A smell of Tarmac in the air !

 Week Commencing 20th February 2023

The previous week we had had a visit from the Tarmacking gang who had applied the first lay of tarmac on Platform 2 in front of the signal box.

This is what was done when we arrived on Monday morning , also below , the concrete slab that had been removed had been replaced by top soil , now ready for re seeding.

New trees had also been planted to the north of the station.

Around the Station , Dave gave the station front a bit of a tidy up.

It was time to return the refurbished running in board to it rightful position .

Peter , Brian , Pat and below Chris were about to give the area a general tidy up.

Wednesday

The laying of Tarmac on Platform 2 was nearly finished.

Peter did a bit of Strimming around the post on the drive.

With the new sales shop arriving in the near future and room at a premium in that area for benches etc., it what decided to move the tool shed to underneath the foot bridge stairs . 

It sort of killed two birds with one stone as they say. . there was a tripping hazard where the slabs met the tarmac which needed the requirement of warning cones , plus it stopped people using it as a short cut and sometimes banging their heads on the metal work. 

All this came out of the little shed , most not needed any more or having too many items of the same thing. A sort out was required and any excess moved to Portakabin 1 , ( any body from Construction and Maintainace reading  this please come and take away our excess )

Pat was doing an excellent job on the pavement and on platform one , pressure washing the area which had been covered in Bird droppings.

Down at the far end of platform 1 , the gap between the slabs and existing tarmac had been filled , Ian was removing the rubbish left over .

Next week it all has to come together as we open for another season on the $th March.

Dave

2 Weeks to Go

 Week Commencing 13th February 2023

5 today on a reasonable spring morning. 

Still too cold to paint  , just yet, but the sun will soon be up .

Last week saw the removal of the concrete base , this is all thats left just needs a fair bit of top soil and it will be ready for re seeding . Brian and Pat will hopefully be mowing it by next Autumn !

The Panels by the Station Kitchen entrance catch the weather and were looking a bit faded. Mike gave them a rub down in readiness , for a fresh coat of paint.

Pat tends to do an area with one bit of machinery 

And then move to another area with another bit of kit !

Brian finished cutting his new tops and gave them a severe rubbing down.

Ian was in the sun giving the edge of the lettering a final tidy up. Dave finished off the Waste bins and put them out under the canopy.

The running in board should be ready to go up next week , just in time for the station re opening on the 4th March.

Meanwhile by the afternoon the sun has risen and it has turned into a pleasant afternoon , enough for Mike to give the paneling a fresh coat of Light Stone undercoat.

I'm afraid there wont be a Wednesday edition due to my visit to the Hospital , which is a pity because as I'm writing this I see men in Fluorescent tops heading to the southern end of platform 2 . 

The Tarmacking has started !!

Sure enough , Pat sent this photo of what they were up to on Wednesday.

Dave

Put The Heater On !

 Week commencing 6th February 2023

On a bitterly cold February it was a wonder if any body would turn u , but 2 turned into 3 and then turned into 4 . minus 4 was on my car when I arrived , we didn't even think about painting anything.

So lets go and put the heater on in the mess hut and decided what we could do.

We decided not unanimously to brush up the needles and cones dropped on the track bed . Many barrow fulls were shifted, but at least we were in the sun.

Cutting the grass already ? 

The area south gets a fair bit of sun and the grass has put a spurt on.

Pat got the hover mower out and give it a trim.

Ian  was the warmest , he didn't tell the rest of us frozen souls that he had lit the bonfire !!!

Wednesday

Another cold start for 3 of the regulars plus the other lot !

First job was to put the final back on the top of the newly painted post , why did they have to make them so heavy , not an easy task for us old folks .   

The others were on the concreter slab, by the end of the day it was gone , all we now need is a bit of to soil to fill the hole in.

On platform 2 the sun rays warmed the area between the cabins enough, for Ian seen here in deep concentration to give the lettering of the running in board , a freshening up.

Brian popped in to work on the Top part of his new entrance board for the station drive.

Only 3 weeks to go now until opening day .

Dave

Something on the Horizon ?

 Week Commencing 30th January 2023

Monday

Just the 5 of us today , weather was good , not cold or wet so lets go.

Peter headed down the drive to have a tidy up on the embankment , later he was joined by Brian,

Pat was behind the containers, brush cutting an area forgotten last year. 

The weather was finally good enough to paint , so Dave and Ian applied another coat of black on the running board.

In the afternoon Peter had gone home,and left Brian on his own down the drive..

Pat and Ian were going through the equipment , doing general maintenance . this motor Strimmer refused to work , it may have to be scrapped !

We are getting nearer the re erecting of the running in board after its refurbishment , the post too could have done with a fresh coat of paint , so in the afternoon Dave gave them a rub down.

Wednesday

Just the 5 of us at the start of the day , but !

The far end of platform 2 was desperate for a good clean up , Peter and Dave , and eventually Ian headed down and removed several wheel barrows loads back to the bonfire area. There is a rumor that in the near future this part could be Tarmaced !

Another day another Waste bin completed and put under the Station Canopy.

Mike was on site today painting the station end windows.

Pat was back on the bank.

Faces from the past appeared , ex Broadway and now working for Construction and Maintainace . Terry , Rod , Keith and Paul . Not doing any construction but deconstruction. They were removing the  concrete slab , at the corner of the turning circle.

It was going to be used to store the bins but it wasn't needed and as the bin now lives elsewhere. So up it comes.

Chis and his son Dave appeared  , the mess hut at lunchtime reminded us of the old days , unfortunately the picture I took was a bit fuzzy and couldn't be used,

Mike having finished the windows, he then  moved on to give the posts a coat of paint , trouble is that all the other lampposts around it look faded , so another job for later ?. After the posts Mike moved onto painting another spear fencing panel on platform 1.

Dave replaced the surroundings on the  Running in board , just the lettering to be touched up now .

The title of the blog was  " Something on the Horizon ? "

Below is a photo of a lamp post and a Gate which are located on the main road , just before the bridge .

Last Tuesday the lamp post  was moved from in front of  the gate , to the side , which now gives vehicle access to the gate.

The gate gives access to the field which lies behind where we can get access to Platform 2 and more important access to  maybe the new platform 2 building construction site.

Enough said watch this space as they say.

Dave