. It pays to club together if you run GWR engines, and the K&ESR have 4 of them, believe it or not. A proper little GWR sub shed in the South East, they are.

Today they made the long journey round the M25, starting at 4 am in the morning, to miss the commuter traffic. They came in a hired van to collect these scrap flue tubes out of 3850.

The 4253 gang have been very enterprising in raising money for their project. One of the ways they raise money is by selling clocks made out of - believe it or not - 42xx flue tubes. Sadly the 4253 supply has dried up, so in an arrangement with the Dinmore gang they came to pick up these.

If you don't believe the clock story, take a look at their sales (and other) pages here:

http://www.4253.co.uk/Sales_And_Promotions/

They have given themselves a 9 year timeframe to restore this most derelict loco, ex Barry, ex Blaenavon, and they are well ahead of schedule.

This is the loco before much work was done on it. They have most of the parts, but we heard that one of the things they still need is a con rod. (they have one of the two)

Of course something of great interest to them was sister loco 4270. Various techniques applied by this loco's restoration team were examined and it became clear that GWR standardisation wasn't all it seemed to be. Several things turned out to be different, such as the rear buffer beam.

Our steam loco dept was only too happy to explain how this and that was achieved. Charlie, on the right and the irresistible force in 4253's restoration, was getting more and more impressed with 4270.

'I want that one'....

Finally he decided that he wanted to take it home. We had to decline politely, go and restore your own loco.

After 4253 they have another Welsh coal tank to restore, No. 5668. This is currently just a boiler sat on some frames, a ridiculously bare engine, but it will be addressed just like 4253 was. If something for 4253 can also be used on 5668, then they make two of them. So the work on restoring 5668 has already started, in a way.

Charlie wipes a tear from his eye as he gets his wallet out.

You want how much?

Afterwards some business was done in the car park, where a safety valve bonnet changed hands, our friends took a ride to Broadway to see the riveting on our canopy. The 4253 gang rivetted both tanks on their loco, an extraordinary achievement as there is no room to stand inside to push the rivet the other way when it goes in.

During the business in the car park a wisp of steam was detected but not from the rails. What a superb car this Stanley steamer is.


On to Broadway then, to help Neal for the rest of the afternoon.

It's all in the preparation, and faithful readers will know that we fetched the moulded boards on Monday, knotted and primered them, and in a special day visit on Tuesday we undercoated them on both sides.

This allowed Neal to make a start in mounting them today. A first board has been fetched up to the P1 side in this picture.

Neal then sawed one to length for the upper half and screwed it on. Then it came off again, then back on, then off again. Each time it needed a bit more trimming, this first one was really fiddly.

Trains came and went too. This is the last one to CRC just coming in. If you want to go back to CRC after your lunch at Broadway, this is the train you need to catch. Note also the coach parked in the driveway, it was quite busy at Broadway today.

The first thing we heard of the arrival of this train was D5343 and the slow thump-thump of its engine. 2807 was on the nearest end.

Back with the mouldings and Neal had done the middle bit. This was also tricky as its end had to be cut to a particular angle to deal with the break in the roof line. That moulding went up and down a few times too.

Here is Neal checking the join between the level and the sloping section. The big hammer he is holding no doubt helped....

Here is a stretch of moulding that is complete. It gives the look of the roof more body, and helps to support the 6 inch corrugated iron overhang, which would otherwise flop a little.

On Friday (weather permitting, it looks wetter) we will do the other side, and perhaps more.





Wednesday on the goods platform.

We can't be in two places at once, but luckily there are correspondents. Pictures by project manager Dave, obviously out of the picture this time, but present nonetheless.

We are looking forward on the foundations for the Usk hut, and are checking out the cheapest source of the reinforcement mattress. We already managed a good reduction, but it's not quite ripe for the order yet.

We don't know who was playing with Maxie today, but they were doing something right as Paul is grinning madly as usual (no change here then) and the last blocks along the bottom are going in. They will support the brick skin at the front.










These two spring chickens have just finished the last of the blockwork. Now the wall is ready for the brick layers, who will put up a row of blue imperials here.

We still need to deal with the return around the buffer stop at the end.

It's really good to see this picture, as it means that the block wall is being back filled with well draining material. The earlier we do this the better, as it will give a maximum of time to settle down. These fillings, we know from Broadway, always settle over about a year, even if you compact them with a roller. Next week we'll have a picture of the back filled platform.

Just opposite the goods wall site the other gang members were doing a quick resleepering job on the turnout that leads from where we store the third rake to the loop.

Looking at the material that is coming out not much ballast was used when this was laid back in the 1980s. Never mind, it makes digging easier.

Due to the constrictions of the site some of the sleepers had to come out diagonally, and Paul here is digging a channel which will allow a big, long timber to be dragged out. It was 12'6'' long!

The shinyness on the rails and the large number of crosses reveals that these rails are in regular (albeit siding) use, and that it is time we changed some timbers here. Luckily all this is taking place just outside our own yard, so no time lost in the logistic side of things.





More from here next week no doubt. It ain't over yet, not until the fat lady sings. Do we have a fat lady though?