Foundations dug out.

Thursday in the trenches

Minus 5 degrees when we left, with car headlights on.

Minus two when we returned home, also with car headlights on. It's winter...

Here is the opening shot from last Thursday. Three sides of the trench have been dug, and we are nearly half way across the front.

After filling the two steel wagons, we have been given exceptional permission to also fill the Mermaid private owner. But lots of spoil remains - what will we do?

Thursday morning was very cold indeed, and the window of the digger was frosted up. Wiping it with gloves just seemed to push the frost around, so we hit upon a handy alternative that every GWSR volunteer has about his person - our plastic volunteer card!

It worked a treat. Don't leave home without it.

 

To start with Neal set about filling the rest of the Mermaid with spoil temporarily deposited in the centre. Large plywood panels (once on the footbridge at Henley in Arden) are now being used to prevent clay falling on to our new ballast.

 

 

John and Yours Truly were dispatched to get the little company dumper back from Winchcombe, where it had spent Tuesday on a training session.

The Ranger we had used last time was not available, so the only other available vehicle with a tow hook was the trusty blue Transit. We had never towed a trailer before, and certainly not with a Transit, so it was a steep learning curve, but we got to Broadway just fine. 

Even managed a three point turn, although not our finest lifetime achievement, that one.

 

 

 

Arrived at Broadway on a morning with minus 5 on the thermometer, we were met by a stange phenomenon. One of the modesty screen cast iron finials was lying on the ground.

Bizarre - who would lift it out (it is very heavy), then leave it lying around?

While cogitating this conundrum, we noticed that the middle finial had also been lifted by a couple of inches, then left like that.

What is going on here?

Eventually we got there. The clue is the minus 5. The columns are steel tube replicas, and somehow they had filled with water, right up to the top. In the hard frost the ice then formed had only one way out - upwards. One finial popped out and rolled to the ground, the other was half lifted. A peer into the top of the tube confirmed it brimful with water. We can't imagine how it got there, but there it was.

 

 

To stop this happening again we drilled a drain hole in the bottom of the two steel posts. Water shot out, up to 3 feet away.

Before driving the dumper over we took this shot of the two steel wagons waiting by the signal box. The signage represents the first and second coal merchants at Winchcombe.

 

 

Taking the Transit and trailer back to Winchcombe, we stopped at Toddington briefly, where we saw the Warflat that had just arrived. It has been shunted to the unloading road, which is near to the siding where the stopblock will go. When this will take place is not yet known.

 

 

Back to Broadway, and that pretty much took care of the morning.

Neal had finished loading the Mermaid, and was now loading spoil on the dumper, which is why it was moved here. Due to lack of available wagons to take any further spoil we are dropping it into a hole that we had dug late last year, just off camera to the right.

 

Wondering where to put any more, we had a brainwave. We used the 'spoil in the hole' dump to make ourselves a nice little ramp to the top of the rising cutting here, where there is a flat area on top that can be used as a temporary storage site.

The end of the afternoon came soon, the sun disappeared behind the trees, and soon after behind the horizon. It immediately became a lot colder again (there was a second night of minus 5 to follow in fact). Digging further along the front Neal got to within 3 yards of the corner, signifying the end of the dig.

We took this pretty picture of the two full coal merchant wagons outside the signal box, lit up by the last rays of the sun.

Broadway always has a special light, don't you think?

Friday on foundations.

The last day of a week's digger hire, which cost us a very reasonable £250. A concerted effort was made to get the whole of the foundations excavated, so that we can take the digger off hire. The dumper is our own.

This is the opening shot from Friday. The blueish sheen is frost on the ground. Great! Now our boots won't get so caked with clay.

Just this corner needed to be done to complete the trench all the way round.

Neal has ventured on to the central island to try and extract a concrete block for the upright slabs along the back of the platform (installed in 2016 or so by our own team) but the digger couldn't handle it, and we got it out with hammer and chisel instead.

In the foreground are lumps of the original foundations that we met, and pulled out. The new foundations will be deeper.

With great difficulty we managed to get the lumps, one by one, on to the little dumper and take them down to a temporary pile under the steps. They are made of Cotswolds stone ballast, and our thinking is that we might be able to crumble them down and use them for infill in the middle, under the new concrete floor.

 

 

Here is the pile with the old foundation slabs. Note also many reds and blues from both the old platform and the former building. We took a dozen of the best red facing bricks to the RAT at Toddington to help them with a proposed repair job there. Most reds are damaged, but many blues are still serviceable.

Here is Neal, tugging away at a very large piece of Cotswolds stone slab, right on the corner of where we need to complete the circle. That makes sense, as we are following the construction of the older building, with an extra bay on the south end. But our new foundations go deeper.

The digger got the slab loose, but couldn't lift it out as it was too large for the bucket. We used a sling to lift it out instead.

The lump, about 5ft x 3ft, was so big we felt it prudent to move it with the digger.

After a few more scoops the circle round the foundations was complete.

Now it was a question of tidying up the trench, ready for the building inspector.

Once he has given his sign off, we can order the concrete. This will be 50cm deep, so half fill the trench. The rest to floor level will be two courses of concrete blocks, and a smaller course on top.

Here's an evening shot of the site, with its fully excavated trenches. Neal is just tidying up a few lumps. It's been 5 days on the trot for Neal, 4 for Yours Truly and we have to admit, we are now somewhat fatigued and will give Saturday PWay a rest. The hire period for the digger had to be used to the full, and it can now be returned, after just a week's hire.

A day out with STEVIE.

Following the replacement of a number of turnouts and individual rails along the line, we have the old rails to go and collect now. For such work our old friend Stevie Warren used to lift them on to a specially arranged train for removal.

Now we have STEVIE the RRV, and his little trolley. Last Friday was his day.

Walt, David and Paul took STEVIE out to Toddington north, where numerous very heavy items were awaiting collection and tidying up.

In Walt's stop frame video you can see them pick these items up at Toddington north. That's the bit you can see from the Stow Road bridge.

On the same day, STEVIE was also taken into the car park at Toddington, to unload the WARFLAT of the stop block and the spare concrete sleepers. These were taken out at Didbrook last year, but are still good for sidings, and much better than the second hand woods laid back in the 1980s.

The stop block will go on the end of the siding where the loco dept mess coach used to stand. It's also where the new yard lamp is situated.

The timbers were for our narrow gauge friends.

 

 

 

Walt also photographed the lifting and placing of the stop block. It's now right at the back of the car park, waiting for an installation date. David (in the picture) was the slinger for the day. David has a hidden talent - baking delicious cakes! You might be lucky if you're on his team...

Walt's second stop frame video shows STEVIE hurtling back down the track on his way home to Winchcombe:

 

Back at Winchcombe there was a third job for the RRV:

This was a quickie for the C&W department, turning one of their bogies round. It was heavy! It was a first for us, but could quickly become routine.

Monday back at Broadway.

We survived the storm, no damage at Broadway, all the trees resisted the high winds.

 

The only effect of the storm was that water  was standing in the bottom of our (formerly) nice and neat trench, and that there were a number  of collapses from watery clay.

To tidy up the trench again we got the digger and dumper out. The dumper immediately picked up so much clay that it just about doubled the size of the wheel. Colleagues saw a benefit in that -  we could go faster !

We dug out again what we could, about three dumper loads full. The building inspector is coming on Thursday to sign off what we dug, then we can think about ordering the concrete.

After clearing the trench out again Neal took the digger trackside in order to excavate a trench for the stormwater drain that is needed for the new building. All the rainwater off the roof has to go somewhere. The drain will enter the track centre drain. It means cutting through both the concrete drainage rings as well as the platform wall.

Neal soon had the trench excavated, with piles of new ballast apparent, as well as some of the blanketing material put here in the 1950s.

In the meantime, here is a picture of the 4 wagons parked by the signal box. Three are now full of spoil, and it still wasn't enough. They will be taken to Toddington once the viaduct is open for traffic again.

We had lunch in the nearest shelter - the signal box. It looks ready to use, but there are no current plans to use it, at least in 2024. Such a shame - it's part of the heritage experience, watching the signalman coming down the steps, exchanging the token, and pulling the starter signal off. Then there's the sound of the bells, perhaps even a whisp of smoke for the chimney.

 

After lunch Neal cut through the concrete rings and inserted a drain pipe as a test. In fact there will be two pipes.

Here is the finished trench, and the access to the centre drain completed. Very efficient, but as the digger was going off hire on Monday we needed to do this while it was still available.

 

At the other end of the new trench there was still work to do.

We need to penetrate the platform wall, which is two concrete blocks thick, filled with more concrete.

 

Neal and Yours Truly had a good go with a  Kango. That soon reported in sick, with an increasingly feeble output.

 

We then switched to an SDS drill with hammer action, which went a lot better. It was also much lighter and more manoeuverable. Unfortunately that also died on us, leaving Neal to go at it with hammer and chisel.

At the end of the afternoon we were half way through, with the first block cleared. We won't be digging inside the wall yet, as that is a working area and another hole would get in the way.

Wednesday with the Usketeers.

A fine say after those two storms. Almost spring - like. There were sounds of a woodpecker marking his territory, and the grass seed we sowed late in the autumn near the FoWS wagon is showing a tiny dusting of green. It's starting!

 

 

Spring also came to the Usk hut - the first of this year's (hopefully many) bacon butties. It was Mike's birthday, which he celebrated in the PWay mess coach with personally prepared bacon or sausage butties. He very kindly offered us 3 on a plate, which he left on our 'bar counter' (careful enquiry when this section might eventually open for drinks) from which we were able to consume them with great pleasure.

We started off with various jobs but were soon diverted by our neighbour, who had noticed that the fence was partly blown over by one of the storms that we had.

Looking at the height of this fence we would say that wind damage is hardly surprising, even if the extra upper part is a lattice.

 

Yours truly had another go at tidying the future site of the FoWS compost bins, which must move out of the Usk hut area.

The Telehandler had a good go at removing the dumped spoil here, but only some digging by hand will leave an acceptably tidy site. Six bins are due to go here. That job was completed by the end of the day

Surplus spoil, when of good quality, was brought within the Usk hut compound to further level the grassed area (- to be). It was surprising just how much spoil this area can swallow - last week we already spread out one Telehandler bucket full here. The last act will be to spread out the topsoil still under the tarp behind the fence, then seeding when the season is right.

In the background the PWay gang was having a day on slinger training. Here is a picture by Paul of that:

It was also an opportunity to unload the little wagon that STEVIE takes out, as some of the items collected along the line were much too heavy to lift off.

After helping Dave with the leaning fence, Paul continued making little lead covers for the uprights on the fence. He did most of them, just 2 or 3 more to go.

The successful levelling of the new compost bin site - we deliver on our promises - did not go unnoticed, and soon Ian and Rose of the FoWS started bringing over the first of the home made bins.

In this final overview you can see two bins already assembled, while a small pile of earth by the end of the open gate signals a hole dug to receive a post with a chunky cabin hook, to secure the gate when it is open.

We had to leave a tad early in order to be able to speak with the C&M crew, who were out on the drive at Toddington fixing some potholes that were beginning to appear.

It looked like a professional job - new tarmac, gas burner, whacker plate. All done by volunteers though, and (interestingly) all but one former members of the Broadway P1 construction gang. Clearly people who know what they are doing.

We then dropped in at Broadway to report on our mission, to find John and Neal further advanced once again.

The hole through the P2 wall for the stormwater drain outflow to the centre track drain is complete, and the connecting pipes have been laid in. We can now back fill the hole and reinstate the ballast.

The same job for the services duct still awaits completion, but the platform end has also been back filled, we ascertained.

 

The work was clearly fascinating, as members of the Broadway maintenance crew sat and watched.

The Kango hammer used to penetrate the thick brick platform walls lies at their feet. Its job is done.

Finally, a tidbit from the local news. A cycle path is to be built from Cheltenham to Bishops Cleeve:

https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/highways/a435cycleway

It will go up the busy and narrow A435, past the original entrance of our CRC station and over the road bridge by it. Fortunately there seems to be no negative impact for the railway.