Home
Work In Progess archive page 4 (2020)
Station Maintenance November/December 2020
A couple of photos of recent activity:
 Okehampton Station entrance looking very tidy following a bit of leaf clearance. |
 The Station Maintenance Team at work applying a non-slip surface to the Okehampton Station footbridge. |
Station Maintenance November 11th 2020
The excitement of the day was the departure on a lowloader of one the Quattro Roadrailers from the Network Rail compound in the carpark. Otherwise the day was fairly normal with Geoff and Alan painting benches, doors, doorways and drain covers. Paul worked on the platform 2 canopy lights and got all three working.
Carriage and Wagon October 15th 2020
A very welcome fine sunny day for six members of C&W who gathered at Meldon. This enabled us to undertake the planned application of the grey undercoat to our Lab11 carriage. By the end of the day the south side was completed and a start made on the north side.
The fine weather also enabled to get on with removing the graffiti to the side of the FK. All had been successfully cleaned off by the end of the day.
Our usual correspondent being unwell this report has been prepared by a junior understudy. We wish David a quick recovery and seeing him take up his camera and keyboard soon.
 A bit of a stretch. Paul and Ron making a start on Lab 11. |
 Well under way with the south side of Lab 11. |
 South side finished. |
 Cracking on with the graffiti on the FK. |
 Finished |
GH
Station Maintenance October 14th 2020
The 14th was pretty similar to the 7th - continuing painting the outside of the P2 building - but with the addition of Alan smartening up the green bits, and Ron working on some electrical fittings.
 At last a use for one of those coaches. The Station Maintenance team at work painting the platform 2 building wall and awning supports. |
JK
Station Maintenance October 7th 2020
Geoff, Paul, Tom and Jon in attendance. The major task at the moment is the painting of the outside walls of the platform 2 building, along with the attached concrete supports for the platform awning. It hasn't had any attention within anyone's memory, so cleaning it took a while, and the roughcast finish is very slow to paint. Even though the original looked suspiciously like magnolia, Tom assures us that the white we're applying is the correct colour; it will take him a while to fix it if he's wrong. As most of it is under the awning, it's not a bad wet weather job, and could be finished in a couple of weeks, whereupon it will look pretty striking and will warrant a photo or two.
A coat of paint was also splashed on the upside running in board, doubling its structural strength.
For the avoidance of doubt, the DRCIC rolling stock was still there. It will seem strange to work on the platform without a rake of shabby, insanitary Mk2 coaches for a backcloth. One day.
JK
Carriage & Wagon Thursday September 17th 2020
A perfect fine, late summer day, ideal for outside work, greeted 6 C&W team members at Meldon.
Three members concentrated their efforts all day sanding down and applying filler here and there on the North side of Lab11, by way of the staging; whilst Geoff patch primed the South side. We have one 110volt sander and this was run off the dual voltage small generator. Until the future becomes clear we are limited to using cordless tools as we are no longer permitted to use our 240v tools.
Meanwhile Alan disappeared within the FK carriage and did some serious hammer work on something by the sound of it, followed by some painting. Other jobs included topping up Lab11 fuel tank from cans and fitting a replacement electric wall heater in the saloon.
The LMS brake van was checked. It is still parked at the visitor's site. Apart from it now standing knee deep in weeds and grass, all was well. Thanks to the weeding and grass cutting mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we can now see that Lab11 is actually standing on rails!
DB
Station Maintenance Wednesday September 9th
Alan and Geoff soldiered on with painting the entrance gates and fencing, on platforms 2 and 3 respectively. When eventually the station re-opens to the public, it will look very impressive and welcoming.
The rest of the team - Tom, Paul and Jon - went on a jolly to Meldon to retrieve the scaffold platform, so that the renovated Platform 1/2 sign could be re-erected. Unfortunately, although the sign itself looks OK, once it was up it was clear that something is out of square in the mounting hardware, exacerbated by a non-vertical, tapered post and a non-horizontal platform surface. It will have to be re-addressed at some point.
 The refurbished platform number sign, taken from an angle which disguises the mounting problem. |
A couple of shots taken in the yard at Meldon:
 When, or if, the administration sale is completed, someone will get a very tidy class 205 Thumper, nicely refinished by DRSA's volunteers. |
 Photographer: Jon Kelsey |
JK
Station Maintenance Wednesday September 2nd
A team of 4 today, in the circumstances cautious of starting anything too substantial, but keeping the flag flying. The refurbished platform 1/2 sign is ready to put up, but we chickened out pending arrival of the Meldon scaffold tower. Tom took a breather from counting nuts and bolts to wander around with a camera, capturing the team members working, or at least seeming to.
 Paul made a start on tidying up the platform 3 running in board. In such an exposed position in the Okehampton climate its woodwork has a tough life. |
 It's a pleasure to see Geoff back as a regular member of the Wednesday team, after a couple of difficult years. |
 The website editor painting a sign, with a miraculously clean paintbrush. "The train now standing in platform 2 ..." |
 Fred the assistant website editor head-butted some of Geoff's painting and carried a go-faster stripe on his forehead for the rest of the day. |
JK
Station Maintenance Saturday August 22nd and Wednesday August 26th
Saturday saw work on unblocking Platform 3 drains, with C&W help, as well as continuing fence painting and gardening. Yet more fence painting took place on Wednesday, on both the Platform 2 and Platform 3 entrances. Work also took place on the Platform 1/2 sign, and rearranging the temporary tool store in the museum to make it a bit easier to find stuff.
On Thursday several of the C&W team members showed up at Meldon, only to be thwarted by the weather.
 David and Tom celebrating unblocking one of Platform 3's drains |
 The Platform 2 entrance area is now looking very smart, thanks to the efforts of Alan, Geoff and David. |
 Sadly the goods shed is no longer part of the railway, but it still enhances the Platform 2 scene. |
Station Maintenance August 5th and 8th
Station Maintenance is split between Wednesdays and Saturdays, for the convenience of the volunteers. On Wednesday, Geoff was painting the endless platform 2 fencing, Paul was brush cutting around the station road entrance, and Jon was hacking at the rotten platform 1&2 sign. On Saturday Alan continued the painting effort. Our thanks to Tony for a couple of photos taken on the Saturday.
 Stalwart volunteer Alan painting the fencing and notice case at the Okehampton station downside entrance, with Tom observing. |
 A very tidy and cared for station approach road thanks to vegetation cutting and clearance by Paul. |
Carriage and Wagon August 6th 2020
 Work under way to rejuvenate Lab11's paintwork. |
Fine intermittent drizzle met the C&W members as they assembled first thing. Luckily it was not enough to deter us and after lunch we were treated to some sunshine.
An attempt to top-up the LAB11 diesel fuel tank from cans was frustrated as the rotary hand pump had seized up. Undeterred, the usual C&W prowess in such matters overcame the problem with a 10mm spanner, a few suggestions from a team of three, dismantling it, cleaning up the components and reassembling them. Fuelling was delayed by a mere 30 minutes!
Work continued filling-in and rubbing down on the South side of LAB11 whilst sanding progressed on the North side, after staging had been erected. Later in the day the heavy steel staging, which had lain semi-derelict nearby, was moved with difficulty closer to the North side of the coach and can now be used to complete the preparation of that side.
A welcome working visit was made by committee member Tony who, together with Geoff, did some useful weed and brushwood removal around the coach working area to eliminate tripping and stumbling.
The drilling of the holes in the SR brake van buffer oak plates was finally completed, exhausting 3 rechargeable batteries in the process. An ongoing light duty for your correspondent has been to fit "boot proof" plugs and trailing sockets to various power leads and wind them onto serviceable reels and formers. This has been completed.
 Preparation work on the North side of Lab 11. Looks like David is about to get a soaking from John. |
 General view of the Carriage and Wagon site and workshop at Meldon |
Carriage and Wagon July 30th 2020
A beautiful cloudless day greeted the members of the C&W group at Meldon who were able to take coffee and lunch "al fresco" for a change. Work continued sanding down the South side of LAB11, in addition to some painting on the FK coach underframe and drilling out holes for the bolts on the SR brake van oak buffer plates.
It has been decided that LAB11 will be given the usual coat of primer where remedial work and rust removal has been carried out, then receive protective coats of non-water based grey undercoat and topcoat; unless we can get it under cover first before winter arrives.
A check was made of the ex LMS brake van which had been left by DRCIC in an exposed position close to the visitor's site. We were pleased to find it in good condition.
Station Maintenance July 29th 2020
A regular Wednesday team of half a dozen SMT volunteers is crystallising. After his health problems of the last couple of years, we welcome Geoff's regular attendance. He teamed up with Alan and David to continue the 'Forth Bridge' painting of the fencing around the platform 2 entrance. Meanwhile Paul attacked the vegetation around the main entrance with the brush cutter, and Jon continued bodging rotten woodwork on the platform 1/2 sign. Tom supervised.
At the moment, hardly a day goes by without someone 'official' rocking up to look at some aspect of Okehampton Station. It's all very interesting. Today it was two blokes who said they were from the administrators, and very charming and friendly they were too.
Carriage and Wagon July 23rd 2020
An eager group of C&W members met in the open air at Meldon, being denied the use of the workshop until the Dartmoor Railway CIC administrator gives permission to enter. Access to the quarry has now been kindly renewed by the owners. The day's work was concentrated on LAB11. Staging was erected and work started stripping and rubbing down the external paintwork. The aim being to give the coach a protective coat of sorts until cover is available, which at the rate things are going, may be a long time! Unfortunately the weather turned against us shortly after lunch, so the staging was dismantled and everything packed back into Lab11 - and we all went home.
 Having stripped the lettering and lining off the South side of Lab11, staging was erected. |
 Not to be forgotten, oak plates for the SR brake van West end buffers were marked out and fashioned by the end of the day. |
Station Maintenance July 22nd 2020
A cautious restart has been made on regular maintenance sessions at Okehampton station, with a 6 person group in attendance today. Most of the effort went into repair and repainting of the disabled entrance to platform 2, and its surrounding fencing. Sorting and relocation of the tools and materials formerly stored in the GUV and CCT continued, and work started on refurbishing the platform 1/2 number board. The day was punctuated by an encouraging visit from a Network Rail employee carrying out a drone survey of the line.
 Paul and Geoff at work at the Platform 2 entrance. |
Carriage & Wagon May 15th 2020
If only. However, we did visit Meldon for a short time, and can report that there's no sign of any damage, or vandalism.
Carriage & Wagon March 12th 2020
Ten members of the C&W team met at a wet and windy site. Undeterred, work started in different directions. The damaged West end roller shutter had worked loose during the past few weeks of gales, so Ron Kirby and John Coxon worked out how to fix it before the end of the day; and the next gale! Other members worked on, in and around the SR brake van.
After a lot of shoving and heaving the stove was lifted back on board and cleaned up ready for a coat or two of stove paint. A suitable sheet of steel was "procured" for sizing then fitting under it. The tricky bit will be to reinstall the chimney and make it rain proof.
Phil Hull having returned after a break of a few weeks spent the day removing more corroded-in bolts on the brake van Eastern steel clad platform, much to the relief of John Coxon. Having done all the work last week, he left his giant angle grinder in Phil's care and gleefully scuttled off elsewhere.
Unfortunately yours truly forgot to bring his, all singing and dancing, electric jigsaw, so that cutting out the first oak slab for the buffer took ages using the workshop model available. The other buffer beam (West end North side) area and steel plate were chipped clean and made ready for a coat of primer next week.
Meanwhile Nigel Green gave the North side of the brake van main frame a long awaited first coat of gloss black paint whilst Geoff Horner chipped away at the running gear North side East end.
 Nigel gives the North mainframe a coat of gloss. Note part of broken broken buffer spring. |
 Patrick takes a breather before shuffling the stove into the cabin. |
 Phil surrounded by a selection of his finest tools, attacks yet another corroded-in bolt. |
 Geoff watches as the first buffer slab is cut to size. |
 Right hand side of buffer beam etc primed and the left hand side ready for priming. Both parts of broken spring visible. Could this be the last of the surprises that the brake van has to offer .. |
Station Maintenance March 11th 2020
The day's highlight was a visit from Geoff Brooks. Poor Geoff has had more than his share of health problems recently, and it was good to see him looking quite well. He is hoping to get back to light volunteering duties in the near future.
It looks as if the five month monsoon season could finally be approaching an end, and we were able to do some outside jobs in reasonable comfort. Several of the large signs around the station are looking pretty ropey, having reached a stage of deterioration where if we don't repaint them now we'll be repairing wood rot in a year's time. The first of these to be tackled is the Platform 1/2 sign. It put up a stubborn fight, but was eventually removed and is now drying out in the CCT ready for refurbishment.
The most visible job was the removal of those ghastly, pointless, and (typically) unfinished gates erected at the four platform ends last year. They will now yield useful repair material for the station fences. It felt like an exorcism.
Of course, it may all be pointless, as we wait for politics and commerce to put an end to the uncertainty about the railway's future. But the feeling within the team is that it's better to do something than nothing, and anything we do now gives us a head start if things work out in our favour. No doubt the C&W team has a similar outlook.
Carriage & Wagon March 5th 2020
A small team of C&W volunteers assembled at Meldon, having driven through flooded roads after an overnight downpour. Further refuelling of the LAB11 generator took place using Jerry cans and the very useful portable hand pump. Work was then concentrated on the SR brake van. The Southern buffer flange, plate and mounting at the West end were given a final clean-up and a coat of primer. Little time remained and the oak plate will be cut out and fitted next week.
Meanwhile at the Eastern end, some bolts holding the steel platform to the mainframe were removed, in an attempt to reduce the buckling of the plate, caused by corrosion between it and the main frame. This required grinding out the bolt heads, cutting into the remains and drilling the countersunk edges out before punching the bolts through. This involved a lot of flying sparks, brute force with club hammer and punch, plus a lot of noise. The job had been put off for a year or so as being either 'too difficult' or 'can it be avoided?'. The next step will be to clear out the accumulation of heavy corrosion, then clamp the plate down and fit replacement bolts. However ...
 Priming in progress. By the end of the day the buffer, flange etc. were completed. |
 Countersunk bolt heads being ground away by John. Note the buckled plate. |
 Drilling out the edges of the countersunk bolt heads. Patrick assisted, between bouts of rubbing down woodwork filler, whilst Geoff watches with interest. |
Carriage & Wagon February 27th 2020
A bright brisk day greeted a small C&W team of 4 at Meldon. However, spirits were high with the prospect of gaining entry to the workshop again, after being locked out for over a month. Various tasks were undertaken sorting and securing moveable DRSA equipment and tidying up after what seemed a hasty exit by the DRCIC staff a couple of weeks ago.
After the LAB11 generator was topped up by jerrycan, work restarted on rust chipping on the buffer beam at the West end of the SR brake van. Enough progress was made to be able to prime the metalwork and cut out and fit an oak pad on one buffer position next week. Meanwhile the redundant coaching stock was examined to see if a section of metal moulding could be salvaged to replace an area on the end of LAB11. Urgent external work needed on the latter is being hampered by the lack of covered workshop space in which to park it.
Departure at the end of the day was delayed by finding that the LAB11 Yale door lock was jammed. Dismantling and a touch of 'expert fiddling' solved the problem in true C&W style.
Carriage & Wagon February 20th 2020
Despite strong winds and rain a small group of C&W volunteers turned up at Meldon. They were, yet again, unable to gain entry to the workshop as the keys are still unavailable thanks to the administration process. However, enthusiasm undaunted, the small team worked on the interior of DRSA's S13436 Mk2 FK carriage, easing the sliding doors and the communications cord system.
 How it's supposed to be. The FK in the sunshine at Meldon. A little while ago. |
Station Maintenance February 12th 2020
The Station Maintenance team was in action today, with five of us in attendance at one point. It was eerily quiet. Much of the work was security related in one way or another, and some explanatory signs were put up for the public. Stalwart Alan Harris scrubbed a winter's worth of damp and mildew from the disabled toilet, leaving it gleaming.
 Green shoots of recovery on Okehampton Station? |
Carriage & Wagon January 16th 2020
The C&W team was met by a howling gale and driving rain at Okehampton station, only to find it far worse on arrival at Meldon, resulting in being treated to sudden spells of rocking in Lab11 during the coffee and lunch breaks. Nevertheless, quite a lot of work was done in the "well aired" workshop. Despite the promised shunt being postponed again and thus the Thumper power car not out-shopped, a team of the fittest and most determined members, undaunted by working in a confined space, removed both damaged buffers at the West end of the SR brake van LDS55625; without damage to themselves. This time they used a length of staging frame placed crosswise and built-up with planks and blocks. The determination and ingenuity of the C&W team is limitless!
The buffer on the North side was found to have a broken spring which, from the signs of heavy corrosion at the break, occurred in the dim and distant past. As stated previously LDS55625 is full of surprises.
Other members continued with fitting internal woodwork trim to the cabin and filling-in on the exterior cladding. The first topcoat of gloss black on the Southern mainframe was completed whilst more zinc based primer was applied to metal work above this area by the remaining 2 members. Undeterred by the elements two staunch members worked across in the visitor's site at the viaduct. During lunch the weather seemed to have worsened, and so afterwards - we all went home!
 Ron loosens off the nuts on the North side buffer. |
 South side buffer showing heavy corrosion after removal. |
Carriage & Wagon January 9th 2020
A full turnout of the C&W team met in good spirits despite recent news of the DR sale by BARS. Various jobs on the rolling stock under cover were completed, including top coating the mainframe on the SR brake van LDS55625 on the South side and finishing off rust and paint removal on the buffer beam at the West end. Work continued fitting out interior woodwork on the cabin and painting. As is his custom our local hero spent the morning on the visitors area.
A long, heavy deluge of rain forced us to take an extended lunch taken in LAB11 and the opportunity was taken to discuss in what form our future activity would likely be, either in our support role or something more ambitious. Hopefully a shunt next week will out-shop the Thumper power car, park the LMS brake van and the class 08 under cover, thus providing plenty of work for willing hands; including removing the buffers on the SR brake van.