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Latest News: Archive
July 2001
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Latest News: Archive
July 2001
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By Paul Mobbs.
Phew, it was hot! Four volunteers got out there and completed the spring programme of fishplate greasing by finishing off the last section (W37 signal to the Railtrack boundary). So that's every other set of fishplates removed between Thuxton and the Railtrack boundary (approx 6 miles) and not helped when you have a lot of the short 45 foot length rails also. The old solidified grease built up over many years was removed from both webs of the rail and also the backs of the fishplates so that the rail ends and the plates can be inspected for cracks. Thank you to all the volunteers who gave up their time to complete what is very much an unsung but essential maintenance task.
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Photo: Alan Cooper |
Seven volunteers braved the heavy showers and replaced 21 rotten sleepers in Whinburgh cutting. Paul M did a round journey of 350 miles to pick up some of the rail crane spares from Ashford (Kent), including a spare traction motor (pictured); and Derrick and Michael forged ahead with preparing woodwork on the Signalbox for painting. The "Fifty boys" were putting the finishing touches to laying a couple of track panels in readiness to take their coach.
The P-way gang was out again, four this time, changing more ferrules in the Yaxham area.
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Photo: Ashley Gray |
With the help of a digger, a 6 ton dumper truck and a good turn out of volunteers, work got underway preparing the old downside track bed between Church Lane crossing & Lady's Lane bridge in order to get it ready for the installation of the run round loop. The old formation was dug out to a depth to accept new bottom ballast and the necessary surface profile added to promote drainage. A large amount of excess spoil also had to be removed from the downside bank as we need to install a cess walkway which was not there in BR days.
Although we had heavy showers on Friday, which meant that both volunteers and the site got wet, the existence of a old downside trackside drain three quarters down the site had caused the old downside formation to become very wet. As a result the dumper truck kept getting bogged down which did not help.
The drainage boys (Roy, Ernie and Ian) spent a worthwhile afternoon rodding the upside drainage to get a better flow going in an attempt to lower the water table.
The day started off day well, but by 10 o'clock the heavens opened up, and it then rained continually. We managed to get another 100m of bank and formation cleared but it became impossible to work after mid-afternoon. The dumper truck kept keeping bogged down and we were worried that we were damaging the upside drains as the ground seemed very soft in that area. The work site was awash with standing water and we were all drenched to the bone. We also managed to dig out and install a new cross drain which will serve to take away the water from the new downside drain when it's installed. During the day I felt like I was on a Time Team dig as some of the railway's history came to light. The old Church Lane signal box telegraph pole was found buried in the bank and the remains of the wooden base of the down road signal which stood next to the box was unearthed.
I must say a big thank you to all the volunteers who gave up either their Friday and/or Saturday, and got drenched into the bargain, but stayed with the job and still managed to smile even when things sometimes did not go according to plan.
The P-Way gang visit the site of the recent groundworks at Wymondham to see how the site as faired after the recent heavy rain. Although the site was heavily waterlogged the gang managed to explore the site around the old Church Lane Signal box base and an adjacent culvert which we might need as part of our drainage plans for the site.
Thanks to the Operating dept laying on a works special, six volunteers got an early start and managed to replace 26 sleepers. This was quite an achievement as it's hard going. So all sleepers targeted for replacement this year between the B1135 bridge and Yaxham station have now been changed. This leaves the two sections between the B1135 and the Trout Farm together with the section north of Yaxham still to do.
Vegetation was cleared from around the base of Lady's Lane Signal box, and soil was dug out from one of the catch pits. The ground is still too sloppy to be able to use heavy machinery.
Roy and Barney sprayed weedkiller onto brambles just north of Yaxham and in Whinburgh Cutting.
As the weather was far too hot to carry out the planned digging out of sleeper bays, we replaced worn-out ferrules near Yaxham station instead.
Mad dogs and P-way men go out in the midday sun. Paul and Brian braved the sun, and got to grips with packing and backfilling sleeper bays between milepost 9 1/4 and Yaxham station. Talk about being in a sauna, not even a gentle breeze to cool us as we were in a cutting. So it was back to Dereham Station for a refreshing cup of coffee and a break from the sun before returning to site mid-afternoon to finish the job.
By Richard Cullen.
The main station displays at County School have been revised and a major mid-season clean of the station building has taken place. The sprayed weeds are starting to look a bit sick, but there is still a lot of cutting and strimming needing to take place in the near future - especially along the footpaths. Work has continued on E56301 with more of the original interior being refitted. It has survived fairly well considering that the carriage has been in pieces since it was stripped for asbestos removal about 20 years ago! 87 bolts purchased to aid the restoration of the unit were all used in less than two hours and another order will need to be made before too long.
Due to severe rain, I abandoned plans to start clearing vegetation from the line and footpath south of County School station and did some more work on the interior of the DMU coach. Many more pieces have fallen into place, and one of the vestibules now has a ceiling again, as all the various components had managed to survive the years in usable, if not perfect, condition. Another bonus was my discovery that all of the wiring conduit covers had survived, and a start has been made on refitting these. Hopefully the original lights, which were stored separately from the unit for security reasons, will be made available in the near future, as two of the saloons are now nearing the stage where they can be refitted. Work had to suddenly stop in the afternoon when I ran out of screws. Anyone wishing to donate supplies of small wood screws to the project would be a major help!
As the weather had suddenly turned gorgeous, the opportunity was taken to try to remove some of the broom which had grown up along the fenceline between the railway and the footpath to North Elmham. Lack of proper equipment meant that I was working with a pair of loppers and a small wood saw and progress was quite slow. That said, about half of the distance between the level crossing and Mr Bidewell's occupation crossing has now been cleared.
Due to the lack of available volunteers and tools (hint, hint!), coupled to the perfect growing conditions for weeds, the grounds and footpath have become rather overgrown. The "Thursday Gang" generously agreed to spend a day clearing vegetation from the site at County School. These dedicated volunteers have cleared the orchard area, an area which includes the picnic table designed for disabled customers. The Gang have said that they will return to start clearing the nettles and thistles from the footpath in the near future. Hopefully the future provision of a shed and some tools at the station will mean that similar clearance jobs will not be needed again.
While Eileen was busy running another successful painting day at the station, Reg Robinson and his able assistant, John, have removed the rain channels from the roof of Great Eastern Railway coach body number 1380. This is to prepare it for refelting later this season. A replacement door, also sourced by Reg, has filled the "hole" in the side of the carriage facing the station, and improved its appearance no end. The restoration of E56301 has also continued, with replacement commode handles being fitted on the carriage. These were purchased from the LMS Carriage Association, who provide a valuable service in retailing carriage components. Two more will need to be purchased to complete the set. When the heat had gone out of the day some time was spent clearing some of the vegetation from the former bay platform area. When I finally left the station at half-past seven , Eileen was just returning to open up for another group of local artists. We may only be a small team, but we certainly put the hours in.