Work in Progress: 25th February

At last - sunny dry weather!

1. With no passenger trains at Woody Bay this week, two of the carriages underwent a thorough cleaning. Here they are in the down platform. The doors are open airing the compartments.

2-9 The main gang spent the day down (or should that be up?) the line changing sleepers and stone blowing small chippings under the sleepers at the rail joints. (Photos by Roger Bye).

10. Nigel Spencer has completed repainting the platform bench seats. He is now carrying out repairs to the platform barrow stored inside the tea room marquee.

11. In the shed, John Heys and Dave Bloomfield are working on the restoration and repair of an original door from Carriage No.7.

12. Jim Price then joined in, applying the wood glue and preservative to the door repairs.

13. Inside Carriage No.7, Pete Williams cleans all the woodwork sections from the original and restored compartment sections...

14. ...whilst Jim Pounds touches up the paint work along the coach body.

15. Although the rest of the signalling team were busy working at Rowley Moor, Dick Gunn 'escaped' to Woody Bay where he was observed sneaking yet another tea break whilst reading the articles in the local paper regarding the railways planning applications.

Chelfham Progress

16. More work this week on the down platform fence. Dave Evans installed the first posts and top/bottom rails earlier this week. Nigel called in to check the work, and poses on the platform seat on the down platform.(Photo by John Edmonds)

17. Another work party with Graham Lee managed to cut up much of the oak tree that fell across the trackbed in Jan 2014.

18. Nigel Thompson assists by stacking the logs away from the tree stumps to provide a clear trackbed walk over the section north of Chelfham (Photos 17 & 18 by Kes Webb)

19. Chelfham Station - February 2016. Visitors are welcome here every Sunday to view the restoration progress and enjoy a trackbed and woodland walk.

Words and all uncredited photos by Nigel Thompson