In Transit

Your valiant reporter was out in the company Transit most of the day, so photo opportunities were limited, unless you like pictures of Transits in front of various buildings.

Tail lift being tested

An essential but non-productive trip was made to Evesham to get the tail lift tested.

This comes under the "Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations" 1998 (LOLER) for short.

Luckily it passed, so we are OK for another 6 months





A work surface for Winchcombe was then collected with the same Transit from B & Q, and delivered back to Winchcombe. It turned out to be the wrong size, so another journey back to Evesham to return it to B&Q. On then to Winchcombe, to collect some slabs for Toddington. Then on to Broadway to collect more paving slabs, which were also delivered to Toddington. 

While the Transit was shuttling about Jim M and Mike R were applying more white lining along platform 2 at Winchombe.

They got about half done.

During the day Mike G was working in the cafe at Broadway where he fitted a new tap in the kitchen.

Catching some rays at lunch time.

A sneaky look at P2 at Winchcombe during the day found the running in board duo Ian and Bruce enjoying the sunshine on this brilliantly sunny day, when the February thermometer hit 17 degrees C.

Pod steps completed

Pete and Phil completed the steps for the Pods and did some remedial plumbing for them as well. 

The re-slabbing team from Broadway was in full action again by the station building in Toddington.

You can see that it's quite tricky to get the new slabs laid to fit, and a lot of cutting was required to get each one exactly the right size.

This was all done 100 yards away in the car park, to keep the dust away from the building and the other members of the gang.

It's also worth mentioning how neatly the slab team have managed to lay the slabs level with the concrete cable duct which runs across the area they are working on. 

At Toddington

Two main teams today, with a couple of extras.






One of these was Mike, who spent the day painting the rear of the Flag & Whistle

The Winchcombe team was busy with the renewed running in board for platform two.

During the day they erected the renewed running in board, and you can see it here back on its two cast iron posts with original GWR finials.

P1 needs two more cast iron finials... if you have any spare ones in your garage, get in touch.





The same team then moved on to Toddington.

At the end of the day.

Austen and Jim at work in the background.

At Toddington by the new pods they laid 4 foundations which will each have a step on top for the 4 doorways. After the foundations were cast one step was completed and another had the brick base built - see before and after pictures.

Along P1 at Winchcombe the white line started last week with the heat treatment was completed.

Before the line can be painted along the edge of P2, the wide joints between the slabs need cleaning and repointing.

That was John's job today, and it was a pretty long one too. The joints were wide and filled with soft mortar and a few weeds. Bit by bit John scraped this out and filled again with new.

With a smooth surface along the edge, the white line can then be applied successfully. It won't stick if there are voids.

The relaying of the P12 slabs at Toddington continued today, by members of the Broadway team. In the above picture they are cutting and laying slabs at the north end.

At the end of the day they were working near the bottom of the footbridge steps.

A lot of care had to be taken to set levels appropriate for the cable troughs that run underneath.

There was a lot of cutting required too, for the fiddly bits around the steps.

The cutting of the slabs took place off site, some distance away, in view of the dust being generated. Note all the safety gear in use, no luxury here.













Finally the southern end of the platform, recently completed, was power washed for that nice clean finish.

Walk on that nice clean finish? You must be joking !

Back from gone away

The C&M blog is back after a 3 week absence, due to holidays and a funeral.

It doesn't mean that the gang stood still, just that your reporter wasn't there to record it. Things are back to normal now though.

Working tap in the car park at Toddington

Modesty screen at CRC, fitted a few months back

Next to the modesty screen, a new door was fitted at CRC by Barrie, while Bruce remained in the workshop at Winchcombe, where he worked on two more running in boards.

Completed fence panels at Toddington

Phil sorting out the external plumbing of the pods

Austen adjusted a fence panel at Toddington, where the main gang was working by the pods, and on the platform.

The slab re-laying team at Toddington have made huge progress and this picture shows just how far they got - the whole platform under the canopy has been relaid. Nice and smooth now.

The relaying of the Toddington slabs appears to have suffered from "Project Creep", as the Team are now extending the slab area at both ends and also fitting an additional drain.

Here you can see the job arriving at the south end of the station building. It looks very neat indeed.

This picture shows the relay at the north end, where the job has reached the footbridge steps.

Earlier, the team sent a delegation to Winchcombe to refresh the white lining.

Ken and John can be seen giving the platform edge a heat treatment, prior to applying a white strip which, it is hoped, will last longer than the traditional paint job.

Time will tell.

And finally, a picture of the slabbing gang enjoying a well deserved picnic lunch in the sun