12 Months At Weston

Thanks to Andy here is an image from Weston twelve months ago. Many strange and unforseen things have happened in the last year but the progress at Weston has been remarkable. 

Until next time.

Rainy Thursday

The weather on Thursday was a little damp but the enthusiasm was still there. Most of the work was related to preparing for next week when there will be a working week to tackle some significant projects 

Andy G's camera captured a few goings on during the day.

Down at the river bridge the wire fencing was being installed. Just look at how clear the site is now following attention by Dave, Nick and Norman under the heavy rain. 

The distribution of ballast continued with Glynn on the mechanical side and Glyn on the manual method. Now isn't that looking good?

    

The Lowmac was loaded with excess materials from track laying ready for the ballast to be dropped and the next phase of the project.

There has been impressive progress over the last year inspite of the difficulties. Long may this continue.

Thanks to all who braved the weather and to Andy for the soggy pictures.

Until next time.

Weston Rails

The Tuesday Team were back in action at Weston and Andy G took the following pictures and sent the following report. Thanks Andy.

 Today the last rails were cut to size and fitted to join the Up-line to point 3. This was the last bit of rail required in the Weston project. The rails were clipped into place and the fishplates were fitted to the rails that have been drilled. Point 3 still needs gauging, the last rail chairs screwed down and guide rails fitted. The 2 ironman were walked down from Oswestry and then used to move unused rail sections from the top of the Weston site down to near point 3. A start was made on concreting in the ground frame that will be used to operate point 1,2 and the catch point. Also previously dropped ballast was distributed on the down line and at the end of the day there were train movements to drop more ballast from the Dogfish which had been filled in the morning rain.

The first view shows the team working along the line moving the ballast manually into position.

The rails to connect the point have been cut to length. You can see clips still need to be installed once the alignment is confirmed.

The Dogfish runs along the platform road dropping and spreading ballast.

The final view is of the point now connected. The check rails still need to be installed and the alignment checked before the chairs can be screwed down.

Nice to see the trackwork completed. Thanks to all.

Until next time.

Ballast

One of the next stages is to ballast the track in the station. For this we use many tonnes of crushed stone or ballast. The stones with sharp edges lock together to hold the sleepers in place.

With plenty of ballast to place on position a lot of thought has gone in to speeding up the process.

In this picture from CHR Facebook you can see two loaded ballast hoppers on their way to the station to drop their load on the track.

There are plenty more loads to be dropped on the track before we can call the track ballasted. Then we have the fun of jacking and packing to the final alignment.

Keep looking out for more progress updates 

Until next time.

Point Duty

Over the weekend there was further progress on the point at the southern end of the run round loop by a small party of volunteers.

Here is a picture of the work thanks to CHR Facebook. You can find our pages through the link in the top right of this page. If you do visit don't forget to leave a like.

There was also a series of ballast drops on the platform road and loop line.

Elsewhere work continued on key projects at Oswestry and Lynclys. We shall have to see how the Welsh lockdown will affect the situation.

Until next time.

Thursday Update

The volunteers were hard at work on various jobs around the site with Andy G taking photos during the day.

In preparation for ballasting the Dogfish wagons were loaded with fresh ballast. This makes such a change from the previous methods of moving the ballast manually.

You can see that the loading dock is still serving it's original purpose many years after the opening of Weston Wharf.

Dave R has been busy decorating the wall of the goods shed with a mural. In the background Norman and the vegetation clearance team are at work beyond the bridge.

Lastly more work was done on the points placing material in position ready to be lined up for assembly.

A big thank you to all the volunteers who turned up and to those working behind the scenes and out of shot of Andy's camera. 

You can really see the station coming together now. Well done!

Until next time.

Tuesday's Posts

It was a case of digging deep by Glyn on Tuesday. Four large and heavy gateposts were sunk into the ground, each to a depth of three feet. That's a lot of digging!

The purpose of the posts is to hang the gates at the crossing of the footpath just to the north of the river bridge.

Andy G was on hand to take pictures during the day and we start off with a clear view south from the bridge showing how much vegetation Norman and helpers have cleared.  The area beyond the bridge is now visible as is the level crossing on the main road.

In the second shot Glyn H gives scale to the picture of the gate posts which are now installed at the footpath crossing. You can see what sort of weather we had during the day.

The last picture shows more of the point parts moved into position and waiting for assembly. It's getting crowded under the bridge and now obvious why we had to complete all heavy lifting and shifting before track is laid. The excavator is now limited to feeding parts in from the north.

Work is continuing at all sites, the roof of the class 101 at Lynclys has been pressure washed and is waiting for a new coat of paint.  Also at Lynclys the vegetation team is planning further work.  Park Hall Halt will also receive another trim.

Hopefully the colder weather will limit the growth a bit, keeping the line clear is a ongoing operation.

Thanks to Andy for the pictures and to everyone who volunteers.

Until next time.

A Whiff Of Steam

The weekend has seen lots of lifting and moving to allow progress on the southern point of the run round loop.  Once the track is laid under the bridge there will be no access for the excavator for heavy lifting and earth moving.  All necessary machinery work had to be completed. Andy G was again able to capture some photos during the day.

Here the last of the movements are taking place, the next internal combustion engine under the bridge should be rail-mounted.  Notice the blue sky and the rainbow, that will tell you something about the conditions during the day!

The point timbers are being moved into position.  There are plenty of volunteers under the bridge but none in the rain, time for a brew up until the weather passes.  The optimum Cambrian solution to weather interuptions. 

By the end of the day the point timbers were in position and the switch rails have been placed roughly where they need to go.  The rest of the rails will be placed in position and then nudged and tweaked to perfection once we can see the overall alignment.  Finally the points will be screwed into position. 

Looking under the bridge towards the river you can see the start of the point.

Lastly there was a bit of a commotion as the sound of steam was heard coming from the station and everyone looked towards Oswestry for the loco coming into sight.  Louder and louder but no loco.  All was revealed when a traction engine came over the railway bridge after having called in to the brewery.   

The first person to hear the chuffing was accused of having already quietly slipped out to the brewery, however once all began to hear the sound things returned to normal!

Thank you to all who turned up to brave the weather and make such good progress, plus thanks to Andy for the pictures.

Until next time

Weston Adventures

The team of volunteers carried on with various jobs around the station site on Thursday, at least the weather was a little kinder. Andy G took the following pictures during the day.

Glynn fitted a new lifting hook to the bucket arm, this was going to see a lot of use during the day and will come in handy for the future.

Norman and the clearance team were busy on the stretch south of the river bridge down to the level crossing on the A483. That will open up the view of the track to allow passing travellers to see when the railway is in action and maybe stop for a ride.

Here the longer branches are being made ready to turn into shorter ones.  If you look closely you can see the level crossing in the distance with a tractor making it's way along the A483.

Whilst others drag up the longer branches Noel concentrates on the smaller twigs and greenery

There is a fair pile of logs building up from all of the clearance works and there is still plenty to do.  Norman and the team would welcome anyone else who wants to get involved.  Keeping the vegetation at bay is an ongoing job all along the line and there's never a dull moment.

Down at the bridge a number of jobs were completed whilst the access was still possible with machinery, once the track is laid we will no longer be able to get wheeled access to the site.  The most urgent job was to install the guard rails for the deck and abutments.

Here are the railings complete with a view looking towards the Weston Road bridge, the station is just beyond the bridge.

The railings protect the open part of the abutment where the other bridge span used to be when the line was double track at this point.

Dave puts the finishing touches to the bridge identification 'plate'

When he's just about done Roy asks if it's the right number and Dave assures him that the number is correct or the plans will be changed to make it so.

On another note due to the restrictions in the neighbouring areas it has been decided not to run the Halloween event this year. This has quite a knock on the railway's income but the risk is high that the event could have been cancelled at the last minute, leaving the railway with a lot of expenditure and no income.

For the same reasons the Santa season is also subject to review, this is even more important for the finances of the railway, bringing in a significant contribution during the winter season when we still have bills to pay.  

Our Covid-19 appeal is still open and we are very grateful for all contributions. Donations can be made through the website at the link at the top of the page.

Until next time.

Come Rain Or Shine

The volunteers braved four seasons in one day to continue with the track laying at Weston. The focus of their attention was the southern point for the run round loop or number 3 as it is officially known.

With the track being installed from the bridge going northwards there was one further panel to be assembled before reaching the point.

Andy G was on hand with his waterproof camera to catch the events during the day. There are only a couple of pictures as the weather carried on deteriorating during the day.

In the first picture the rails are being moved into position on the second panel from the bridge. Alongside are the switch rails for the point.

After have been continually rained on when it came time to pack up the sun came out. Typical!

The second picture shows the start of laying out the point timbers, although the sun was shining the sleepers and tackbed were pretty wet making moving these around a slow and heavy job.

Oh the joys of working in the changeable English weather.  Full marks to the drenched volunteers and thanks to Andy for the pictures.

Until next time.

Weather Or Not

Unfortunately the weather got in the way of planned work outside at the weekend. There was still work going on inside the shed but no pictures.

Until next time.