Sunday 26 January 2020

Switch prep Boat of Garten - 25th January 2020

 
Another PWay extra Saturday squeezed in, with extra Train Services planned this year access to the track is likely to be even more difficult (looks like we may be building the switch off - site and craning in) so we took advantage of the good weather. Today's task was to cut to length, scarfe joint 5, fill in all the previous bolt holes in the reclaimed Network Rail timbers from Aviemore refit of March last year.

Roger and Angus got the unenviable job of cutting the plugs using age old method of small blocks of jarra wood (below) beaten with a hammer through a sharpened die of the CORRECT size. They seemed a little large for most of the sleeper holes loll.
 
 
Above is of the tight grained very dense Jarrah hardwood.
 


The old holes were splodged with bitumastic paint then the plugs hammered in and cut off flush, this is to prevent water sitting in the holes and causing rot to the timbers.
 
 
the scarfe joints needed to join two timbers together, cut using chainsaw and circular saw, also sleepers cut to length, chainsaw skills come in useful not just for felling trees at the railway.
 
 
Georgie touching up the last off the plugs with bitumastic paint and the finished sleepers spaced out ready for the next task.
Productive day, we all went home happy and covered in black paint, literally lol
 
Many thanks to Mike, Angus, Jim, Roger, Ian & John (who supplied all photos/info)
 
 

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