Aviemore Engine Shed - 15th August 2020

A larger than anticipated squad assembled at Aviemore Engine Shed, to commence renewal of the longitudinal timbers below the Up rail in number four road.

John finishes off removing the detritus from the four foot, having back breakingly  shifted all the dumped ironmongery to the faraway end the previous Saturday.

Taking a breather, after dismantling the track and lifting the rails out by hand, also the "temporary fix" sleepers behind Fergus in shorts,in the distance (fortunately!) were easily removed.

Not so the proper ancient timbers, which we found the concrete edge had been built around!

Again John uses one of his many modern invaluable tools, with a less modern Black Five taking shape in the background.

Kevin hoping Mike doesn't need more sand after a couple of wee concrete repairs and a quarter of an inch bedding sand applied.

The new 6.2 metre timber gets notched outside in the baking sun, ready for insertion another day.......

Many thanks to John, Mike, Ian, Iain, Kevin, Fergus, Andrew and Georgie - some of whom had fun with jacks under the new ablutions block.

Drumuillie routine maintenance - 8th August 2020

Mike Tough captured the below image last Saturday

Of the "new" flail (purchased by Strathspey Railway Association couple of years ago) now finally attached to the Colmar by John Sinclair, Georgie did comment that operating it is a mental challenge, as many controls and not enough arms! (the homemade counterweight seems handy should she come across a broken fishplate) In the background the Members' trail train arrives in Boat of Garten.

And taken from the train yesterday by John Hornby.

Morley's  

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Yesterday a large squad assembled at Morley's on a sunny cool morning, Georgie had already loaded up her van with the tools and we proceeded to walk the half mile to the rendezvous point of Drumuillie Level Crossing, where earlier in the week Dave Green and Georgie had carefully dropped seemingly small quantities of ballast from the PWay train to where it was required, between Milton No2 LC and Lynchurn No1

Looking towards Boat of Garten

Iain starts tidying the Up shoulder in time honoured fashion.  

As part of the routine maintenance, the intention was to oil the fishplates on the 180 foot long lengths but due to the number/skill/speed of the volunteers this was surpassed. I wish the same could be said about the ballast tidying! - the sun was hot and none of us are getting any younger.

But scenes like this made it worthwhile - the first revenue earning train since January approaches Drumuillie.

Many thanks to Mike, Martin, Angus, Iain, Kevin, Roger, Fergus, Andrew and Georgie.

This maybe the last PWay Blog as the new Blogger I cannot add photos - I have reverted to the "legacy" one which will soon become obsolete 😟

Tidy ups - 16th July 2020

 

At Lockdown Nethy Steel had erected the frame of Morley's Shed but all the cladding had already been delivered to site, it was decided for security reasons to transfer it all to the locked Boat of Garten Station Car Park.

 

 

Above is the preferred method of transportation back to site, on easement of Lockdown mid May, similar Internal Traffic occurred this week,

 

 

with the recent Network Rail donated material from Millburn yard being transferred from the car park at Boat to Broomhill Yard, pending its eventual intended use at the proposed new Aviemore Running Shed. Dave Green driving and Georgie Guarding. Both photos courtesy of Station Master Walters.

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Mid-Week Georgie gave us the unenviable task of attempting to tidy up the stored P'Way material at Morley's, so that a trench can be dug to bury the blue water supply pipe as seen below, 

 

 

Peter takes a rest with Angus still standing just! (nothing is lightweight here) as Georgie uses the JCB to try and shift some of the overloaded wooden pallets, tell tale signs of Mike burning the rotten dud pallets in background and a general tidy up was undertaken.

 

 

Finally the cludgie gets positioned inside Morley's. This was obtained free of charge some years ago, when we paid for and installed a similar double one inside the Hamilton Carriage Storage Shed at Aviemore (anyone got the keys for it though?)

 

Thanks to all that attended including Ian who seemed to have escaped my camera.  

 

  

 

 



Morley's Mk 2 - 11th July 2020

 

Despite a record five call offs (various reasons) a good squad still managed to assemble at Boat of Garten. Georgie was already on site selecting, measuring & preparing the rail to be used from the pile near the North Signal Cabin

 

 

John Wood cuts as Iain and Kevin observe

 

 

and this is the gap to be bridged, the new and improved rail vehicle inspection pit inside Morley's Shed (mark 2 - as the original one accidently burnt down almost exactly a year ago) Roger digs out the rail ends and Kevin likewise at North end, hoping that Georgie measured the gap more than once! 

 

Kevin & Martin were then deployed onto Road Rail Vehicle Access Point (RRVAP) to fill in the "6 foot" between the mainline and siding, with the dark coloured infill. Above is a wee clip from John showing the purpose of his RRVAP!

 



 

The 2nd rail is carefully manoeuvred into position.

 

 

After awkward drilling and screwing down, fishplated up, we were getting there by lunchtime.

 

 

Martin seconded a vibrating whacker plate, which happened to be handy! to compact the hardcore on either side of the longitudinal timbers. 

 

 

and Georgie drops a top dressing for us to spread about by shovel, getting the floor more level.

 

 

and we finished off by going round the inside perimeter and a bit of tidying up.

 

Many thanks to John, Iain, Roger, Martin & Kevin (who is hoping his apprenticeship of digging ballast is already over!) 

 

 

  

 

Normal conditions return (sort of) -1st & 4th July 2020

Mid-week saw a small productive squad - 

 

 

Mike, Les, Angus and myself try and tackle some of the bushes behind the stored concrete sleepers that Georgie wont be able to reach with the new flail, when it gets attached to the new Colmar, just visible is the top of the new "Outer Home" signal post, which requires to be  clearly seen from some 240 yards apparently. Chainsaw will be required next time for a couple of trees. I forgot to take an after photo.

 

After lunch, S&T Dept in form of Rob Law asked us to retrieve a couple of signal ladders from behind the new storage shed (nothing is ever light! but it did make us socially distance) and take them to the North Signal Cabin.

 

 

Likewise with a "few" signalwire posts.

We went home tired!

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A large squad met up at Morley's on Saturday.

 

 Not to be shown up by the S&T's Blog's technological wizardry - above hopefully is a wee video clip of one of the empty Route/Traction Revision trips passing one of the day's worksites, in hopefully NOT new normal Summer weather!

 

 

After a lot of measuring, cutting and notching led appropriately by Mr.Wood (far right)

The Road Rail Vehicle Access Pad (RRVAP as Network Rail call them) takes shape, basically its where Georgie can safely get the new Colmar RRV onto/off the track,

 

 

either within the PWay Depot siding or on the mainline (right).

 

 

Yet again we were seconded to the S&T Dept, this time electrical cable hauling, all the way to the new Outer Home Signal.

Photos from Me, Mike, Rob and Video from John

  

Many Thanks to Georgie, Mike, Ian, Lauren, Iain, John, Fergus, Angus, Kevin, Graeme and Roger.

Mid-Week & first COVID 19 Weekend - 17 & 20 June 2020

Spot the difference -

 Both taken from inside Boat of Garten North Signal Cabin a few days apart (using a zoom lens) unfortunately no sun on Wednesday though.

 

 

Mike and Georgie met Boss of Nethy Steel Ltd, who hope to recommence the construction of the shed imminently. Later myself and Mike managed to cut back the vegetation that would soon obscure the back of the exit signal from the seemingly officially named

"Permanent Way Depot" - aka "Morley's".

 

After Lunch it had dried up sufficiently for Mike to continue the never ending weedkilling, hand spraying around the South yards and myself to tackle more bushes and trees (with a bushman's saw). Hopefully will be able to see the new Down Starter Signal, once the arm is attached and I attempted to increase sighting of the Up Home Signals, Oh and Georgie has now removed the 10 mph Temporary Speed Restriction!

 



 True to their word Nethy Steel got the roof cladding on by close of play on Friday, thanks to Robert Walters for the photo.

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Saturday was a long time in coming for many of us - hence the great turnout - sensibly socially distanced over plenty of worksites. On arrival Ian was cutting the grass again on approach road to the rendezvous point - Boat of Garten Station Car Park.

 

 

The Weed Killing Train poised ready to go for the 3rd attempt at getting to the River Dulnain!

 

 

John looking for divine intervention at the prospect of turning a load of mis-sized planks of wood into a Road/Rail Vehicle Access Point (RRVAP) firstly finishing off the down shoulder of Siding, Lauren casually looks on, awaiting instructions.

 

 

Andrew (with the Boris hair do) shows Kevin (newbie) the ropes on fishplate oiling all the new joints. Rob Law (S&T Dept) encouraging Angus (seconded/conscripted for the day) to dig faster!

  



 

Dave Green gingerly takes the train past the RRVAP worksite,

 

 

 

and accelerates away - apparently Mike, Ian and John Sinclair only had 2 or was it 3 calamities to contend with whilst spraying,

 

 

Mike subsequently sent this photo to prove they made it! (or for us to admire his bridge) 

 

 

 

With the Siding complete, more packing wood was required for the wooden sleepers on the Mainline, Graeme having just packed some ballast under the first timber.

 

 

Having been fishplate oiling in the morning, Kevin still has cream trousers and even more amazing is he is still smiling after helping Georgie, Andrew and myself scavenge small amounts of excess ballast, in the mid Summer heat, for packing under the new RRVAP.

 

Thanks to all mentioned (hope I haven't missed anyone?) Roger paid us a very brief visit and still cannot believe the progress Georgie has made.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yellow Machine & Weeds get a repreive! - late May & 12th June 2020

Our intrepid Station Master reports  "Don't Panic!

 

 We are not about to demolish the Island Platform Waiting Room.

 

Before Georgie took a well deserved short break from work (end of May) we agreed she should leave the Colmar jib on the platform near a power supply, so that I could use a heat gun to remove the old branding. Took 90 minutes just to remove one label and some paintwork came with it! Horrible job" - which he regrets ever mentioning but he has a spray can of JCB yellow to speed things up...…"

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Finally the twice postponed annual weedkilling train got underway yesterday - the class 08 Shunter driven by Georgie, hauled the fully fitted train from Boat of Garten to Aviemore, with the operators Mike, Ian and Martin getting PPE'd up on the brake van.

  

 

Cool calm dry weather - perfect for spraying - meant slow plain sailing on the propelling movement on return, above approaching the splendid lattice Down Distant signal for Boat of Garten

 

 

and the grand co-acting Down Section signal, of note is Martin's unscathed spraying boom, less said about Mike's the better!

 

 

Someone had the bright idea of filling up the thousand litre tank quickly from the steam locomotive water tank above.

 



 

After this the guys washed their hands (for more than 20 seconds) and luncheon was had sitting in the sun on the platform.

 

The intension was to spray all the way to the River Dulnain but on the descent to Milton Bridge some of the spray nozzles clogged up with what looked like grass - stop pump - stop train and get down, unscrew and clean them out, this kept on occurring until the overbridge at Tullochgorum at which point the decision to go back to Boat was made, to further investigate.

Above shows the problem in the almost empty plastic tank - moss? our only conclusion was that there must be a birds nest in large water tower - Mike checked it out but no trace.

  

 

The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to flush out the tank - scenes akin to Laurel & Hardy ensued, when the we used the power of the fire pump.

To be continued..... another day.