Monday and Tuesday's Extension Progress

It's been a busy few days south of the bridge, Guy and Andy have been keeping track of progress with the following photographs

After the ballasting of the excavated section last Friday it was the turn of the ballast bed further south to be extended.  This is using the reclaimed ballast from the track which has been screened on site by the ballast cleaner and washed by the rain. The JCB backhoe is here seen after transporting and spreading the ballast.

A bit further south the concrete sleepers are being moved in to position and given a final nudge to maintain the alignment.

By sighting along the track instructions are given and the alignment is adjusted to keep the track straight.

Andy, more normally behind the camera is here getting ready to insert a key.

And with a couple of well placed taps the key is hammered home

In some cases the sleeper needs lifting to correctly position the chair to the rail.  Once done the key can be considered to be in place.  However this type of track always needs ongoing maintenance and this is why you see the PW team on all railways walking along the track looking for defects and loose keys.  In the future with the nice views over the countryside this will be a pleasant walk on a clear day.

More tweaking and adjustment as the next panel is clipped up.

Sometimes we even tell fishing stories about the 'one that got away'.  It was this big....  Or maybe it's the distance needed for the tweak this time.

And a round of applause for another panel done from Phil, or are those gloves itchy?

And there we are the view back from the 19 mile milepost looking towards Weston, the line of trees in the distance on the right is just about where the gentle curve starts to head towards the Weston station site.

Looking the other way the head of steel has moved on as the gap to Oswestry is closing fast.

This telephoto view shows how the track has been extended in the last few days, compare this with the shots of a week ago.

On Monday afternoon the team were back in action as fishplate tickling was on the agenda.

It's not just about the bolts, there is much more to it.  You need the rails level, the correct gap, the correct fishplate, the grease and a bit of black magic to tickle a fishplate in to place.  Phil is checking everything over before the nuts are done up.

 Further north more sleepers are moved in to position and nudged to the correct alignment.

Whilst nudging is going on in the foreground Malcolm is levelling and rolling the ballast dropped by the JCB. 

Here the ballast bed is almost ready to receive the sleepers, in the background the bridge can be seen with the track from there extending southwards.

This is the view from the end of the rolled ballast bed and the white of the fresh ballast can just be seen to the left of the JCB.  The screener and ballast piles are now clear to see.

On Tuesday the team were back again but heavy rain did not allow much progress.  However not to be put off the last set of rails were put in to take the track to the end of the currently laid out sleepers. Andy G took the following three pictures.

The rails are moved in to place and the JCB has made the trip from base to help.

The rails are dropped in to the chairs and then the fun starts. Dave, Glyn, Tom and John work as a team to position the chair to allow the key to be knocked in to place.  In the distance Steve attends to a joint.

The team had that much fun that a halt was called and a retreat back to base was called where inside jobs were the order of the rest of the day, plus the kettle was closer and electric powered rather than by the drenched gas ring.  Glyn rounds off the day taking the JCB back home.

Many thanks to all who braved the weather and to Guy N and Andy G for the pictures

Until next time.

Monday Supplemental

After Guy sent his pictures Andy G posted some extras of today's events. 
In the first photo the team gather together to discuss strategy and decide on the most important issue, lunch. Pete, Keith, Phil, Ryan, Andy R and Glynn go through the options as Davey heads off to sample his carefully prepared buttie box.

Right that's it, decision time and it's a mass exodus to Aldi, which just happens to be on the site of the old gasworks as in gasworks bridge.  We do like to know our local history.  Armed with hope the intrepid explorers head off to discover a strange new world.

After the excitement of lunch it was back to work.  Glyn makes a few nudges to the alignment under the combined directions of Phil, Ryan and Andy R. It's a bit easier than using a crowbar though to move a track panel usually takes more than just two people on the irons.

In the next picture Ryan uses all the latest technology to calculate the rail gap for temperature.  Or is he just trying to find the answer to the meaning of life.  In the far distance Malcolm is laying more ballast in the gap between the two sections of rail. The distance between the two sections is getting shorter and it will soon be time for the Golden Fishplate Bolt, well we might have to economise and use a yellow painted bolt.

In the final photo Glyn rides off into the distance on his noble steed, the JCB, and the team return the tools to base. Another day in the life of the CHR Weston extension comes to an end.

Thanks to Andy for the pictures and to all who turned out to help.

Until next time

A Monday Stroll.

Guy N took walk along the line to bring us this latest pictorial update.  Things are moving at a rapid rate as work continues almost every day on the extension.

We start by looking from the start of the extension along the excavation, the line here is almost complete and requires final fettling and top ballast.

The next view shows off the dip under the bridge, with the track going to the lowest point before rising up the other side.

Under the bridge we find my old friend the Iron Man, not quite the same as the comic book hero but these frames are helping us move forward at a rapid rate.

After the ballast was laid on Friday the levels have been set and more sleepers laid out. 

 The peg in the foreground marks the start of the gentle curve to the left, now on a rising gradient.

 Looking back towards the station you can see the freshly positioned sleepers.

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Here is Henry setting out the levels and elevations.

 It's a tough life measuring and setting out but Henry has it under control.

At the access point further work went on to bring together the two section of this part of the extension.

However the most important feature of this location is the vital ingredient of any CHR worksite, can you see it?

 The brew station!  Here full use is being made of the facilities. There is even the drive in service!

Further along the ballast bed was extended and levelled ready for the next sessions of sleeper laying.

Here the machines take a rests whilst the drivers make use of the brew station.

Many thanks to Guy for the pictures.

Until next time.

Five On Friday

There really is no rest at the moment as we push forward with the Weston extension

Friday saw Pete, Andrew, Malcolm and Glynn, who took the following pictures, working on the section to the south of the bridge. 

We start with the view to the north of the bridge looking towards Oswestry station. This section requires final adjustment of the ballast, jacking and packing to final levels.  The signage is in place as necessary.

To the south of the bridge the trackbed had been left clear to allow vehicles to reach the work site.  Now that the major work is complete it was time to fill in this section to allow tracklaying to continue towards Weston.  The first step is to put down a layer of ballast on to which the sleepers will be positioned.

The first loads of ballast were dropped and spread along the trackbed, Pete and Andrew directed operations and Malcom did the honours with the machinery.  In between drops Malcolm levelled the piles and also brought up alongside the trackbed the rails, ready for the tracklaying team to roll in to position.   The sleepers were positioned previously close to where they will be required. 

At the end of the day five full truck loads of ballast were dropped and made ready for the tracklaying team.  This is the view looking north towards the Shrewsbury Road bridge. 

Thanks to Glynn for the photos and all who helped, keep watching as we continue to push towards Weston.

We have also received support for the station at Weston but we need to raise funds to cover the CHR part.  More details will be posted soon but we will need to raise a further thirty thousand pounds to complete the engineering works for the station.

Until next time. 

Thursday Gang

The Thursday Gang continued with multiple jobs around the site.  Coach restoration continued in the shed and various other projects were progressed. 

The PWay team set off to the south to continue working on the track.  Here Steve is preparing to install fishplates to join the rails together.  Grease is applied to the rails to assist in movement due to thermal expansion. The grease is particularly dense and hard to shift from clothing. Steve is a master at keeping clean.

On the rail installation team it's a carefully-organised synchronised movement to insert the clip. Dave on the left levers the chair against the rail in the horizontal direction. Glyn in the middle is positioning a key ready to hammer in to place.  Tom on the right is levering up the sleeper to ensure that the chair is positioned correctly in the vertical direction,  Steve looks on and offers helpful advice and encouragement.

 With Steve back on the fishplates the rest of the team discuss the next panel.

 The last rail of the day has been clipped up and the JCB and tools return to base.

The total for the day was 2 1/2 panels.

Until next time

Tuesday's Progress

The team turned up expecting wet weather but overall it was a reasonable day, however later the weather turned.

Colin starts off the story with pictures of the three track panels assembled during the day.  Looking north we can see the line heading towards the bridge, if you look closely you can see the screener which is visible on photos from under the bridge.  The gap is closing!

Looking south the tool van seems so much further away than last time but we now have a cunning plan.

Here is the view from the 19 miles marker post which was the head of steel after the last session.

You know I mentioned that cunning plan?  Well here is the first wheeled vehicle to move on rails on the southern part of the new track.  The tool trolley was pushed in to service (truly terrible pun) to move the necessary equipment up to the work site.  Andy G took the following pictures of the trolley running along the line. Steve is pushing the trolley to keep up with Glyn in the JCB.

Once the tools were in place the team cleaned rails and chairs of any dirt prior to inserting the rails, Tom and John work on the rails whilst Steve cleans the chairs

Colin took a short video showing the progress so far.

Like all great films the final shot from Andy shows one of the stars riding off in to the setting sun! Here Steve returns the empty trolley back to base.

A bit later the weather turned very cold so it was a case of just in time for the Tuesday Gang.  Thanks to Andy and Colin for the pictures.

Until next time

PS

Glynn managed to gather together the Tuesday Team for a group photo. Steve, John, Andy, Glyn, Tom, and Colin take a bow.