Words by J. Penny. Photographs taken by S. Alford and J. Penny The day dawned bright and surprisingly mild for the time of year on Sunday 16th. Your writer was excused from home despite it being his wife's birthday (Lynne, the ticket lady) and I joined the gang just as John Gartell finished cutting the stumps of the trees at Tower View. Clearly there was going to be a mega-bonfire, and after tea (and Sheila's lovely cheese and bacon scones) we headed back up to our present Northern terminus. Some worm-ridden old beer crates (complete with the legend 'Manns' being still visible) were used to get things going and a great deal of small branches and foliage went up in flames. Many large logs still await collection by train, although that will have to wait until the replacement signal at Pinesway has been concreted, by virtue of the fact that the temporary supports are in the way of the trains. A torrential downpour after lunch, complete with one massive thunder clap delayed our return in the afternoon, but to our surprise, the fire was still going when went to rake the remainder of the wood onto it. C.J. and I then fitted the covers over the contacts that adorn the Up Advanced Branch Starter at Pinesway, and Up Home (No. 2) and Loop (No. 5) at Common Lane. Although made of plywood, these have been thoroughly doused with preservative and stain, and should last longer than the last ones, which were of similar construction, and they themselves lasting about 20 years... As light faded, the kettle called, and anyway; I had a party to go to! [View the slideshow below which contains photographs from Sunday's Work Day.]
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Words and Pictures by S. Alford This morning, (09/12/12) started off looking not very promising. It was grey and looked as though any minute it was about to tip with rain – luckily it held off for the whole day. Around 09:45 the days’ gang had arrived, consisting of Myself, CJ, Chandler, Charlie, Mike B & Mike L, Dave, Bert and Steve; not forgetting Shelia and Graham. It was decided that on the menu today would be tree cutting at Tower View. (And believe me – it needed doing) After a cuppa and some delicious toasted sandwiches and cakes made by Sheila, we set off for the newest of the GLR Stations, with Steve heading over to the shop to work on the Model Railway. It was quite chilly and windy up at Tower View and there was a lot of work to be done. First of all, Mike B and CJ along with Bert tackled the main clump of trees that were overhanging the bridge, or what is now the station at Tower View. Myself Chandler and Charlie were in charge of sawing up the branches that the gang felled and then to place them onto a heap for a fire – (a fire which never did actually happen due to the fact that it wouldn’t burn!). From the pictures below (apologies for low definition), you can see that the work was beginning to pay off as the ground started to look a lot clearer and you could also get a better view of the stream. After lunch, we trudged back up to Tower View and carried on with the rest of the work for the afternoon. Around 3pm the space had been completely transformed –it is now open and “spacious” and also allows a lot more light into the station itself. Seeing as the fire wouldn’t burn, we built two big mounds of debris that we will light at a later date when it is a bit dryer. A good days’ work was accomplished – and it was fair to say that we were all pretty knackered after all the sawing and chopping! No doubt there will be more next week, though… CJ and Mike saw through one of the toughest trees we had to face today. The tree was half dead, and was covered in ivy The huge heap of debris ready to burn after tree felling was complete A view from the end of Tower View – it now looks a lot clearer
and lighter, and a lot neater too. Words by J.Penny. Images Copyright (c) J. Penny The Thursday team certainly had a cold day this week. However, a bit of brisk work kept us on the go, and it was not so bad for us as it was for Graham Mitchell who was on duty as car park attendant, not for the railway but for the Dorset Vintage and Classic Auctions event. (Check them out at www.dvca.co.uk) I brought my neighbour Barry who was interested in taking a look with view to being a volunteer. Apart from showing him around, we fitted the slide-out panel on the back-board at Common Lane in the morning. The afternoon was mainly taken with tidying the ballast on the extension to Tower View and generally checking all the fittings. It is quite surprising how the track now seems to have always been there, the inclement weather having a part of that I'm sure. Surprising also, that some more ballast will be needed to make up for where it has settled. Ian, C.J. and Keith were engaged on the reconstruction of a couple signal platforms. The one at the top of the bank at Pinesway - the Branch Down Home, needed complete reconstruction as it had rotted away, and the Common Lane Up Outer Home (No.1, situated at the Lake Level Crossing, on the entrance to the car park) needed a safety rail. The replacement of the sill at C.L. 'box has to wait for the time being as the wood has not arrived yet for this job. Sheila was busy working in the Pines Buffet, and it was good to see the Pines doing a roaring trade from those attending the auction. She popped over to the GLR staff mess with a very welcome bacon roll for each of us in the afternoon where needless to say there was copious amount of scalding hot tea consumed to wash it down. We're railwaymen, after all! Ian at work drilling the new handrail for C.L. no.1. Just after this was taken, he decided that the pillar drill would be a lot easier to use for the job. (It was) C.J. tries to convince Keith that this is the wood destined for a signal, and not an overgrown game of Jenga. John 'Bertie' Penny shows off the reconstructed sliding panel
for the internal phone directory and P.A. sample scripts. Words and Photographs by J. Penny. Photographs Copyright (C) J. Penny. The weather for Sunday 2nd December looked quite promising for the time of year and despite it being dark and drizzly by 4 p.m. we were able to get a good few jobs done. By the time James and I arrived C.J. had already got the new contact box covers on and reassembled the Common Lane signal box board with the frame, another reconstruction job beautifully done by Ian Matthews recently and painted in the proper green by C.J. I had spent some time under the 'box there doing some measuring up for a redesign of the locking, as we will hopefully soon be altering some of the signals on the bracket approaching the station throat here. There will however, be no extra signals, which some find disappointing (no names...!) Meanwhile, C.J., James, Chandler and Charlie were busy enlarging the hole for concrete at the Pinesway Down Main Outer Home. This took up quite a bit of time and effort and even now it does need some more spoil removed, but with the embankment now about 150 years old and compacted stone and clay, it's hard work getting into it. This also involved a few 'spoil trains' to an appropriate spot down the line. Before lunch (which in itself involved copious amounts of cakes from the skilled hands of Sheila Mitchell) we erected the scaffolding tower in front of Common Lane 'box, as the right hand window (viewed from the front) is rotted out, and this week weather permitting, Ian is going to completely remove the window and replace any rotten wood. 'You the man' as one might say. The afternoon was taken up by a little more digging and some tree felling at Sally Lovells crossing followed by the inevitable bonfire. Probably it best if this part is left to the imagination... Charlie takes a look at the pipe that was the cause of last weeks blockage. Work in progress getting shot of dead wood.
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