Summer 2021 : Recovering from the virus
By June, with covid restrictions lifted, it was almost back to normal. However, as soon as we opened the signal boxes we found electrical faults and on several days normal running was not possible until these had been rectified - largely through the efforts of Andrew Ainslie - see below.
We lost two days due to wet weather and had one punishingly hot day: has climate change reached the railway? We had a successful and well attended family day and several evening BBQs - thank you June for these and, of course, the tea.
Quick Links
Carriage Shed: In full use in 2021
There were just a few jobs to do before we could easily use our new carriage shed and the picture shows an obvious omission being corrected. Connecting the track!
These odd jobs were completed almost at once and the carriage shed has become the home of almost all our rolling stock. Only a small number of narrow gauge goods wagons are stored in the short tunnel.
Access to the carriage shed is via a headshunt which is also serves a loco loading bay. Thus, there is now some congestion at Old Oak at the end of the day.
Water at Old Oak
The picture shows the installation of the water column in July. Water from the carriage shed roof is now stored in large plastic container at the back of the shed and an electric pump delivers the water. A pressure switch cuts power to the motor when the tap is closed.
New Wood Walls to the Trackside
These new low wooden barriers to keep garden soil off the railway have been installed here on the branch and also near Spinney signal box. They replace barriers dating back to the creation of the railway,
This work was entirely undertaken by Alan A and the family in 2021. Thank you Alan and family team.
Andrew Ainslie: Signal Engineer
The loss of both Richard Stokes and Bob Thackery left the railway in some difficulty.
Bay Tree and Old Oak have been pretty well fault free but both Spinney and Dingly presented challenging difficulties.
Spinney:
Here several instances of "wear and tear" caused problems; loose / corroded connections, a failed signal solenoid and "interesting" wiring of the tunnel feather signal were the challenges.
Dingly:
Here Bob left us with something of a "work in progress" and temporary wiring had to be secured to make the box work reliably.
Andrew led the signalling work and towards the end of the season we were able to just "switch on" but earlier we had difficult sessions of fault finding before the signalling would work. It is almost entirely down to Andrew and his skills from London Underground that we again have working signalling. Thank you Andrew!
Long tunnel cables
Another sign of wear and tear in the Spinney area signalling was the cables in the long tunnel coming away from the wall
Peter took on the unenviable task of re-securing these cables. The task was unenviable because the low tunnel roof meant crouching throughout. In the picture Peter has almost reached the last support.
Thank you Peter.
Locomotives
Almost all our regular locomotives had an outing. Those with access to the "Friends" section can see a record by clicking on "Loco Running Data since 2011" in the "Friends" section.
A few visitors returned with their locos.
The picture shows new member Matthew with his unique contractors train.
Ballast
In October we had the challenge (financial and literal) of this heap of 20 tons of ballast. Amazingly we managed to shift it to the ballast store before lunch and then ran trains. Special thanks to the two visitors who helped and then ran their engine - a magnificent 9F.
Team 2021:
Tim took a photo which almost provides a team photo for 2021
Left right: Dave Marsh, Dave Mowat, David Grant, Matthew Teller, visitor, Heather Reynolds, Robin Smith, June Ainslie, Henry Heath, Jamie Heath, Nick Smith, Peter Willats, Alan Ainslie.
Regulars not on the photo: Tim Reynolds, Alan Stephen, Mick Collins, David Daines, Cliff Perry, Andrew Ainslie.
PS: The visiting 9F was a beautiful engine
The Whole Story
As usual, the full story of the year can be found in the Archived News of 2021 thanks to our hard working reporter Tim.
The Archived News is a copy of the 2021 News and presents events backwards.