Wednesday 5th August the first rain for 47 odd days so the soil is now sticky.

                                         

Today is get the new shed base down with the help of Mike so a dry start would have been useful as the loose soil is now sticky and the timbers are wet. We screwed the 38mm sq base timber frame to the 4 x4 post for strength and height doing one half first this was then levelled with bricks and slate then in filled with ash from the steam trains to consolidate it.

                                                  

With section one done we continued with number two and did the same but leaving the excess 4x4 so a locker can be added sometime in the future.

 

once level we put the ash under the main timbers and then added the insulation and started laying the floor boards however the few hundred 30mm nails were mixed in a bag with hundreds of screws so some sorting and picking was required.

                     The enamel sign is coming on well and a separate post will be done on the process.

We have a new collection to clean up as exhibits

We have purchased a small furnace for melting aluminium cans to cast some signs this needs assembling.

The Morris cab has had more paint and the floor is in

Then it was home time.

 Wednesday 29th July a cloudy start then the heatwave started.

    

The Morris seat base needs another de rust and paint after stripping the home made mountings off

A  sanding disc got the rust off the base and it was then treated with a rust inhibitor then some rust preventative paint.

 

It was then refitted into the lorry to check the height required for the seat mounts.

The new shed kit has been laid up for a few weeks but needs assembling so print off some instructions and sort out the timbers for the base that needs assembling first so we can get the site levelled up.

Once screwed together the 2 floor sections were put into place this highlighted more ground clearance was required.

After a long discussion about the best way forwards for longevity it was decided that the 38mm timbers were not really man enough so fixing 4x2 under it would be a good added strength and raise the base.

Greg went off to Gloucester and purchased 9 4x4 posts.

These have been placed in situ ready for screwing together

Whilst Greg was away a walk down to the ash bunker found the tele handler emptying it into a tipper wagon as the railway have to pay for it’s removal. A quick chat with the operator and yes we can have 4 bucket fulls delivered however on checking he was not allowed to drive on the road to our site so buckets, shovels and an estate car got two loads around however the heat wave was making life hard in the full sun.

We had even cleared a route for the tele handler in anticipation of delivery but this proved useful for the car.

Then heat and other work stopped play.

 Cloudy Railway Carriage Windows.

This is a phenonium seen on many heritage railway windows, over the years, iron brake dust has settled on to the glass and moisture has caused the brake dust to adhere and rust, causing occlusion on the glass.

This cannot be cleaned  off , it needs something more specific and more powerful.

This demonstration of  occlusion removal from the side window of the class 47 Diesel cab  at Toddington owned by Jack Boskett shows this.

If you enlarge the photo, You can see I have used rust remover, ( Phosphoric Acid)

to write the word, Jack on the glass,  it has removed the staining, making the glass bright and transparent again.

I would advise all heritage railways with cloudy carriage windows to try this method of removal,

Clear bright carriage windows will add to the visitor experience, and the answer is simple and straight forward. 

 Lyndon Knott and I popped down to Pewsey station to continue to clear and assess the potential of removing the Concrete permanent way building for reinstatement on the GWSR.

We removed the cast iron stove and chimney   which are heavily corroded and broken in many places as well as the Straw and pallets.

We carefully removed the electrical conduit ducting and fittings for future reinstatement.

The building has slotted base blocks for the walls and pillars to slot in to, so I dug out one side so that we could work out how these could be moved.

Lyndon removed a lot of the hardboard interior cladding which we brought back for disposal.

Then he numbered , in chalk each individual component of the building just as he did years before when he moved the former station from Monmouth and rebuilt it at Winchcombe.

He really enjoyed doing another worthy project.

This building was erected in the early 1950'S and was made at the western region concrete works at Taunton

 A good moment

We like to be able to place artefacts from the past in the best and safest place possible, usually our own museum displays, but if there is a better and a more relevant home then we will pass items on.

This was an easy win, yesterday I rescued this film splicer/editor from a skip 

In as new condition, it deserved better

It was still in the boot of my car when I visited the great Welland Steam Rally today

In the model tent was a display of movie bygones it made sense to give it to the exhibitor where it will find care and relevance.

So that is what happened.

Christmas came early too.

One of my builder friends was having a clear and a lot of oil based paint came our way.

 Wednesday 22nd July a lovely summer day with light cloud.

  

The Morris floor still needs work on the footwells so a clean, cut out some rust and put new metal in then weld up some pin holes. The door needed removing as the wind has strained the A post by the hinges.

 

 

The new shed base is going down and respect to Mike wheel  barrow transporting several loads around from the station yard over the road bridge and down the garden to tip it in. The rest went in a car using containers.

 

Rubbing down the mail coach to remove the discoloured varnish continues.

The passage to Canada sign is also getting there with the rust out and yet more filling  done.

It was then the end of another session but things are moving along and progress is good.

This duplicate will not cut on the linked Ipad so a task for another day.

 Saturday the 18th July a warm sunny day for a visit to the buildings mentioned on the Wednesday blog.

A team of five Greg the instigator, Lyndon with knowledge of building moves, Mike, Joe and myself  in 2 cars off to Pewsey to view a 12ft X 15Ft  concrete section al building from the early 1950's and a line side corrugated hut that are in a garden near the station,

The owner and donator of these buildings showed us around and helped with the investigative work.

The line side hut was encased in a timber and chicken wire run where chickens had been kept in the past this looks pretty straight forwards but it is rusty around the base and the roof sheeting is wrong.

Then onto the concrete building, this will be a major task and involve so heavy lifting where machinery may be required

Drilling a few exploratory holes proved the mortar used on assembly was soft so will come out and a dig around the base revealed it is just sat on a concrete plinth. This is a major task as the roof is also preformed concrete slabs and a few are cracked. This task needs some machinery and a lorry with a hiab crane on.

The line side building will be a lot easier and cutting up then dismantling the wire run to gain access took and hour then the false floor needed breaking up and removing.

digging around the perimeter showed it is just sat on the soil which has built up around it over the years.

This is now accessible but again a lorry with Hiab iis required 

All in all a fruitful day that required a stop at the Waterfront bar and bistro on the Kennet and Avon canal on the way home to discuss what we had looked at.

Should the concrete building prove to be beyond saving as there are some cracks it contains a large cast grate and oven alongside the 3 metal framed windows.