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No, we’re not packing up and going home ! This is the scene the weekend prior to Christmas. Part of the condition of the DEFRA grant was that the work was completed before the end of December. Here we see the final rails leading to the stop-block at Pen-Y-Garreg Lane being keyed into position by the Trust Chairman Ken Ryder, and Volunteer Liaison Officer Brian Rowe, prior to the final bit of ballasting. This will be the limit of the line for next season, future extensions in either direction are now dependent on the decision of Shropshire County Council as to the operators of the Gobowen-Blodwell branch (see article below).
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It was announced today that Shropshire County Council have agreed in principle to purchase the Gobowen to Blodwell line from Network Rail. This is planned to be used as a cycle way and for the operation of a Heritage railway.
Early in the New Year they will issue a notice requesting interested parties to apply for the job of running the railway. The Trust, of course, will be bidding to take on this task !
Should we be successful in our bid to run the railway, the Property Fund has been set up to help finance our plans.
Any further news will be issued here, as soon as it becomes available.
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3rd. Dec. 2005
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The DEFRA grant required us to complete various work around the site, apart from the rail extension. Malcolm Draper has been taking advantage of some fine weather to continue the painting of the RMB in the bay platform, here we see him removing masking tape after applying the ‘blood and custard’ paint to half of one side of the RMB. This coach will be used for catering and general sales.
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The new station building will require water and sewage connections, as it includes Gents and Ladies toilets. Here we see the pipework being buried after connecting to the building.
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The car park also required a safety barrier to be installed along the side of the ramp leading onsite. Here the barrier has been installed, just in front of a wire fence that has also been installed. This is all part of the work that is required by the terms of the grant.
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20th. Nov. 2005
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Work on our second DMU set has been continuing, this will provide us with a backup unit should anything “go wrong” with our primary set.
Here we see Tony Warren taking advantage of some fine weather to prepare the front of DTSL 54055. This unit will be renumbered 56055 when finished, its original number prior to the introduction of the class 56 diesels !
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19th. Nov. 2005
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Externally, the new Station Building, at Llynclys South, is nearly complete. So work has switched to the internal finish of the building. Here we see Harry Matthews (left), who responded to the request for practical help in the news article below, putting the first skim of plaster on the newly boarded walls, in what will become the new waiting room.
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On the right is our volunteer liaison officer, Brian Rowe, acting as labourer for the day to Harry, preparing a new mix of skim ready for application.
All prospective volunteers should contact Brian first, if they can help in any way. The phone number is below.
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17th. Nov. 2005
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Sorry for the lack of updates over the last few weeks, this has been due to family commitments, followed by hardware problems at our web-service provider, meaning the website has appeared to be “off the air”. The problems have now been overcome, and updates should now be back to their normal frequency.
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The DEFRA grant project is progressing well, and the building is looking good with the slating complete and the canopy valencing being fitted. Good progress is also being made with the buffet car, part of which now has its top-coat of “blood and custard”. To the left you can see Malcolm Draper rubbing down the old paintwork of the coach, in the shadow of the new building.
Meanwhile the track extension to Pen-y-Garreg Lane is being aligned ready for top ballasting, and the car park area is being prepared for landscaping.
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However, to finish off the building during October we urgently need more help with plasterboarding, plumbing, fixing doors, windows, skirtings etc., painting and tiling. Outside there is trackwork, landscaping and planting to do. Any time you can give over the next month or so will be greatly appreciated. Whether you are skilled or unskilled - please contact Brian, the Volunteer Liaison Officer on 01691 670916 or visit the site.
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Anyone who has been to Llynclys South in the last few weeks will realise that the site is more like a building site than a railway station.
This is due to all the DEFRA funded projects in progress (see report on 1st March), that should all be completed by the end of October.
However, because of this, our volunteer ticket and refreshment staff were evicted from the buffet car while work continued, and took refuge in the guards van of our DMU set. This has proved very cramped and provided particular difficulties in serving refreshments.
One phone call to Arriva Train Wales later, and we found ourselves with the loan of a refreshment trolley, which enables us to provide hot and cold drinks as well as snacks.
Thankyou Arriva Trains Wales for your help.
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