With beautiful sunny weather, the very old track forming the headshunt at Boat of Garten, was dismantled and lifted in 20-30 foot panels. Believed to be Great North of Scotland Railway circa 1890, with rails 60-75lbs per yard and chairs are spiked into the sleepers and have wooden keys. I think Strathspey Railway got it donated from Longmorn Distillery in the 1970's, below is a photo at the start of this protracted project February 2013!
and a close up of a rather worn fishplate, which were a sod to unbolt.
The trackbed was broken up and levelled
and between trains, under the control of the Signalman, the 360 machine was used to sling the new concrete sleepers roughly into place
and then lining up using a bar, muscles and what turned into be a very tangled rope!
Rather fortuitously the old track now stored below, is likely to continue its incredibly long Railway Service, on its old GNSR stomping ground at Grantown East Station, to support two Camping Coaches as part of a planned Tourist development by Revack Estates.
Both projects to continued........
