Another day of progress on many fronts down in the sultry sub-tropical paradise which is the Apedale valley. The Penrhyn coach has now had the reinforcing bars installed, which was rather like trying to wallpaper your front hall through the letterbox. The first photo shows one of the bars being threaded into the underframe. Meanwhile, teams have been trying (and succeeding) at improving their overall fitness levels and muscle tone by packing and tamping ballast. The Toastrack coach continues to gain parts at a rapid rate, and a start has been on the start of construction of the platform extension. Finally, our friends up at the Apedale Heritage Centre have taken delivery of an enormous winding engine. This was the emergency winder from one of the local collieries (Hem Heath??) - I dread to think how big the day-to-day machine was! The Man from the Ministry is coming to look at the railway in 17 days - so the pressure is really on now to finish off the railway. Get in touch here if you can help relieve the pressure.
