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Latest News: Archive
November 2001
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Latest News: Archive
November 2001
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Photo: M. P. Young |
While heading a railtour to Lowestoft, LNER Class B1 number 61264 failed with a hot box at Norwich and was taken to Crown Point to be repaired. The loco was then sent back to Carnforth by road, using the MNR's loading facility at Dereham. It is seen here negotiating Wymondham South Junction.
By Paul Mobbs.
Just four volunteers got off to an early start on fishplate greasing, starting from the 8 milepost and working south. We were quickly joined by Roland, who had driven up from Hertfordshire to help out. After lunch, Graham Moates, who had been hosting a coffee morning at Dereham, also got stuck in, so we were able to get to Thuxton gates. We had hoped to complete greasing this weekend but it now looks like we will need to spend another Saturday to finish off this core maintenance task.
After dark, we joined Graham on what must have been the MNR bonfire night. We managed to get rid of a lot of undergrowth on the section between Neatherd Road and Swanton Road crossings.
It was back to Watering Farm bridge (1691) to help with the lineside vegetation clearance, which is going very well. Paul stayed back at Dereham to check out the equipment (generators) for next weekend's lift and pack job down at the Tiffey bridge, and to help Brian Smith and Rod make a start in the afternoon on getting the rail crane up and running. The outriggers were withdrawn and the rusted-up screw jacks freed off.
Well, the best laid plans of mice and P-way men go astray. Got the P-way train loaded first thing on Saturday morning so that we could get an early start at the Tiffey bridge speed restriction. Unfortunately the loco had other ideas and would not take power. Although the fault was traced later in the day it was too late to start the P-way job so we will need to reschedule it soon.
The P-Way gang set off into the northern section to investigation some localised flooding at North Elmham, and considering the rainfall recently, it's not surprising. The lineside drainage is going to be challenging to say the least. Trevor and the lads did manage to get some flow going which should help with the standing water but it looks like we are going to spend some time getting them sorted.
Paul and Brian spent most of Sunday getting rather greasy re-roping the jib and hoist cable on the rail crane. Not an easy task threading the steel rope around the pulleys in the right order before they were connected to the main jib hoist drum. We then had to refit the guide plates on various pulleys. The rest of the daylight was used to pump fresh grease into the every grease nipple we could find, and luckily they seem to be fitted everywhere.
It was off down the line on the P-Way works train to do some lifting and packing with the new Hilti 905 hammers which the MNR 100 club purchased earlier in the year. So with a good turnout of volunteers we were able to pack the new sleepers which we had installed during the autumn, back fill the last remaining 20 odd sleeper bays and then do some top and line improvements just south of the trout farm near the 8 milepost. The Hilties really do make a difference, as we were able to pack a 60ft panel in about an hour whereas with shovels and sweat it would have taken nearly three.
The P-way gang set off for the site of the Tiffey speed restriction to undertake site preparation for next Saturday's job. The track has subsided where a large pipe has been put under the track, so it was necessary to gather up sufficient ballast and place it on site so that the track can be raised back to its correct level.
The P-way gang got the grips with the lift and pack job which was postponed from a couple of weeks ago. This time the loco worked perfectly on the Works train and we were to get to site on time. Again with the use of the new Hilti ballast hammers we were able to lift out the marked dip in the track near the Tiffey bridge. As we had to bring the track back up a fair distance, it was important to keep consolidating the ballast bit by bit in order to form a firm base. This, coupled with the short daylight hours, meant that we were unable to correct the other minor dip adjacent to the Tiffey bridge so the speed order had to stay on.
What with the weather and all (overcast and light rain) it was a day for catching up on small jobs, one of which was swapping out the odd broken bullhead chair along the line. The afternoon service train provided the transport to site.
By Richard Cullen.
The booking hall has been cleared, cleaned and prepared for the December 14th Christmas event. The main hall now looks more like a themed cafe than a station! The decorating will take place during early December and the station may be open on some evenings in the run up to Christmas. Any donations of period-style Christmas decorations would be appreciated - please deliver them to Dereham, marked for County School.
The hedge between the upper and lower car parks has been trimmed back (a major undertaking in itself) and the car park sign returned to it's proper location. The car park lamp on the corner of the station was eventually opened (after a couple of hours of struggling to find a way to get into the case) and the fault was found to simply be a blown bulb! This will be replaced later this week.
The small flower garden behind the tea room has been partially cleared and some flowering shrubs have been planted. These low-maintenance plants should help tidy up this corner of the site in an effective manner.