Gwyrfai Valley Track Construction, June 2000

Groan! Waking up at six a.m. to see Nigel tucking into strawberries was a real treat! (Believe that, ...)

Rick Beton

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After the usual induction, we joined the comfortably fitted-out transport at the work site, a mile or so east of Dinas. WRLRly Ltd Manager Roland Doyle was very helpgful in personally attending to arrangements.

Rick Beton

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The view westwards towards Dinas shows a pair of ballast wagons blocking the (then incomplete) route downhill to Dinas.

Rick Beton

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Looking back from the train, Tryfan Junction station looks like any other pile of stones, surrounded as it was at that stage by a materials depot.

Rick Beton

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There was a walk from the train's limit of movement along the track that was, at that time, only partially complete. One particular type of track bolt was in short supply; the left hand rail wouldn't have been safe with the weight of the locomotive (the Funkey).

Rick Beton

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Fine figures of men! ...or something! The missing bolts are clearly absent, seen in this photo.

Rick Beton

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Here, in the beautiful Gwyrfai valley, there are three thresholds: the end of the rails, where the WHLRly Ltd paid gangers are hard at work; the extent of the laid-out sleepers, where our gang was to work; and a mile nearer Waunfawr (behind the camera), the end of the completed base layer of ballast.

Rick Beton

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It's quite easy really: use the marked-up rope to show where to put the sleepers. We worked in pairs to keep our strength up. Actually, anyone strong and healthy can easily lift one of these sleepers by oneself, but there was no need to wear ourselves out in the first few hours.

Rick Beton

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Ten minutes for a well-earned break.

Rick Beton

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The sleepers were delivered in packs. One of the main advantages of these steel sleepers is that they are compact during transit. The packs are held together using steel bands that had to be sawn off with a hacksaw, as demonstrated by Andy and Nick.

Rick Beton

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An hour or two later, the march of the sleepers stopped. We'd reached a small excavator and the end of the first stage ballast.

Rick Beton

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We encountered some unusual variety in some of the batches of sleepers. ;-)

Rick Beton

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We caught the train back past the depot where we'd started out, and on to the western head of steel. Then we'd walked the rest of the way into Dinas. Here, some large engineering works had been completed on the embankment and unusual bridge which formerly had had the stream running underneath. Anyone visiting this spot now will be amazed to see how the vegetation has reclaimed this area, back to its familiar verdance.

Rick Beton

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Our second day was spent laying track. Actually, this is remarkably tricky on the tight curves where we were working, and we soon had admiration for the regulars who averaged four or five panels a day. The photo shows the rollers on the sleepers along which the rails are slid to get them from the Rail Mover trucks into their positions. Bearing in mind that the rails each weigh over half a tonne, you'll appreciate this takes not only strength but also care!

Rick Beton

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The Rail Mover trucks are well-suited to the job. Both rails are carried along slung under the trucks, with the lifting arms fastened in the raised position.

Rick Beton

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A side view of a Rail Mover shows the simple but elegant system.

Rick Beton

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Once the rails are in the right place on the sleepers, the fastening up begins. This has to work along from the fishplated end because of the curvature. So it's inherently not a fast process!

Rick Beton

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Of course, curvature means that the inner rail has to be shortened and re-drilled. Andy is showing how to make fireworks with a disccutter.

Rick Beton

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'Steamhammer' Jones has clearly run out of steam!

Rick Beton

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Once the track is assembled, careful measurement by the foreman and brute force by the gang ensures that the alignment is spot on.

Rick Beton

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Here is our day's work: three and a half panels around a bend. Some blokes had to leave at that time. We hadn't even come close to our record breaking 12 panel day of three years earlier, but that day had had three times more people and was in a straight line. It's surprising what difference the curves make.

Isn't it a beautiful place?!

Rick Beton

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