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