Work in Progress: 29th August

Another busy day at Woody Bay with most trains almost full as the late summer visitors enjoy the inland tourist attractions as this showery, overcast day keeps them off the beach.

Here's a selection of views of the passenger train of AXE and the four carriages:- Driver Graham Varney, Fireman Andy Foster with Bob Ayres as Guard.

1. AXE rolls in to Woody Bay with the attractive flowers blooming in the platform tubs.

2. Another view with the passenger train passing the stabled works train.

3. Volunteers rode down to Killington Lane for some odd jobs. Here they pass AXE during the run-round.

4. One job today for the gang was to install new poster boards onto the waiting shelter at Killington Lane. Dave Evans and Martin Williams with Jim Price (inside) tackle this project.

5. The train arrives at Killington Lane completely full, so the volunteers had to walk the mile back to Woody Bay for their traditional 3pm tea break.

6. AXE arrives back at Woody Bay past an empty loading dock siding.

There were several other unrecorded odd jobs undertaken today including signal maintenance, further painting of restored signalling items, fixing a light inside the telephone box, more roof woodwork painting, cleaning and painting another section of railings beside the shed path, and sorting a pile of stored concrete posts ready for the re-fencing project along the boundary with the A39.

As always, we welcome new volunteers to the Thursday Gang, with a variety of tasks and projects looming this autumn. Preparations for the Autumn Steam Gala will begin soon and reports of these projects and others will continue to be posted on the website

Words and pictures by Nigel Thompson