Back to Grass Cutting

 Week Commencing 22nd July 2024

Monday

Just the 3 of us out on the Monday , plus the 2 on the other side,  it was a bright warm day so out came the mowers.

Back down the drive way , its now a fortnightly visit to keep it looking as reasonable as we can get it.

First trip down and you can see the difference,

Many trips up and down later .

Ian doing the fiddly bits with the Strimmer.

And that's it until the next time.

Ian had a go on the new sign , with a bit of modernization !

Whilst around the corner on the road side , Pat gave the edging a quick cut.

Back on the platform whist we were in the mood .

Wednesday

I had other things to do , but I heard that we had 5 on site , Pat sent me a picture of what he had been up to over on platform 2 . Don't know what the others were up but you could guess !

Dave

More Like Summer

 Week Commencing 15th July 2024

Monday

Slow start to the week , just me first thing, it was the usual take the Diesel galas poster down from the bottom fence.

Whilst I was there  I heard a screech of brakes and a crash of metal on metal., this lorry had attempted to go under the bridge , but the top half a dozen layers of Heras fencing didn't fit .unfortunately no damage done , but the driver of the car behind gave him a bit of a mouth full !! 

Poster gone !

Ian was doing his Fire Warden course down at Toddington , so when Pat turned up we too headed that way to do a bottle change on the 2 rakes.

The rest of the day saw Pat on the platform 1 embankment  , and Ian and Myself following behind with the Strimmers.

Wednesday 

Warm to Hot day saw the 4 of us turn out , plus 2 over on the platform 2 building.

Bit of rain last night saw the usual puddles on platform 1 . Vic and his new device did his best to clear them away before the customers arrived.

What Pat had chopped down needed clearing away , Ian , young Dave and Myself we on the case , six wheelbarrow were ferried back to the bonfire area !

Chris was weeding the drive .

All the debris from the bank created a bit of a mess on the drive so out came  " Billy " 

Afternoon the temperature began to rise , and with plenty of people around , Ian opened and manned our goods shed. All the Strimmers and Billy had a bit of a clean up , ready for another days work.

Locomotives on duty today were " 2807 " and " P & O "

Dave

Extreme Gardening

 Week Commencing 8th July 2024

Monday

Just Ian and Myself on a bright start to the day .

Platform 2 has a few more blues laid on the plinth , and later in the day some blocks at the far end had also been laid.

Diesel weekend coming up, to smarten the station up we gave the grass on the bank and drive way a trim.

Nice day for a bonfire

Tuesday

Pat wasn't with us on Monday but on the Tuesday he headed down to Hayles Abbey Halt and gave that a quick trim .

Wednesday

6 volunteers today , that's about as much as we could possibly get nowadays.

The wild flowers and weeds were encroaching onto the car park , time for a tidy up. Bob and myself were on the case.

Ian had fun with the hedge trimmer . the slope a bit of a killer on the old knees but he persevered !

In for a penny in for a pound as they say , we decided to take the clearing back to the second wall now  !

Chris and Dave were weeding on the drive way .

By lunch time not much left between the walls .

This weekends Diesel Gala not yet over and a new sign was put up , this one for the Wild at Winchcome event in August.

Pat was over on Platform 2 cutting down the wild flowers that had finally gone over.

Out of the way of the passengers at the end of platform 1 , the grass was trimmed and more of the hedge tidied up. 

Locomotives on duty today were P and O and 2807

Dave

Summers gone again. !

 Week Commencing 1st July 2024

Monday

Just the 3 of us again  !

Over on Platform 2 there has been some more brick laying .

The weather is beginning to have an effect on some of the waste bins , especially the lids , this one the right hand side had started to come apart where the rain had got into the crack. 

Gate into the sitting area needed attention , the screws were coming loose !

The metal gate near by also needed attention to line it up with its partner . Pat showing us a trick on how to keep the washers on the gate pins whilst trying to line them up with the holes. . 

The bank has started to shrink and whilst we are mowing the blades occasionally hits something hard , its usually a small piece of the old station which had been flattened and pushed to the side.

Whilst we were finding lumps of old station , Pat was on the heavy duty strimmer .

Just a mornings find , a bit of platform edge and lots of brick bits.

I did forget to take a picture of the largest piece , maybe next week.

Wednesday 

Same 3 volunteers.

It was raining so no grass cutting !

Bit of planting up to sell in the shed , alas nobody there today .

Pat was cutting down some large vegetation on the top of of the bank , whilst Ian and I were keeping out of the rain putting together more Trugs , just in case ther might be a rush on them.

Pat behind our container stopping it being over run by Brambles.

It stopped raining for a while , so after the station staff had informed us the the car park signs had been over run by vegetation , Ian and myself got out the loppers and dived in.

Its in there somewhere , are there you are after about 20 mins.

Rain doesn't stop the trains and the Locomotives on duty today were Foremarke hall and 2807.

Dave