Broadway Footbridge Recovery - Wishaw

Jim has sent me this report  of the day and Jo has taken some excellent photos:-

Bill

I am pleased to report on a successful day at Wishaw.  The weather was ideal and we had a team of eight on site including a new volunteer Ray, from Lichfield.

As previously the main task of the day was to continue work on the two towers stripping off the rust and where possible some of the paintwork as well.  This was largely undertaken by Ray, Ian, Keith, Peter T, Jo and Roger.  We were joined by George and his cutting gear which soon saw off the remaining bolts releasing the last of the attached timber.

Peter Q and I spent most of the morning taking measurements on the two staircases trying to understand terms like Rise, Going and Pitch Line.  The purpose of this exercise was to record these key dimensions so that an assessment of the suitability of the two staircase sections can be made. 

Jo and Roger then went to work on the main span and managed to remove the last of the guttering and "dagger boarding".  This just leaves at high level the main support timber which we will assess on our next visit and decide whether to take this off or preserve it. While this was going on Peter Q and I managed to undo the handrail securing bolts on the spare step sections, as we may need to re-use the handrail support brackets.

 

After lunch and several planning discussions George was called into action again this time at the controls of the Telehandler.

 After several highly skilled manoeuvres the first tower section was lifted, turned and placed in a more accessible position.   We think another half day on this tower will see it ready for shot blasting.

So to sum up an excellent day with an extraordinary amount of material chipped off both the towers.  You have to admire the stamina of people chipping away all day at this brain numbing activity.

My thanks to Jo for taking the photos as usual.

Regards

Jim H

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