A Day To Keep Moving

Wednesday 20th January

 On arrival this morning all was white with frost, minus -5c and definitely not the day for cementing anything. However, this didn't stop 30 volunteers reporting for duty and a lot was achieved.

 The lucky few, seven in number, were in the nice warm mess hut. This was the start of a training and certification course for using Brushcutters. A quickly snatched photo as I was interupting the instructor. Peter K, Jo and Graham looking interested, or smug because they were warm, sorry about the broom handle Steve. Suffice to say the main part of the course was out in the cold with the rest of us.

A popular way of keeping warm was the barrowing of another 20 tons of infill for the station. Chris has just filled the barrow, David is pushing and Terry waiting to level. Several teams mirrored this action and the pile went down before dinner.

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Still a lot of frost about so great care had to be taken on the barrow runs.

Keith and John B, our bridge engineer, checking and marking the final position for the platform 2 footbridge tower footing. This will be dug out, hopefully next week. In the meantime Dave H, exiting stage right, will have completed moving the main electric feed to our cabins. This crossed the track bed on a high catenary wire, from the tree in the centre. Unfortunately it interfered with the digging of the footing and was replaced today. Sorry no photo, hands full of heavy cable.


    

Peter Q quietly getting on with cutting some insulation sheets which are needed for the stations foundations. The sun is begining to burn through the mist.

At this point Steve B decided to start the Bobcat, suddenly the mist, smog was back in earnest, At least Pete saw the funny side.

Back on the station site Peter S is getting to grips with the wacker plate to compact the freshly laid infill.

Whilst Graham drew the short straw and used the hand tamper to get in to the edges and corners.

Down in the car park area, at the foot of the embankment, contractors taking core samples.
They have taken samples throughout this area, including where the running line will be, at the top of the embankment. This is to assess if any remedial work is required and the final grading profile of the embankment.

In the distant mist Roger J and Steve B, certified earlier in the day (that's what the instructor said), putting their training in to practice on the car park ditch. This was mid afternoon and still the frost persists.

At the end of the day most of the station footprint had also had a layer of sand spread to protect the membrane and insulation to be laid.

Couldn't resist a final shot towards Toddington as we left. The setting sun through the signal box windows. We certainly kept moving today, it's a good feeling going home having achieved some progress.