Last One before Christmas

 Week Commencing 22nd December 2025

Just the 3 of us on the last volunteering day at Broadway, Ian, Kevin and Myself. Damp old day saw the returning of the station furniture to its positions on the platform , ready for the Mince Pie specials after Christmas.

First the Rubbish bins .

Then the Benches.

Ian put the shed back into working order after Chris had insulated the right front side. A load of old CDs made there way to the Waste Bin ! And Kevin returned after brushing down more branch debris off the platform.

While we were at it the Station lights were turned on to make sure they all worked.

Even the rebuilt one worked , just need 2 more sheets of Perspex for the back and side , hope  nobody will notice the difference. 

Kevin then finished off the day on the platform garden , moving and dividing the many grasses..

And that was it for another year ! Back on the 5th January 2026.

Just to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at Broadway Station . 

Dave

Please stop raining !

 Week Commencing 15th December 2025

Monday and Wednesday 

Wet Wet Wet

Ian, Kevin , Mark and myself on the Monday .

Mark had a go at finally shifting the old tree from the end of the platform , with Ian's help

The lid for the cold frame had to have a re glass as the sealant didn't seal !

New style lamp cover ?

Kevin moved the key safe ( not that anybody uses it any more ) was moved to a place where it could more be easily accessed.

End of the day Mark had done an excellent job of cleaning up.

Bins have been re lidded .

Edges of some repainted and put in the disabled toilet to dry.

Wednesday

End of platform 1  had a branch come down , quite a large branch had broken off during the last storm , luckly no damage was done this time . Kevin saw to the debris this being the 3 load full heading to the Bonfire area.

Chris started installing the insulation of one of the doors of our shed .

Kevin moved around and split the grasses

The broken lamp got put back together !!

Dave

A Very Generous Donation

 Week Commencing 8th December 2025

Monday

A bit of a storm over the previous days saw the destruction of one of the lamp tops on platform 1.

The lamp top had been shaken to pieces

A bit of a mess , soon tidied up but what to do ?

Idea was to remove one from the north end of platform 1 and do a swap with the broken one , easier said that done.

First of the repaints to come out of warm toilets was the station notice board.

Chris came in to finish the insulation on the front wall of the shed. 

Elsewhere the other Chris was working in the carpark garden , and Ian was in the warmth of the disabled toilets finishing off the bin lids with a lick of paint. Kevin was removing the good soil and ash from last weeks bonfire onto the platform garden.

Wednesday

Kevin and Mark started moving the remains of the chopped down tree to the bonfire area .

Once the lamps were swapped an attempt was made to put the broken one back together , with some sort of success. Its a very flimsy construction no wonder it fell to pieces , hopefully this might hold. 

Mark tried his hand at fitting a newly painted lid.

Last week we went to collect a working N gauge model of Broadway Station as it was back in the day.

Dave Hensey built it during Lockdown and has no further use of it and he then donated it to the Friends of Broadway . It was a very generous Donation

Of course we have to have a play !

The Future of the layout is uncertain but we hopefully get it fully working and shown at the September Model railway show ( no pressure then )

Dave

More the same !

 Week Commencing 1st December 2025

Monday

Another rain threatening day and just the 3 of us !

Lids on the bins are queuing up to be either primed or top coated, just trying to get half of them done.

Outside Kevin and Ian were attaching a new top on an old table to be used in Kevin's gardening area.

One bin needed more than its lid done , sides had come apart and now needed rebuilding.

Wednesday

Cold and not damp !!

Some of us moved inside to top coat the lids in the relative warmth of the Disabled toilet. 

Dave and Chris nearly finished the one wall of the Broadway Shed.

And finally after how many weeks we attempted to light the fire .

Success at last.

Broken bin had been put back together and rubbed down and given a coat of new paint.

And that was about it for this week !

Dave

Bit of a Leak !

 24th November 2025

Monday

Bit of a disaster over the days since last Wednesdays attendance , Water had been seen coming out of the mess hut door ! by the time one of us got to the stop cock it was Sunday . nobody knows how long it had been flowing ?

The Units weren't in the best condition as it was ,  now they were trashed , time to remove the lot .

Fridge , microwave and kettle all taken away .

Last Friday we were told , the bridge had another strike , a lot of damage to the warning sign and the underside of the bridge !

Mean while back at the camp , Ian rubbed down the notice board , 

Kevin and Chris helped me in the tidying up and removal of all signs of the ever being a sort of a kitchen in the mess hut.

Some rubbish bins are in need of attention , this double one needs a new lid .

Made and then primed.

Wednesday

6 turned up today on a bitterly cold Morning.

Jobs to do inside .

Chris and young Dave started in the sales shed .

Ian painted the notice board in the warmth of the Disabled toilet !

Sun came out so Chris could cut the insulation board

Once cut it was down to Dave to fix the batons to hold it in place.

Kevin and Mark worked on the ever expanding gardening area , this time a compost bin and a table area.

Dave

At Last

 Week Commencing 17th November 2025

Monday

  3 regular volunteers today and a newcomer Mark joined our merry bunch .

Time to put the station to sleep until the mince pie specials after the C word.

Wrapping up the running in boards worked last year , this one on platform 2 has a coat of old posters wrapped around it to provide protection from the wind and rain.

Benches live under the canopy !

The bins , some of them are going to need attention over the coming weeks were put in the warmth of the ladies toilets.

Over on the bench , Ian , Kevin and Mark put together a type of cold frame .

On the other bench , I put the glass into other cold frame.

The Station at rest .

Ian found some Black paint and gave the shed ramp a new coat .

Wednesday

Another cold and wet day but 5 volunteers today .

Over on 2 nothing has happened since last week , I think all the activity has moved down to Toddington until the special bricks come.

The notice board by the booking office door needs a freshening up , warming itself up in the disabled toilet.

Kevin and Ian were making an area behind the mess hut for gardening paraphernalia . 

Chris and young Dave made a start on insulating another wall of the shed.

Kevin has a new area with the cold frames .

Dave