The Banner Man!

Well, a week today the Rocks By Rail Museum opens with brake van rides which will hopefully be on the newly laid track that I have posted about over the last few weeks. For reasons far beyond me, I have ended up dealing with the advertising banners for the past few years. To save money on new banners each year I have taken to keeping the old banners going by amending dates on them. Luckily, the events follow a similar pattern each year which makes altering them relatively simple. However, with some uncertainty as to quite what will be finished on site and the effect that will have on events I had to amend the banners a little more this time. However, they get the message out there that the Museum will be open! Well, they do now as I dragged Mrs. Woody out with me and we made the grand tour to put all six sets of banners out. It was six months ago that I last did this to bring them back in at the end of the season but I will now be out every two to three weeks doing the same run changing the banners as the years events progress. Just call me The Banner Man!

That mix of industrial heritage and nature!

 The view I got of the platform area at the Rocks By Rail Museum as I went to sign in for the day may not have looked that different to last week but there has been a lot of work going on.

Richard and Martyn were busy leveling the track by the platform ready to be fully ballasted.

Meanwhile, John and Ben were literally grappling to replace a wooden sleeper under the point.

With only just over a week until the Museum opens Pete and Pam were busy painting the wooden fencing giving a nice clean look to the entrance.

I was also trying to make the place look nice and clean with further mower work. This time I was cutting the quarry area of which this was the first cut of the year so was hard going but it looked a lot better afterwards.

The nice part about working up in the quarry area is that after all that hard work over the Winter, I can now take a few minutes rest in the quarry viewing area and take in that mix of industrial heritage and nature!

You never know what a day will bring!

Whilst at the Rocks By Rail Museum I had to take delivery of some further dirty ballast delivered by this rather nice looking rig.

Just goes to show that you don't need fancy paintwork and acres of polished chrome to have a good looking combination.

Before he tipped the load I got talking to the driver. I am good at talking! He was a fascinating guy who back in the 1980's used to do runs with trucks down to Italy, Spain and Morocco as well as several other European countries. If you follow this blog you will realise I am a bit of a truck modeller as well as having had professional involvement in haulage so we also had some interesting chat about some of the older trucks such as the Volvo F88 and F12s that he had driven along with Scania 111s and Fodens as well as some USA trucks! It was a great 30 minutes or so and I was really pleased to have been able to spend some time with this guy. Just goes to show that you never know what a day will bring - especially at the Rocks By Rail Museum!

It all points well!

I was pleasantly surprised when arriving at the Rocks By Rail Museum today to find that things on the trackwork front have moved on well from last week with the point now back in place which all points well for the track to all be relaid before the Easter reopening.

There is always a need to think about and discuss th next move with jobs like this!

Also preparing for the Easter opening my work on grass cutting continues with vengeance. I did recut some areas done two weeks ago as there gas been a fair amount of growth despite the lack of rain but I also ventured down the Nature Trail where if I do any further mowing it will no longer be a nature trail but become a well maintained garden! Well that was my excuse for calling it a day! 

What better than to have a five minute break in the sun with no one around!

The only problem with going down the Nature Trail was that I could look back up the line which reveled rather pointedly that there is some work require to level it back up after the Winter!

Oh well! Means there is always a point to being a volunteer!

Ballast washing - YouTube video.

In yesterdays post I briefly mentioned ballast washing at the Rocks By Rail Museum. I have written about it in this blog before with a post nearly three and half years ago available by clicking here, but for an animated visual explanation of what goes on, the WMD film crew has been hard at work to produce this YouTube delight!

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!

Reunited!

As a break from bathrooms rebuilding and associated works, I had a day at the Rocks by Rail Museum today. The weather was great and I got a number of things done which is a positive!

First job of the day was to shovel another ton of fine hardcore from the platelayers trolley up onto the new viewing platform. Luckily David was there to assist. 

Next up is to get some gravel on top but in the meantime David painted the two supporting posts and I cleared some more vegetation which became fodder for another bonfire!

After lunch it was time to be reunited with the lawnmower! So off to the store and open the doors and there it is!

Not seen it since mid October 2024 but after checking the oil and filling the fuel tank the mower started second pull of the starter! Obviously the mower was anxious to get out to work after a Winter of hibernation and it was a nice afternoon too! Me, om the other hand, after my lunch, was less anxious but it was time to make the reunited moment al the more special by actually cutting some grass!

Meanwhile, back in the station area, things are moving on with the drainage pipes installed and backfilled so that the preparation work for relaying the track is underway.

Not long to the Easter opening so there is still a lot to do - but isn't there always! No doubt I will yet again be reunited with the mower next week when hopefully some track may be laid!

Bonfire time!

With only a few of us in at the Rocks By Rail Museum today things were going to be quiet so what better than to use the opportunity to have a bonfire without upsetting anyone!

There was plenty to be incinerated including cuttings from the viewing platform project but I also took the opportunity to cut this back

So that it was a bit less likely to hit visitors as they walked under.

Any evidence of my cutting work was incinerated and I can blame my accomplice Alex if there is any comeback - he is the official Scape Goat as I informed him!

I also had time to unload the platelayers trolley by shoveling its contents up on to the viewing platform.

The platform is now getting a good layer of fine material to level things off. Hopefully another trolley load will finish things off and probably finish me off too!

Consultation!

 It is not unusual theses past few months to go to the Rocks by Rail Museum and find the engine cover on a piece of plant open as some issue is dealt with. Today was no exception with Harriot being the subject of attention today.

Following a joint consultation it was diagnosed that as everything else in the fuel system has been proven to work or been replaced the lift pump must be the issue. A new one is on order!

Down by the recently commenced drainage works there was more consultation going on as a number of volunteers watched the action.

And the action was Andy in the trench!

Meanwhile, in the restoration shed lots of progress with all of the tubes in 1931 taken out ready for the whole thing to be washed out ready for inspection.

Meanwhile, on the viewing platform project that I am involved in, more progress has been made! The ends of the Heras fencing have been fastened to two posts hammered into the ground and then concreted in, the Teram sheeting has been unrolled and the path edges chamfered.

Following the unloading of the platelayers trolley by throwing spadefulls of  material up over the viewing platform barrier a layer of suitable cover over the Teram began to form.

Standing on the platform gives a great view of the quarry sidings - just hope that it is appreciated! 

Not much left to do now to finish this project so hopefully in a couple of weeks it will be finished ready for the grass cutting season!