Well, I delayed my Blog post for the last episode of Poirot - what a waste of good blog time! As ever I didn't understand it and the ending was tripe - hey ho!
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| Roger and Tony a study in concentration! |
What a productive day today - 20 Volunteers on site and some great work done. The brick laying on Platform 2B was the main constructions task. 2 sections were being worked on - the corbelling and then the next(last) section north.
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| Getting down to it |
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| Mike says something polite about Jo and his camera....... |
Continuing on the brick laying theme the brick cleaning team have a new challenge - to quickly clean up a full set of plinth headers for the signal box. Although the signal box is going to be largely built from new bricks the blue brick plinth that the walls will rise from can be topped out with the bricks we have reclaimed.
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Gord, our master surveyor and John C carefully
mark the pilling positions from the setting out lines |
Staying with the signal box theme we have decided to complete all of the final preparation work in anticipation of the final planning conditions being met. Winter is upon us and I will be very disappointed if we are not able to lay bricks before the end of this year.
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| Splitting the difference! |
It's that time of year when the effectiveness of the site drains comes into sharp focus. Having had so many associated problems elsewhere on the line we have an obligation to try and sort out any drainage issues in advance of track being laid.
That said its not a job for the feint hearted! Rod, Terry and Steve set to with the winter clean out of the culvert that runs south through our proposed car park. All of the water from the track drains as well as the highway drains run through here.
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| Before.... |
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| After! |
I am hopeful that Highways Department will answer a request from us for them to clean out the drains around the bridge. We shall see.....
On other fronts renovation continues. We have been advised by one of our team (Peter K) that the fractured running in board post, reclaimed from the west embankment, can be repaired. Here Gordon and Keith chip away at the rust and give it a general clean up before Peter takes it away for welding.
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| Don't do it John..... |
As we move into the construction phase proper I feel we need even greater security protection. We are mounting another new camera on the site cabin to cover the northern boundary. Here John C finally driven up the pole....
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| Chris Bristow and I have a chat about the future........ |
Finally and not least we had a visit from Chris Bristow the GWSR Finance Director, who commented enthusiastically about the progress made so far at Broadway.
Thanks to all of the volunteers today - Blogger seemed determined to thwart my efforts to get a full update recorded and I have missed some valiant individual efforts.
On other fronts renovation continues. We have been advised by one of our team (Peter K) that the fractured running in board post, reclaimed from the west embankment, can be repaired. Here Gordon and Keith chip away at the rust and give it a general clean up before Peter takes it away for welding.
12 comments:
working out poirot plots are easy. simply pick the most unlikely person with the strongest alabi, and that is the person who did it - easy!
brilliant work as usual, glad drains are receiving attention before track is laid, good work that, hope the highways people get their bits sorted too. Can't wait to see the first bricks laid in the signal box, then it will begin to look like a proper station!
Alex
Could you explain why the platforms are 1, 1A,1B, 2, 2A and 2B.
Also, why does the finished platform have one sloping end and one vertical end. Is this something to do with the direction the train goes?
Perhaps a diagram of the various platofrms would be helpful, I understand the gaps are to get machinary in? Either way, I get a little confused as, to where the platforms are! No idea about ends though...
Isn't that gap for a snigal box?
The platforms aren't finished yet. That's why there is a gap on Platform 1 to allow, as Alex says, heavy machinery and materials onto the site. The gap in Platform 2 is necessary while the platform-mounted signal box is being constructed - all the rodding etc goes through t'ole in the platform wall and you 'ave to leave a 'ole until the signal box footings are complete. the northern end of platform 1 is vertical because its highly likely that Platform 1 will be extended even further north, after that, I presume a ramp will be fitted as per "normal" platforms. The labelling of platforms is confusing if you don't work on site (and I don't much to my loss) but they are labelled that way presumably to designate the individual project stages. In reality there are, of course, only 2 platforms at Broadway, just as there always were, but rebuilt for longer trains and a new location for the signal box. There are no Bay platforms in the project! PS- I have garnered all this info from this blog but my brain might not always interpret it correctly so I'm happy to be corrected by those who do all the hard work and are rebuilding this magic place.
So platform 1 will be longer than platform 2?
I THINK THAT IT IS REALLY BRILLIANT WHAT IS HAPPENING UP AT BROADWAY STATION. SHAME TO THINK THAT REBUILDING A RAILWAY LIKE THIS HAS TO BE REPEATED UP AND DOWN THE COUNTRY BY REVIVALISTS, SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAD BEEN PULLED TO BITS IN THE FIRST PLACE. I WISHED I LIVED A BIT CLOSER TO IT ALL. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! (WELL ER, AMONG THE BEST ANYWAY).
Thanks for the comments here. TT has nicely summarised the current situation. I think the BAG have given a false impression that platforms can be built/ extended with ease! I would prefer it if the Railway set its aspirations at 8 coaches+ loco throughout the Railway.. The incremental cost of adding extra capacity is significant. I would personally prefer that the money was spent on shoring up the running line and ensuring that we minimise the risk of future embankment slips. No doubt the Board will take all of this into account when determining future investment strategies.
Interesting point about the 'flat' end of Platform 2 at CRC. A while back I asked about that on the Boardroom Blog. Malcolm Temple gave two different reasons -
1. There was "no practical use" for a platform ramp, so there wasn't going to be one. I wasn't really convinced, and pointed out that there's "no practical use" for many things we do. For example, there's "no practical use" for Great Western-style lamp posts. Plain modern ones would do. But we do it the traditional way because we're a heritage railway. Surely that philosophy should extend to things like platform design?
2. Malcolm Temple then said that it was impossible to put a ramp at that location without chopping down trees to make space. Well, I don't know about that. It's not like I've been down there with a tape measure or anything, but if the platform itself can be extended it must be possible to put in a ramp - which wouldn't even need to be full platform width.
Now we have reason number 3 - which is a bit more convincing. But is the work needed to extend a ramped platform really so huge that it needs passive provision for a job that might not be done for years?
It's a bit of a strange saga, and it does rather create the impression that the GWR operates on the basis of "decide what we're going to do now - decide why we're going to do it later".
Personally, I would much prefer a ramped end - just as the platform originally was, when the Great Western built it in 1912. Otherwise it's going to look very much like a modern Network Rail platform, like the one in this photo:
http://www.railjournal.com/media/k2/items/cache/8406cfb594b839b1b4c465e59869d613_XL.jpg
Michael,
Can I say that I generally agree with your sentiments on ramps. The only excuse for truncating a platform is either to create the opportunity for it to extended later on, or trying to squeeze every useable metre of a level surface in a limited space.
Of course lengthening platforms beyond their original length is fraught with technical challenges - in Broadway's case the old side drains are having to be ripped out, which inevitably creates a much bigger foundation trench than is required, and has a resultant excessive cost. More critically we are building a level platform on falling ground which is increasing a 1:200south bound incline to something progressively steeper, the farther you go.
The big push for longer platforms at stations all along the line is something of a mystery to me because you are catering for an infrequent requirement for 10 coach trains and what happens when the 12 coach excursion comes through from the mainline? Anyway this is just a personal beef on my part - I'm sure its been thought through?!
I think there's actually a case for lengthening the platforms at Toddinton and Winchcombe. At present the loco has to stop beyond the end of the platforms (northbound at Toddington, under the bridge, too!) This is very disappointing for visitors who find they can't get close to the loco - which for most people is the main reason for coming to the railway.
But my main concern with the saga of CRC platform 2 is that the decision to build a Network Rail-style 'flat end' platform seems to have been taken behind closed doors, with no real explanation (or, as I discovered, three contradictory explanations).
It's a bit worrying to see this kind of thing happening at the GWR. So many other heritage lines seem to end up squabbling among themselves, and the root cause is usually a lack of communication, with decisions imposed without any attempt to explain the reasoning or involve the supporters.
The Severn Valley went through this recently, with the decision to build a 'modern architecture' extension to Bridgnorth station - to the horror of the more heritage-minded supporters, who apparently had no idea the plan existed until it was suddenly announced. I think the plan went back to the drawing board after a big campaign to stop it, but it's worrying that this sort of 'decide it and impose it' style seems to be creeping in to the GWR, too...
There's a website made by the opponents of the SVR scheme here: http://www.bridgnorthstationplanb.co.uk - I must say I agree with the sentiments expressed, but really, it should never come to this!
the idea of ramps is that when our railways carried parcels on passenger trains parcels could be loaded onto a platform trolly and be pushed down the ramp and across a foot crossing to other platforms for loading onto trains and goods from the train could then be taken to the station building.
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