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Latest News: Archive
September 2007
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Latest News: Archive
September 2007
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The Mid-Norfolk Railway's annual autumn Diesel Gala was the most successful ever this year. This was held on the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd of September. Once again, the event was supported by DRS, who sent two guest locos frsh from the paint shop.
Class 37/5 number 37 688 had recently been overhauled and is named 'Kingmoor TMD'. Class 57 number 57 011 had recently transferred operation from Freightliner to DRS, and this was the first passenger working for a DRS class 57.
The whole weekend was very busy and the fish and chip special on the Saturday night was well and truly sold out. Home fleet locomotives D8069 and 47 596 worked alongside the DRS machines. Thanks must go to Direct Rail Services for their support.
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DRS visitors 37 688 and 57 011 23rd September 2007. Photos: James Steward |
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By Owen Stratford, Trevor Brackpool and Paul Mobbs.
P Way moved locations for this week's resleepering effort. We started off at Hardingham and worked north. The isolated sleepers that needed changing in this section slowed our progress slightly as we could not get a rolling production line going. We did however make steady progress managing to complete 38.
With a good sized gang, we decided to complete the Garvestone to Whinburgh Trout Farm resleepering today. We caught the train out from Dereham again to site, and worked northwards. The remaining 32 sleepers were all changed before the last train headed for Wymondham, and so with some bonus extra time we started back-filling. Despite being the end of the day, we filled the ballast back around 38 sleepers.
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The dug-out track bed. 14th September 2007. Photo: Paul Mobbs |
Today saw us push ahead with another phase of installing trackwork in Dereham Yard. With the help of a JCB the earthworks necessary to prepare and grade the base of the siding extension from the signal box back to the platform were completed.
We headed off to Thuxton today to attack the very last area of resleepering, where there were 44 remaining to be changed. We were working from midway between the stations at Hardingham and Thuxton, and heading north. We had already accepted at the start of the day that we would not manage to complete all of these, but after a really good effort, we realised that there were only seven left to do after the last up train had passed us. Thanks to everyone agreeing to 'buy into' a last Herculean effort, we got these changed too with time to spare. This completes another area, with just the backfilling to finish off later.
Today's task saw us back laying track in Dereham Yard. At the request of the Operations Department to improve operational flexibility, we were laying more panels northwards from the end of the locomotive pit. Due to various holiday commitments, it was today or nothing for a month, so everyone mobilised and pulled together. During the week, a serious quantity of spoil had been excavated to prepare the bed for this track. Once stock had been moved clear to enable operations to commence, we then set about craning in two panels of concrete-sleepered track. These were installed before the ends were cut and drilled.
We also carried out a few other ancillary jobs connected with this. A long term collapse in the main site drain had been opened up during the mid-week excavations, and so the spoil was dug out by hand to enable repair in the future.
Roland and Owen were out today at Garvestone. Having completed the resleepering, we now move onto the job of backfilling. It was the Autumn Diesel Gala, which probably explained the lack of help so we pottered along steadily working south towards the gates. Backfilling ballast is a strange thing: there never seems to be as much to shovel back as that which came out and so we continually had to top up the beds using spare ballast from the lifted formation. With regular hedgerow food to keep us topped up, we reached the foot crossing towards the end of the day.
By Terry Mann
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Horace with raised jib. 5th September 2007. Photo: Terry Mann |
The Horace Team have been working away and removed the suspect traction motor. This has been dismantled, revealing damage to a small area of the rotor windings. The rotor is currently away at a rewind company awaiting a quotation for repair.
In the meantime we have been attending to re-wiring of the hoist and jib motors and their solenoid brakes. The brakes were re-assembled and adjusted and a quick fire up of the engine for a test of the circuitry was most successful. Hoist and jib motors ran as they should (well almost - the jib motor went backwards at first) and the brake solenoids also worked well. And to prove that these things move just see the picture of the crane with the jib and hook in the raised position.
Our efforts are now concentrating on completing some loose ends, like refitting guards, constructing a secure storage locker for the battery and a host of other minor jobs to finish certain areas. Once these tasks are done we will need to buy relays, contactor, power supply and weather-proof mounting box and construct the hoist/jib limit switch power cut out system (missing when we purchased the crane) then deal with more mundane things like battery charging circuitry and road lights etc.
By Matt Goodrum, Richard Cullen and Gary Hall.
We returned to the site of our previous triumph of the Neatherd Road - Swanton Road section cleared earlier in the year to attempt to keep the lineside clear. Unfortunately we had left it a bit too long and much of the section was already beyond the capabilities of our trusty mower, so we resorted to a two pronged attack, mowing as much as possible and using a brush cutter on the rest. This is at times frustrating work but will pay off in the long run: when we have got the line side back to natural grassland it will be much easier to maintain and we will be able to monitor fly tipping much more effectively, as is now the case between Norwich and Neatherd Road.
There were various odd jobs that needed doing at County School today. We made good progress with the ongoing project to clear the drains, which had become clogged with silt and roots over the years. Meanwhile, the new footpath to the south of the level crossing was strimmed as far as bridge 1707 to keep the weeds at bay, and several piles of dead wood were burnt.
Today we teamed up with the station crew and went to work in the orchard area. The area just inside the gate was in real need of attention. There were a considerable amount of old cuttings in this area so by 9am we had a roaring fire going. We spent the majority of the day in this area brush cutting and trimming back the growth. By evening the fire was still going strong with flames leaping high into the air. One member stayed to keep an eye on the fire until it became safe. The locking room door on the signal box received another coat of paint and then attentions were turned north of the box to install a pit for the electrical ducting between the P-Way hut and the Signal box.
By Ian Martin.
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The base of the new box. 18th September 2007. Photo: Ian Martin |
Ian Martin and Arthur Bedford today completed the long running project on the brickwork for Dereham North Box after many months of false starts. The base now only requires one more day's work on the pointing and landscaping before the small wooden locking room can be constructed on top finally providing a permanent new home for the ex-Lowestoft Laundry Lane box.