Work in Progress - Thursday 8th October

posted by keith vingoe on Sat, 10/10/2009 - 00:45

Dave Blencowe provides us with this weeks Thursday Gang report and photos.

1. Dick Gunn (in orange) joined us again today, working on the last piece of rodding for the down end crossover. It's a bit early in the morning for difficult decisions and Brian our volunteer plumber, carpenter and general handyman from Combe Martin has to shade his eyes from the glare of the morning sun.

2. Richard Willey, watched by Brom Bromidge, John Villers and Martyn Budd needs little persuasion to test this station seat allegedly from 'Barnstaple Town'. All that seems to be missing are cups of tea.

3. Dave Tooke supervises a donated signal post being loaded onto road transport to be taken away for storage.

4. Brom Bromidge restoring a trolley from Axminster station with Richard Burgess busy in the background.

5. The job of sweeping leaves from the platform at this time of year never ends and Martin Andrews seems to attend to it more than most.

6. Also, today we were visited by "The Locomotive & Carriage Institution" on a tour of L&B landmarks. Organised by Martyn Babb's "Blue Motors", and using a 1985 Mercedes coach the tour naturally commenced at Barnstaple, continued to Chelfham Viaduct and stopped for lunch at Blackmoor Gate. Then visited Woody Bay for a trip to Killington Lane and back before continuing to Lynton.

The Locomotive and Carriage Institution was formed in 1911, only 13 years after the L&B opened and is still going strong.