Work in Progress: 12th February

Getting ready for those half-term trains...

It seems only days ago that everything was 'put to bed' for the winter. The locos drained and covered in the shed and the carriages had their winter covers secured. The platform seats were brought inside and the signs changed to show the next trains would run on 15th February. Now we are preparing for the half-term week trains!

During this holiday period the L&BR is one of the very few tourist attractions open on Exmoor and there are usually visitors about as well as several local families looking for somewhere to go to keep everyone in the family happy. Woody Bay Station is a suitable destination in a week of uncertain weather and little else happening.

1. Dave Evans will be a regular guard again this year. Today Dave cleaned heritage carriage No. 17 which has been overhauled this winter and will form the one-coach-train used during the half-term week.

Several other preparations took place today as the Thursday Gang tidied and prepared Woody Bay for the first visitors of the 2015 season.

2. Bagnall 4-4-0 CHARLES WYTOCK will soon be ready for occasional use with the passenger train. During a shunt move today 'CHARLIE' was stabled in the loading dock.

3. Hunslet diesel HEDDON HALL moved ISAAC outside ready to be steamed.

4. At last the weather was good enough for some work up on the scaffolding. Jim Pounds, Jim McFarlane and Mike Corner continue to remove flaking paint from the woodwork around the higher roof section.

5. Jim, Jim and Mike huddle round as they use a heat gun and scrape off old paint ready for repainting.

6. A close up of the 'west' chimney and pots. The chimneys were rebuilt and tiled by volunteers back in 1998. For Jim Pounds and Nigel Thompson today's work was quite memorable as both worked extensively on the scaffolding in those early days 1997 -1999.

7. Several unusual railway views are possible from the scaffolding. Looking down onto the coal wagon bogie open SR No. 28320 stabled on the down platform today.

8. ISAAC, all steamed up...

9. ...ran past, seen from the scaffolding...

10. ...and then ran a test train with carriage No.17 down (up!) to Killington Lane. Here is ISAAC back at Woody Bay after its run up (down!) the line.

11. I really must not forget to include a view today of the signalling maintenance team of Dick Gunn and Don Newnham. Dick and Don spent the day greasing and adjusting all the moveable points and cranks at both Woody Bay and Killington Lane. Dick and Don are seen here with general Manager Martyn Budd and ISAAC's Driver John Uphill.

12. On many Thursdays, volunteers are treated to home-made cakes made by some of their wives. Today's cakes came from Lynne Gunn and Kate Pounds.

As always we're looking for more volunteers this year, either to help with the train operations or just to come along to join the Thursday Gang and assist on a variety of skilled and unskilled tasks...

Words and pictures by Nigel Thompson