And The Point Of This Is...

The team was in action both on Tuesday and Thursday this week. Work is concentrating on the laying of the refuge siding and it's point on the running line. Two panels of very tired wooden sleepers have been removed and replaced by concrete sleepers and point timbers. 

Andy G was on hand with his camera and Phil B also took pictures. 

We start looking at the area that has been cleared for the point. This was the view on Tuesday as the old wooden sleepers were cleared away.

With the sleepers to the side and out of the way the area under the point has the ballast removed by the excavator. Some manual adjustment of the levels was required and the traditional shovel still has a place in this mechanised world.

With the trackbed prepared the concrete sleepers of plain track were placed in position.

By the end of Tuesday the sleepers were in place and the area visible to the right had been cleared and prepared to start assembly of the point.

On Thursday the point timbers started to be moved into position from where they had been stored alongside the line.

Phil B's picture shows the point components in place and being checked for correct position.

By the end of the day most of the timbers and major components of the point were in place. Time to put away the tools and return to base for a final mug of tea.

Thanks to Andy G and Phil B for the pictures. Another successful week. Now that things are returning to normal a working week is being planned to prepare the existing running line for a return to operation. Once details are available of the return of trains on CHR I will post an update.

Until next time.

Ballasting

One ongoing item has been the ballasting of the already revived sections of track between the cattle creep and Weston station.

Thanks to CHR Facebook here are a few photos of this work in progress.

The ballasting is being done using the Dogfish ballast hopper wagon. This is loaded using the excavator and then operated as a works train. The follow pictures show the process.

First the loaded wagon is brought to the required drop site. Then by carefull regulation of the handwheels the hopper doors are opened as the train moves slowly forwards.

The ballast flows from the hopper doors to either side of the rails.

The result is a covering of ballast which holds the track in place. The next step is fettling of the track to the correct alignment. This is done by jacking and packing so that the track is locked in the correct position and can then be used as the running line. Here we see a ballasted section awaiting the finishing operations.

Thanks to CHR for the pictures.

Until next time.

Thursday Progress

Now we are on a roll.. The volunteers were back in action along the line to Weston. Efforts were concentrated on two panels which had the life expired sleepers dug out by hand to avoid contaminating the ballast.

The new RRC Road Rail Crane came in very useful moving materials around the site and to place the point components where needed. The photos this week are from Phil B, Phil E, Andy G and Andy R.

We start with a view of the life expired wooden sleepers being removed. The rails have been removed by the excavator and the team is removing piece by piece the 'tired'wooden sleepers.

Next we have a view from the other side, You can see the replacement sleepers are already in position alongside the line.

Andy R uses the RRC to move the new sleepers into position.

Whilst the RRC is moving about the components of the point for the refuge siding are moved into place.

Towards the end of the day the team tidy up and move more materials ready for the next working party.

As the panels were not connected to the rest of the line the Stop blocks were placed along the running line.

On the way home the machines continued to place materials in position in strategic positions along the line.

Many thanks to all of the volunteers and to the photographers for sharing their images.

Until next time.

Back To Work

With the easing of restrictions and many of the volunteers now having had their second vaccinations it's now possible to resume work along the line to Weston. The line needs to be upgraded and this is being done with the available materials. In some cases this can be achieved by spot resleepering whereas some sections require all sleepers to be replaced.

Andy G was on hand with his camera to take photographs during the day.

We start with the preparation of the panel to be repaired. In this case the rails have been swung away and the old timbers are being dug out, some of these come out in pieces due to their condition. The ballast is dug away before the new sleepers on the right can be positioned to build the panel.

With the area cleared the new concrete sleepers are moved into position.

Then the rails are slotted into place.

Alongside the running line a refuge siding is being laid, originally this section was double track so there is plenty of space.

Progress is being made with both the mainline and the siding.

Towards the end of the day the equipment is gathered up and the team contemplate their efforts during the day.

At the end of the day the volunteers have headed back to Weston station for a well earned cup of tea, leaving behind more visible signs of progress.

Many thanks to all who came along to help the project restart and to Andy G for the pictures.

Until next time, which hopefully won't be so long now we can work again.

Strimming Along

As we move towards lifting of some restrictions it is also time to restart the restoration work along the railway. The socially distanced vegetation clearance team have been busy an Norman has taken the following pictures. These were taken over the period of a few weeks on the section between Park Hall and Gobowen.

We start looking along the line towards Gobowen before the strimmer was set to work. In just a couple of months nature has tried to reclaim the land and you have to look hard to see the track.

At the previous boundary part of the fence has been removed to allow access and in the future this will be removed and the two sections connected.

Looking back towards Park Hall from Gobowen we see the old boundary and the buffer stop that marked the end of the national rail network.

In the yard at Gobowen contractors felled and chipped a tree before it fell and caused damage.

After a strim and a prune the line is looking much better.

The land at Gobowen was given a good trim

Along the boundaries work has been going on to allow access.

The future yard and running line are being cleared as well.

Compare this with the first picture and you can see the progress.

Many thanks to Norman and the team who have put in many hours work. Thanks to Norman for the photographs.

Until next time

Essential Works Towards Reopening

Although we are not allowed visitors, work on essential maintenance has been going on at the various sites, as well as the security patrols.

At Oswestry the team have been getting to grips with the Gardener engine, the work has involved stripping, cleaning and overhauling the fuel and air system.

Here are the set of injectors, two were found to require rectification, one of which required a new nozzle.

The top end of the engine was also examined and the valves were adjusted as necessary. These Gardener engines were designed for long working lives and there is still plenty of life left.

One item which proved troublesome on testing was the non return valve in the air system. This was taken off, stripped down and the valve rebuilt. After overhaul and repainting it is seen here back on the engine.

Down at Llynclys the work has involved gathering up materials to create space, visually improve the site and allow access for lineside maintenance. Here we see the area alongside the running line with the pleasant views over the adjoining farmland.

Hopefully in the coming weeks we should return to normal and as soon as we are able to share news about reopening we will do so. 

Thanks to CHR Facebook for the pictures and keep watching that page and the CHR website for further announcements.

Once volunteer activity restarts the blog will be updated more frequently with progress.

Thank you for your continued interest and support.

Until next time.

February Newsletter

Whilst we are waiting for work to restart you can keep up to date with the monthly newsletter. The February edition has just been published and you can sign up on the CHR Homepage.

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