Construction begins!

Keith Theobald has kindly sent in some photos of the construction work so far on Quarry Siding shed.

Work has continued on the Wharf - Pendre Track Renewal project between Christmas and New Year with the work now focusing on the installation of a new drainage system for the length of the cutting and in part of Pendre Yard.  Over the period from 28th Decmber to 2 January some 72 meters of 150mm diameter perforated pipe was installed.  The pipework is surrounded by free draining gravel and a geomembrane which it is hoped will prevent silting of the pipework.  Over the period some 48 man days were worked with a maximum of 12 volunteers working on the 30th December. 

Land drains were also installed adjacent to the South Abutment of School Bridge as standing water has been observed in the area following the track renewal work.

Unfortunately the weather was poor with rain falling most days makings conditions very difficult for working in.

Working Parties will continue on each weekend in January and February.

This weekend saw very few volunteers in Tywyn so numbers working on the project were very low.  Friday saw three volunteers available, so work was concentrated on completing the drain on the South side of school bridge and sorting out some outstanding work in relation to ballasting. The Electricity Board were also present at Wharf renewing the cable duct under the bridge, the works had to go to their aid when they did not have quite the right equipment.  Saturday again saw three volunteers available, together with one member of the Outdoor gang. A start was made on a new drain chamber near to Wharf Bridge, which included digging a new pit to enable water to be pumped by the excavation. The two other gang members carried on with line and level work in the Pendre area.  Sunday saw just three gang members again, so work continued on putting the track to line and level in the Pendre area, plus fitting the final two sets of fishplates. Regrettably the weather took a turn for the worse, which somewhat dampened everyone’s spirits, however the work was completed with a final topping up of ballast.   Monday again saw four gang members available in the morning and five in the afternoon. As the track work is now at a stage where trains can run, albeit with a 5mph speed restriction the main task of the day was to collect all the tools in and return them to the PW store, collect in all the setting out pins and take the engineering wagon fleet to Wharf for storage, thus clearing space at Pendre for the carriages to be shunted and locomotives to be got ready for the Santa Trains.  Signal W5 was bagged over and a white cross installed and the limit of shunt sign obscured as the signal sensors have yet to be reinstalled.

Latest update

On Friday work concentrated on completing screwing down the fixings on the length laid last Monday. This was followed by shovel packing this to line and line, as well as continuing the work done earlier in the week. The opportunity was also taken to drill holes in the closure rails ready for fitting of fishplates and bolts.

Saturday saw more ballast delivered to the site to enable one gang to complete shovel packing on the whole length from Wharf to Pendre. Another gang continued on with crowing and slewing track to give a better alignment, however this proved quite difficult due to the rigidity of the new track and the overall weight leading to some mechanical assistance having to be utilised.

Sunday saw the start of ballasting in the centre bays as well as further work on the alignment with more crowing of the rails and slewing being undertaken. The weather proved very inclement during the day with some of the rain being quite “lumpy”.

On Monday (with the gang reduced to six members) work continued with the ballasting of the centre bays, including “boxing in” to ensure that the sleepers and rails are free from any ballast. Two gang members worked on the installation of a land drain on the North abutment of school bridge connecting into the existing Pendre drainage system. The pipes and access chambers for the new drainage also arrived in the morning, with one length of pipe and an access chamber delivered to the correct location late in the afternoon.
 

Thanks to Lawrence Garvey for the update and photos.

 Work continues!

Work on Carriage 21 is continuing up at Boston Lodge. The carriage is now stripped down to the frames. The next job is to remove the angle supports and get the underframe sand blasted.

Photos by Norman Bond