The Coach Now Arriving

After three years of work by the team at Oswestry the Mk 1 Suburban Coach was rolled out to join the passenger carrying fleet.  This restoration has included repairs to the bodywork and internal woodwork.

The following views of the coach are courtesy of CHR Facebook.

Well done to all of the volunteers who have put hundreds of hours into the restoration of this coach.

Until next time.

Droning On

 

Last Saturday Les brought along his drone and flew over Weston so that now you can see the latest progress and the impact the tamper has had on the track alignment.

There are lots of photos and they are grouped by location so I will not caption each one.

We start at the north end of the station with views of the tamper running along the siding

Next we fly towards the station with the class 73 in the platform and the Pacers in the bay.

Now we head to the south of the station and take a view towards the A483 level crossing before coming back for a closer look at progress.

The fence and gates have been erected between the station and the brewery, this is to keep the hoards of thirsty volunteers out.

The track alignment is now looking good after tamping

You can see there are still some features to complete such as the water column.

We finish with some overall views of Weston Station and Stonehouse Brewery.

Finally an aerial view of the team walking back to the station and hatching a plan to open the brewery gates.

Many thanks to Les for flying the drone and for sharing these pictures.

Until next time.

Pressing On

With the arrival of the tamper a lot of work has been done on the alignment and making sure that the line is brought up to passenger carrying standards. Andy G was on hand with his camera to catch some of the action.

We start with a ride on the works train as fresh ballast is brought along to back up where the tamper has moved the stones under the sleepers.

Once the ballast has been spread out it's time to pack the voids left by the tamper and ensure that the sleeper tops are clear, for the moment this is being done manually. Here we see the team on the rise up from Gasworks Bridge working on each sleeper.

Now looking up towards the crossing the works are moving along nicely.

And on the other side of the bridge alongside the footpath the line is receiving more attention.

At Weston the white line along the platform edge is progressing.

And just a few minutes later James has almost completed the white line.

Meanwhile the tamper is seen approaching Black Meadow Crossing, working it's magic on the alignment.

Alan, after his training, is testing the recently delivered guards chair. All that's missing is the mug of tea.

The tamper has now reached Weston and is receiving some love and admiration from the team. Hand packing the extension would have been hard work!

Continuing with the station signage further cast signs have been erected. Here is the right of way notice at the entrance.

The passageway which leads to the platform across the goods shed siding.

Under a changing sky the tamper takes a rest. Look at the track now it has been aligned. 

Another nice touch is the wooden fence and gates to our neighbours, Stonehouse Brewery.

Thanks to Andy G and Phil B for the photos.

Until next time.