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Latest News: Archive
August 2008
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Latest News: Archive
August 2008
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By Trevor Brackpool and Owen Stratford.
We were back to Thuxton today to carry on with the latest area of sleeper changing. there were a further 36 sleepers to change today and these were completed by the time that the second train returned from Wymondham. The majority of the sleepers that we were changing were only showing early signs of decay and were certainly fit for several years' more use, but as we are going to be building a loop in the opposite platform, they would become considerably harder to replace in the future. Once the changing was completed, we carried out the majority of the bulk backfilling, leaving only some tidying up to do in order to regulate the ballast levels. Unfortunately the weather was playing games with us and the occasional showers managed to catch us out as the last one turned into a torrential downpour. Having had to take shelter under the PW umbrella, we caught the last train for a trip to Wymondham.
Having finally knocked the re-sleepering on the head for a few months, we started on a program of cutting undergrowth on the banks today. We were in Whinburgh Cutting, and strimmed a strip along the length of the cutting with four of us on brush-cutters and then the other two taking out regrowth with loppers and bow-saws. It was quite hard going, but we still completed the job in time to catch the planned second train back just as the afternoon's forecast heavy rain had arrived.
We spent the day strimming towards the trout farm bridge from Toller's Lane along the hedge line to allow access for it to be sprayed.
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Siding 3 in Dereham under construction. 23rd August 2008. Photo: Owen Stratford |
P Way were in Dereham Yard today beginning work on the next part of the development. Siding number three is becoming increasingly required and so with the base prepared, we began the task of laying out the panels. The first job was to drag out all of the vehicles from the other sidings in order to enable us to operate the crane. The contents of number one siding were hauled up to Neatherd Road, and the stoneblowers were stored over the pit once the steam engine had left. The crane was used traveling up and down number two siding and required number one siding clear for the tail-swing.
Whilst all of this preparation was taking place, a good-sized gang were removing concrete point rodding benches and stools that we found during the excavations. These once connected to Dereham South signalbox, but were in the way of the new sleeper ends. With the base ready, six sixty foot panels of flatbottom track were tripped down with the crane and positioned in approximate alignment and location. The crane was then used to tidy up some scrap and restack the last two panels onto the main pile, to enable the remainder of the groundwork to be completed in the future. Trevor and Simon worked through the new siding, cutting the ends to remove all of the redundant thermit welds from the panels. Fishplates were put by the joints and the panels tweaked into line with crowbars. Finally, we had to shunt everything back!
The summer weather had returned today - yes, it was raining again. We set about the new number three siding again today to join everything up. Firstly, a rail end in the straight was squared up, involving adjusting the rail position in the panel. Once this was completed, each panel was in turn pushed lengthwise into position and fishplated up on one side with the correct expansion gap. The second rail was then squared up to the opposite rail end and that too fishplated. We worked along the siding to the location where the buffer stop will eventually be placed joining it all together. Finally a better alignment was placed onto the siding and we removed an errant lump of concrete from alongside the track before we packed up for the day.
By Gary Hall.
We started work at 8, installing fence posts along the new footpath. A contractor arrived with Eileen to deepen one of the ponds and shore up the side of the drive. The digging (funded by Eileen) went on for the whole day. At around 10am we started to work on the tree south of the station once again. This has now been cut down to about three foot high. This work was abandoned around 12 due to the number of visitors, so we went down the line and had another tree down beside the line. Another volunteer (Mike) showed up and started to work on the old carriage with Eileen and then later moved to conduct some repairs to the wooden signal post.