Weeding the Way to Weston

One of the other jobs tackled over the last working weekend was the weeding of the ballast piles on the way from the railhead to the cattle creep.  Using some of our wonderful machines, and those of a contractor brought in to help, the old ballast had been scraped off and placed to one side, ready for screening.  Since then Mother Nature has been trying to hide these ballast piles by the use of fast spreading weeds.  Before this material is screened a good weeding session was required, feeding the weeds into the screener would only dissipate more the roots and lead to longer term problems.

Here you can see what we started with and how quickly the weeds establish themselves in the ballast soil mix.

Gradually the team worked their way along the piles under the sunny weather, making essential stops to visit Laura who helped in providing the supply of liquid refreshments!

Here you can see in the distance the screener and the limit of the earthworks for Gasworks Bridge, with the weeded piles on the right and the rails on the left.  Can you see what we are missing for track laying?  The sleepers that we can reuse are stacked and waiting, we also have the reclaimed sleepers ready to be placed.  We are almost ready to re-start tracklaying!

Here is a mid session shot with the weeding by hand taking place.  It's strange that when you get home there does not seem to be quite so much enthusiasm for weeding the garden!

On the other side away from the ballast piles more mechanised means were used.  First the rails were moved out of the way using the excavator in another of it's roles. 

Once the rails were out of the way 'mechanised weeding' could begin.

Those poor little weeds stood no chance.  The skilful use of the bucket took off the growth and placed it neatly for removal.

We can now see once more the trackbed and where future energies will be directed on the push to Weston.

Thanks again to Guy N for providing the pictures.

Until next time

We Can't Go Any Lower Than This

We have now hit the lowest level we can!  More than this and things get ugly.  Here we are at the final level and the lines along the bank give an idea of the material removed.  We need to be careful as under the trackbed we have the main Oswestry sewer.

Although most of the real heavy digging has now been completed there is still plenty to keep the contractors occupied.  In places there will be additional work on the edges of the trackbed to prevent slippage of the banks.  Once the bank sides have been stabilised the final ballasting can begin.

Here you can see the material for stabilising the sides waiting to be assembled and then installed.

Thanks to Guy for the pictures and I will post more over the next few days.

Until next time.

When it's (D)Raining

The work under Gasworks Bridge is drawing to an end.  Removing the earth has been only part of the story, albeit the most visible.  It would be no good having just a dip in the track without a proper means of taking away the rainwater.  Although we have not seen much rain in the last couple of months the subject of drainage is never far from our minds.  Now that the levels are established it's time to assemble the drains and make the connections.

Alongside the line there are slotted drains buried in ballasted trenches, these allow the surface water to drain away from the running line, at predetermined intervals are catch pits and inspection chambers, these are connected in series before finally emptying in to the existing drainage channels.

Here are the inspection chambers above ground.  There is a lot of work to get the holes dug, trenches formed and plumbed up all so that there is a clear downhill path for the water to follow.

 Here is one of the chambers in hiding mode, waiting for the final earth levels to be set

 Here we have a view towards the bridge with the drains in place and covered with ballast, the inspection pit is in the foreground.

And here is one of the finished items.  Not a lot to be seen from above the ground but plenty of work has gone on before reaching this stage.

The final view shows the levels and bank side waiting for nature to turn it green again, though we will need rain to both test the drains and help the plants to grow back.

Pictures from a recent track walk by Guy N.

Until next time.

Those Magnificent (CHR) Machines

Those of you that have dug out, lifted and pulled around bits of permanent-way will know how heavy each bit is.  The P.Way team have been mechanising over the years so I thought it would be an idea to show the machines that will help us on the way to Weston, these have been purchased by Kevin and members of the P.Way team and some have been converted to multiple roles, we do like to get value for money from everything!

So time to take a bow.

First is the multi purpose mover, tractor and dumper.  By changing the front end this moves between a dumper and mini crane. 

The rear end is also useful as various trailers can be attached as well as applying 'grunt' when needed to move something.

Next on the role of honour is the self propelled excavator.  This also has multiple roles but is principally a back saver, as digging by hand all of the ballast to Weston would have been a killer.  We  have most of the ballast on site as it was supporting the track, however over the years the ballast has become contaminated with earth.

To remove the earth from the contaminated ballast requires it to be screened.  Having done the first half mile more or less by hand a more mechanised means was needed.  As detailed before, here we are at Mark IV or is it now Mk. IVa, Mk. IVb or Mk. V? 

Here is the dirty end which is fed by the excavator from piles moved by the dump truck (can you see how it all fits together now?)  The conveyor belt lifts the mixture up to the screening head.

The screening head is a series of oscillating meshes which direct the larger stones in one direction and the earth in another.  Here you can see in the foreground the ballast and behind the soil.  Once separated the reclaimed ballast is used for track laying and the earth is used as required along the line.

 

Thanks to Guy for the pictures and to Kevin and the rest of the team that purchased and maintain these machines.

Until next time.

What's Next?

Thanks to Tony J here are some pictures of what is coming next.  The first shows the view along the piles of scraped ballast, these were weeded at the weekend to make sure that after screening there will be no seeds in the ballast, that will help with future maintenance.  Our visiting Explorer Scouts helped with this as part of their working weekend and in their progress towards the Duke of Edinburgh award.

The second view shows what lies over the bridge.  Here the track is all still in place for the moment.  Once we have completed the current section work will move to the other side of the cattle creep and the process will be repeated. Beyond the line of poplar trees lies Weston and there waiting for the team is Stonehousebrewery .  Some people find fortune at the end of their dreams, we will find a well earned drink!

Finally is a view looking back along the scraped trackbed from the cattle creep to the material stored at the back of the Travis Perkins yard. 

Once the contractors have finished adjusting the levels under Gasworks Bridge the head of steel will be pushed south, first under the bridge and then along this stretch to the cattle creep.  If you fancy lending a hand come along, if you would like to contribute to make things happen faster use the link on the right at the top of the page to donate. 

Thank you all for your support, 2018 has been a great year so far.

Until next time.

Thank You Explorer Scouts

Guy took a few pictures over the weekend of our visitors in action, working alongside the regular CHR team.  We wish to thank each and every one of our guests who turned up to help and we hope you enjoyed your time with us.  You can also see the valiant efforts we made to ensure that no-one went hungry or thirsty.  Don't forget to come back for a ride when the line is open! 

Until next time