Thursday Gang

Under bright blue skies the Thursday Gang got stuck in to their jobs list.  John, Reg and both Alans were inside the shed on suburban coach restoration.  Dave J was outside on the Dogfish wagon.  The morning shift at Weston, comprised of John A, Noel, Norman and Steve, continued with clearance work.  At the Travis Perkins crossing Colin and Keith were preparing the motorised hand rollers for action, Glyn and Andy loaded leftover materials into the Mermaid wagon and Dave R attacked the greenery to search for the long lost rails that will be used in the final track panels.  Later on in the afternoon Noel, Norman and Steve joined the others at Travis Perkins to move sleepers so that they are ready to use and prepare the ground for the next panel of track to be laid.

Andy G was on hand with the camera to capture scenes at the Travis Perkins' crossing.

We start with the clean up of useful leftover building materials which will find use elsewhere along the line. 

There were useful quantities of sand, ballast and cement, all of which are regularly needed around the various sites.  Here is the Mermaid with some of the cargo safely stowed.

After a bout of sleeper stacking Dave, Steve, Noel and Norman take a break and seem enthusiastic about the idea of free ice creams, although that might not have been what was actually said.  These sleepers will form the missing panels between the two parts of the extension.

By the end of the day the site was looking a lot better and materials are now in the right place so that the track panels can be assembled.

Finally at the end of the day the Heras fencing is put back in place to mark out the crossing. Can you see the drains that are now carefully buried?  Neither can anyone else but rest assured that they are now in place and working.  Many projects vital to the continued operation of the railway are unseen from the surface but represent hours of work by the volunteers.

Many thanks to all who braved the sun and to Andy G for the pictures.  Work will begin shortly to lay the track and build the accommodation crossing.

Until next time.

Tuesday Gang

Five of the Tuesday crew spent the day in Gobowen erecting fence panels at the border of CHR property.

We start with a view of the worksite just after rhe safety briefing

Colin checks the depth if the puddles whilst Steve and Noel move panels in to position.

Gradually the fence takes shaoe

Further panels are bolted together

The last panel goes up.

Roger, Noel, Norman and Steve discuss the progress and check that all the tools have been collected.

At the end of the day the area was fenced off. Thanks to all who helped.

Thanks to Andy G for the pictures.
Until next time.

Preparations And Paperwork

Although there are no pictures this week that does not mean the teams have been idle.

There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work going on as we get all of the paperwork in place to allow trains to operate south of gasworks bridge. 

The last 44 feet panel is due to be built shortly which will take us to the crossing. The crossing itself will be a project for July.

Work continued in the shed with more progress on the coach internals.

Elsewhere other work continues which will be reported through the CHR Newsletter.  If you have not already done so please sign up through the website.

Can You See The Difference?

In between the showers we did manage to make some progress with the drainage.  The new trenches were excavated, prepared and the drains laid, all followed up with the stone drainage beds.
Guy took the after pictures below which show the current status. If you compare them with the before pictures you might ask what is the difference.  You need to look closely to see the lines of drains marked by fresh stone.

We start with a general view with the ballast bed now covering the installed drains.

Looking north we see the ballast pile has been consumed. Materials on the left await to be moved into position.

Fresh ballast awaits it's turn for the finishing operations

The membrane poking out of the ground gives a clue as to what has been going on.

The final view is looking south with the cross drain and soakaway completed

Hopefully the next month should see the crossing progress.

Thanks to Guy for the pictures.

Until next time.

And The Rains Came

The wet weather we have been blessed with was not conducive to digging deep holes. The digging for new drainage will take place later. However not to be idle the teams this week have been fettling the track.  Colin sent some pictures which also show the current drainage coping well.

The run down to the bridge is now complete.

The bridge makes a very effective shelter to keep out of the way of the worst of the rains.

South of the bridge the jacks have been in use. The tamper, when finished, should make short work of the final adjustments.

Many thanks to Colin for the pictures and to all who braved the weather.

Video from Colin

Until next time.

Getting The Water Away

Although not such a headline activity as tracklaying we have multiple projects going on around Oswestry station to return the surroundings to an operating condition.  With all of the rain that has fallen it is important to keep on top of drain maintenance.  Recently some volunteers have been continuing with the clearing and overhaul of the drainage system between the platforms.

The drains had become full of all sorts of debris and growth from years of not being maintained.  The first picture is a recently refurbished catch pit before the cover was put back.  Looking at the picture does not really show how much work is involved but the team are rightly proud that there is a pleasant sound of running water after it rains as the drains to their job. Like many items we restore only the surface is visible with 90% of the work unseen beneath.

 Once cleaned out and made functional the cover is replaced

 Here is a work in progress as we work our way along the centre road. 

There are still more drains to clear along the centre road and also equipment that needs to be relocated.  In the following picture, in the background, the platform wall can be seen waiting it's turn for renovation.  The foreground shows panel number thirteen being assembled.

Thanks to Guy for the pictures

Until next time.

Gobowen

Although the connection from Oswestry to Gobowen is still some time away CHR has already started with clearance at Gobowen station.

Guy took a couple of pictures showing the latest status.

We start at the south end of the station showing the point for the second siding which will become the run round loop. Beyond the fence in the distance the line to Oswestry bears off to the right.

The north end of the bay shows the space available for the run round. On the right we have the service trains with the cross-platform interchange.

Saturday the station welcomed the first piece of CHR rolling stock.  The recently repainted tank wagon was moved from Weston to promote the CHR project.

The tank wagon has been positioned on the second siding and carries the Cambrian Railways name.  Thanks to CHR / Facebook for the following two pictures. Firstly the view looking towards the station building.

Here we can see the space available for future developments at the station.

We will keep a watching eye on future events at Gobowen.

Until next time

Thursday's Post

There was a good turn out by the Thursday Gang and quite a few jobs were tacked around the site and inside the shed.

There were teams moving sleepers and positioning materials for future use.  One team was at Weston recovering useful equipment.  Inside the shed the suburban coach team continued with painting and varnishing.

Andy G was on hand with his camera to record some of the outside events.

Firstly the 'Australian' gate was hung the right way up after having spent some time installed upside down.  Here the team take five after returning the gate to the northern hemisphere orientation.

The main physical activity was the installation of the gate post at Coney Green crossing.  This will support the gate that will extend over the loop line.  After the big hole had been dug it was time for the post to be moved into position.  This called for a manual shunting move as the post is both long (or should that be tall) and heavy.

Here the team bring the post up to the hole along the centre road.

There was a lot of debate about the best way to get the post in and upright.

With a bit of leverage and muscle the post was dropped into position

With the brace in place we now need to get back to what we do best, filling up holes.  The base will be set in concrete which means all hands on deck when the concrete pour takes place. 

Many thanks to all and to Andy G who took the pictures.

Elsewhere some work on the track at Gobowen has taken place in preparation for future groundworks.

Until next time.

And Now on Wednesday Too

For a period of time we will be welcoming friends from the staff at Sainsburys as they support local projects as part of the company's 150th birthday celebrations.  They will be lending a hand on alternate Wednesdays.
The job chosen for the first session was to repaint the new mess cabin in a close approximation of GWR cream.

Here we see the results after two coats.

Many thanks to Sainsburys for the support and to the staff who participated. Also thanks to Dave R for hosting our guests and for the photo.

Until next time.

Future Work

As mentioned in an earlier post work will begin on the next part of the extension to the south of the current railhead.  This post will look at what lies ahead in the short and medium term.  The short term intention is to finish the track to the accommodation crossing so that services can run under Gasworks bridge.  Guy N took a walk around the site and sent some pictures before work starts so that we will be able to see the before and after.

We start with a look just off the end of the welded rail, the peg marks the start of the gentle curve to the left which then leads on to the long straight before arriving at Weston station.  As you can see this section has been jacked and packed but still requires further work and ballast before trains can run.

At the other end of the curve we see the proposed temporary railhead before the ballast pile.  Beyond the pile lies the already laid track which stretches to the cattle creep which has already been replaced.

The notes on the sleepers indicate where the curve finishes and the straight begins.

The next challenge is to link up the two sections of track but first we must indulge in a favourite CHR pass time, digging holes and filling them up.  Just after the ballast pile is an accommodation crossing to access the fields on the right.  We have to say a very big thank you to our neighbour for allowing access to this field for clearance works and being a good neighbour the last thing we want to do is dump additional drainage water to create access difficulties.  The accommodation crossing slopes from left to right and in order to take away the water than runs down the access road we need a proper drainage system connected to the recently laid drains alongside the track.

The following picture shows the marked up position of the drain and how it will link in with the access chamber installed as part of the bridge-lowering exercise.

The slope of the ground can be seen so it is important to get the water run off correct to avoid crossing problems and waterlogged ballast.

There will be longitudinal drains alongside the track connected to a cross drain on the far side of the crossing.

Not to mention other 'buried treasure' in the area as we have to work round a gas pipe which runs alongside at this point.

In the final view you can see the position of the east side drain at the crossing and the overall fall across the crossing of the access track.  In the past this area had become waterlogged due to ineffective drainage so we are working to correct this.

The first working parties should start this weekend and will continue until completion.  Once the drains have been installed and checked we can then move on to connecting up the two sections of track allowing us to runs trains to the cattle creep.

Work will continue as manpower and funds permit, if you would like to make a donation to make things happen quicker you can do so on the CHR site or by following the link on the top right hand side of this page.  Many thanks for all your support so far.

Thanks to Guy for the pictures and there will be further updates as work progresses.

Until next time. 

Tuesday Gang

It was a wet Tuesday that greeted the team as they arrived in Oswestry and it did not get any better. There were two main tasks tackled.

In the morning it was off to Weston for futher work on site clearance. To allow heavy machinery to gain access some old sleepers and chairs needed to be lifted. Roger D was on hand to indicate what needed doing.

In the first picture Roger briefs the team about what needs doing.

Roger and Noel discuss which sleepers to move whilst Norman, Tom and Colin start work.

With the sleepers now removed the ground can be prepared ready for the next stage.

The lunch bell sounded and it was back to base for a break. After lunch, with the weather still on the damp side, the team finished off panel eleven. Noel, Tom and Norman smile for Andy's camera whilst Colin in the distance finished tightening the fishplate.

Work on the middle road will now take a break for a while as attention moves to the accommodation crossing.

Thanks to Andy G for the details and pictures.

Until next time

Model Railway Exhibition

Sunday 2nd June, in conjunction with Ellesmere Model Railway Club, we held we held a model railway exhibition in Oswestry station.  The station building is an impressive location and we were very pleased with the support received for this trial venture.  There were many layouts and stands in rooms throughout the station building so our visitors could see not only the models but also visit the historic offices of the Cambrian Railways company.   Thank you to all who visited.  Guy sent some pictures of the various attractions that were on hand.

The main ticket office was the starting point, still having it's original leaning post barriers in front of the ticket windows.  Inside the station building has been restored and now serves a number of functions including the pharmacy.  Around the concourse various stalls had been positioned from local organisations.  This was the start of the Model Railway Exhibition.   

Further on the till for rides and souvenirs, manned by Roger, was doing brisk business.

Just inside the door we had the welcome support from Oswestry Model Engineering Society with their display of locomotives and a boiler from a model of The Great Bear, the only Great Western Railway pacific type loco (4-6-2 for those who know about such things).

Some of the other live steam models on display included a Manor, the type of GWR loco that were a common sight in Oswestry station.

Of the layouts there were a wide selection in various scales.  There was a lovely model with echoes of the Glyn Valley Tramway with it's characteristic locomotives and coaches, one of which can still be found operating on the Talyllyn Railway in mid Wales

Another locally themed layout was a model of the Llangollen railway which captures the essence of the stations along the line.  We start at the main Llangollen station alongside the River Dee.

Along the line we come to Berwyn halt with it's characteristic half timbered station building.

 On the corner was Glyndyfrdwy station.

Before arriving at Carrog station.

The future was also present with a model of Corewn New station which is being built on a new site east of the old station.  The signal box is yet to be finished in real life but the model captures how it will look when completed.  The layout was dedicated to the memory of a fellow railway club member,

Cambrian Green, the CHR N gauge layout was operating.

Outside we had full size trains in operation, showing the work that has been completed on the centre road and with the freight rolling stock. 

The Lowmac and fruit van have been added to the train and our passengers await the next departure towards the south.

Before setting off there is time to look at the engine and take a few pictures.

The train gets ready to depart, soon it will be possible to travel onwards beyond the gasworks bridge and on the way to Weston.

The work at the accommodation crossing will begin shortly and there will be a long working weekend at which it is hoped the drainage can be installed and connected.  Further posts will detail what is planned.

Until next time.