Progress, progress, progress!

It was a progress, progress, progress day at the Rocks by Rail Museum which was a great moral booster! First off, the viewing platform that I have been working on over the past five months is now finished! That is major progress! 

The day started with a workout as David and me unloaded another platelayers trolley worth of surplus material from the ballast washing process that has been also going on. It is a workout as we have to shovel it up over the six foot of gabion wall.

There is about a ton in each load!

To top that material off we found some pea gravel which was ideal to surface the top of the viewing platform. Unfortunately, as is usually the case, the gravel was some distance from the platform. We hatched a cunning plan to use a builders ton bag and fill that up, get the CAT to pick it up and take it over to the platelayers trolley which would at least save some work. We hand filled the first bag and then Nigel turned up with his mini digger and filled two more bags for us.

We ended up only needing one bag of the gravel but that was another workout!

Whilst we were doing that Martin was testing the face shovel which reminded me that if only the track was not in the way we could have made good use of that machine in this project!

However, with the gravel unloaded and raked out, the final elements of the viewing platform came together.

We have had some signs made up to confirm the generous financial contribution made to the project by East Midlands Railway....

....and David added the finishing touch of these sink plugs to cap the tops of the Haras fencing tubes! 

All done! Not bad for the three of us doing this project as we moved somewhere in the region of about 18 tons of material all by hand.

With that project complete I was back on the never ending project of grass cutting but I am making progress!

I did have some wildlife to keep me company with the pheasants seemingly enjoying the better weather.

Pete and Pam were busy painting with the modesty fencing outside the ladies toilet benefitting from a good clean up and paint. Yet more progress!

Meanwhile, the major drainage and tracklaying project has also progressed considerably.

A great deal of ballast washing has been going on - I first wrote about that activity nearly three and a half years ago and that post is here - enabling the first elopements of track to be re-laid. 30 foot of track is back in the platform line and next up is getting the point back in place. a layer of ballast is now in place so hopefully progress will continue!