Today was one of those days! - You can't quite put your finger on why things are happening in the wrong order or why there are a few glum faces around - The internet was down - no PO's could be raised, all of the deliveries were very late - some volunteers were spinning their wheels early on, and to cap it all the Fairview lorry broke a half shaft, mid job.
There were 20 volunteers on site today, with a long to-do list. I shouldn't dwell on some of the frustrations,but feel happy that all the jobs were completed by the end of the day! Who said it was going to be easy!
The milestone event of the day was the delivery from Underwoods of the 2 steel beams that will support the lever frame in the signal box. There was a good deal of sucking through teeth as to whether Steve Warren would be able get them off the lorry with the JCB, let alone place them on the pad stones. All the worry was for nought because Steve showed his absolute skill, and the versatility of the JCB. A brilliant job.
A video here:-
http://youtu.be/vl5KC2rq0es
Here the happy moment when the beams were in their final position. A great picture Jo......
At the northern end of the site Roger B and a team were working on Platform 1C. A 25m drainage pipe was placed behind the concrete block foundation, and packed with pea gravel. This was then hand levelled with ballast. It was then possible to start piling the bricks ready for brick laying to commence. When the cement and ballast did arrive Clive was able to fill in the last of the voids in the block work. A great deal of hard work went into this today and I am sorry there isn't a picture that does it justice.
Down in the driveway Fairview came along to assist in shifting the last of the Avonmouth bricks onto site.
Dave and Terry were master minding this task and were in full swing when the Fairview lorry took a sicky!
Some quick thinking got the JCB, and the two dumpers on site, to remove the bags of bricks from the lorry and take then northwards.
It only remained for the the lorry to be towed away. what a bummer - it was like seeing an old friend being carried off the football pitch!
Down in the car park Steve and the JCB, together with Steve B and Jo in the dumpers, were clearing a section of the Mythe pile to the south.
With all the interruptions I was surprised that they even came close to finishing - but they did and Steve is going to do the final tidying up today.
On other fronts the 2 Peters were working on the new cabin. Peter T was replacing some trim around a window and Peter Q was putting a new surface on the roof in order to put our final rubber membrane on. A great job. Vic managed to a get a dumper delivery of Cotswold stone and go to the local market garden shop to get a variety of bedding plants. I think the Britain in Bloom competition should be within our grasp next year!
Finally Julie was back of holiday and doing a good trade at the Shed. We really appreciate all the support we get from everyone. Please come along and see the wide variety of railway books, pictures and videos we have on offer.
Sorry this post is late even the internet gremlins continued last night with Jo unable to send his pictures through. Hey ho tomorrows another day!
There were 20 volunteers on site today, with a long to-do list. I shouldn't dwell on some of the frustrations,but feel happy that all the jobs were completed by the end of the day! Who said it was going to be easy!
The milestone event of the day was the delivery from Underwoods of the 2 steel beams that will support the lever frame in the signal box. There was a good deal of sucking through teeth as to whether Steve Warren would be able get them off the lorry with the JCB, let alone place them on the pad stones. All the worry was for nought because Steve showed his absolute skill, and the versatility of the JCB. A brilliant job.A video here:-
http://youtu.be/vl5KC2rq0es
Here the happy moment when the beams were in their final position. A great picture Jo......
At the northern end of the site Roger B and a team were working on Platform 1C. A 25m drainage pipe was placed behind the concrete block foundation, and packed with pea gravel. This was then hand levelled with ballast. It was then possible to start piling the bricks ready for brick laying to commence. When the cement and ballast did arrive Clive was able to fill in the last of the voids in the block work. A great deal of hard work went into this today and I am sorry there isn't a picture that does it justice.
Down in the driveway Fairview came along to assist in shifting the last of the Avonmouth bricks onto site.Dave and Terry were master minding this task and were in full swing when the Fairview lorry took a sicky!
Some quick thinking got the JCB, and the two dumpers on site, to remove the bags of bricks from the lorry and take then northwards.It only remained for the the lorry to be towed away. what a bummer - it was like seeing an old friend being carried off the football pitch!
Down in the car park Steve and the JCB, together with Steve B and Jo in the dumpers, were clearing a section of the Mythe pile to the south.With all the interruptions I was surprised that they even came close to finishing - but they did and Steve is going to do the final tidying up today.
On other fronts the 2 Peters were working on the new cabin. Peter T was replacing some trim around a window and Peter Q was putting a new surface on the roof in order to put our final rubber membrane on. A great job. Vic managed to a get a dumper delivery of Cotswold stone and go to the local market garden shop to get a variety of bedding plants. I think the Britain in Bloom competition should be within our grasp next year!
Finally Julie was back of holiday and doing a good trade at the Shed. We really appreciate all the support we get from everyone. Please come along and see the wide variety of railway books, pictures and videos we have on offer.
Sorry this post is late even the internet gremlins continued last night with Jo unable to send his pictures through. Hey ho tomorrows another day!
7 comments:
I do hope the Fairview truck failure isn't going to prevent their future help, as they've been such stalwart helpers. Keep up the good work.
Excellent work by everybody. Could you take a look at the video link Bill isn't isn't working.ManyThanks David
There's something I can't fathom, which I expect someone can elucidate for me: why do the exterior blues on the front of the signal box seem to go higher than those on the rear? Advance thanks to whoever enlightens me!
Noel
The video link has an unintended full stop at the end of the URL. Remove the full stop and it works fine. It is wonderful to see some video of work under way. I wish there was more!
Any idea of the costs or timescale involved in the renovation of the platform bridge, and will it be put in place when it is ready to go, or will it have to wait until the station buildings are up?
Best wishes,
Nigel
Cheers Nigel - sorted!
Re the blue brick levels - blues are under ground, and higher at the front to take the depth of the platform into account. At the rear the platform level will fall away and blend into the rear embankment.
This is not only an amazing story of triumph against the odds, it's an amazing blog as well. Thank you.
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