annieshalt
garden railways
somehow i dont think you will wear that railhead down ?????
Rebuilding Didcot's OTHER railway.
- Thread starter scanman
- Start date
An apology for not posting yesterday - I think my internet connection suffered (like me!) in the heat!
It was a VERY hot day at Didcot, but the team buckled down well and by mid-afternoon we had the trackbases for the 'main line' laid. Roger Orchard (the Centre manager)(also a 'G' Scale modeller) re-enforced the comment about the thermal properties of the trackbase. Even tho the temperature was in excess of 30C we left an expansion gap of about 1cm between the boards.
(photo d4-1)
Although the new curved bases will not arrive for a couple of weeks, it was an obvious requirement to place some pins to datum along the centreline of the curve. They may not be completely accurate, but at least with a known datum in the area we can adjust them.
(Image d4-3)
However we then suffered a 'weather delay' as the temperature hit 34C. Bearing in mind we're working with young people, 'Elf & Safety' came to the fore & we went and hid in the shade for an hour (not wasted - a basic 'First Aid' period was taught)! In fact by then the plastic boards were so hot (probably in excess of 40C) that they were painful to touch.
During the afternoon it became obvious that the end stakes were too far from the ends of the boards (about 10-15cm) and the board-ends were not flat . Initially we felt that the rail sections screwed to the boards would overcome this (On reflection I think the effects of the heat were showing - at least on me!)
So overnight I came to a decision based on the motto 'Speed is fine - accuracy is final', and day 5 started with laboriously uplifting the trackbed that had been laid and inserting extra pins at the board ends.
image d5-1.
Fortunately the weather was kinder (cooler) and by mid-afternoon not only had all the original trackbed been laid, but the bed for the goods loop and bay platform were also in place.
Image d5-2
Thanks to valiant efforts with the soldering iron by Doug Nicholls (a member of this forum) and Steven we had a number of points & lengths of track that COULD have been laid. However, after discussion it was felt this could be counter-productive. With no further trackbed being laid for about a fortnight, the decision was made to see how the newly-laid bed reacted to the process.
So at the end of a weeks work, had we achieved the aim of completely replacing the 'main line'? Obviously the answer was 'No' - but the progress has been sure and steady, and using the 'Filcris' products was an interesting learning curve! All the young volunteers have (hopefully) taken on some practical skills, and gained some experience of a working environment.
This obviously will not be the last entry on this thread - and by the next one hopefully I'll be able to post my own images!
Again some thanks are in order. Firstly to you lot! Your encouragment has been much appreciated - and in that regard I spoke to the Education Officer (Helen Prior) about a previous comment regarding visiting. We'd be delighted! Obviously it won't happen until the track is in running order - but hopefully by October we'll be in a position to offer forum members a day on the site. Of course if you'd like to volunteer to help....!
My thanks also go to Helen Prior who took a chance letting a complete 'newbie' to garden railways on the site. It backfired in one respect but we will recover! Thanks also to Doug, a long-time volunteer and supporter of the original garden railway. And of course the biggest thanks to Steven, Adam & Ed for giving up a week of their school holiday to 'get stuck in'.
Right - more in about a fortnight!
Kindest regards
Ian
It was a VERY hot day at Didcot, but the team buckled down well and by mid-afternoon we had the trackbases for the 'main line' laid. Roger Orchard (the Centre manager)(also a 'G' Scale modeller) re-enforced the comment about the thermal properties of the trackbase. Even tho the temperature was in excess of 30C we left an expansion gap of about 1cm between the boards.
(photo d4-1)
Although the new curved bases will not arrive for a couple of weeks, it was an obvious requirement to place some pins to datum along the centreline of the curve. They may not be completely accurate, but at least with a known datum in the area we can adjust them.
(Image d4-3)
However we then suffered a 'weather delay' as the temperature hit 34C. Bearing in mind we're working with young people, 'Elf & Safety' came to the fore & we went and hid in the shade for an hour (not wasted - a basic 'First Aid' period was taught)! In fact by then the plastic boards were so hot (probably in excess of 40C) that they were painful to touch.
During the afternoon it became obvious that the end stakes were too far from the ends of the boards (about 10-15cm) and the board-ends were not flat . Initially we felt that the rail sections screwed to the boards would overcome this (On reflection I think the effects of the heat were showing - at least on me!)
So overnight I came to a decision based on the motto 'Speed is fine - accuracy is final', and day 5 started with laboriously uplifting the trackbed that had been laid and inserting extra pins at the board ends.
image d5-1.
Fortunately the weather was kinder (cooler) and by mid-afternoon not only had all the original trackbed been laid, but the bed for the goods loop and bay platform were also in place.
Image d5-2
Thanks to valiant efforts with the soldering iron by Doug Nicholls (a member of this forum) and Steven we had a number of points & lengths of track that COULD have been laid. However, after discussion it was felt this could be counter-productive. With no further trackbed being laid for about a fortnight, the decision was made to see how the newly-laid bed reacted to the process.
So at the end of a weeks work, had we achieved the aim of completely replacing the 'main line'? Obviously the answer was 'No' - but the progress has been sure and steady, and using the 'Filcris' products was an interesting learning curve! All the young volunteers have (hopefully) taken on some practical skills, and gained some experience of a working environment.
This obviously will not be the last entry on this thread - and by the next one hopefully I'll be able to post my own images
!Again some thanks are in order. Firstly to you lot! Your encouragment has been much appreciated - and in that regard I spoke to the Education Officer (Helen Prior) about a previous comment regarding visiting. We'd be delighted! Obviously it won't happen until the track is in running order - but hopefully by October we'll be in a position to offer forum members a day on the site. Of course if you'd like to volunteer to help....!
My thanks also go to Helen Prior who took a chance letting a complete 'newbie' to garden railways on the site. It backfired in one respect but we will recover! Thanks also to Doug, a long-time volunteer and supporter of the original garden railway. And of course the biggest thanks to Steven, Adam & Ed for giving up a week of their school holiday to 'get stuck in'.
Right - more in about a fortnight!
Kindest regards
Ian