Thursday 6 July 2017

Another Hot One!

Wednesday 5th July 2017


The weather forecast had predicted another warm day in the Midlands with temperatures in the high 20`s, up on the scaffolding and down on the track bed it felt much hotter. Most of the volunteers tend to carry or have close by some form of fluid to replace the buckets of sweat that we lose during today's grafting. 

The top of the station saw most of the action from various groups of volunteers.

Below, John C has progressed the brick work on one of the chimneys, the stack will need to be corbelled out before the chimney pot goes on.


The only other bricklayer on the station today was John S, here seen completing the back filling of the last section. Compo dutifully supplied as ever by Paul and Keith.



Another group up on the scaffolding were the painters giving the whole structure its gloss topcoat.
 

Graham in the first and the two Mikes were eventually joined by Brian and by close of the day most of the metal work has been covered!


John C working on the chimney, Mike and Brian on paintbrushes, blue sky all around.















The 3rd group were the carpenters Peter Q , Brian and Dave H. The right hand above picture shows what had previously been done to the platform side fascia. What was done today was a start on the ridge and purlin woodwork.


After Brian and Dave had finished drilling the remaining holes in the steel work and the steel brackets, they then went to help Peter shaping the lengths of wood for the ridge.


Drilling holes with the right kit is so much easier. Brian drilling one of the many holes in the steel work with the magnetic drill with Dave H providing the lubricant.


After a number of lengths were created they were then taken up to the station and bolted and screwed in place. and then a length of Mopstick was then screwed to the top of Peter's shaped wood, the ridge will then have lead moulded around it .

Also around the scaffolding it was a general tidy up time, with only chimneywork to be done all excess and unneeded bricks etc were removed  over to the platform 2 area, this was done by Clive, Paul and Keith.

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Terry applying a gentle tap.
Rod re pointing the re fixed slabs.

A delivery of type one ballast helped clean and tidy up the end of platform 1 north, then Terry and Rod with the assistance of the Fairview lorry completed the platform slabs on 2 north which had started last week. 

Fairview lorry at the end of Platform 2 south
Rod and Terry apply the muscle, Keith supplies the cement.
They then moved onto 2 south to refixed the platform slabs knocked off by ????

Something else had appeared at the end of Platform 1 north yesterday!


A wooden starting signal, Ray (now painting the spear fencing for last time) talking to an interloper from a distant work party seen on the horizon. A group were cutting back the overgrown undergrowth by Caravan club fence in preparation for track laying . 

looking south things on the move in the distance
Also around the site, John C continued with the gable end woodwork, the forever growing grass gets yet another cut, Julie and Steve maned the bric a brac shop and the site continued with a general tidy up.

And finally .

Has anybody out there got a petrol Flymo that they don`t require? The person who does the grass and vegetation cutting struggles on some of the embankments and with really long grasses, he asked me to put on the Blog a request out for one. We don`t mind if it needs attention our lads are pretty adapt at fixing things. We will collect within reason. After all, if you don`t ask you wont get.

Thank you.





10 comments:

  1. The chimney is looking good. In these summer days of heat and light nights it's hard to imagine taking solice around a roaring fire and rubbing hands together for warmth - that's for the winter! Platform 1 south starter is looking good as well. All coming along splendidly. Regards, Paul.

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  2. Will there be a second chimney at the south end of the roof to march the one nearing completion?

    Trevor

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    1. I think I can answer that one. Yes there will be another chimney but a dummy one. i.e. not hollow, for aesthetic purposes. regards, Paul.

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  3. You better move that scaffolding soon, as I can see a train coming in the distance!

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  4. I have a Mountfield rotary which may help but I expect the slope is too steep and , as at Hayles Abbey ,there are many stones to contend with .A brushcutter may be the best option for a large area .john M

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  5. The lovely tapered wooden GWR signal post will add to a genuine period 'look' at the south end of the station and photographers will be queuing up to include this old survivor in shots of approaching trains. Hopefully in the future an extended loop along side the running line will complete the picture.

    S&T have also put up a fine group of signals at the north end. It's hardly a priority but later on, if time and funding allow, would it be possible to apply some 'cosmetic surgery' to the containers assuming that they are a permanent fixture? Would it be feasible, for example, to clad them with corrugated sheeting and fit a curved roof on the lines of the Hayles Abbey Halt shelter. Alternatively wood cladding in the style of a fogman's hut?

    Richard

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    1. Those containers do seem to be a bit of an issue - they've been mentioned by others (including me) as being a rather disappointing decision that lets the station as a whole down.

      As I understand it, they're intended to be temporary, to provide storage until the Broadway project is finally finished. But this could be a couple of years away yet, and 'temporary' solutions do have a way of becoming permanent. Certainly, the concrete base which has been laid to place the containers on seems very permanent to me!

      My own preference would to rebuild the cattle dock which once existed on the spot where the containers will go. This was basically a short platform with an end loading facility, served by a siding. I would then position a few goods vans on the siding for use as storage space. The siding would not necessarily have to be connected to the main line, so no pointwork would be needed.

      Goods vans of various types are used for storage at Toddington and Winchcombe, and as far as I'm aware there has never been any issue with security. There are quite a few unused wagons dotted about the railway that could do with a coat of paint and a new purpose, instead of just mouldering away in the restoration queue. So it would be an 'everybody wins' solution.

      I dare say the whole thing could be brought in for a very similar cost to providing containers and a base to stand them on. And Broadway station would look much better for it.

      It might be a bit late now, since it has already been decided to use containers, but if anyone wants to start up a Broadway Cattle Dock project, I'll put a few quid in. It could make a nice project for the Heritage group, now that they've finished Hayles Abbey Halt...

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  6. So many positive events at this railway, people giving up their time and putting so much work in. However one of the most frustrating things about this blog, is the apparent inability of anyone to sort out the constant malfunctioning of the security camera at Broadway.

    It must be remembered, that many people cannot visit the station site for a variety of reasons, not least living abroad, or too far away. Please can someone rectify this situation or remove the camera permanently to avoid frustration.

    Chris from France

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  7. Agreed, Chris. Some days it looks like everywhere is covered in snow, currently today everything is green and purple!

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  8. The whole project has been quite brilliantly executed by teams of completely dedicated people. Very well done everyone.

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