More work on the paths

With our usual B&S reporter held back by by grandparent duties, it was up to your PWay blogger between jobs to snatch a few photographs of the busy bees at Winchcombe.

A second gang had formed to start digging out the foundations for a concrete walkway to the level crossing.

The yard car park is much in demand these days, certainly noticed when the PWay Telehandler tried to get through the parked cars with forkfuls of concrete sleepers.

Did your car have a large dent in its roof?



Access to B&S's site today however was reserved using these plastic barriers.

Again the ground was so hard they had to use an SDS drill to get into it.

The material was then further loosened with a mattock, just off to the right of the picture.

Pete shoveled it into the wheelbarrow, on the left. Yep, the whole action is on this picture. No, it's not a pose, they really did work this hard.

When the first hole was (thought to be) big enough, they measured it just to be sure.

Is that 5 feet, or shall we have six?

Ahead is the Santa bay, at the moment filled with some rather attractive and freshly repainted goods vehicles.

Meanwhile, down by the other hole.... an interesting panel of concrete was being readied here. It slopes down to the back door of the paint shop. On a different slope altogether is the slope down from the road - where they meet it should be an interesting transition.

Here they are busy excavating the last bits from the hole started last week, and fitting the first bit of concrete shuttering.

'When is the concrete lorry coming then', we asked.

'There's no concrete lorry, we are mixing the concrete ourselves'.

And true enough, it was all mixed and barrowed in by hand, brave lot.

'Where are you going with that plank, Pete?'      'I'm off to make a film....'

The concrete was being barrowed over to here.

The path to the Gents has been blocked off with a barrier. Miscreants will be identified by their boot marks in the wet concrete, you have been warned !

Here the first section, that interesting slope, is almost complete. Just a few more shovel fulls to fill some shallow gaps are being applied.

A little overview here, to locate all those little bits of paths to various doors. Last week the two paths on the far right were laid, to the main door and an emergency exit. The new concrete paths were immediately tested on Wednesday with - an emergency exit. Just like the days of Red Robbo - everybody out!
Last of all a spaceman rushed out - it was our very own Eddy, dressed in a rather intimidating dust mask. Hot teas no doubt left standing, to slowly get cold....

The guys haven't finished yet. Next week they will complete the bit from the door here to the roadway. It seems the double doors in the picture are used for the delivery of heavy materials to C&W on some sort of trolley, which prefers a nice smooth surface. Your wish is our command.

Next, a footpath alongside the roadway is being contemplated. Watch this space.