We are very pleased to announce that our match funding
target has been reached! A huge thank you goes to everyone who donated. Your support
has ensured we are ready to move with phase 2 as soon as the grant application
comes through.
Mountsorrel
Railway Opening – October 24th & 25th
A huge amount of both physical and organisational work is
going on at the current time to ensure the railway is ready for the grand opening
on October 24th/25th. There are technical issues that are
delaying the GCR from being able to firm up the timetable for the event which
means that online advance booking is still not available. Please don’t phone
the GCR booking office for updates. Keep an eye on this website and also the GCR
website www.gcrailway.co.uk for
further news of the event as soon as it becomes available.
Heritage Centre Progress
There has been much progress on the heritage centre
building since the last report.
The structural frame work of the building is complete.
Stone work on the historic Time Office is almost complete with the stone work
about to start on the relocated Kinchley Lane barn. Each stone has been
carefully cleaned by our volunteers and the bricks that form the window
surrounds and corner quoins have also been recovered from the original buildings
by the volunteers.
The slates for the roof of the building are starting to
go on and it is hoped that the building will be water tight in around 3 weeks
time.
The three historic buildings are linked together with a
new build section. The new bricks for this have been hand made in imperial size
and each has individual characteristics so already look 120 years old. Whilst
providing contrast with the old sections of the build, they really add to the heritage
feel.
Nunckley Station
Progress
Progress has been good with the new Nunckley Hill Station
as well. The block work is very nearly complete, including the disabled access
ramp and access steps at the rear.
The platform will shortly be filled and the surface
applied.
Behind the new station our project volunteers have
installed two new points recently donated by British Celanese. These will feed
into two sidings for the phase 2 museum building.
Signalling Installation
The GCR’s S&T volunteers have been working flat out
to install the signalling and point operation for the branch line.
Two new LMS style ground frames have been built and
installed at Nunckley Hill and near to the GCR junction. Installing the rodding
work to connect everything up is a major undertaking and work will continue
over the coming weeks.
A very big thank you goes to the S&T volunteers for
all their help with this!
GCR Junction Run
Off Siding Installation
Mountsorrel Railway volunteers have been working to
install the new sand drag siding at the GCR end of the line. This is an
essential railway safety feature required to stop a train in the unlikely event
of a runaway occurring and are quite common on the national network at junctions.
The point is complete and the connection to the ground
frame is being undertaken by the GCR’s S&T volunteers. Our next task is to
install the short siding leading into the sand drag which will be identical to
the sand drag we built last February at the opposite end of the line.
Line side Clearance
Our eco volunteers have been working to trim back the vegetation
and hedges along the sides of the railway. This is an annual task that we have
to undertake to maintain the line of site for the loco driver. Cutting back 1.2
miles of cutting and embankment side is a major undertaking with only hand
tools at our disposal. Never the less, Progress has reached the Swithland Lane
bridge from the GCR junction and will progress to Bond Lane before the opening.
Volunteers
Heartfelt thanks goes to all our volunteers. We need more
help though to finish the last remaining tasks on the run up to the railway’s opening
and then on the run up to the heritage centre opening next year.
The work is physical but the sense of achievement is hugely
rewarding. If you would like to get involved please get in touch, we need your
help!
1 comment:
Well done all involved with this project.
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