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

Too Cold Again

 Week commencing 23rd January 2023

It was another bitterly cold day at Broadway on Monday the wind comes off the fields and chills us old volunteers to the bones , So what to do and where to hide .

Put the heater on in the mess hut and have a chat.

The transport wheels for the new hover mower had arrived , so we all had a go at sorting that out.

Pat wrapped up warm, headed down to the track bed and in the space of a few hours racked 3 or 4 barrow loads of pine needles . 

In the mess hut at break time we had some unexpected news , Tony our Head of Department and volunteer for over 14 years was calling it a day. For reasons we all sympathize with him about. 

We all shook his hand and wished him well and said our farewells as another well respected member of our group left.

In the afternoon most had gone home , Dave and Ian moved some of the bins into the warmish mess hut to apply various top coats of paint. Warm but too dark. But better than being outside.

Wednesday

Just the 3 of us today.

Two of the bins were dry enough to be put under the station canopy , only 3 more to go.

Another job that's been outstanding for ages was replacing the broken lamp on the drive. The top had been struck by a falling branch and the top was bent and being held on with a bit of string !

We had a spare replacement lamp just in case.

With Neal's help we borrowed the scaffolding they had been using on the station platform , and wheeled it down the drive. Peter inspected what was required and what we needed to do to repair it. 

Luckily it was just a top change not the complete lamp , jobs a good un as they say.

By the afternoon the rain had started , Lets go home.

Dave

Billy Gets a Run Out.

 Week Commencing 16th January 2023.

Weather was looking good, no rain forecast, and it had been dry for a few days before , so lets see what the Billy Goat could do !

After the usual checks ,  Brian pushed Billy onto drive.

One thing it cant do is get at the leaves by the side of the wall.

Once extracted it made light work of bagging them up, bag soon became full which then had to be ferried down to the bonfire area. It was mostly leaves today the Pine needles don't seam drop this time of year . but its a great help otherwise.

Elsewhere Pat was trying to keep the hedge under control.

The Billy goat having done its duty was cleaned and returned to its container , and Brian headed to the warmth of the disabled toilet to give the bench a coat of Varnish.

In the afternoon Brian , Ian and Dave heading down to platform 1 to clear up Twigs and Braches which had fallen in the recent winds.

 

There's always time at the end of the day for a bit  of painting , Dave and Ian on the brushes..

Wednesday

Just the 3 of us , and a bit too cold to anything first thing.

Except

The Bonfire kept us warm till the sun shown it self/

Sun was up and Dave and Ian headed down the drive . One thing Billy doesn't like is picking up pine cones so of we went with our Litter pickers, to tidy up what it had missed.

Mike turned up with a couple of signs which needed to be installed at the entrances to the access to our neighbors properties. 

One at the bottom of the steps up to what was the railway workers cottages.

And one at the bottom of their Drive.

Dave

Chucking it down

 Week Commencing 9th January 2023

I'm afraid I wasn't around on the Monday to see what went on , but Ian pointed out that they had refixed the sign onto the newly painted post.

Just the 4 of us on Wednesday , the weather had a cold wind and dampness in it , later it poured down. so most of the day was spent inside if we could.

Mike was in the café doing a stock check .

Peter was making more Trug Handles .

Before it rained again Pat was trimming the hedge which seams to get taller every year.

And when it did rain in the afternoon Dave and Ian were in Portakabin 2 giving the bins another coat of paint.

Not much room to swing a Cat , if you could, it would probably end up covered in paint.

Dave

Here We Go Again

 Wednesday 4th January 2023

No attendance on Monday , a few of us were enjoying a day out on the last Train of the season.

but on Wednesday a grand total of  6 arrived to see what they could do .

First job was to take the Christmas decorations down in the café .

it didn't take too long before they  were all boxed up and returned to the store room .There had been a problem with the Station heating over the previous days which Tony sorted out ( we must train the station staff  how to change batteries ! )

Second big job on the list was to move the platform furniture under shelter , to keep it out of the worst of the winter weather.

Not that it was a bad day weather wise  , it was warm enough for Ian to give the post a fresh coat of black paint.

Not wishing to paint outside , Brian took to the Disable toilet to give one of the benches the first top coat of Brown.

Elsewhere Vic was giving the Station Staff areas a good clean.

Pat was racking up the leaves from the end of platform 1 , there was a temptation to use the Billy Goat but picking up wet leaves causes more problems than it worth.

Peter was back making Trugg Handles

Mid day most had wandered off , leaving just Dave and Ian refurbishing the waste bins , until we discovered the puddle in the mess hut thought to be caused by condensation , was in fact a leak in the cold water feed. Must have been dripping since the cold weather a few weeks back , any way we eventually managed to get the stop cock to close and did a bit of mopping up . 

so there's now a job for next Monday to sort out.

And finally my picture of the final day of  " 4270 " here seen leaving Winchcombe.

Dave