Latest News

("It's steel but not as we know it Jim")

Wharf

• Installed tiebars to maintain gauge on curve to engineering sidings.
• Ballast dock road, dug out and replaced several sleepers before reballasting and tamping.

Pendre

• Cut and sharpened rail stacks for rail kerbs on Brynglas Bank

Ty Mawr

• Sorted and loaded scrap rail for rail kerbs on Brynglas Bank.

Ty Mawr Bridge

• Cleared more of the undergrowth from the area where the old coal conveyor resides on the North East side of Ty Mawr Bridge. Stripped a large amount of ivy off the face of the bridge in the same area.

Hendy - Fach Goch

• Removed 8" from both rails to enable creation of adequate expansion gaps over ½ mile of railway.

Brynglas Stream Bridge

• Dismantled South side hand rail.
• Despiked rails and temporarly removed them.
• Removed the old bridge deck.
• Removed old length of TR rail.
• Carried out preparation work for installing a new 21' x 12" x 6" beam to support South edge of new bridge deck.
• Installed new beam.
• Erected scaffolding.
• De-scaled and wire brushed existing beams.
• Removed old South side beam that had supported the South edge of the bridge deck. (Now only fit for scrap).
• Welded on patch to repair South East side web of South Beam.
• Cleaned up and painted the tops of the four beams with bitumastic paint.
• Sorted replacement bridge deck timbers.
• Applied bitumastic paint to the rest of the metal work.
• Completed the remaining concrete work.
• The remaining work will be completed by the staff and Onley this week.

Brynglas Tadpole Cutting

• Rodded drain.
• Made good ground around drain chamber by the down stop board.

Brynglas Creep Bridge

• Further work to progress the creep bridge.
• Erect of rail kerb to support ballast shoulder.
• Removed excess materials.

Top of Brynglas Bank

• Dug out in joint areas ready for ballasting and tamping operations at the end of November.

4½ milepost

• Dug out bays close to joints ready for barring and tamping at the end of the month.

Dolgoch Woods

• Dug out a dropped joint ready for tamping at the end of the month.

Dolgoch

• Placed the station furniture under cover.

Quarry Siding

• Placed the station furniture under cover.

Abergnolwyn

• Placed the station furniture under cover.

Nant Gwernol

• Placed the station furniture under cover.

Thanks

Very many thanks are due as always to the workshop staff at Pendre, catering staff at Wharf, volunteers, speakers and everyone else who made it possible to achieve the above list of tasks.

Numbers

People days are regrettably down from 243 to 160 given by 34 different. Some of the fall can be explained away by some of the regulars using up their leave earlier in the year helping tidy up Wharf.

Weather

Waterproof sales were definitely up during week. Generally wet especially on the Tuesday when it seemed to rain all day, other days were more showery. All this rain caused the river level at Brynglas to remain high until Saturday when we were finally able to erect the access scaffolding safely. The going home sunshine on the finally Sunday made a pleasant change.

Many thanks again to everyone involved your help & support is much appreciated.

Keith Theobald
Outdoor Foreman

Posted by hussra at Friday, November 18, 2005 1:41:13 PM GMT.
Category: Engineering