April/May 2021
Lineside clearance
This strategy is OK to a point, but a lot of it had been left next to the railway line and over time had dried out and begun to look untidy, not to mention becoming a fire risk especially as the railway uses steam locomotives which produce sparks from the fires. Sparks and dry timber are not a good combination. A joint working party involving the coppice volunteers, railway volunteers (to provide the transport) and other general Museum volunteers (one of whom enjoyed himself so much he joined the RailGroup!) cleared the whole lot in one day.
Exhibit 1 - piles of dry twigs and branches by the lineside.
A train arrives to collect the next load.
Fully loaded train about to take a load to the bonfire - most of this is too small for use as firewood.
John, Tony (weilding the croppers) and Josh prepare the next load.
The line under the Ranger Bridge after we'd finished. Job well done!
The train came around the curve to be confronted with this.
A view of the train from the woodyard road (although the angle makes it look more overgrown than it actually was). The offending tree has been made safe (OK it was chopped down!).
The toilet was taken to the top end by pick-up and transferred onto a railway wagon.
It was taken to the nearest point on the railway to the proposed location.
With ropes and some sheets of ply, the bank was soon climbed ...
... and the seat tested for comfort.
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