Work in Progress: 10th July

Trailer for sale or rent ...

There's plenty going on at Woody Bay as usual and - thanks to the generosity of donors to the General Manager's Equipment Fund - a new arrival ...

1. The 6-Tonne tipping trailer arrived on Monday.

2. Today Graham and Keith removed the high sides and sealed the aperture in the tailgate formerly used to discharge grain. .

3. Nigel worked on further renovation of station benches ...

4. ... while the ever-flexible Jim erected some new signs by the entrance ...

5. ... and painted the mess room window frame.

6. A major task today was at Rowley Moor Farm was the reconstruction of a concrete block wall at the entrance that had been partially demolished - probably by a vehicle - prior to purchase. After preparation work involving chisel, hammers and muscle, the new wall began to take shape. Here, Dave (block-cutter extraordinaire), Julian (pointer manifique), Martin (block-layer par excellence) and of course Martyn (broom operator sans pareil) completed the day's work - not bad for a wall built by a committee!.

7. Les, Martin and Dave also worked on finishing off the two drainage manholes.

8. One of the finished articles! Notice to the left of the manhole the huge pile of sh.....dung. The new tipping trailer will make moving this sort of material possible! Other debris and tyres which the trailer will help move can be seen in the picture of the new wall.

9. Back at Woody Bay, Don and Dick repaired a broken electrical cable feeding the siding stop block light. This involved uncovering the cable, removing the damaged section and joining in a new length with a special weatherproof junction box. Notice the retaining wall beside them.

10. Nigel, back from checking up on the North of England railways, showed today's footplate crew - Pete and Andy - his multi-megabyte collection of holiday snaps during their break! Meanwhile...

11. ... the early afternoon train left under the care of a relief crew, John and Martyn..

12. Despite PHD (Post-Holiday Disorder), Nigel continued on the renovation of the "new" van which now has a new floor and is awaiting a new roof.

13. Dave and Jim preparing AXE's smokebox door for repainting.

14. This apparently unexciting view is of the area of Rowley Moor Farm on which the (large) new engine and rolling stock sheds are to be built. The low hedge to the left of the picture borders Blackmoor Gate Car Park while the trackbed runs along the line of trees from the middle of the picture to the right hand side.

15. There were plenty of visitors today, with four visiting coach tours.

16, 17. To finish, two pictures of operations today at Woody Bay - to serve as a reminder as to why we are building walls, painting, working on drains and tackling a myriad of other tasks every Thursday!

Words and pictures by Roger Bye