Work in Progress: 27th February

posted by Nigel Thompson on Fri, 28/02/2014 - 08:16

A bright, sunny day, but with a chance of hail at Woody Bay today...

Two main jobs underway today for the Thursday Gang volunteers, clearing the debris from recent tree and brush clearance, and tracklaying ...

1. In the morning the gang continue dragging all the piles of cut down branches from the field to the car park.

2. Everyone on site was involved here - even Dick Gunn (second left)!

3. The tree surgeons had their chipper/shredder set up in the car park by the piles of branches.

4. The gang watch as branches are fed into the chipper. The dark cloud forming behind prompted everyone to adjourn to the mess room for an extra tea break just as the hail shower began.

Later, some of the gang assisted the tree surgeons to remove these piles from the car park.

5. The other job today was to begin the re-railing of the headshunt siding. The shorter rails had been spiked to the sleepers, so the team laboured with crow bars to remove the spikes from one side.

6. Using the air supply from diesel D6652 positioned in the transhipment siding, Graham Varney unscrews the fishplate bolts with the air gun socket.

7. The first two short lengths are freed from the spikes and ready to be replaced.

8. Longer 30' rails are relaid into the headshunt siding. Martyn Budd (left) checks the alignment as the first pair of rails is secured.

9. Old, short rails have been removed and the next panel is ready for its 'new' rails. This siding recently had its retaining wall rebuilt (still awaiting dressing with stone) and is used as a running line during the Galas with the driver-for-a-fiver attraction. The longer rails should provide a better quality track for this and the regular shunting movements around the site.

Words and pictures by Nigel Thompson

(Nigel relocated to Chelfham to deliver some equipment into storage soon after lunch, so didn't see the afternoon progress as the rest of the Thursday Gang continued)