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Latest News: Archive
November 2005
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Latest News: Archive
November 2005
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By Owen Stratford, Trevor Brackpool and Roy Malyon.
We had a really fantastic day out with fishplate greasing today. With good weather and no trains, we managed to achieve another record distance of just over two and a quarter miles which included a section with shorter 45ft rails in it. The day started just south of Thuxton and we greased through Hardingham and Danemoor all the way to Kimberley Up Distant signal. We were forced to stop when we ran out of grease and daylight! This was just as well as we were getting weary and the cool weather was causing problems with the rail ends opening in the last half hour.
We went to Wymondham today to carry out maintenance on Church Lane level crossing. We removed a loose board and installed a replacement before checking the surrounding boards.
Once this was complete, we carried on with completing the point rodding connections to the south loop point. A bench was planted into the ground and the crank fixed to it. We then cut point channel to length and attached this too. Finally a start was made on preparing the final bench for installation.
Fishplate greasing continued apace from where we left off last week. We started off on the approach to Kimberley and after a few problems with rails that had contracted, stopping the fishplates from coming off, we made good progress. We completed the day at Crownthorpe.
A smaller team than usual saw us burn most of the remaining piles of vegetation and cut a few higher branches still affecting the sighting of W37 signal.
Six volunteers erected a traditional spiky metal fence on the east side of Garvestone level crossing to replace sections of rotting wooden fencing. This type of metal fencing is now uniform on both sides of the level crossing gates, looks better, and should be easier to maintain.
Grateful thanks must go to other volunteers who adapted the fence from panels donated to the Trust, those who painted them, and those who transported them to site. It is surprising how many volunteers were involved and again special mention must go to the skill of Dave Clay and Dave Atherton, who made this project possible.
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Newly-installed point rodding. 21st November 2005. Photo: Owen Stratford |
Steve Tweed and Roy Malyon are progressing well to strim the section between Neatherd Road and Swanton Road in Dereham and it is hoped to complete this on Saturday 19th November.
Unfortunately some residents have again used the railway as a dumping ground for their garden rubbish but apart from this, the area has tidied up well again. Regular strimming does pay off in areas like this.
Carrying on with fishplate greasing today, we started off in an awkward spot on the line, where we have larger than standard nuts on the fishplate bolts. We only have one socket of this size to fit the wrench and so by the time that we had cleared this area at the sewage works, there was a large backlog of nuts to do up! Once past this however, we motored on to Wymondham, ending up stopping at W37 signal. The remaining cutting up to the junction was still frost-bound and so we deferred completion for the warmer weather in the spring.
We spent today back at Wymondham working on the point rodding connections to the south ground frame. Two heavy concrete benches were planted into a big hole which we dug and then we attached the two wooden tops across both. Finally cranks were fitted on top of both and connections made to the rodding run. This leaves only the ground frame to install in order to complete the installation.
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Fires near Thuxton. Photo: Terry Mann |
We have now worked for three days trying to improve the visibility on the northern approach to Thuxton Level Crossing. The work is progressing well and much vegetation has been cleared and burned. More trees still have to be removed but a great deal of effort is paying off and the resultant grassy banks will be far easier to maintain.
There are a number of scrap rails that have accumulated in Dereham yard, and so these were cut up today. Although no longer usable for trains, they make excellent catch-pit covers, being strong enough to bear the weight of a person and heavy enough that they can't easily be removed by vandals. The pieces of rail will be taken up to County School, where several open catch-pits have been discovered by the vegetation-clearance team.
By Richard Cullen and Gary Hall.
Work has continued on the GER carriage, with a section of the lower frame which had broken away from the carriage being cut out and replaced. This has made the whole vehicle structurally sound again and will allow the remaining panel repairs to be carried out. A lot more of the old paint has been stripped from the large compartment ready for sanding and repainting. A number of droplight windows have also been donated to the project, and these will be varnished and prepared for fitting to the doors when these have been refurbished.
Overhanging ash branches, which were starting to endanger the station roof and guttering, were carefully removed. The pathway through the orchard to the meadow has been cleared back to allow vehicular access when required. A start has also been made on the new "Dig For Victory" garden area.
Some housekeeping work has also been undertaken, with spare chairs, concrete blocks, bricks and other components which will be required over the next few years being neatly stored in a new location on site. This has improved the visual aspect of several locations, as well as making it easier to monitor what we have and what we need.
The County School area group spent another day in clearing the track bed between bridges 1707 and 1706. Although Mother Nature was not working in our favour, we did manage to light one fire. We cleared the track bed on the Norwich side of the footpath all the way to bridge 1706. Cuttings were left beside the path in the hope that they may dry out before our next meeting. Two of our volunteers went down to Dereham and collected the rails that were cut up yesterday for catch pit covers.