Wednesday 11th November a colder than the normal weather and damp with rain.

                                         

                                 Three more fence post to dig out the holes and fit so whilst it is not raining.

five installed and two to go. As we had to buy a roll of fencing wire there was plenty left over this has gone to the GWR team and will be used behind platform 2 at Cheltenham as the fence there requires renewing.

The old Malvern Wells Station sign has been lying around since the mounting frame rotted last year there is now interest in it from the Malvern Wells council so today the heaviest 8 ft long section was carried over from by the toy museum with the help of Mike it will now be repaired. 

The leaves have been falling in vast quantity and covered the access steps and path so the garden vacuum got the worst up to stop folks slipping on them.

The Foss cross building is next to a tree so suffers with the wind blowing them in so again more vacuuming to do after this all the other buildings got the same treatment before closing the doors as the GWSR is now closed for winter apart from the special events.

                 

The first of the new cast aluminium signs has finally got it's white highlights done and Mike has repainted the footpath gate sign that will be installed by the viaduct up towards Broadway.

                                                                          

Finally we have been donated a non working model traction engine which is partially disassembled with parts lying loose and controls disconnected so a jig saw with no picture to help us repair it.

A car windscreen wiper motor is visible by the controls along with 3 switches but no sign of a 12 volt battery so assume there is a motorbike one somewhere inside, however there is no rubber drive belt from motor pulley to the driven gears there is also a glow plug wired up at what would be the boiler so again a guess it has a hot element to make smoke from whatever liquid is used in model trains as it is not a proper boiler or steam.

Lifting the top off took 10 minutes as it was rusted solid into the tubes but at least more is visible and the top cross shaft is just sat there .May need to search online for instructions or contact some local modelers I did have a book on building these types of machines for the home engineer from the 1950's or 60's but took it to a charity shop last summer.

 Wednesday 4th November a cooler Autumn day with a cold wind on this away day to Pewsey Wiltshire.

                                          

After loading the car with shovels, blocks of wood, scythe, hedge trimmer, secateurs and a long lever bar it was off to Pewsey to get the corrugated tin GWR shed out of the ground. The team was Greg, Lyndon a man with interest in railway buildings and myself.

After clearing and flattening the nettles and brambles we had to move the remains of the chicken pen from in front of it.

It was then time to try and find the bottom edge as this was about 6" below ground level.

The tin had lost the lower few inches but 3 sides had an angle iron frame buried in the ground so it required digging out to release the metal frame work.

The front end was then levered up and blocked clear of the soil.

The shed rear end was harder to lift  and required more excavation to release it from the soil and roots.

With use of the 8ft lever bar and some blocks it finally came free and was blocked clear of the soil. Then with the muscle of the 3 of us applied we got it onto it's side this revealed the left side bottom angle iron frame had rotted away completely.

It was then levered around so it was aligned with the space we cleared to pull it out.

This is now set up ready for removal from the site but we need to source and fit an new bottom rail to the left side to make it rigid and the assistance of the GWSR teams pickup to load it onto, we estimate 6 able bodied folks should get it on as is but we can remove the door and the roof to lighten it.

A tour and search of the scrap in Winchcombe yard proved futile as the was no angle iron to be found so it looks like a trip to Jeebra at Ashdown  Farm in Evesham to buy 4X 2M lengths of 1.5" angle iron ready for the next visit to Pewsey.

 Wednesday 28th October a clear but cooler start and luckily the rain held off so outside it is.

                                                               

The fence needs finishing now new post have been brought they are too long and the tops need cutting to suit so they have the same angles as the original GWR post we have. After shortening the bottom were painted with old engine oil to preserve them under ground.

            

Then it was time for hole number 1 18" deep to get the correct height at the top wire only to find an old fence wire about 8" down so bolt cutters in solved a problem

The fist two posts in their holes and secured by the top two wires so we have movement available when they are all in to get it looking correct as the end post leans to the left and the straining post leans to the right and neither will move without some serious work. 

                                                

post 3 went in easily as the wire strand pulled out however the hole for the 4th had 2 fencing wires crossing it about 14" down so awkward to get the cutters in but now done.

The approach from platform 2 steps now looks more inviting rather than a wilderness.

The windows on the south facing end of the workshop are well weathered and starting to rot so scrape the loose paint off and brush on a lanolin and white spirit mix to soak in and feed the timber.

The first aluminium cast GWR sunken wires warning sign has had the final coat of black ready for the white lettering and border to be done.

It has been a busy day with a good amount of visitors for  the half term break before the railway closes apart from special events.

                                                

                Not long after completing the few jobs it started raining so great timing.

 Wednesday 21st October a wet Autumnal day at 12 degrees C but feeling colder with the damp.

                                                

A quick look in the shop shows we are steadily shifting stock and adding to the Trusts funds.

                                                

                                         

                               It is raining but we need to get the fencing done and tidy up a bit.

The wire anchors on the end post are rusty and nuts seized so getting them red hot with the gas torch then wire brushing the threads got them free luckily we got all 8 easier than thought it was going to be.

The last couple of old posts got the ivy freed from them so they would lift out and after a raking the last bit of wire was removed it was then possible to run the mower over the rough stuff.

The 5 Kg roll of wire gives us plenty of spare as the fence is about 50ft long with 8 strands originally but if we leave the lower one off the mower will have access any foliage growing.

So the first 2 are on and stretched.

The wires wind on to a pin with a hole through for wire location and there is a ratchet and pawl one end to retain the tension after it is set using the winding handle some pawls were sized and needed heat to free them. However a few pawls were broken or missing so new ones had to be made.

As we had no thick metal plate a trip to the skips was required so time to load the car with rubbish as we continue to tidy the area up.

On our way to Winchcombe we stopped off at the Honeybourne signal box as it had flooding around the path and thus required some action with the drain rods to remove a blockage or two.

A success at Winchcombe waste metal skip some 6 mm thick stuff which looked ideal so back to the workshops and out with the angle grinder using a 1mm cutting disc to shape 2 new ones.

After cutting and drilling that went very easily one needed a slight bend on, so in the vice for a quick tap with  a hammer and it snapped off luckily in the right place ( what we had was a smooth finished piece of cast iron)

So time for digging a post hole as we have one original GWR post but need another 6 setting the 6' 2" post centers using tape on the top wire.

There was time to add another 5 wires to the job and then using staples fix them to the post.

Walking up the steps off platform 2 it now looks more like a railway boundary rather than a jungle.

It was then time to get dried out and admire the tidy looking area all we need now is 6 more GWR wooden fence posts, hopefully the GWSR may supply these as it is their boundary fence.