Infrastructure Work on Mid-Hants Railway

(2006 - 2007)

 

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10th June 2007:
 
At Ropley
 
 
Photo (10th June 2007):  Henry O'Dwyer
 
Henry took this picture of some of the S&T technicians on the 10th June at Ropley.
Just to explain what was happening - all the work being undertaken is part of the signalbox conversion. The techs in the foreground are installing new 'track tails' for the train detection and interlocking; these are connected to the location cabinets, (grey cases trackside) and eventually back to the signal box via internal circuitry. The techs in the background (country end) are making the lineside cable connections into one of the location cases.
The small team have been working every weekend 'planting' the cases - laying the cables from beyond the Ropley Up Home signals right through the station,
both alongside and under the platforms through to the Ropley Down Home Signal.
Some of the cables are in troughing which has had to be laid. All this electrical work has been undertaken alongside the team doing the mechanical
equipment, cranks, signal wheels, point drives and lock, and re-routing signal pull wires, to name just a small amount of kit.
The task is made more awkward by the necessity of bringing everything from Medstead Works (our HQ), some on the Atlas wagon and some on the Wickham trolley but all before normal traffic.
Much interest has been shown in the project and the inevitable question is: "When?" Well, the end is in sight for the change-over, but at present the date must be close to the chest of the project leader. Much has been done and as you may appreciate reports are scarce because we are all out doing the bizz, but please feel free to update the web on the progress.
Tony Hathaway, S&T, 18 June 2007 18:38
 

5th June 2007:

Yes, time passes and we are still mending fences. In this case we are replacing a section of fence that had mysteriously disappeared, giving the false impression that a garden was 3 metres longer than it really is. Six new posts and five strands of wire corrected that illusion.
 
Other than fences we have been focusing on the replacement of worn keys and checking the bolts on crossings.

   
 
This latter task is not as simple as it sounds, as some bolts have become seized with rust - hence the hammer and set (cold-chisel) to loosen them before oiling & tightening.

Then there is the small matter of tea, the drinking of. The mid-week P-Way gang receives an unfair amount of most hurtful comment from train staff, who accuse us of doing nothing but drink the stuff - no doubt brought on by their perception that we are making an assault on their supremacy in this area of railway activity. 
Nothing could be further from the truth. We are only observed when there is a train occupying the space we were hitherto working in. If our detractors gave the matter but a minute's thought they would realise that whilst they are not on the scene we have track components undone, removed, replaced and fixed back in situ. Were it any other way there would be more on which to comment than mere tea consumption.... So you see, when we are spotted with mug in hand, we are only catching up on missed breaks - missed so as not to impede the smooth operation of the railway.
 
Report and photos (5th June 2007): Dave Tilbury

   
19th May 2007:  
 
P-Way gang pause at Medstead & Four Marks goods yard to watch Wadebridge pass with a service train
 
 
Photo (19th May 2007): Cliff Thomas of The Railway Magazine


13th March 2007:  

Have you ever wondered how sleepers are changed when the line passes through somewhere, like a station, where access is restricted?


Well, the ballast is removed in the usual way (see elsewhere on the site), then one or more of the rails are removed, the old sleepers removed, new ones placed in position and the rails replaced. And that is just what the 'Mid-week' Gang did yesterday and today, in brilliant spring sunshine
 

(See also Movie of the work (4.5 MB, 13th March 2007): Tony Wood)
 

... and UK military work on cloaking device for the Chinook

 
 
Photos and report  (13th March 2007):  Dave Tilbury


13th February 2007:

A day for arboriculture and sleeper collection. There is a lot of fallen timber on the railway at the moment and a couple that should be felled in the not too distant future, so that soaked up a day.
 
Today, before the first train, we packed a few joints before mending a fence and working on inter-departmental relationships.
In the afternoon we did a little clearing up in readiness for some sleeper replacement in Boyneswood cutting next week
 
 
  Report and photos (13th February 2007):  Dave Tilbury

6th February 2007:

The re-laying of track at Ropley continues.

Today we collected around 30 sleepers from Butts Junction, then into Alton to finish a little job whilst a ballast wagon was shunted into the train.


A 'new' section of rail needed a fishplate on a siding and this neat little boring machine took about a minute for each hole to remove the plug of rail.

Back in Ropley we dumped a little stone around the new timbers. 
Needless to say, some had to be shifted by hand
Another laughter-filled day draws to an end, but there is the knowledge that the thirty sleepers we took down to Ropley are the prelude to a few more days with pick, shovel and fork

Report and photos (6th February 2007):  Dave Tilbury


5th February 2007:  
 
PWay gang were working at Ropley today    Movie  (2.2MB)
Photo and movie (5th February 2007): Tony Wood

 

16th January 2007:  
 
The mid-week P-Way gang did some serious digging on Jan 15th, opening up the beds under the three sets of points at the London end of Ropley Station, where around forty sleepers and timbers will be replaced next week. That at least is the plan.

Alan seemed quite sensitive about the size of his tool - but he used it to great effect all day.

As can be seen there is not a lot of ballast here - just cinders and chalk. Has anyone got a use for some oily cinders? We really don't want to put this muck back when the timbers are replaced?

The 16th Jan was wet and miserable so the early part of the day was spent on paperwork in the mess. Mr Jones gave a first rate exposition on the use of the comb binder.  

Report & photos (15th and 16th January 2007): Dave Tilbury


We didn't stay dry for long: heading down to Ropley, we popped out in between showers

9th January 2007:

Winter and wind bring the never-ending round of firewood collection... I mean, the removal of fallen trees from the line side. But why do the trees have to fall on the fences we have only just repaired?


2007 starts with a little light rail replacement, with two closures being replaced with good rail 'borrowed' from sidings.
 
Report and photos (9th January 2007): Dave Tilbury


27th November 2006:
 
The PWay have been fencing for some time now, but also with the odd delivery of building materials to the new toilet block on Alton station. Here we see a brake-van full of Monday Gang off to unload a wagon load of insulation
The camera doesn't lie? Well actually it does, because the 33 was creeping down through The Shrave cutting due to the greasy conditions, yet a slow shutter speed gives the opposite impression
Just one of the many new fence-posts hammered in over the last couple of days
The gang made several test ascents and descents of these steps to ensure that the new lower rail would perform up to expectations
This was a section of fence that clearly was needed; there was well-worn path up the embankment from the public open space at The Butts, Alton, which is no longer available to the casual trespasser. OK, it is a little 'rustic' or, as one gang member put it, 'informal', but it should be effective
Report and photos (27th November 2006): Dave Tilbury


21st November 2006:  
 
 
 
Frank Twine (MHR Infrastructure Manager) appeared at the P-Way HQ in M4M this morning to be mobbed by his admirers
 
 
 
Ropley, where rails had been replaced onto new timbers, aligned, packed and left to settle for a week
Today we went back and finished off with the placement of a hopper-full of ballast.

The train is propelled slowly over the empty beds whilst the hopper  is skilfully opened to deposit just the right amount of ballast in just the right place - you hope... Get it wrong and the chaps with shovels will not talk kindly to the men turning the white wheels.
 
As can be seen, the hopper can discharge into either the 4 foot or to 
either side
 
Report and three photos (21st November 2006):  Dave Tilbury
And four photos (21st November 2006): Henry O'Dwyer


7th November 2006:  
 
Mid-week P-Way gang were drilling sleepers and screwing down chairs in Ropley yard this morning. By late afternoon they'd gone, but ballast was all in place and the track was in service. Seems odd to see rails there clear of ash.
 
 
 
Photo (7th November 2006): Tony Wood
 
 


 

1st November 2006:

Chris Churm was supervising the replacement of sleepers in Ropley Yard. Interesting change for some loco shed volunteers to try a bit of P-Way work (on a sunny day!)   d:-)
 
 
 
By late afternoon the track was back in position so the job is progressing well
 
  Photos (1st November 2006):  Tony Wood


     
MP4 movie (2.5MB) shows 45-ton steam crane placing carriage bogies in the Alton sidings   -  (January 2006): Dave Tilbury
 
... or here's a larger (5.75MB) version in .mov format of the same web-movie.
 
Those who protest they "can't receive MP4" can do so with Mozilla Firefox free browser with free plug-ins (Windows or Mac)  
 

12th September 2006:
 
The intrepid Dave Jones tests the replacement stile on Bishop's Sutton footpath 6b.
Keith and Richard are on hand to catch him. Note the repaired fence - yet another example of P-Way versatility
 
Further demonstrations of this skill with wire and fasteners is seen adjacent to the Grosvenor Road bridge (click pic)
 
Report and photos (12th September 2006):  Dave Tilbury
5th September 2006:
 
The Tuesday crew - no slouches here....

Photo (5th September 2006):  Dave Tilbury


22nd August 2006:  

The gentle art of 'jacking & packing'

First the track is 'eyed through' to assess which joints or sections of track are low.

Once established, the P-Way gang open out the identified beds; the ballast is removed to expose the bottom of the sleeper
That's right, just like that
A jack is inserted in the adjacent bed and the track raised up by the appropriate amount
Carefully measured amounts of chipping are loaded onto Norman's special shovel ...
... which he expertly unloads under the sleeper - right under the rail
To pack the middle or ends of the sleeper would cause the sleeper to break under the weight of a locomotive
An experienced eye watches to see just how much movement there is in  the track as a local passes. Others just take the chance to rest in a  place of safety, until the train has passed
 
It is such a shame that we run so many trains, because without them the P-Way days would be so much more relaxing...
 
 
 
Report and photos (22nd August 2006):  Dave Tilbury

Heretofore

   


   Laying new siding  at Alton on  20th February 1998

   Latest P/Way News    

  P-Way Archives:   2000 - 2002  &   2002 - 2005  &  2005 - 2006  

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