Work in Progress: 12th April

posted by Nigel Thompson on Fri, 13/04/2012 - 23:01

Still the Easter school holidays this week and many more visitors came to Woody Bay today to enjoy their steam train ride behind AXE. Numbers travelling over Easter on the L&BR remain buoyant hopefully continuing the healthy start to the 2012 season.

1. Pete Williams and Jim Price were today's footplate crew on AXE as they prepare for a morning departure from Woody Bay.

2. A general view of Woody Bay Station today.

3. It was time to reload the coaling stage. SR Bogie open No.28320 was positioned alongside.

4. Graham Varney & Martyn Budd off load the bags of coal onto the coaling stage.

5. These are bags of Welsh Steam coal for this season. After using Russian and Polish coal it will be a interesting test to see if any efficiency and more economical use can be made this year using the Welsh coal.

6. John O'Dell was in solitary confinement in the shed today painting up the platform seats.

7. The main job for the Thursday gang today was to remove the grass turf and reveal the tarmac road path linking the station with Moorlands Hotel. As well as providing access for the hotel guests to the station, this path is also well used during the Gala weekends when visitors and exhibitors walk between the station and the model railway/trade stands marquee. In wet weather the grassy path becomes muddy and a poor and uneven surface to walk across.

8. The grass was scraped off and the tarmac revealed. Before the L&BR purchased Woody Bay Station in 1995 this road was used by touring caravans to access the station site which is now occupied by the railway .

9. The turf sections removed were immediately 'recycled' into the new sloping path to the woodlands. Dave Bloomfield spent the day laying the grassy path.