We are not just sleep(er)ing...

The line clearance and sleeper preparation continue to make good progress.  The piles of Weston ready sleepers continue to grow thanks to the Thursday Gang.  It won’t be long before we will need another load.

Here is a recent load being delivered to the new worksite beyond the bridge.

The ballast screener has been receiving some care to its Lister ST engine including grinding in the valves. 

There a lot of ballast to screen on the way to Weston so best to have the mechanical parts in good working order.  Here is the screener in all her glory.  If I have kept count correctly this is Mark IV.

Away from the track, work goes on with other items connected to the operation of the railway and the extension.  The signal box at the South end of the station now boasts a fine flight of stairs which will allow access for further work on the signalling.  Here is John admiring his handiwork.

The bracket signal reappeared a couple of years ago on the platform and won’t it look grand to be able to pull off the signal for the first train to Weston. 

John and the team have also made several nice touches around the signal box including a roof over the home for the fire buckets.

Don't forget the Halloween specials this weekend at Llynclys and whilst there you can pick up a 2018 calendar.

Look back again next week for more updates on progress.

Photos from CHR Facebook Page

A483 Crossing Work

Whilst not directly related to the current extension to Weston the railway is still maintaining the rest of the line and taking active steps with maintenance and improvements along the way.

At the beginning of the month work was conducted on the A483 crossing just beyond the Weston station site.  Being a major trunk road access was only allowed in the very off peak period, know as the middle of the night!

After a full nights work the crossing now looks splendid with a new covering, all we need are the lights to flash, barriers to come down and a train to cross!  It will be a little while yet but dreams can come true.

Here is the crossing after the work.

Thanks to the CHR team who gave up valuable hours of sleep to monitor the progress and for taking the pictures

Pictures from the CHR Facebook site

A Volunteer's Tale

This was my day out in Oswestry earlier in the Summer.

I arrived at almost bang on 9:30 am Sunday morning to be met by Kevin and in the finest tradition first job was put the kettle on and have a cup of tea.  So here was my first integration problem… I am not a tea or coffee drinker.  But apart from this abnormality I was greeted with enthusiasm.

Now the first thing I noticed was that everyone had fine waterproof clothing and I had my normal overalls, I panicked remembering that I was not in Italy and that a clear sky in Oswestry meant no more than it would not rain in the next twenty minutes.  So undaunted I resigned myself to the fact that if it rained I would get wet.  It’s been a long time since I did anything remotely physical for a full day   Mowing the grass, decorating and DIY hardly constitutes physical training for the joys of P. Way work.

First job of the day.  Kevin had a stack of sleepers that needed sorting and getting ready for use going towards Weston.

The first part consisted of playing inverse Jenga, that is you need to find the sleeper that will make the most ones roll off the pile.  These sleepers were a mixture, mostly usable but some only fit for firewood.  Most had through bolted chairs which needed freeing up and the rest were screwed, that is some were with screwed chairs, the rest were too far gone to use.

Once off the pile, these good sleepers needed rolling to a point on the stack where the Thursday gang or other willing recruits can turn them in to sleepers ready for the track gang. The first part of which was a liberal dose of oil ably supplied by Tony on the magic brush.

As with any job the key is knowing the tricks to make things smoother.  Getting a sleeper with chairs on a roll takes a bit of getting used to but eventually I managed to keep up and not slow the crew of Alan and Kevin down too much.  Of course a couple of brew breaks were slipped in which allowed me to recover slightly.

After a couple of hours and a flattened sleeper pile we had 111 sleepers ready to be worked on, not all the results of our morning’s efforts but put together a nice total to take the track laying gang onwards to Weston.

Next job was a stroll down to meet my next two companions, the Iron Men, but first a brew break and more chat.   On to the Iron Men, these two A frames allow rail to be lifted and rolled along with ease.  Now that is fine but you need to get the lifting part above the rail to be moved.  As the rails were in the 6 foot this meant lifting first the iron men which with more hands is a lot less strain,  At first we found a couple of ‘willing helpers’ but after that it was between the three of us and I was definitely the weakest link.

The delights of rail turners and crowbars were relearned as two sixty foot rail lengths were moved across and positioned ready to load in to the waiting chairs.

Midway through this activity the lunch and brew call sounded again.  Whilst walking back to base, by a round about route we came across Chairman Rob working on a point lever which needed adjustment.  A quick 5 minute job was how it started out but turned in to a full afternoon.  This also required a bit of packing under the sleepers to get things to the right level. And so began my introduction to packing hammers…. My last attempt at packing was in 7 ¼” gauge and was relatively pain free.  The full sized equivalent requires strength, skill and precision, neither of which I posses to any degree.

I thumped the ballast, sleepers and rail but with very little precision and not much success, so I decided that was probably one job which would need more practice.  Old hands with two or three well aimed blows sorted out the problem much better than my forty whacks with a wet haddock.

Lunch over and with a new wind we set about the placing of the rails for the new P.Way siding and after some more lifting and crowbar work the final rail fell in to the chairs with a satisfying clang.  The fishplates and bolts were next and it was good to see and hear a petrol driven nut runner to make the job so much easier.  Next tool up was the key hammer, which is a smaller cousin to the packing hammer and this time seemed to be about my level of capability.  Of course there is a knack and also an  order to put keys in but after Kevin explained this it was not long before I could put in a key with just a couple of well aimed blows.  At that moment in time it felt like I could have set off for Weston and put in all the keys in an afternoon.  I was on cloud nine.

By about 5pm most of the work was done and the idea was to go and try to start the ballast screener that had recently arrived.  At this point with a minimum 4 hour drive ahead of me I elected to call it a day.

Just after 9pm I arrived back at my parents where after a shower and healthy meal I managed to have a quick snooze in the armchair.  At about 11 I called time and made the short trip upstairs to bed.  I usually lie back and think about the day that has been whilst waiting for sleep to slowly come, this time I just smiled and fell asleep instantly, exhausted but supremely happy at the thought of having made one small step on the long journey to rebuild our line. 

A sincere and heartfelt thanks from me to all involved in the project and for being so welcoming to a new (occasional) recruit.  To sum up in the words of such a great actor as Arnie… “I’ll be back….”

Next instalment on the Weston sleepers.  

Preparing the trackbed

Since the last BR weed-killing train ran in 1993 the line has tried to slowly blend back in to nature.  The growth of vegetation happens at an alarming rate and it is only by the efforts of a few volunteers that we can still see the way to Weston.

Initial work was done by Alun Evans (Alun The Spray) and he almost single handed kept much of the route from going back to nature.  Alun is no longer with us but his dedication has been recognised by having a loco named after him.

To recap.  This is what we start with.  And this is one of the clearer sections!

The ballast has a high percentage of soil and foreign matter and the drainage has to be checked.  Rather than pull up everything between Oswestry and Weston all at one go the work has been broken down in to sections.  The plan is to take up about 20 lengths at a time and deal with those.

First step is to undo the fishplates and lever out the rails.  Now, having not had the benefit of being oiled or greased for the last 20 or so years you can guess how easy that job is! Mechanisation helps here as if you have ever tried this operation with a hand spanner you will have learnt two things.  First is that walking long distances carrying the spanner is no joke and second that the force exerted by one person is not enough to undo rusted fishplate bolts.  You can also guarantee that the nut has stopped at a point where maximum leverage can not be achieved. 

Happily the nut runner pings off most of the nuts in a flash.  The fishplates and bolts are all kept for reuse. The next step is to bar out the rail and move it to one side. 60feet rail lengths weigh a bit so it needs a good crowd (and lots of tea...) to lift these over to the side.

Next comes the removal of the sleepers and these can vary from being good and solid to falling apart in your hands.  Until you actually take them up you can not be sure of their state as some that look in good condition from above are rotten underneath and vice versa. 

The joys of sleeper inspection and recovery will be covered in a future post.

Luckily for this next section we have had the use of some serious pieces of equipment and the trackbed has been scraped clean.

Now the secret weapon moves in to play.  The ballast screener.  This was a joint purchase by a number of members and first results look good.  The mixture of soil and ballast is put through the machine, clean ballast can be reused to put the track back, the spoil can be used for other earthworks around the railway.

The next chapter will deal with sleepers.

The photos are from the CHR Facebook page, link on the upper right hand side of the page.  Also in the links is the donations page which will allow us to keep going to Weston.  If you fancy joining in just get in touch, the ability to drink tea in large quantities seems to be the key, no previous experience in P.Way work required.

A little bit about Weston...

As well as the two operating sites, work is ongoing to extend the line at Oswestry south towards Weston Wharf.  This is a relatively short term goal and will extend the running line by a further 3/4 mile ish to a still to be built station that has as a next door neighbour a brewery.

http://www.stonehousebrewery.co.uk/

It's strange that the track gang has developed a strong urge to get there quickly.

This extension will involve relaying the track and sorting out various features along the line such as drainage and vegetation.  Although the track has remained in situ since the last stone train ran the vegetation had taken hold. Vegetation clearance has seen the track emerge from the undergrowth and now 'all' that remains is to lift the track, screen the ballast to remove organic matter, renew sleepers as necessary and then relay the track.  Sounds so easy doesn't it?  Here is a picture of what it looked liked before removing the rails. (Photo CHR Facebook)

At the moment work is going on at a site not connected to the current Oswestry running line as we are waiting for work to start on re-grading the line under the propped bridge on Shrewsbury Road, or Gasworks Bridge as it's know locally.  This re-grading will allow trains to pass under the bridge without the need for replacement of the road deck.

Work on the track is being carried out both during the week on Thursdays and during weekend working parties.  Mechanical assistance is being provided by a 'patent mole hill generator' which creates mounds of screened ballast and soil.  The appearance of these piles has made people question whether there is a cross breeding exercise going on between moles and elephants.

This latest screener is an improvement on the previous versions, which were assembled from various parts that make Scrapheap Challenges look like raw beginners. The time taken to screen ballast has been reduced and hopefully further mechanisation will improve output.

For use at Weston we have an original Cambrian footbridge donated very kindly by Network Rail.  Other items already restored and waiting are these speed restriction signs, though the 25 MPH is the maximum speed. (Photo courtesy of CHR Facebook)

As plans are firmed up for the station at Weston we will see how it all fits together.

So next update will detail progress on the way to Weston. 

Hot Off The Press

Catch it while you can. 

The leaves are falling so it is time for the Autumn Edition of Cambrian Lines and this one is I think one of the best ones yet.  Highlights include the story of Brian Rowe, from early days on Oswestry shed in BR days up to a cheeky request to buy a station building. 

Also there are updates on the TWAO situation and full details of the work on the rolling stock.

Just £2 from all leading bookstores at Oswestry and Llynclys Stations.  And while you are there don't forget your 2018 calendar!

September Round Up

September 2017: Digging for Gold

Last week an exploratory dig was carried out on the main line to determine the position of the main sewer, which since the mid 1800’s has run below the track.  The prospect of hitting back gold (oil) was slim but the possibility of hitting brown gold was not something that we would wish to contemplate.

So the team armed with a century old plan, a tape measure, an excavator and high hopes set off in search of a century old legend.

Sadly no gold was found but we did learn about where the sewer runs and confirmed the feasibility of lowering the track at this point to pass below the bridge, mission accomplished and we should thank the team that risked a potential messy end for their investigative work.

Now we need to wait for conformation from the contractor as to when they can come and re-profile the trackbed allowing us to extend the operational line.  However Kevin and the PWay team are well passed the bridge on their way to Weston, new toys and more mechanisation have arrived as reinforcements. 

The propping of the bridge was carried out after the last train and was done by Shropshire County Council to avoid replacing the bridge deck whilst keeping the weight limit acceptable for traffic over the railway.  A full rebuild of the bridge would take money and would require extra budget and a long timescale, with a pragmatic approach a suitable solution has been found which benefits all parties.

Cattle Creep.

One benefit of the line to Weston is the absence of major civil engineering works, but as with any railway that has not seen traffic for 30 years there is much to inspect and repair.

Luckily so far the only feature that we have found that needs money is the cattle creep just south of the propped bridge.  It’s been a good few years since any cattle have crept under here and the most recent things to have passed under have been fly tippers.  The area has now been cleaned and we have had chance to look at what is there.  It will need new beams and some major repairs before we can run over here.  Total cost will be around £4000 so we could do with some contributions towards this, or even some replacement beams if you happen to have some lying around under your bed.  It’s not very exciting but for suitable sponsorship we could rename the bridge in your honour.

Photographs from the CHR Facebook page

Until next time…