Work in Progress: 16th October

Many hands make light work!

Much activity at Rowley Moor Farm, then a quieter day at Woody Bay.

Rowley Moor Farm:

With several volunteers on site it was a good day to continue the clearance of the scrap wood, cut down the overgrowth and remove the cut branches to the bonfire piles after the hedge laying programme.

1. More bramble clearance work on the 'front' garden area has revealed the old greenhouse.

2. The tractor and tipping trailer were used well today as a pile of cut wood is brought up from the fields.

 

3/4. A "chain gang" stacked the wood at the sides of the barn.

5. Next the gang moved a pile of scrap wood from the old silage store to the trailer...

6. ... for tipping onto this now huge bonfire pile.

7. Nick, the hedge laying contractor, has cut down several trees along the hedge to reveal views from the farm towards the trackbed.

8. Martyn Budd in the excavator tidies up the earth bank and added topsoil to the top. The remaining small trees will be cut and laid at a later date.

9. The gang move the cut branches to make another bonfire pile.

10. The view from the trackbed looking up to the hedge line fenced earlier, and the piles of branches.

11. Back at Woody Bay, 'the others' enjoy their lunch break in the marquee.

12. This week Graham Varney constructed a new centre section for the ex-MoD box van roof.

13. Most of the old paint has now been removed from the box van. Next will be steelwork repairs and a final clean before painting begins.

14. Jim Price carried out repairs to the wood at the bottom of the door frame of the signal cabin.

15. In the shed Don Newnham and Dick Gunn were busy fabricating a frame support bracket...

16/17 ... which will be fitted to the down home signal post. This bracket will support the ground shunt signal, giving a better sighting to train crews approaching Woody Bay with the 'down' trains (uphill!)

18. Don and Dick check the levels before marking and preparing the base support and drilling the required holes.

19. Also in the shed are Dave Bloomfield and Roger Bye, making modifications to the strip lighting.

20. For the few passengers that were around, AXE was today's rostered locomotive.

21. Driver Pete Williams with Fireman Andy Foster with AXE uncoupled from the train.

22. Guard Bob Ayres delivers cups of tea to the footplate crew.

23. AXE departs with Fireman Andy Foster keeping a good lookout ahead.

24. AXE passing the memorial to John Thompson, Nigel's father. John, along with many others, helped to lay the first track at Woody Bay.  The section here was originally laid in Sept 2002. John sadly passed away in 2004 and this small memorial to him also serves as a reminder of the many former volunteers who also helped rebuild the railway back in those early days.

Words and pictures by Nigel Thompson