A bit of a catch up in this missive of a variety of activities the Building Department has been up to recently. We have also welcomed two more volunteers into our ranks and they are most welcome and fitting into things nicely.
At Alton we have erected a new sign outside of the station masters office on platform 3. It is an enamel sign that has been ‘unused’ for a while and a new frame was made to replace one not able to be safely mounted. It graces the platform building in its rightful place.
In similar vein, to add authenticity to the Railway scene, we have started to apply the traditional type letters to the lamps at Ropley station in a manner that used to display station names in an illuminated form in past times. This feature was begun when some repairs were being made to the gas lamp style lanterns after the ravages of the winter gales. Further name letters will be applied as a refurbishment of all the lamps- about 15 in total- will take place on a rolling scheme.
In the workshops at Medstead we have started to make two replacement running in boards for Alresford station. The existing boards have been repaired over the years with various timber parts but now require more radical attention. So, rather than spend time and effort doing short-term repairs full replacement was thought the best way forward. It is hoped that we can re-use the original wooden letters on the existing boards after refurbishment and fix them to the new boards.
Another workshop job that has been completed and put into operation is a new station buffet A board sign for the West Country Buffet at Alresford. The old board was well past its best and was falling apart and prone to falling over when it was particularly windy. The new one is brighter, more attractive and visible for a greater distance for visitors.
During the winter the platform number boards at Ropley suffered somewhat from the gales and the supports were loose, so they were taken down for safety. On removal for re-fixing it was found that the frames- in use since the 1980’s- were showing signs of rot. New frames were made and the platform number plates cleaned up. The boards have now been reinstated on their brackets under the footbridge so visitors can identify which platform they require for direction of travel.
In the railway shop in the Old Goods Shed at Alresford we have been involved in the re-arrangement of the counter and shelving positions to provide a better layout for visitors exiting through the shop. Some re-routing of electrical cables and data cables was required to feed the till and lighting and removal of floor sockets in the new walk-through area was carried out. Just outside the shop the escape stairs from the Norman Atherden meeting room upstairs have had the handrails and step edges highlighted for better visibilty.
Lastly, a relatively small project was the construction and fitting of a replacement louvre ventilator in the gentlemen’s lavatory at Ropley station after the original started to disintegrate after goodness knows how many decades. This was quite complicated to get all the measurements and angled cuts in the correct spacing but an exact copy is now in situ. All part of the constant maintenance of our Railway buildings.
Bob Brooks
