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Latest News: Archive
December 2005
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Latest News: Archive
December 2005
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By Owen Stratford, Trevor Brackpool and Matt Goodrum.
The p-way team have been out with the Hilti hammers and the works train to lift and pack dipped joints all along the line. The passage of trains tends to hammer the track into the ground, and this requires periodic attention. The extra maintenance required by joints is the biggest reason why continuously-welded rail is used on most of the mainline network.
We returned to Whinburgh Cutting, the site of a major vegetation clearance project several years ago. There has been a lot of regrowth in this area, and so we are aiming to flatten it all again, allowing the grass and wild flowers to grow.
Five volunteers completed the second phase of burning vegetation north of Thuxton today. The completion of this work allows greater visibility from a northerly direction for Thuxton Level Crossing and has increased the amount of natural grassland, which is environmentally very worthwhile. The whole site has been transformed in recent weeks and is a credit to all those volunteers who have struggled for days amid blackthorn and brambles.
We spent the day in Whinburgh Cutting, trimming between the two bridges. We've now got about a third of the distance cleared. We also made a start on trimming the stumps on the nearby embankment.
The team took advantage of the increased service with the Santa Specials and travelled (away from our guests) to Wymondham to complete the vegetation works around and south of the new runround loop. The work here has greatly improved our land and opened up new wildlife habitats in line with ecological recommendations. On the way back we were treated to mince pies.
Most of the gang were taking a well-earned break, so a single volunteer spent the weekend tidying up in Toftwood Cutting. There was a shallow trench in the cess that has needed to be filled in for a while, and so this finally got done. We've also picked up some more of the litter that the cutting sides are strewn with.
The team went to Thuxton Cutting today. A contractor began clearance in this area several years ago, but failed to clear up all the brashings as agreed. This material needed burning, which we have now done. We also cleared up some of the remaining scrub, leaving the area much tidier.
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Left to right: Barry Brackpool, Owen Stratford and Trevor Brackpool. 27th December 2005. Photo: Barney Stratford |
Christmas gifts from our neighbours in Toftwood: a wagon-load of someone else's rubbish. 27th December 2005. Photo: Owen Stratford |
We took the railcar out to Hardingham to pick up a ground frame. On the way back to Dereham, we collected the various piles of wood that have accumulated along the line. All of this got unloaded in the station before we headed out to tidy up in Toftwood Cutting.
We have a massive problem with fly-tipping in the cutting, which is going to take a great deal of time, effort and money to solve. We've uncovered some of the brick and concrete rubble on the cutting sides, and today we gathered it all up for disposal. Fortunately, there's a space in the cutting side where we can store it all without it looking too unsightly.
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Clearance in the snow. 28th December 2005. Photo: Matt Goodrum |
Today was our annual post-Christmas working party. Unfortunately we had a heavy covering of snow over everything and this stopped a number of people from attending. We did however attract several of the usual crew and also some new volunteers whose efforts were greatly appreciated.
Despite the minor inconvenience of the weather, we still managed to achieve a worthwhile day's work, completing around 70% of the original planned target and improving the embankment sides. We quickly got two roaring fires going to keep us warm and a great time was had by everyone. We have at least solved the problem of where to go next year for our Christmas Bash so please pencil it into your diaries now! We should be able to finally complete this area.
By Richard Cullen.
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Snowy scene at County School. 30th December 2005. Photo: Richard Cullen |
The plan was to spend the day clearing vegetation at County School, but the bad weather caused this to be cancelled. Instead, Richard Cullen spent the day indoors taking stock of the various items in the museum.
By Roy Malyon.
Ernie Woolley and Roy Malyon have undertaken many things on behalf of the Mid-Norfolk Railway but today's task on the railway was a first!
They were asked to help launch a boat so that John Woods, our bridge engineer, could inspect the underside of Bridge 1704 over the Whitewater River, a tributary of the Wensum. John had arranged professional help to provide the boat and safety equipment, which were gratefully received, and met Roy and Ernie at Worthing Level Crossing. The bridge is only sixty yards north of the level crossing and the launch of the boat into the Whitewater River was straightforward as John had planned the task with precision.
John will be providing a Report to the Trust Council in the future. Tasks like this are vital for the railway; it is important that everyone remembers skilled volunteers like John who are working 'behind the scenes' to enable trains to run over this section again.