Done at Last

 Week Commencing 23rd June 2025

Monday

Just the 2 of use , Kevin and Myself , poor Ian's knee is becoming a bit of a saga and last reports he was still in Hospital , 2 weeks and counting.

It was quite a hot day so we did a few odd jobs. First some people have reported the camera wobbles in the wind ( who doesn't ?)

When I first put it up the vertical piece of wood that the camera is attached to was tight between the two L shaped girders , over time the wood has shrunk !

A new wedge at the top sorted it out.

Grass or what's left of it was cut behind platform 1, mostly consisted of  chopping the heads of the weeds.

A delivery of sand for platform 2 , it needed wheeling around to the other side , always glad to give a hand.

Wednesday

Up to 4 again , with Chris and his son Dave joining us for another go at the bank on platform 2 .

our aim today to cut down the brambles, ash and thorn bushes to line up from the signal.

Kevin on battery Brush cutter on the thin stuff , mysel on the thick stuff with the petrol Brush cutter and Chris and Dave rake it down to near the track bed .

A good mornings work from all , after the signal is traditionally the territory of the lineside clearance. it would take us many months to do just that bank never mind the opposite side. 

A bit of a lazy afternoon due to the temperature rise , besides we were knackered !

Green timetable saw 1 of steam  " P and O " and 1 of Diesel Class 45

Dave

Back on 2

 Week Commencing 16th June 2025

Monday

Just Kevin on Monday, who helping the platform 2 builders with a delivery , then he said he did a bit of mowing and Garden tidying. 

Wednesday

Back to just the 4 of us on a very sunny and hot day.

Over on platform 2 there has been more internal block work 

Last weeks cuttings on platform 2 had finally dried out and Chris and Dave raked it down and then it headed to the bonfire area.

The next section was full of Brambles , Hawthorn and young Ash trees which required the petrol brush cutter , above it was a slightly less dense patch which Kevin with the battery version tackled .

Kevins seedlings are coming on , what wont be put into our flower beds will be sold in the shed .

Half the patch was completed before it got too hot , time for an ice cream !

Something Chris had be working on was the refurbishment of the GWR boot scrapped , with a nice new addition to celebrate 200 years of the railways .

Steam and Diesel day with 3850 and 37215 on Duty.

Dave

Platform 2 has to have it !

 Week Commencing 9th June 2025

Monday

Just Kevin , Peter and myself on the Monday .

The cowslips have finally had their day so Kevin tidied up around the GWSR garden , and did a bit of arranging of the stones for the letters .

Gas bottles needed changing down at Toddington , so I found 2 new temporary helpers , as poor Ian is off with Knee problems.

Time later to start again on the area behind platform 2 .

Kevin started on the wrong side. !

Wednesday

More action over on Platform 2 new build , more internal block work , hidden by the north wall .

Just Kevin and myself today but we seamed to do quite a lot. Myself with the petrol strimmer taking on the big stuff and Kevin with the battery version took on the grassy areas. 

Most of  the area opposite platform 1 had been cleared.

The area behind the gabions was a different matter , mostly wild plants mixed with brambles ! This time I used the petrol brush cutter , and Kevin had the battery version . Just needs racking down and tiding up , leave that till Monday as both of us were exhausted.

One mystery was who put this in the car park garden ? A bit of colour in a green garden.

 

Dave

First week of Summer

 Week Commencing 2nd June 2025

Monday

Just Myself , Kevin and Peter on a bright summers day . Poor Ian's done his knee in so maybe a none attendance for a couple of weeks ?

Peter took the mower down the drive , trying to keep on top of the weeds.

Kevin with the trimmer , edged the edges .

Myself tackled the back of platform 1 with the petrol strimmer.

And that was about it for the Monday.

Wednesday

On platform 2 nothing obvious could be seen , except the internal block work is slowly rising especially on the northern end.

Up to 4 on Wednesday , Chris and Dave with Kevin headed mob handed down the drive to remove the cones and broken branches after the previous days rain.

Too many twisted ankles caused by too many cones , Kevin filled the wheelbarrow and Dave emptied .

Just the 3 barrow full today.

Chris on the other side of the drive took to removing dandelions .

Myself took to the bank on platform 2 especially behind the containers with the petrol strimmer and brush cutter , from my lofty position 2807 trunddled by on its run around.

No mow May came to an end today on platform 2 !

The other Locos on duty today were 3850 and D6948

Dave

After the Gala

 Week Commencing 26th May 2025

Last Bank Holiday weekends gala stretched into Monday so only the Wednesday working this week.

Wednesday

Last weeks work on the corner wall finished after I did one of my rescue missions .

One colour I missed out  , was for the yellow timetable ( the Gala Timetable ) , lack of paint locally meant it had been delayed , its now ready for the Diesel Gala.

After the last rain the Kitchen down pipe was blocked again with needles , a bit of pipe dismantling and a long arm down the outlet soon removed a large amount of needles and its now readyfor the next down pour.

Chris and his son were with us today , more needles and cones swept up from the drive.

Whilst Dave removed the last of the gala signs .

Kevin has finally got sprouting seedlings.

One of the visiting Locomotives decided to coat the benches with a layer of soot which proved a removal challenge for Kevin.

Seen later delivering some Crocosmia to the sitting area. 

Locomotives on duty today were " P & O " , 2807 and on the later train The Class 45 

Dave

Run up to the Gala

 Week Commencing 20th May 2025

Just a week before the Bank Holiday and our Cotswold Festival of Steam , so it a final push to getting the Station looking its best.

Monday

A quick mow of the driveway grass , saw Ron on the top half and myself doing the bottom.

Kevin tidied up the triangle garden and planted a small tree that nobody could remember what it was ! 

After mowing Ron got to do a bit of weeding .

Ian was on the top strimming the edges.

When I said a bit of weeding , a barrow full or 2 

After a bit of Cafe housekeeping Mike cleaned and painted the white line on platform 2.

All that grass cutting left a bit of a mess on the drive , so we gave ` Billy ` a run out .

Wednesday

Platform 2 has seen more brick work on the far end

A bit of a tidy up under the canopy of the Station Building especially by the wall.

The driveway manhole had a clean out too , except for this stubborn one which refused to budge.

The rocks from the bottom garden got moved up the corner where Ron, Ian and Kevin tried their hand at Cotswold stone walling .

Myself did a bit of colouring in with the new timetable signs , today it is purple !

The 2 Class 2800s were on duty today, 2807  and 3850

Hope those of you coming to the Gala have a great time , myself I'm doing Crossing monitor Duties at

Cheltenham Racecourse on Saturday and Winchcombe on Sunday , so give us a wave.

Dave