Saturday was mixed, dry morning  and showers in the afternoon.

Alan continued working on the refreshed exhibition for the museum. Bill and John tided up the car park area.

Joe did some landscaping, grass cutting and put in some more concrete fence posts heading for bridge 199.

There was a good team working on the LMS wagon which saw reasonable progress made.

Some signal levers were moved to the MK1 coach and a start made on their strip-down but it didn’t get too far.  The levers have been left to have a good soak in release oil, so hopefully better progress can be made next weekend.

Sorry no pictures this week hopefully should be back to normal next week.

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A glorious day at Whitrope marked the first day of the new season with the centre officially open to visitors. Unfortunately the lack of running motive power has restricted opportunities in terms of train rides as the stock is currently stabled in the platform. There was the chance for a ride in the ‘bug’ up and down the line towards the cutting, which a few visitors participated in.
The visitor centre was open with the exhibition given a refresh for the new season. In the platform the brake van was open for visitors to see how the restoration of the vehicle is progressing.

The volunteers on site also advanced a number of jobs that could be undertaken. Work continued on the LMS wagon with the sole-bar wire brushed and painted. More work was done on the foundations for the signal frame, with the area under where the frame will sit dug out, hard work on a very hot day at Whitrope. The walls are now ready for the timbers to be affixed ready for the lever frame.

Elsewhere on site repairs were carried out on the Saxa van body with new bitumen sheets laid on the roof to repair damage caused by the storms over the winter. The site clean up continued with some more areas addressed.

The big news from the last few days is the arrival on site of the plant to clear the area near bridge 200 which has be designated as the area for a future running shed. Currently the work will focus on leveling and tidying up this area to provide a flat working zone. Once the area is prepared the containers from the area south of the cottage will be moved to here. With the area becoming the focus for maintenance and restoration work.

Overall a good day with the centre also open on Sunday. The next operating weekend will be May 4th and 5th, so why not pop along and see how things are progressing.

The plant arrives on site mid week to carry ground clearance work in the area at the end of the cutting.

The view on Saturday after work has started to clear the area.

This large piece of plant has made fairly short work of clearing the area near bridge 200.

Once this area has been cleared and prepared some of the containers from elsewhere around the site will be moved here.

In the longer term it is planned for this to be the site of our running shed.

This end of the railway will become the focus of operations, allowing the area around the station to be improved.

Some new roofing felt fitted on the Saxa van to replace that which was damaged by storms over the winter.

Work progressing on the LMS wagon with the solebar being stripped and re-painted.

Further work in the area for the signal lever frame saw the ground dug out ready for sleepers to be set in.

The removed spoil being used to provide a level access way to the lever frame.

The brake van which is open to visitors to see the progress being made.

The brake van looking completely different to when it first arrived on site.

The inside of the van with information sheets in place.

One of the last areas still to be worked on will see a replica stove fitted in here.

A good turn out of volunteers on site meant that a large number of different jobs were on the go.

In the station area the preparations for the new season continued with the inside of the coaches given a good tidy out ready for our visitors. This alongside the continuing general site clear-up is making the whole area look much improved.

Malcolm was up working on the brake van, with a flooring laid inside which looks very smart. This vehicle will be open to the public on operating days, so the push is on to complete a number of jobs.

Baz was up and trimmed the sleeper fence to height that was put up last week for the signal frame. He also carried out a number of repairs and some general maintenance on the bug.

The group working on the 26 removed the driver and second man seats from the cab to allow access to the floor. A number of areas of rotten metalwork were cut out of the floor and these will be replaced with new metal. Some work was also carried out around the roof in the cab to allow this to be repaired so the cab will be watertight.

In between all the hard work time was found to consume a birthday cake that was brought up to celebrate George’s birthday, and very nice it was too.

A view up the cutting showing the evidence of the plant which has been working to construct the access to the culvert.

The view down the cutting, showing how solid the permanent way is here.

A view across the area at the end of the cutting where at some point in the future we will look to construct a restoration / running shed.

This was going to be a picture of George’s birthday, but by the time I got the camera out this was what was left. Happy birthday George, it was a nice cake.

Baz carrying out some maintenance work on the bug.

The daffodils are out up at Whitrope, so Spring must be well established.

More daffodils which have been planted up near the end of the platform.

Davie, Rod and George working on the class 26. The seats are on the platform after being removed to allow access to the floor area which is the main focus of the current work. Davie is also carrying out some repairs to roof to make it water tight.

The brake van with its recently laid protective floor.

A shot from the opposite hillside giving a good view of our site right down to bridge 200.

A closer view of the station area with all the stock currently stored there.

Another busy Saturday with a number of jobs undertaken as the start of the new season approaches fast.

The work on the signal frame foundation continued. The walling was infilled and cement poured in to ensure the signal frame was a good base. With construction of the walling completed some back filling took place. A small sleeper wall was constructed just behind the walling to allow the required back filling to be stabilized. The plan being to allow level access from the platform to the frame allowing visitors to see the signalling in action.

The inside of the brake van was tidied up as the work continues to progress. The site tidy up continued with the bug being used to collect materials from the area south of bridge 200. This is an area that the forestry commission are currently working in and have laid a roadway access down to the culvert by bridge 200.

The fencing on the platform was re-constructed with the uprights put back. There is still some painting and other jobs to do but the area already looks much improved.

Work by the forestry commission to allow access to the culvert near the golden bridge.

This is an area were we are looking for some earth-works to be carried out, so these works have caused some head scratching.

The access track down to the work site in the culvert.

The bug at the end of the line, whist being used to collect rubbish from around the site.

Further work for the signal foundation, sees a small sleeper built wall constructed.

The sleeper wall will be trimmed to height and fencing will replace the old handrail.

The inside of the brake van which has had something of a tidy out.

Still plenty of work to be done in here but it is really taking shape.

The fencing at the end of the platform was all replaced today. There is still some finishing work to do but it is looking good.

With a number of jobs on the go the volunteers on site had a busy day.

The team working on the signal frame foundation walls made good progress and by the end of the day all the walls were complete to full height. There is still some infilling to do, but that part of the job is basically complete. The next part of the job will be completing ground levels and fixing timbers in place for the signal frame.

The floor was lifted in the Ruston and parts of the gearbox opened up so the inside could be inspected. Unfortunately it appears that the whole gearbox will need to come out to allow repairs to be undertaken. This will obviously be a big job and decisions around how best to proceed must be made.

Elsewhere work continues around the station area in preparation for the new season, which is now approaching fast. The fencing at the end of the platform being a current focus and this should start to come together over the next couple of weekends.

Some more work was done on the LMS wagon with some more of the under-frame primed. Davie also continued work on the class 26 with an inspection made of the other cab to access the work needed there.

Overall another busy day with good progress made across the site.

The floor of the Ruston lifted to give access to the gearbox.

Unfortunately its now looks as though the gearbox will now have to be lifted out of the Ruston.

Further work on the signal foundation wall saw this completed to full height.

Work will now focus on creating the levels and fixing timbers in place for the frame.

The floral display in the flower beds are starting to spring into bloom.

The fencing atvthe end of the platform ready for the freshly painted uprights to be re-applied.

The mess room after a quick tidy up.

 

With the weather stopping any real work last Saturday, a keen team were on site to try and make up for the lost day.

After some work on the excavator to try and remedy a fuel problem we got it running. This was then used to place the diesel tank in the bund tank that was put in place the other weekend. There is a little more work to finish this job off, but everything is now usable.

More courses were laid for the signal frame foundation and the back wall is now at full height. Hopefully the side wall will be completed next weekend and the focus can shift to restoring the actual signal frame.

The site tidy up continued with the area of the platform nearest the car park cleaned up and materials all stored away.

A number of other jobs were undertaken on what was a busy day up the hill.

Jim mixing cement for the signal foundations

A view from the platform of the ongoing work on the signal foundations.

At the end of the day the back wall is nearly complete, hopefully the walls will be completed next weekend.

The diesel fuel tank safely located in it’s bund tank.

Work ongoing to clear up the station area.

The platform entrance area part way through today’s spring clean.

Some of the metal work that has come off the LMS wagon.

Part of the upholstery in the brake van.

The 26 giving a good impression of being on a short goods train.

The Ruston sat in the stock siding were work can progress on the gearbox problems

The Fowler siting up near the crossing, hopefully waiting to be collected in the next couple of weeks.

A day of sunshine and snow showers saw a good turn out of volunteers.

Work progressed on the bund for the fuel tank. The fuel tank was lifted off it’s stand and the sleepers spread to provide a base for the bund. This was then lifted in and a couple of short sleepers laid inside to act as a base for the fuel tank. Unfortunately the excavator was playing up again and kept starving of fuel, so the job took a bit longer than planned. The lift for the fuel tank will have to wait until next weekend.

An attempt was made to move some of the stock around, but unfortunately the clutch on the Ruston which has been an issue for a while finally gave up so the stock move had to be cancelled. The Ruston will now need to be stripped down and the problem fully diagnosed.

Further progress was made with the general site tidy up with more of the scrap metal removed from site. The general area is starting to look much better but there is still plenty to do.

The Ruston running during an attempted stock move.

RB004 and the Mk2 move across the level crossing.

The Mk2 dropping back down onto the other stock in the winter sun.

The bund tank in position next to the generator container.

With the bund in place all that remains to be done is drop the fuel tank in.

The inside of the bund with a couple of short sleepers in place to support the fuel tank.

A mixed day weather wise at Whitrope with a pleasant morning, but the forecast rain arrived a little early about 2 o’clock. This lead to a fairly early close of play.

One of the main jobs of the day was to work on the large tank we have acquired which is going to act as a bund for our diesel tank. The tank needed some work to reinforce the cross members to support the diesel tank. This was an ideal job, reliving his ship building days working inside big horrible tanks. A number of upright braces were welded in place to ensure the tank is strong enough to support the main fuel tank. The rain came on just as the welding was completed so the rest of the task of positioning this tank and dropping the diesel tank in will have to wait until next weekend.

Jim progressed the work on the signal foundation walls with the wall now locked into the station platform, again further progress was disrupted by the rain.

Further work was done inside the cab of the class 26, with the floor stripped out. This allows the area to be carefully examined so a detailed schedule of repairs can be complied. The cab has suffered from a large amount of corrosion so a number of the supporting members will need to be replaced or repaired to allow the cab to be structurally sound so the floor can be rebuilt.

Some work was undertaken on the LMS wagon and a couple of other projects.
The site tidy up tasks continued with more waste collected from around the area.
A successful day with a good amount of progress made on a number of fronts.

Work progressing in the cab of the 26. It looks as though the new vacuum cleaner is a bit powerful.

It would appear to have sucked up the whole floor!! The floor has been lifted so an assessment of repairs can be made and then structural repairs carried out to allow the cab to be re-furbished.

The chair from the 26. This will be stripped down, the mechanism refurbished and then re-upholstered.

Davie in his natural environment! Welding braces inside the large tank which will act as a bund for our diesel tank.

The finished tank ready for the timbers and the diesel tank.

A free for all in the buffet coach as Bill announced there were chocolate biscuits up for grabs.

Andy posing with a very small buttie box. The real one is much bigger.

An unseasonably warm day at Whitrope brought out a good number of volunteers as well as the crocus in the station flowerbeds.

Work continued around the site on the general tidy up, with a fire again going down by the containers to dispose of some of the materials. The stock siding was given a tidy whilst free of stock and the area looks much better.
With the warm weather the paint brushes were out with work underway on the buffet coach roof and the station fencing. There is still plenty of work to complete before the station area is ready for the new season so hopefully the good weather will stay around.

Peter taking advantage of the warm weather to apply some paint to the buffet coach.

Hunting for tools inside the brake van.

With most of the upper woodwork removed attention is turning to addressing the deck of the wagon.

The warm weather has brought out the crocus on the platform.

A full platform at Whitrope with the stock from the stock siding, currently held on the running line.

The stock siding looking a bit tidier after a clean up.

The class 26 sat in the platform at Whitrope in lovely February sunshine.

One of our latest restoration projects. This was a station trolley from St. Boswell’s. It is in need of quite a bit of work before it looks it’s best.

The brake van is coming together well and should hopefully see service as a very useful asset this year.

As well as the crocus paint brushes are springing up all over Whitrope.

A busy day at Whitrope with a large turn out of volunteers and numerous jobs on the go.

The excavator was up and running having had the puncture repaired during in the week. This allowed it to spread the last of the aggregate across the loading area and compact the materials down. With the loading area finished the stock could be moved out of the stock siding so the Fowler could be freed.

The first item out was the class 26, which was lifted out by the Ruston. Once out of the stock siding the 26 was placed on the running line near the platform. Davie in the meantime was busy cutting through the weld to remove the access ladder from the Mk1 workshop coach. With the ladder removed the Ruston lifted the Mk1 and it got a very rare run out, being placed on the running line near the class 26. With the stock out of the siding the Ruston was able to couple up to the Fowler ready to lift it out. For the first time in a long time the Fowler was removed from the stock siding ready for collection.

Whilst the shunting was underway various other jobs were undertaken around the site. Malc cut and attached new plywood panels to the guards van, which is really starting to look good. Pete continued working on a water supply to pipe water to the platform area. Davy continued work to removed loose paint and rust from the steel work of the LMS wagon. Chris carried out weeding of the running line near the tunnel. Bill burned the rotten timbers from the LMS wagon. Jim removed the last concrete blocks that were put on the signal frame wall as the post-crete used swelled and cracked the blocks and cement joints.Some work was also done to remove a block from the platform wall to tie in the new block-work.

A really busy day with lots of work underway across the site.

Davie cutting through the welds that hold the entry ladder in place on the Mk1 workshop coach. A some point he will have to re-weld this once the coach is back in its position in the stock siding.

Who needs a shunter when you have Alan to push the 26 out of the stock siding.

It almost looks like the 26 is running on it’s own power (hopefully some time in the future). The Ruston is pushing the 26 onto the running line as the stock siding is cleared to free the Fowler.

The Mk1 workshop coach gets a very rare trundle around the railway.

With the rest of the stock out of the siding. the Ruston runs down to collect the Fowler.

Baz coupling up the Ruston to the Fowler.

The Ruston puts down the power as it lifts the Fowler from the end of the siding.

Rod working in the Fowler engine bay before she is moved out of the stock siding.

Once the Fowler is above the crossing the Ruston crosses over to buffer up below the Fowler.

The stock sat on the running line near the station.

Rod undertaking a preliminary examination of the floor of the class 26.

The completed loading area at the level crossing.

The very unusual sight of an empty stock siding. A little bit of a tidy up before the stock returns.

The Ruston and the Fowler coupled up after all the stock has been moved.

It may only be small but the Ruston had done a great job of moving all the stock about.