Work on the paths

Despite an inauspicious start to the day weather-wise, the team did well and work on the concrete footpaths was further advanced. Ken also spent the day creosoting the fence between the SB and the end of the C&W building.

Phil, Martyn and Jim worked on the path leading to the end door of the C&W building, while Vince and Pete tackled the larger area which leads to the barrow crossing.

Here you can see them making a start on the shuttering on the path leading to the carpenter's workshop in C&W.

A few yards away similar shuttering was being paced on the wider path leading from the roadway to the barrow crossing.

The shuttering on the wider path from the roadway needed a lot more digging out, by hand this week as the mini digger had returned to base. It was very laborious, and care had to be taken not to damage a duct that crossed the site.

Eventually the C&W team were ready for the first load of concrete, which was mixed in-house of course, some distance away. It was decided to pour the concrete in three separate sections, as there are three separate gradients involved. Complicated, but not beyond the team's skills.

Installing the last piece of shuttering by the roadway.

The second section is filled in with concrete.

While a remainder is poured into the final section (to be completed next week) the second section is finished off to give a nice level edge.

All this time Jim H was on the mixer and then ferrying concrete around, so was unseen, behind the scenes as it were. Concrete and cameras don't really mix.

On the newly excavated section from the roadway to the barrow crossing Pete checks the shuttering for level on the LH side.

Not a lot to see here, but it's the path leading to the carpenters' workshop, with two out of the three sections filled with concrete, and covered over at the end of the day. A further session of rain in the afternoon did not help.

When the concreting has been done on this bit of connecting path the intention is to lay a smaller pathway of 2x2 slabs to connect the toilets with the roadway.

After last week's start on retrieving the 2x2 slabs, another two trips were made yesterday.

John and Barry went back to Bidford, where they met Jim No.2, and together they collected another 70 slabs over the two trips.

Here is a picture of them being unloaded after arrival at Winchcombe.

The slabs were unloaded by the B&S shed and carefully stacked.

One more trip next week should see the conclusion of this very useful recovery exercise.

 

While all this was going on, Jim H had a few moments to snap the trains passing through Winchcombe yesterday. This one shows P&O just collecting the token from the signalman.

Just before that, our guest loco 70013 Oliver Cromwell drifted into the station, to wait for the crossing train headed by P&O to arrive.