The first job in preparation for winter was clearing off the tunnel roof, ready for the temporary waterproofing solution. Temporary waterproofing solution in place (it’s a cover sheet from a full-size railway carriage in case you were wondering!) We hope to be able to get a more permanent solution sorted next year.Another job involved lots of shunting to get visiting loco O4 on the correct line and the right way round for loading onto a trailer and taking off site and back to its workshop for winter maintenance after a busy summer at Thorpe.Three volunteers took some time off work in November to get the next section of lineside fence done, replacing the old fence which is well past its best.Putting in one of the gate posts midway along the station approach. This is a useful area for loading materials onto work trains.Quite a lot of vegetation needed to be cut back and cleared to make a line through for the new fence. The trees and shrubs had grown into the old fence in places, so all the old netting had to be carefully cut away.Finally, the old fence was dismantled and taken away for disposal. January brought snow, so the first job was to clear the track so we could see it. A homemade wooden yard scraper was just the tool for the job!
There are always plenty of leaves to clear – such as here at the station (before and after).
A casualty of the winter storms – the wind had loosened the roots of the apple tree by the station, making it unstable and unsafe to leave. A full day’s work by three volunteers had it felled, cleared away and the fence put back up.The sun came out for our March work day; the ideal opportunity to give the carriage seats a good clean and fresh coat of paint, ready to welcome visitors in April.
