Sunday 25 March 2012

Track Work & More At CMES...

Hey guys. Today I was at CMES for one of their "Full Day Working" parties. I arrived at 9:45am and met up with a few of the guys that were already there. Work today concentrated on slabbing more of the Steaming Bay area, tidying up the Station ready for public running (to begin on April 1st) and also lowering some track that had naturally risen in an awkward position. I spent the morning helping Eddie, Dave & Gary attempt to lower two of the concrete pillars on the Carriage Shed section. For some reason, one of them had naturally risen, whilst the other had sank. The first task was to dig away the ground around the base and then jack up the track, thus taking the pillar & supporting slab up with it. This created one hell of a ski-jump!...
The first pillar had earth pulled out from underneath and could then be lowered back down, whilst the second pillar had to be raised slightly by placing more earth beneath it. Movement was measured using a tape rule and lasers (supported on tri-pods). The first pillar in particular looked much better than it had done originally, once it had been lowered back down. The weather was very warm and so water was a high priority, as was food. Luckily, the "All Day Working" parties see the club provide Bacon Butties for all, with Eric as Head Chef..."Yum"...
After lunch, work resumed. The slabbing of the steaming bay area saw two full rows of slabs being laid, which I thought was great progress indeed. The levelling of the track section was also continuing well. I opted to take a bucket, some water, some polish, a brush & a rag up to the Station and polish up some of the signs and also brush down the white fencing. The park seemed very busy indeed...just our luck really when we aren't running! After tidying up the station a bit I eventually left at 3:30pm as I had a few jobs to do at home this afternoon too. I must admit though it had been a very productive day for CMES. I will next be up at Ryton in two weeks time for the Members Running on April 7th, with "Achilles" in tow. The 0-6-0T will also be in steam for public running on April 22nd, when it is planned to double-head her with the club's 'Sweet Pea' "John Owen"...just for fun! It will look very odd but it will be unusual to say the least. Look out for posts on those days as they happen. Thanks for reading all...Sam...

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