It's been a weekend of heavy lifting and heavy metalwork down at the Apedale Valley Light Railway. We are hoping to extend the current demonstration field railway in time for Tracks to the Trenches in May. A loop is to be created at the south end of the railway, and two points were identified for this some time ago, but subsequently put into storage, condition unknown. As time is now pressing for the event, and trying to avoid unpleasant surprises, the points have been duly dug out of storage (yes, dug) and brought around to the workshop for examination. The photo shows the poorer of the two. The work done to this point was:- 1:- Rectify broken rail, 2:- Burn out check rail bolts and replace. 3:- Burn out fishplate bolts on closures to blade joints, rectify fishplates and replace all bolts. 4:- Repair stretcher bar and replace all bolts. 5:- Re-weld broken slide plate, and bolt same to steel sleeper (which entailed making a "special" fisplate to clear the bolt head). 6:- Ensure correct fit-up of blades to stock rails and adjust as needed.After that, we had a cup of tea.
After the cup of tea, we turned our attention to the Pechot wagon; again, this is a vehicle wanted for the Tracks to the Trenches event. Fitting the end platforms has proven tricky, due to the headstock being anything other than flat and square. However, Mr Gas Axe and Mrs Very Large Hammer have been carefully employed to improve the geometry of the wagon end, and this has finally allowed one of the end platforms to be welded into place. This is a big step forward for the wagon, as it makes it look a lot more "finished". Visit here for more information on Tracks to the Trenches.
