Words by J.Penny Despite the hideous weather on the Saturday, Sunday 25th November turned out to be quite pleasant, with the rain only coming in later that day. A good crowd of regulars set-to on various tasks, the most significant of which was getting the Pinesway Down Main Outer Home 'planted'. It was back to the 19th Century as it was muscle power that did the job, aided by mechanical advantages such as the ever-dependable power of leverage. That done we decided that as it was too wet to use the Merlo Telehandler in the sodden field to put the Pinesway Up Branch Advanced Starter in a more upright position, so we would again use man-power. Digging out one side, pulling it with an attached rope, then digging in stones on the other side the job was soon done, and in fact it needed to be pulled in two directions, although on the second part of the operation we used a bit of hydraulic power, thanks to some strong rope and No. 5. How long have we promised ourselves we would 'get round to it some time soon'? Oh well, perhaps it was part of the 25 year plan... Taking a trip to Park Lane to check out the fences we couldn't help but notice the swimming pool that had appeared just before Sally Lovell's Lane Crossing. This was due to the small diameter pipe that normally drained it into the small stream (now itself a bit of a torrent) becoming blocked. A bit of rodding action soon had that sorted, with Charlie finding out all about how these things work... it was drained soon enough, and Chandler was thus deprived of his chance to do a Tom Daly impression. The Common Lane Yard starter signal arm (the one with ring) had been removed the previous week and repainted, so a few of us set about its replacement, followed by a check and lube of the other signals on the bridge. The tea-pot called, and with C.J. busy preserving and staining the good work done by Ian on Thursday, we had a crack at replacing the clock in No. 5. That turned out to be a failure, unfortunately. With darkness and rain now upon us, we did get both horns working again; two-tones sounding far better when out the line - clearly a more satisfying situation. This time impact maintenance was the only action called for; and there is something very satisfying in the application of that, too, isn't there? The pond formed at Sally Lovell's lane by the blocked pipe James and Mike look for the blockage in the pipe
Words by J. Penny. This post can also be viewed on our Facebook Page. Good day at the GLR today. James drove the 'Big Diesel' No.1 'Amanda' with set 101
(Maroon coaches) and I was signalman/guard for 100 reception-age school children from Milford School in Yeovil, along with about 20 teachers. Wow! 62 on the first train and 60 on the second. A little trouble getting up the bank away from Common Lane due to very wet rail on the first train and generally we were very windswept although the worst of the rain did hold off. One ride was all they wanted; but we were happy to oblige. Kids were well behaved and the teachers charming. The organiser went back with three huge bundles of leaflets and a stack of Visitors Guides. Okay, so they are now out of date, but as NOT ONE of the party had even HEARD of the GLR and as the leaflets are effectively waste paper, the kids will take them home to their parents and tell them how wonderful we are... Another few seeds sown, and our realisation that we need to do even more publicity. (The web-site address is on the leaflet and Facebook is mentioned on the web-site. It's a start!) Meanwhile C.J. and Ian Matthews were busy making some covers for the contacts that are attached to the arms on various signals. These included the bracket signal at Common Lane and the Branch Advanced Starter at Pinesway (picture below)The old ones were made of plywood and ended up being held together with duct tape, latterly there being virtually all tape and no ply. Nevertheless they did last for 20 years or so. It's good to have Ian back in the fold particularly as he is a skilled carpenter and a very nice chap to boot. Ian is now retired from full-time work and was very involved in the early days of the GLR, he also has a vast library of pictures from those times. Some are almost unbelievable... Words by J. Penny Sunday was surprisingly chilly to start but the mist gradually burned off and although we were missing a few of our regulars, a lot got done. There were two huge bonfires, one at the stream under Tower View station and the other at our 'burning place' a couple hundred yards from Park Lane. The day started however with the rotten fence being replaced at Park Lane, adjacent to the metal pedestrian gate (a short piece) and the other side with a longer length. Traditional Southern Railway fence it was too. Mike Lucas recovered all the gradient posts to over-winter them in the shed, and will be refurbishing them if necessary over the coming months. Graham and Sheila were collecting garden waste for the pyromaniacs to deal with and Steve Rodd was working on the model railway, which is beginning to really shape up now. More next week!
The information for the 2013 Model Railway Show has been uploaded onto the Model Railway Show events page. Click here to find out more.
The new website is now Live on the internet, and still under the same address. We hope you enjoy the new site and that you find it useful. If you have any queries or questions then don't hesitate to contact us via the Contact page. Enjoy!
The DVCA and Talisman Railwayana Auction dates at the GLR have been announced - please check these dates by going to our 'Open Days and Events' pages and clicking on 'Other Events' or clicking here. More information about the auctions will be uploaded shortly - hope to see you there!
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Welcome!This blog is updated as soon as anything new happens at the GLR. Please check back often to keep up to date with the progess that we're making with the Railway. PLEASE NOTE THE BLOG IS TEMPORARILY OUT OF USE. WE WILL RESUME BLOG POSTS LATER IN THE YEAR. IN THE MEANTIME PLEASE CHECK FACEBOOK FOR THE LATEST NEWS. THANK YOU.
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