A Catch Up

 Tuesday 13th June

I'm afraid I haven't done much blogging recently for one reason or another, so here's a brief summary of recent activity.

Today we have been restoring part of a bracket signal which has been stored on top of a container in Winchcombe yard. This needed the telehandler to get it down.

So a great deal of angle grinding to remove rust and a push to get green primer on before the end of play (four of us managed it)

The container is on the left in the middle photo above- so now that it is clear of stuff this is getting a bit of attention to ensure that it remains watertight.  Been here since the dawn of our railway storing many bits of signal.

A bit of repair work has been carried out at Broadway where there has been  a problem with some of the point rodding bolts rubbing on the underside of a rail. This potentially causing a track circuit fault. So the rodding joint has been moved to between the tracks . Suspect that this has happened as the track has settled slightly. The two John's in action here.

A pre-steam gala job :  Because the signal box was going to be open to visitors it needed a bit of a spruce up. Not much has happened there for a while and most of the lever handles were getting a bit rusty - so a bit of polishing was needed . Let's hope that it will see some action next season!

Also , during our clean up campaign in Winchcombe yard we have uncovered some extra length signal box levers. These are the type used in Gotherington signal box.  So we are cleaning these up and will fit them in the spare positions there.

Speaking of Gotherington  we hope to be installing the new token exchange platform there next Monday while we have access with the diesel railcar - so watch this space!

And finally the replacement of some faded spectacle plates on the ground signals at Winchcombe

Curly

Connecting up

 Tuesday 11th April

No trains running today so we took the opportunity to complete the re-routing of the signal wire to the outer home at Winchcombe (on the approach to Greet Tunnel).

The 24 stakes on the opposite side had already been positioned and given a concrete 'boot' by last Thursday's gang.

They have been beautifully aligned to mirror the curve of the track

We are using the existing wire which is in good condition - so the first task is to unbolt the brackets holding the wheels to release the wire and then lift it over the track 

But first we are fitting new roller blocks to the new stakes

and lifting the wire on to its roller at each position.

This then leaves the fitting of some new wires to connect up across the track at each end. Here is the modified connection to the signal using the vertical wheel 

And across to the horizontal angle crank on the opposite side

Once everything was connected up and re-jointed Neil C went back to the signal box for a test pull. After a bit of adjustment it worked perfectly with no significant addition effort on the lever.

This just left the removal of the old stakes which were relieved of their concrete with brute force using a combination of pick axe , crowbar  and sledge hammer. John P managed to avoid hitting Malcolm W !

Some of the other work carried out last week was the re-connecting of the electrical cables at Little Buckland which had been removed during the re-stressing and re-levelling of the track between Laverton and Broadway. 

These cables are the connections for the track circuits, signal lamp and signal detector.

The cables needed to be buried trackside so a bit of high energy ballast digging was required!

And the week before that we had an emergency job to stabilise the block holding the point rodding compensator connecting the pointwork at Toddimgton south. This block had been observed moving under stress making point operation problematic. 

So we excavated round the offending block and surrounded it with an additional dose of fresh concrete. 

Problem solved.

Curly

More Findings

Tuesday 28th Feb

A surprising find in an old rusty stillage covered in a huge blue plastic sheet while clearing Winchcombe yard ready for the new S & T workshop

This revealed a number of very rusty cam units - think that these came from Stratford on Avon in the nineties, so they have been rusting away here for quite a while!

We shall clean and oil these up for replacing some of the worn ones in our signal boxes in due course.

Here's one dismantled 

And here it is after grinding off all the rust , given a good oiling and re-assembled

The central plate with the cut-out is connected to a lever which operates the locking mechanism down in the signal box locking room. Most of the levers have one of these attached.

The levers in Winchcombe signal box getting their paintwork touched up by Malcolm W

There is still work to do  before services resume. All signal box systems to be checked , pointwork to be gauged, all locking room fittings secure, etc.

Curly

Signal Wire Re-route Continues

 Tuesday 21st Feb

Today at Winchcombe we continued with the groundwork needed to re-route the signal wire to the outer home signal on the approach to Greet tunnel . This to free up access down the embankment to the trackbed south of the station.

Just to remind you this needs the installation of a vertical pulley wheel at the base of the signal ,  a horizontal crank and two horizontal pulley wheels.

So, stage one was to fill the hole we had previously dug at the base of the signal with concrete to mount the vertical pulley on its steel plate

We use a length of nylon rope to set the height so that the wire will clear the ballast under the rails 

Opposite this on the other side of the track an  angle crank on a steel plate bolted to two large concrete blocks has to be let into the ballast. Luckily we have the assistance of a mini digger to excavate a rather large hole to drop this assembly in.

Again setting the height with the aid of the rope across the track.

Eventually buried and firm.

Then, continuing on this side of the track, to position a horizontal pulley mounted on two similar concrete blocks. Again a large hole using the digger was required:

Then a repeat of this for the second horizontal pulley on the opposite side of the track (this position is between the bracket signal and where the access track comes down the embankment)

(excuse my thumb!)

That concludes today's work . 

Before we disconnect the existing signal wire we need to install a series of stakes along the opposite side of the track to carry the wire -a job for next time.

Just a quick review of last week. You will probably have heard that approval has been given for the construction of a proper workshop for the S * T Dept in Winchcombe yard (exciting news!). So there has been a significant effort (courtesy of Neil C with the telehandler to clear the site and relocate/scrap many pieces of railway "memorabilia" that have found their way to storage here over the years!

We look forward to a start of the earthworks

Curly

Routine Maintenance

 Tuesday 17th Jan

Started on some of the maintenance activity today required in Winchcombe signal box. 

Access to the cams, etc operated by the levers needs a removable section of the floor to be lifted. Malcolm W in the locking room below uses a broom handle to prise it up while 3 of us upstairs lift out. 

John B then sets to with an oil can to lubricate as many parts that he can reach .

And then give the levers a few off/normal movements to get the oil into the less accessible places. 

Tuesday 24 th Jan

Off to Cheltenham today for some more signal box maintenance. 

Here's  the gang ready to go.

The catch handle pivot pins on the levers are getting stiff with continued use so they need removing and lightly greasing. Some resisting split pins to remove first!

And a general clean up with emery paper to remove rust from the mating faces and a smearing of oil 

Malcolm busied himself in the locking room to do some oiling.  Unfortunately the floor in this box is not removable to gain access to the moving lever components, so a degree of contortion is required with the oil can.

Followed by a bit of outdoor activity. 

You may remember from a previous blog that we had prepared some lengths of rodding to provide some secure posts for point clips adjacent to motor points to save the signalman having to carry one in the event of a point malfunction. Must be a good quarter of a mile from the signal box to the motor point at the Cheltenham end of the station.

So John P and myself took a trolley loaded with a wheelbarrow plus aggregate and cement on this journey to the points. Good job we brought a pick axe to loosen the frozen ground . Anyway  a hole was dug and the post knocked in and concreted.

31st Jan

Whilst doing some work on the lineside cabinet at the Cheltenham motor point Neil C brought a point clip and locked it onto the post. 

The key now has a suitable ID which will be retained in the signal box should it ever be needed.  (let's hope not!)

Curly