Week 6

Slight software issue this week, as the blogger Windows 10 powered desktop has decided to freeze up when uploading photos. Hours on the phone with a remote PC doctor achieved only a part solution, and a search on the internet revealed that it is a Microsoft issue, and there is no immediate fix. So we're looking at a work-around. Pictures this week are from the archives, with the first few wriggled in under the Windows 10 radar - it seems a single picture at a time can be uploaded.

We're into week 6 now, hard to believe.

We'd invite you round for tea, but can't. So share some virtual scones with us, with whipped cream and some top notch cherry jam.

Behind the tea is a TICKETS casting, an original, possibly even from Broadway itself as it was found in a house in Willersey nearby. It's in store for that big day when we restore Toddington station back to its original condition, with a booking office (no more queuing on the platform), real stationmaster's office and First Class Waiting Room.



We've had more fun with those WAY OUT board replicas. Both the P2 (Over Foot Bridge) and the P1 board (plain Way Out) have been 'outshopped'. Ready for the P2 building now, and the P1 canopy extension.

Right

Left

 
















A slight worry while making up these boards was would we get the texts the right way round, and the two fingers pointing the same way.

Remember that this is a two sided board, which will hang from the canopy overhang at the bottom of the steps. It will be seen from underneath, from both sides.

Before finally screwing down the last letters, we lifted it this way and that, but it seemed to be OK. Nothing was upside down, phew!




We still need the steel brackets and suspension rods for these, which in the past were made by a clever member of the Broadway gang.

Next on the production line is a new GWR poster board, double royal in size.

This one will be situated outside, so could suffer in the rain, until we have widened the little canopy over the front door. It will be lettered by Alex from C&W so needs to have a smooth background. That wouldn't work with T&G as used with the other boards, so we have ordered a sheet of marine ply (very expensive!) which can be found in the same thickness as the groove in the replica moulding - 18mm. Piece of luck that. More details on what it will look like when it has been lettered.


Slip Appeal update

Good news on the GWSR slip appeal, it has breached the £200.000 and as of today stands at £208.000. We intend to resume work on completing the slip repair soon, so it's vital that we raise the full sum - £42.000 are still to be found.

https://www.gwsr.com/Emergency_Embankment_Appeal.html

If you haven't helped yet - or maybe you can help again, after a month has passed - then above is the link to the appeal page. We are getting there!



Honeybourne triangle

We have been fortunate to acquire a set of pictures of the Honeybourne triangle as it is today, and share these with you below. Hopefully we will get there one day.

The Honeybourne triangle was where the Oxford-Worcester line crossed our Honeybourne line, and to make the maximum connectivity 3 of the 4 corners were connected with chords. The only one that didn't have a direct connection was, say, Broadway to Moreton. The terrain there is to steep and the angle too sharp.

The Honeybourne triangle - Copyright A. Kenney

A. Kenney from the PWay gang very kindly let us use his sketch map of the area, so that you can see where the pictures were taken.

The first picture shows the overbridge where the Oxford - Worcester line crosses the Honeybourne line, looking north.

This bridge as you can see was renewed only a few years ago, and wide enough for a re-routed access road to a farm (formerly with a rather dangerous user crossing on a bend) as well as space for a single line north, into the triangle. The picture was taken from the site of Honeybourne West Loop junction, a few hundred yards north of the big 8 track yard just visible at the bottom of the map.

The second picture is looking east, alongside the main line, and looking towards the bridge in the first picture (out of sight in the undergrowth).

The whole of the Honeybourne triangle has been used as a dump for spent ballast for a very long time, so many of the ground levels have risen.

Sadly the big double gate from the access road under the bridge is left unlocked and wide open, so much so that it even no longer has its bolt. This gives easy access, in particular to fly tippers who have left builders and household rubbish in various areas.

This next picture shows the location of the former switch to the ballast dump, the tip siding on the map.

The line on the left is the start of the former line from Honeybourne station to Stratford, now in use as a long siding to Long Marston, with occasional use.

On the map the area is known as Honeybourne North junction. Each had its own signal box, and the top of one can be seen in the car park at Toddington.

This is a picture from the highest point in the centre, looking north east. It's a bit of a jungle.

This shot is from the same spot, but looking roughly south west, towards Honeybourne station.

This shot is from the middle of the triangle, with the remains of the tip siding in the foreground. One of the loco crew at Toddington was actually a fireman on some of the spoil trains that came here, and he remembers pushing the wagons up here, and moving the siding bit by bit.

The buffer stop from the tip siding (which is no longer connected, and well overgrown).

This one is quite interesting, as it shows the approximate and still quite recognisable line of the through line north from Broadway to Stratford. Nothing in the way there.
The chord on the map to the Oxford line would have been to the right of this, but that area is buried in spent ballast to some height.

The last shot shows the view from the ballast pile near the chord, looking north. The water visible in the top right hand corner is actually a large lake in a field which may have been caused by the failure of the drainage through the chord, or the heaps of spent ballast. The level goes up and down.

Left of centre are some trees and these mark a cutting in the siding to Long Marston.

Overall then the spent ballast has changed many levels, but the original line through to Stratford is unencumbered, and the chord from the south westwards towards Honeybourne is almost completely intact, suffering only some minor invasion from the highest spoil heap.

Finally, a picture of a new sign on a public footpath leading to the huge Honeybourne West loop sidings site, and further on to the disused trackbed all the way back to Broadway.

Underneath is a link to www.railwaypaths.org.uk, which is:

'a specialist organisation which owns and manages a portfolio of former railway land to provide routes, roads and paths suitable for cycling, walking, horseriding and wheel-chair use'.








All in all very interesting photographs, which show that there is nothing substantial in the way to recreating either a through route to Stratford through the site, or a chord round to Honeybourne station itself. The funding hurdle of course is another matter.






Answers to last week's quiz:

 Got your pencil and paper from last week ready? Here are the answers:

1. Evening STAR

2. Hong KONG

3. KING John

4. WESTWARD Ho!

5. WESTERN Enterprise

6. DOMINION of Canada

7. The GREEN Howards

8. Resolven GRANGE

9. DUCHESS of Gloucester

10. ARK Royal

11. Green ARROW

12. LORD Nelson

13. Sir FELIX Pole

14. Home GUARD

15. Great GABLE

16. LADY Margaret Hall

17. CLAN Fraser

18. Winston CHURCHILL

19. Burton AGNES Hall

20. CLIVE of India

And this week's new quiz:

 

NEXT STATION

What’s the next station in the following sequences:

1. Cheltenham Race Course: Gotherington: Winchcombe:             ………………………..…..

2. Camborne: Hayle: St Erth:                                                    …………………………....

3. Penrhynn: Minffordd: Boston Lodge Halt:                          …………………………….

4. Great Malvern: Colwall: Ledbury                                                    ……………………………

5. Summerseat: Ramsbottom: Irwell Vale:                                       …………………………..…

6. Stonehouse: Stroud: Kemble:                                                    ………………………..……

7. Beasdale: Arisaig: Morar:                                                                 ………………………….….

8. Highley: Arley: Bewdley:                                                                 ……………………………..

9. Totnes: Newton Abbot: Teignmouth:                                       ………………………..……

10. Goathland: Newton Dale Halt: Levisham:                           ……………………………..

11. Barnt Green: Bromsgrove: Worcs Parkway:                          ……………………………..

12. Corfe Castle: Harmans Cross: Herston:                                       ……………………………..

13. Darlington: Durham: Chester-le-Street:                                       ………………………..……

14. Goodrington Sands: Churston: Greenway:                          ………………………………

15. Settle: Horton-in-Ribblesdale: Ribblehead                          ………………………………

16. Southall: Hayes & Harlington: Heathrow Terminals 1-3:             ……………………………….

17. Ashford International: Ebbsfleet Int: Stratford Int:                          ………………………………..

18. Worcester Shrub Hill: Pershore: Evesham:                                       ………………………………..

19. Aberystwyth: Capel Bangor: Aberffrwd:                                       ……………………………….

20. Goodge Street: Warren Street: Euston:                                       ……………………………….

Not too hard, that one, and perhaps easier than most because you can easily look these up. Write them down on a piece of paper, and we'll give you the answers next week.

Have fun, and see you again soon. And thank you for your help with our appeal!

Week 5

Week 5 already, but we're doing OK. We're all raring to go back, but the patient has been given another dose of 3 weeks in bed. Sigh!

The Pway gang has set up a WhatsApp group to do virtual work, and of course then rest in virtual tea breaks.

We send each other virtual doughnuts.

Here, try one! They're lovely.

Of course, not quite as good as the real thing, but certainly a lot less sticky. One thing we've had to learn (in the real world, remember that) was that you couldn't just lay into a doughnut, as that would end up with jam down your sleeve. You wouldn't notice it straight away, but only once the sleeve had touched something else. Arghhhhh!

So take our advice, start by eating the hole where the jam comes out. Stay neat!


The railway is still OK, no news apparent, so that is good news. It sleepeth, perchance. We have had the weedkiller trolley round, as that has got to happen, weeds don't do self isolation. Some of you noticed it filling up with water on the Broadway webcam. That is another cost though, our costs are way down, but they don't stand still. We have staff too, maybe fewer than some, but they still cost money out.

Our appeal is doing OK, we're up to £175.000 now, but one gets the idea that the curve is flattening. At the moment we are still £75.000 short. Have you made your donation to help yet? We need you.

Here is the link to our appeal page:

https://www.gwsr.com/Emergency_Embankment_Appeal.html

No doubt when the appeal amount was decided we had to make a guess how long services would be stopped, so pray that the government agrees with our guess, otherwise we could be in a mess. So do try and help.



Small bits of heritage.

Our GWR Trust has, as part of the fund raising appeal, made a plea that when we use Amazon to order stuff we use Amazon Smile. If you do that, they donate a small percentage of the turnover to a charity of our choice (er, the GWR Trust!). Yours truly did this, 16 purchases ago already. It's exactly the same Amazon, just a slightly different link:

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/ref=smi_se_dshb_bk_smi

So far, Amazon Smile has donated £3,022,499.43 to charities. We checked just now how much the GWRT got out of this from those that signed up, and it was - £19! Oh. Hardly anybody seems to have done it, yet it is free money and costs you nothing. So do try the link and generate some funds out of the behemoth.

In the little heritage workshop near the railway an enormous sheet of 18mm marine plywood has arrived. It's 2.4m long and weighs a ton, according to Mrs. Blogger who was roped in to move it. It took 3 weeks to arrive, but stuff is getting through, so be patient.

(Part of-) the marine plywood sheet will be used to make a replica timetable board for Broadway. This will have a standard text, with the actual timings on little tablets which can easily be changed according to the timings of the day.

Six further cast aluminium replica letters have arrived for one of the suspended canopy boards at Broadway.

Unfortunately we have forgotten what they were for, can you help?

The board itself is already made, with T&G panels and replica double sided mouldings all the way round.

In the picture the letters have been lined up with a piece of timber, and are having the holes drilled for the screws.

Notice the chamfer on the edges of the letters, which allows them to pop easily out of the mould and which distinguishes them from laser cut steel or - the horror of it - plywood examples.

This shows the little kit we are using. The pointing hand is from a brass rubbing of an original given to us by the heritage dept of a friendly neighbouring railway. The letters sit on SS washers, which just lift them a little bit off the backing woodwork. This makes them stand out a bit more, and makes repainting in the future a little easier, as if you are careful you can avoid painting the woodwork underneath white. We noticed this idea on some originals we dismantled.







Here is one side of an almost finished board, the longer one for P2 at Broadway.

Of course we can't put the board up yet as there is no P2 canopy. But we need to order the materials in one lot, and happily this coincided with the virus crisis, so there is something to do while we stay at home. Every cloud has a silver lining!

A detail of Broadway in 1904

If you're really fussy you're going to say that the finger is in the wrong place, it should be on the end of the bottom line on the board under the P2 canopy.

We had a think about that. It meant either a longer board, or smaller letters, all squashed up. On the other hand the P2 board is already quite substantial.

Then we had a look at Winchcombe, the only other station along our line with a similar set up. There it looked like this:

The same detail of Winchcombe in BR days.

Slightly different! But it is more logical to have the finger next to the larger letters, where there is the space, so that is what we did. Keeping 'FOOT' and 'BRIDGE' separate as at Broadway.

 -------------------- 000 * 000 --------------------

Last week's quiz answers:

Got your answers ready? Here is what they should look like:

CHRISTMAS QUIZ 2016

1.       Which region of British Railways did not have water troughs?           Southern Region 

2.      What was the width between the rails on Brunel’s broad gauge?                           7’0¼”…….

3.      Which of our locos has an 81A, Old Oak Common, shed plate?  7903 Foremarke Hall

   

4.      Who, during 2016, was offered training on how to use a shovel?     John, aka The Duke            

(In joke, OK)                 

5.      The Pritchard Patent Product Company is better known as what?                 PECO

         

6.      What’s the locomotive number used by Flying Scotsman during 2016?       60103

    

7.      Where was Dinmore Manor this last summer?   (NB We are in 2016) Dartmouth Steam Railway

         

       8.       How wide, in inches, is a standard wooden sleeper?                                    10''

9.      What type of dogs travel for free on the GWR?                                    Well Behaved

                                 

10.   Where is the shed coded 14E?                                                                     Bedford

        

11.   According to a volunteer's’ profound analytic mind, what is the main

difference between the Swanage Railway’s Derby built lightweight

Class 108 DMUs and their Pressed Steel Company built Class 117

DMUs?    (In joke, funny ha-ha)                                                                       Nine

                                                                                                 

        12.  Where is the shed coded 14E?                                            Bedford, again (yes, we know.....)                                                                               

13.   At 22.75 miles, which is the longest standard gauge heritage railway

        in the UK?                                                                                                             WSR                                                                                                                                  

14.   What, demolished in December 1961, will be reinstated by HS2?         The Doric Arch             

15.   What’s the BR TOPS class number for our loco 5343?                                        26

16.    If you need to slow a train to 5mph though PWay work, what colour flag is the first to be

 displayed?                                                                                                                  Yellow  

17.   How is the flag held?                                                                                    Gently waved




And now a new quiz for this week:

MISSING WORDS IN LOCO NAMES

                        NAME                                                                                                  NUMBER

1.     Evening    ………………………………………………                              92220

2.     Hong  …….………….………………………………                                  45611

3.     ……………………………………………    John                                        6026

4.     ………………………………… ………    Ho                                           34036

5.     …………………………………………..     Enterprise                               D1000

6.     ………………………………………….      of Canada                               60010

7.     The ……………………………………..      Howards                                 46133

            8.     Resolven   …………………………………………………….                      6869 

9.     …………………………………………..     of Gloucester                          46225

10.  …………………………………………..     Royal                                       D601

11.  Green   ………………………………………………..                                60800

12.  ……………………………………….…      Nelson                                     30850

13.  Sir  ………………………………………… Pole                                         5066

14.  Home  ……..………………………………………...                                 45543

15.  Great  ……..……………………………………………                                   D4

16.  ………………………………………………   Margaret Hall                         7911

17.  …………………………………………….  Fraser                                      72003

18.  Winston  ….…………………………………………..                                 34051

19.  Burton  ……..……………………………    Hall                                          6998

20.   ………………………………………………of India                                   70040

Once again, thanks (yours and mine) go to Robert who not only made up the quizzes to amuse the munching Christmas diners, but also let us borrow them to entertain you once a week during the Corona crisis.

So sharpen your pencils, no conferring, and write down your answers and see next week how many you have got right.

You'll notice that there are 20 questions this week. This is because there was nothing rude about this quiz at all. Bit disappointing really...

(Apologies for the red colour, but due to some kink or other in Blogger it will not change from red. Except this last bit. 
Weird.

Post Scriptum:

Nearly forgot, but John Lees' pictures of early PWay work on the GWSR have been updated with another, large, batch of photographs, this time from the 2010 era.

Here is his album:

John Lees Early GWSR on Flickr 

The first new picture is this one:

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/73536293@N02/49788654758/in/dateposted-public/

Week 4

Week 4

We are into week four, it seems like a dream. We are all in touch with each other, enjoying electronic 'days at work' and enjoying 'doughnuts', although they are admittedly not as satisfying as the real thing.

The railway's appeal reached £151.000 as at 12th April, so we are now beyond the half way stage, but still with some way to go (£99.000 to be exact, but hey, it's less than £100.000 now).

If you haven't helped yet please consider doing so. This page describes what you need to do:

https://www.gwsr.com/Emergency_Embankment_Appeal.html

Otherwise our railway is very quiet indeed. Probably a case of no news is good news, that is to say, there are no bad news, so we will just have to sit this out. Luckily we have a relatively modest wage bill.

Reading in the paper yesterday a senior scientist who advises the government says that the coronavirus does not pose a major threat through outdoor transmission. Another consulted by the paper 'could find no positive evidence that this virus has ever been transmitted outdoors (but abundant evidence of indoor transmission). That is not to say that outdoor transmission cannot occur, as it surely can if an infectious person is in close contact with a susceptible person. But if social distancing is maintained, and people with symptoms do not venture out, then the risk of transmission in outdoor settings looks to be very low indeed'.

So perhaps we might be allowed back to work outdoors, as part of a gradual relaxation of the lockdown. If the government allows it of course.


Last week's quiz answers:

Got your answer papers ready?This is what you should have put:

Western Region

What’s the name of the King when each of the following events happened?

6000 Outbreak of the First World War                                                                                   George V

6019Battle of Agincourt                                                                                                           Henry V

6023 Battle of Bannockburn                                                                                                 Edward II

6004 Battle of Waterloo                                                                                                       George III

6026 Signing of the Magna Carta                                                                                                John

Southern Region

Where are the following Merchant Navies stored or running? (NB This was in 2014)

35005 Canadian Pacific                                                                                   Watercress/Mid-Hants

35006 Peninsular & Oriental S.N. Co                                                                                     GWSR

35010 Blue Star                                                                                                             Colne Valley

35028 Clan Line                                                                                           Stewarts Lane/main line

35029 Ellerman Lines                                                                                    Nat Rly Museum, York

Midland Region

What’s the number of the following locos (all between 46220 and 46257)?

Coronation                                                                                                                                46220

Duchess of Sutherland                                                                                                              46233

Sir William A Stanier FRS                                                                                                        46256

Duchess of Hamilton                                                                                                                 46229

City of Birmingham                                                                                                                  46235

Eastern Region

What are the names of the 6 preserved A4s?

60007                                                                                                                       Sir Nigel Gresley

60008                                                                                                               Dwight D Eisenhower

60009                                                                                                               Union of South Africa

60010                                                                                                                 Dominion of Canada

60019                                                                                                                                       Bittern

60022                                                                                                                                      Mallard

Standard Classes

Facts about the Britannia class:

How many of the Britannia class were built?                                                                                 55

What's the name of 70004 displayed at the festival of Britain in 1951?           William Shakespeare

What’s the number of the only Brit that was never named?                                                    70047

What was the name of 70008, also held by 92203 when on the GWR?                        Black Prince

What’s the name of 70020, the planet nearest the sun?                                                       Mercury

Early Diesels

It’s all about the peaks.   

Name:

D1, England’s highest mountain?                                                                                    Scafell Pike

D2, the 3120ft high mountain accessed by Striding Edge?                                                Helvellyn

D5, England’s highest mountain outside the Lake District?                                               Cross Fell

The fittingly called preserved railway where D8 Penyghent lives?                                    Peak Rail

The top of this mountain, D9, is accessible by steam loco?                                                Snowdon

News hot off the press:

The second edition of The Toddington Standard is out: Read all about progress with our own Pocket Rocket, now in the hands of the professionals at LMS in Loughborough:

Yes, we know that isn't really 76077 on the cover, it's a bit of Jack Boskett's handiwork (he's the editor of The Cornishman and a renowned photographer). If you want to know more, and indeed help us, sign up via the locomotive's own website here:

https://standard76077.com/support-76077

You can buy shares outright, and, to continue helping, why not make a regular donation for the price of a meal?  It's a virtually painless way of building up a really helpful contribution.



This week's quiz comes from the PWay....

CHRISTMAS QUIZ 2016

1.       Which region of British Railways did not have water troughs?                    ……….

2.      What was the width between the rails on Brunel’s broad gauge?                 ……….

3.      Which of our locos runs with an 81A, Old Oak Common, shed plate?          ……….

4.      Who, during 2016, was offered training on how to use a shovel?                  ……….

(In joke, but you could have a guess)                 

5.      The Pritchard Patent Product Company is better known as what?                 ……….

6.      What’s the locomotive number used by Flying Scotsman during 2016?       ……….

7.      Where was Dinmore Manor this last summer?   (NB We are in 2016)           ……….

       8.       How wide, in inches, is a standard wooden sleeper?                                    ………..

9.      What type of dogs travel for free on the GWR?                                              ………..

10.   Where is the shed coded 14E?                                                                         ..............

11.   According to a volunteer's’ profound analytic mind, what is the main

difference between the Swanage Railway’s Derby built lightweight

Class 108 DMUs and their Pressed Steel Company built Class 117

DMUs?    (In joke, have a go)                                                                          ………..

                                                                                                 

        12.  Where is the shed coded 14E?                                                                        .………

                                                                

13.   At 22.75 miles, which is the longest standard gauge heritage railway

        in the UK?                                                                                                               ………
                                                                                                          

14.   What, demolished in December 1961, will be reinstated by HS2?                        ……….

15.   What’s the BR TOPS class number for our loco 5343?                                         ……….

16.    If you need to slow a train to 5mph though PWay work, what colour flag is the first to be

 displayed?                                                                                                                       ……….

17.     How is the flag held?                                                                                             ……….

You'll notice 3 questions missing. Sadly they were very rude, it just goes to show what a bunch of degenerates we are. We have spared your sensitive feelings.

John Lees' PWay pictures

We are still on the job of scanning in, repairing and in due course posting on the Early GWSR Flickr site a huge box of slides John lent us.

Progress to date is that we have scanned 400 of the slides, and repaired 300 of them, so we are well on the way to the point where we can publish this next batch. With 1300 photographs posted to date, John has had over 10.000 views. Amazing! Providing we have finished the repair work, we should be able to post a link to the next batch in the following blog post.

One amusing one that we can share straight away is this one:

       

The Laverton python, with offspring Slippery Sid.

John took this picture in the summer of 2010 when the gang had just started on the trackwork that would become Laverton loop.
A strangely shaped tree stump was painted up to look like a Python by one of the volunteers (thought to be Keith), accompanied by a little baby one in a nest, fully equipped with baby's dummy.

Click on the picture to enlarge and read the text.

See you next week!