NYMR - Levisham Station Group - The home of the Wombles!

12th and 13th May 2012

simon — Sun, 13 May 2012 19:12:50 +0000

Most of the station group have not been working here this weekend – they have been down the line dealing with more lineside scrub. This time it was just beyond the outer home signal where lots of blackthorn, hawthorn and willow was blocking the lineside ditch and encroaching onto the line, so much so that it had already been pruned to stop it scratching the coaches. After a day and a half it has all been cut down and stacked ready for disposal. The lineside has also been levelled where old heaps of ballast had been left. It is now ready for the second track!?!
Elsewhere, Brian has continued building the new level crossing gate, making the upright palings and mortising it all together. The first coats of paint have also been applied, before it is finally fixed together. Hopefully this will ensure the wood lasts a long time. Whilst he was on painting, the 12’ platform bench has also benefitted from a couple of undercoats. As well as paint on, we also took some paint off. Two recycled gate hinges for the new gate have been taken out of our stock and cleaned and primed ready for hanging the gate.
Weighbridge Teas were open again from Friday through to Sunday for the Gala and had a steady trade in drinks, food and 2nd hand books and videos. However, they still had time to send us drinks out on the lineside – logistical teamwork between the Station Master, the signalman, the weighbridge staff and the train crews – Thanks very much!

5th, 6th and 7th May 2012

simon — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:51:23 +0000

Considering it’s a Gala Weekend the weather has not been that bad! We have had the railway’s mini digger again and this has allowed us to work on several sites. First up was the backfilling of the field access bridge south of the station. The digger has pulled surplus spoil from around the bridge site to create a level access over the steel pipe which was placed there during the winter. The large earth and brash heap nearby was next up with the digger pulling it apart so that the wood could be removed and the soil spread and levelled. The brash was then burnt and the whole site tidied up. The timber lineside fence in that area has also been repaired and damaged rails replaced with second hand ones we had recovered from elsewhere. The ditches around the wartime display field have been cleaned out to improve drainage. There will be further work to tidy the site here once the area dries out a bit more. Finally, north of the station where we reinstated the stone culvert, the digger has spread and levelled the spoil heaps to create a level access. At the same time the nearby lineside has been levelled following the winter work on the track renewal. There is further work along the lineside to remove scrub and spread and level old spoil heaps.
Elsewhere around the station the lineside fencing renewal has continued. albeit underwater! The ground was completely waterlogged with up to 2” of standing water. It made plodging around ‘interesting’. A further 17 posts with associated rails have gone in (or looking at it another way, another £350 of materials!). Some old window units have had their glass removed and the rotten timber dismantled ready for disposal.
Weighbridge Teas had a good 4 days serving their usual wares and are looking forward to another successful gala weekend next week. They also sent food parcels by train to the digger team working away from the station (just the ticket to keep us going).

29th April 2012

simon — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:07:17 +0000

What a wet day, its just not stopped raining and yesterday morning was not much better! However a bit, or even a lot of rain, doesn’t stop us here. First up yesterday was the collection and then de-nailing of a selection of old fence rails recovered from south of the station where a new post and pig wire fence is being installed, by others, to replace the old rotten post and rail fence.
North of the station some surplus ash left on the lineside following the track renewal has been levelled off and tidied up. Some ash came back to the level crossing to top up the walkway either side of the crossing and the access path to our huts. The fog object has been reinstated back on the lineside just north of the bracket signal following its Diamond Jubilee repaint (it was last done at the Golden Jubilee!). We have cleared some more wind fallen trees from the sight line north of the station, cutting off the branches ready for disposal and the logs ready for removal.
Elsewhere today, under cover, we have commenced making a new wicket gate (the small white gates) for the level crossing. This will be installed on the signal box side north of the crossing later this spring (this is why the level crossing deck has been widened and straightened at the north end). The platform bench which has been drying out in one of our vans has had a sand and received a first coat of primer, as has one side of the old signal box door following the removal of the last bits of paint. Our special events storage van has been partly tidied up, removing out of date rubbish and restacking the remaining stores.
Not surprisingly Weighbridge Teas didn’t have a brilliant weekend for sales, but they are open over all of the Spring Steam Gala next week. Don’t forget to call whilst looking at two A4s and Britannia, plus our usual fleet.

22nd April 2012

simon — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 19:00:35 +0000

No snow this weekend but we did get hail (without the Mary!). We completed the rail changeovers on the Camping Coach siding and headshunt. The far end of the headshunt now requires a wagon load of ash to lift and pack it properly.
The level crossing has had its final deck units installed and a few of the existing panels adjusted as they continue to settle under traffic. This sentence does not describe the amount of fiddly work required to get the levels correct.
We are planning to reinstate the lamp room that used to stand on the dock behind the Up platform. This was used for the storage and maintenance of the oil lamps that are still in use in some of the signal lamps. It was burnt down in the mid 1960s, and was unique to Levisham on the NYMR. We will reinstate this wooden building to continue our aims of restoring Levisham to its 1912 appearance. This project involves a lot of planning, as we have to try and estimate the building’s size from old photographs and then draw a plan for its construction, before calculating and ordering the materials required. The old door we are re-using for the lamp room has been further stripped of old paint. It now awaits a final paint strip in the joints before we start re-applying new paint.
Our gardeners have been out and about preparing the vegetable beds for the new crop including making new runner bean support structures. We hope for a bumper crop this summer. Come and try some then. Beth has had a sort out in the Booking Office and pasted a couple of more posters on the notice boards.

Week ending 15th April 2012

simon — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 20:41:09 +0000

Well it’s been snowing here again, albeit not settling this time. We have had a return visit to Newtondale Halt to complete the pruning of the scrub and blackthorn. We have opened up the site and there is now a good view from the train of the area and vice versa.
We have collected the final level crossing planks from the wood yard together with some fence posts for our neighbouring landowner, who also wanted them delivering to a field down the line. The Pway trolley came in very useful for this.
At our station, Mike has completed the modifications to our portable bar. Works include the facility to have 3 beer engines in use at once, modified shelving and a repaint. In between he also managed to replace a tap washer in the gents!
Andy and Brian have continued the modification and repacking of the level crossing deck as it continues to settle. Stephen has paint stripped an old door we had ready for re-use in our next project. We have now swapped the short rails with long ones in the head shunt and camping coach siding in the south yard. There was a certain amount of adjustment necessary to allow the long rails to fit in. A short sentence which doesn’t show the amount of work involved in this!
Weighbridge Teas had a reasonable weekend although this morning’s weather did deter some visitors I’m sure. The ice creams still sell regardless although it’s a bit much when Alex nicks the Station Master’s, again!

6th – 9th April 2012

simon — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:53:39 +0000

Happy Easter! I hope you all had a good long weekend, even if the weather was not exactly nice. It didn’t stop us here although some project’s priorities were changed to keep us drier.
We had strong winds and snow during the week and this played havoc with the power lines which feed the area. Power was lost on Wednesday morning (around 2am) and was not restored until 20.30 on Thursday evening! Several poles had been snapped in half at the top of the hill and required replacement before the cables could be reinstated by Northern Electric. Fortunately it appears our freezers had survived without defrosting when we arrived on Thursday evening.
The snow also caused problems at Newtondale Halt, bringing down several trees across the access path. We were requested to go and clear it all up, so it was out with the chainsaws and strimmer to tidy the site. There was quite a lot of damage and it took us all day to cut down the rubbish, log the trunks and collect the brash into heaps, even with 3 chainsaws working at once. These heaps will be disposed of by the Junior Volunteers who are taking over ‘ownership’ of this station. They will also be sprucing up the approach path and carrying out repainting where and when necessary.
Close observers of the Camping Coach siding and head shunt will have noticed that the track is not exactly made up of long lengths of rail but it was all we had at the time. Well we now have some longer lengths from the crossing job that are scrap so we are swapping them around. We have recovered the short lengths and marked up where the longer ones will be inserted when a; the weather is more clement and b; we have a couple more bodies.
We have continued work on the level crossing, lifting and packing as the track and ballast settles. We hope to collect the remaining timber planks this week so we can complete the north end. Stephen has been cleaning down more scaffold clamps, removing rust and generally getting them ready for future use.
Michael has been modifying the bar so it will take 3 beer engines. This has included removing one shelf and adjusting two others and is a lot easier said than done!
Tony and Malcolm have been adjusting the kitchen cupboards in the Tea Hut so it can accept the new (to there) tall fridge rather than the old under counter example. They are also undertaking a quick repaint internally ready for the new season.
Weighbridge Teas have not been rushed off their feet this weekend due to the weather but they have done a steady trade in drinks, cake and ice cream and supplied our lunch and drinks via the train when we were at Newtondale Halt.

31st March 1st April 2012

simon — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 19:25:10 +0000

Its been a hot and sunny week so the level crossing deck is drying out and warping. Therefore this weekend we have been doing further screwing and bolting down to ensure the crossing remains level and safe. We have also repaired the cracked planks which were damaged last month. Michael has continued installing the infill sections above the rail keys to provide a non trip surface.
Elsewhere, two more 12’ platform benches have been completed and returned to their places on the platform. The one we stripped last week is still damp so will need a few more weeks to dry out. The lean-to shed door frame has been adjusted now the timber is drying out so the door lock continues to function. The fog object has had its red and white cross repainted and it is now ready for reinstatement back on the lineside north of the station after a Jubilee Refurbishment – the last one was in the 2002 Jubilee Week!
Weighbridge Teas were inspected this week and passed with flying colours. We await the formal paperwork. They had a busy weekend with the Easter cake being very popular.

24th/25th March 2012

simon — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 19:08:39 +0000

Another hot and sunny weekend has allowed us to progress some jobs which have been waiting for appropriate weather. We have completed one of the 12’ platform benches and this is now back on the down platform and looking very smart. This allowed the other tatty one on the same side to be brought over to the CCT for dealing with. This latest seat has needed a full strip down of all its paint as a lot of the timber underneath is wet. This will require a few weeks of warm weather to dry out before we can think about applying some new paint. We have sanded and double undercoated the other pair still in the CCT
Elsewhere, all the fence material are laid out ready for installation north of the station and some further rotten fence has been recovered and disposed of on a handy bonfire we had going. The guttering on our lean to shed has had a coat of paint to smarten it up. Some of our rusty scaffold clamps have benefitted from a freeing up of the nuts. We have also tidied up some of the paddock hut ready to receive a new midi-marquee which has been donated to us, touched up the paint on the NER coach end, revarnished the Le Visham cover boards and painted 4 small old road cones yellow for use as No Waiting cones.
Meanwhile Weighbridge Teas had a busy couple of days with ice cream selling particularly well.
Beth has re-arranged the ticket racks and moved most of the tickets (except the Dog tickets!) to a new position in the rack in order to make finding them, and therefore serving the passengers, a lot easier. This has also required re-writing the ticket book to make booking up at the end of the day quicker and easier.

17/18th March 2012

simon — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 19:55:46 +0000

A weekend of other work rather than just the level crossing! Saying that, work has continued on the crossing with Mike fitting slim line timber covers to hide the track clips. At the same time the panels in the 4’ have been packed up slightly to make them level with the rails. The timber store around the picnic benches has been tidied up and this area handed back to our visitors.
Mark and Simon have returned to working on the fence replacement north east of the station with another 16 posts fitted. It is still rather wet over there but at least the clay comes out of the post holes fairly easily. All the fence has now had its full complement of rails fitted and very smart it looks too. A gap has been deliberately left at present to allow access for persons and materials as the newly widened ditch is too big to cross further up the line.
Brian and Stephen have fitted the guttering to the new lean to shed. This has allowed all the road works signs and kit to be correctly stored in their new place. The area around the camping coach is now clear and ready for our visitors coming to enjoy their holiday here.
The platform benches we have been repairing have benefitted from a final sand and a prime. One, which wasn’t too bad, has had its second top coat and is nearly ready to go back out. This will allow another one to come inside for repair and repaint. Stephen has continued in the workshop fitting new shelves for some of our tools, helping to tidy up the coach.
As part of our interdepartmental co-operation we have helped the S&T team by repairing their rail drill, the drive structure of which broke yesterday. Mike was able to weld it back together first thing this morning and it was back in use at Pickering by 10am.

11th March 2012

simon — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:54:31 +0000

Cor wot a scorcher! Talk about different from last week, hot and sunny with no wind to speak of. This has helped us work outside a lot more. After cleaning down the trespass guard components last week, we were able to rebuild all the units this weekend incorporating a new design which means we can lift them out in sections using just two people – a lot better than the old ones which were a struggle for even 4. We even managed to re-use a large quantity of the original nails! The few spare bits have now gone into dry store ready for use when a unit needs repair in the future. The crossing deck is holding up well and now sports white lines to keep the vehicles using the middle of the crossing. We had help again from the loco dept. with Beth Peppercorn giving us a few hours.
Elsewhere our new ‘lean to’ has received a coat of wood preservative and the door has had a coat of paint. Hopefully this will keep it smart and long lasting. The notice boards have had their black panels touched up where the weather had been attacking them.
Weighbridge Teas had a very good weekend with ice creams selling like the proverbial hot cakes. They are having to order more in for next week. Come and see their new varieties and sample their wares.