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?