Civil's Week July/August 2003

Two years ago, a point was removed from the loco shed road (No.7 Road) and replaced (more details). This point had been stored and now was to have a new role: as the turnout for the new No.9 Road.

The chappies had earlier cut the necessary sleepers and loaded them onto bolsters. Here we load the point steelwork into approximately the right place on the timbers. The steel rails are very heavy and much bruce force is needed, applied with due care!

Rick Beton

594x397, 51KiB

With all the steelwork loaded, the original point becomes obvious once more.

Rick Beton

392x598, 57KiB

Back at Gelert's Farm, the point is assembled, whilst still on the transporting bolsters.

Rick Beton

447x299, 38KiB (large file: 895x598, 126KiB )

This is No.8 Road, long used for storing parts of NG15 No. 120 during its lengthy restoration. No more! The loco was moved to more suitable storage position near the R.E.D. Shed (the grey building in the distance).

The siding is shown here before the new No.9 Road turnout was installed. The next photo shows it from the opposite viewpoint.

Rick Beton

448x669, 75KiB

This is No.8 Road, showing the boiler, driving wheels and frame of NG15 No. 120. The nearby shed is the Loco Shed, that in the middle distance is the Civil Engineering Shed, and the far farm buildings house the machine shops and office.

No.8 Road is shown here before the new No.9 Road turnout was installed. The C.E. Shed already houses two sidings and is to have a third added on this side.

Rick Beton

447x653, 75KiB

This is where the new turnout is to be installed, so the first task is to dig out the ground. We did this by hand some years ago - having a machine to help was a great advantage this time.

Rick Beton

393x561, 51KiB

A length of straight rail is removed where the new turnout will be. Removing rusty old steelwork sometimes requires 'brutal persuasion'!.

Rick Beton

395x594, 49KiB

Having assembled the point on the rail bolsters, it was split into several large subassemblies and the gantry crane was used to lower all of these to the ground. Then they were man-handled into their position, as they are seen here. Although still missing the stock rails, the point is clearly taking shape.

Rick Beton

395x593, 61KiB (large file: 791x1186, 195KiB )

With the point mostly complete, the way into the shed was dug out and work started assembling the new siding within the shed.

Rick Beton

393x593, 56KiB (large file: 787x1187, 185KiB )

Inside the shed, the siding is assembled. Bear in mind that this is an end-on photo taken with a long lens, so the siding is actually rather longer than it looks.

Much work had to precede this moving away stored construction materials. It looks like there's quite a bit more tidying still unfinished!

Rick Beton

394x590, 37KiB

Finally complete, the new siding and a four-wheel flat wagon show what's been achieved. It is likely that the shed floor will have a solid concrete base put in over the coming months to make the working area more amenable.

Rick Beton

580x572, 53KiB

Stepping back a bit from the previous photo, we can see the curvaceous s-bend leading into the shed. This is quite probably the tightest curve on the whole railway and is far too tight to get steam locos round, for example. But that's not the point, narrow guage railways are always appropriate on constricted and low budget projects, and here is a classic!

Rick Beton

453x470, 48KiB

Here is the completed point and siding. The change in radius from the turnout itself onto the s-curve shows just how sharp the latter curve is.

Loco No.4 Anne-Marie is seen on the left with a Hudson Bogie wagon. No.4 had propelled the four-wheel flat into the shed, just to prove it could!

Compare with the photo of No. 8 road before the new siding was built.

Rick Beton

400x596, 60KiB