Six at Broadway today to continue with the installation of signal wire stakes up to Childswickham bridge
But first, the long awaited clearance of the signal box chimney. You may remember from a previous blog that our attempts at lighting a fire ended up in filling the box with smoke. This time we came prepared with the necessary equipment to sweep the chimney. Neil extracted two large bucketfuls of twigs - presumably failed attempts at nest building by local birdlife.
A coal fire was lit and blazed away beautifully with a good draw:
This is the place to be on a cold day!!
Heading south with the PWay trolley (borrowed from the North siding) to transport stakes and tools to the point of action and to barrow the concrete from the electric mixer at the end of platform 1. Malcolm W, Carl S and Peter W raring to go:
One of the stakes bedded in with a shoulder of concrete - this proves to be an effective method of achieving a secure stake - all the stakes up this stretch nestle neatly against the cable troughing, so keeping good alignment is pretty straightforward :
Another major task started today was to sort out the positioning of the mechanical detector for the south end points. This is the casting :
Three slotted bars will pass through the square hole on the rhs. One of these is connected to the LH point blade, one to the RH point blade and one to be operated by an offset of the FPL bar in the centre (see next picture). Another bar which passes through the casting at right angles and can only move if slots in the 3 other bars align correctly. This bar is connected to the signal wire that operates the bracket signal.
If there is a fault (point blades not seating or fpl malfunction) then the bracket signal arms (nos 40 & 41) cannot be operated and will remain at danger.
I hope to get a clearer photo of this when it is all set up.
We need to configure a steel plate to mount the casting on. In the meantime hope you get the general picture.
Curly
A terrific job chaps in not the best of weather
ReplyDeleteYes. Well done for braving the elements!
ReplyDeleteRegards, Paul.
Perhaps you should ask some of the lineside clearance guys to save some of the logs they burn once they've cut them back - might keep the fire going in the box for a while and save on the coal bills
ReplyDeleteNot wishing to sound negative as that fireplace looks very nice, but seeing as the box is meant to be a replica of Shirley on the North Warwick line (a Type 7D) it should have a stove rather than an open fireplace. If Bewdley North on the SVR is anything to go by, most of the heat goes up the chimney of an open fire, leaving the rest of the box quite cold!
ReplyDeleteA Romesse stove from Honeybourne box was offered.... I think the offer is still on the table.
DeleteThe fireplace surround was put in by a non-railway enthusiast. It is early Victorian in style, quite wrong for 1904. The silver decorations are two twee for words, can you at least paint them over? They are for someone's living room, not a railway.
You can't deny it's been superbly executed, but it does look a little excessive for a signalbox!
DeleteThe GWR fender was rescued by a supporter from a skip at Toddington station, and offered to Broadway for use in the station building.
DeleteIt was taken without consultation, and now we are one short for the waiting room.
There's the answer then - have the fender back for the waiting room and get the Romesse for the box, it's easy enough to build the flue into the existing chimney. A win, win for everyone!
ReplyDelete