Tamping

A Volker Rail tamper has been on the Railway for the last two days as part of a training exercise. The original plan was for them to spend three days with us, but crewing issues unfortunately cut the visit short. As ever though, we're extremely grateful for what the crew achieved for us.

The new loop at Leyburn was tackled yesterday using the lift and slew data we calculated on Saturday. The required geometry was achieved in the most part, albeit leaving the track very bare of ballast where the lifts were the biggest. We'll drop a bit more stone when we install the west points in November. The end result looks superb though, and it feels like we're starting to break the back of the loop project. The noteworthy milestone achieved however was two "trains" passing each other at Leyburn for the first time in many years, as the service train headed through to Redmire while the tamper was at work in the loop.

Today saw last weekend's mini-relay at Redmire tamped, this time using the on-board computer to design the optimal line and level.

We look forward to the next time our friends from Volkers come back to pay a visit!

The tamper also corrected a slight misalignment just before the switch fronts

The new loop looking much straighter!

New loop from the tamper cab. The points were also given a "squeeze"

Last weekend's relay now tamped

Go West!

With the works at Ainderby and Ladyfield all wrapped up, mid- September saw us head 20 miles west to the opposite end of the railway at Redmire. We delivered a short, 2x panel relay off the front of the flat- bottom points behind the Jonas Centre, for no better reasons than we had the rails, sleepers and ballast in stock, plus we needed some spare lengths of 90lb bullhead rail to remove defects with locally. The job was delivered over three days: one day's worth of vegetation bashing to create working space alongside, one day to deliver materials, rip out the existing bullhead track and dig, and one day to relay the new materials, tip stone and pack with the Robel hand tampers. The job was handed back to traffic ready for the weekend with a 5mph TSR in place, but we've got a Volker Rail main line tamper visiting for training next week which should put a really nice top on it.

West of the points towards the platform, we've made a start on yet more spot- replacement of rotten softwood sleepers fitted with pre-grouping chairs. Three in a row were changed around a joint, where the combination of vertical movement and poor drainage was causing wet beds.

Last but not least, we spent yesterday (Saturday) prepping Leyburn loop for tamping next week, including spreading the ballast we dropped previously, marking-up lifts and slews, highlighting obstacles etc.

Every job should start with a good bonfire

Completing the dig

First length of concrete sleepers in and fine-lined

Rails installed and all clipped-up

Ballasted, hand tamped and cross-levels checked. Good for 5mph until the tamper pays a visit

Slurried ballast dug out and new sleepers going in

New sleepers around the joint and backfilled with clean ballast

Incoming.....

This past week and a bit has been all about getting ready for today's incoming railtour off the main line. As well as visual track inspections and yet more cutting back encroaching vegetation, we had some long planned spot- resleepering between the River Wiske viaduct and Ladyfield UWC which we thought it prudent to get out the way first.

This was facilitated by a further delivery of nice new softwood sleepers which arrived the week before last from our supplier down in Lincolnshire. In total we replaced 66x life-expired specimens through what was a particularly poor and neglected length of track. A fair amount of winter firewood was also produced, with the brash disposed of on the usual roaring bonfires.

The charter traverses the eastern end of the railway

Return charter crossing the River Swale viaduct

Ainderby Complete

Contractors completed the installation of the new deck and tarmac at Ainderby during the week. Only the gates remain to be refitted. Andy C and the our trusty p.way van were the first across.....

Ainderby Station Crossing Renewal

Thankfully the weather had cooled- off a bit before we tackled this job, as it would've been a real chew in the recent high temperatures.

The crossing comprised life expired bullhead track with wooden sleepers, basically just buried in tarmac with a flangeway formerly protected by a wooden strip which had long since rotted away. The road surface was becoming very worn and uneven, with numerous patches and holes presenting an additional hazard to cyclists in particular, so the decision was taken to go for complete track and deck replacement. The presence of a nearby primary school dictated that the necessary road closure was booked for the summer holiday period.

We had a good turnout of volunteers on both Friday and Saturday, ably assisted by a JCB from our friends at Scarr Plant Hire. First job was to lift off the gates (which are double track width), followed by breaking up the tarmac with a pecker. This revealed a surprise to us: a reinforced concrete conduit running through what would have been the "six foot", capped with short transverse lengths of old bullhead rail and containing mechanical point rodding. The true purpose of the manhole in the middle of the road  (which we initially though was drainage related) was suddenly revealed, giving access to the conduit for inspection purposes. We know there was formerly a signalbox at Ainderby together with some sidings, so this is obviously how the rodding runs crossed under the road at the crossing. It was all getting very "Time Team" for a while!! However historic and interesting it all was though, it was ultimately in the way of the new cill- beams, so there was some additional unplanned work for the pecker to break it all out.

Saturday saw the replacement EG47 sleepers lifted off the Flatrol wagon then laid out, spaced and lined through the crossing, followed by dragging and lifting-in a pair of 60 foot flat bottom rails ex- Redmire. The whole lot was then clipped- up by hand and roughly packed with some leftover ballast in the yard, allowing the works train to reverse over and drop the contents of a Dogfish hopper wagon through the four foot. Although a start was made lifting and packing the new track to the correct height, we were all starting to tire by this stage so we called it a day. This last task will be completed on Monday and Tuesday, with the specialist contractor arriving on Wednesday to install the new cill beams and deck units.

Before we started, with the poor tarmac and mystery manhole evident

Digging out the spoil, which resembled topsoil, from the crossing

Initial excavation complete

Pecking out the old concrete conduit which held the mechanical point rodding

Spacing the new concrete sleepers

Starting to put the rails in

Rails in place

Clipping the rails to the sleepers

Four foot run from the Dogfish complete

Making a start on lifting and packing

The Forgotten End of the Railway

Although currently out of use for regular passenger trains, the 5 3/4 miles of track between Leeming Bar and the East Coast Main Line at Castle Hills (Northallerton) still sees occasional traffic, including most recently visiting steam loco 35018 British India Line. We've also got an incoming railtour on September 1st, and of course we're obliged to maintain the whole line in a useable condition should the MOD ever wish to run a freight train to Redmire.

So this August/ September sees a package of works at the eastern extremity of the railway to basically keep it going! Works include heavy spot- resleepering between Ladyfield user- worked crossing and the River Wiske viaduct, track and deck renewal through Ainderby Station level crossing, edge beam renewal at Yafforth and last but not least, upgrading of road and rail signal lights to LEDs, also at Yafforth AOCL.

The Wednesday gang helped with taking delivery of new crossing edge beams and deck units at Ainderby, after which Andy W marked- up 60 life expired sleepers at Ladyfield. Saturday saw the gang dig the sleepers out of the weed- choked ash "ballast" ready for changing, followed by another tree- bashing session to let some daylight in.

Good to see a couple of new volunteers, Steve and Dave (thank heavens they're not called Andy): we really need all the help we can get!

 

       

       

Ballasting

Having taken a back seat of late due to other pressures of work, the new loop at Leyburn has moved a step forward with completion of ballasting of the track laid so far. A hired-in JCB was used to load the four serviceable "Dogfish" hopper wagons from the ballast stockpile at Redmire, with two trips completed on Friday afternoon. The train was propelled as far up the loop as we could go with no issues encountered, apart from the usual creaking and groaning from the wagons! A total of five and a half hoppers were discharged in the loop itself, with another hopper and a half used to top up the shoulders at a couple of heat- risk sites and the final hopper returned to Leeming Bar for another day.



Michael Metcalfe supervises the wagons getting loaded



The train propels back on the first run

First run complete, and setting back into the platform before returning to Redmire

Propelling as far back as we could on the second run

We also finished moving the flat bottom rails from the west end of Redmire to the access point at the old dairy building using the ironmen gantries. The JCB then loaded a pair of sixty foots to the "Salmon" bogie flat wagon ready for delivery to Ainderby, where we'll be renewing the track and deck at the level crossing in August.

Variety is the spice of life as they say, and Saturday saw us switch to vegetation control, or tree- bashing as we prefer to call it. We tackled the public footpath crossing at 14 miles 5 chains, just east of Constable Burton loop, and significantly improved sighting for both crossing users and train drivers. A couple of big bonfires consumed the brash, with the logs stacked ready for future collection (p.way staff don't go cold in winter).

At the start of the day

Big improvement

The Leyburn gang have been carrying on the endless task of spot- resleepering, concentrating on the section between Wensley LC and Westfield UWC. They also replaced the gate at Peter Blacks UWC, where we see them posing for the photographer: