A lot of work has been going on in the background of general maintenance and repairs and a quick catch-up of where we are on a few other things is now due.
The roof units for the storage containers at Alresford headshunt have finally been lifted into place. These will give added protection from the weather to the containers as has been proved in a number of previous such schemes at station yards.
At Alton, after waiting for a suitable opportunity to reinstate the repaired Strongs of Romsey sign, we manged to get it back in place just in time for the superb Autum Gala. It graced several videos and photos posted on various media sites and added to the ambiance of the scene at that station.
The concrete base for the S&T building at Medstead has now been laid and allowed to cure before further work on construction takes place. The frames for the cladding are underway and the cladding boards are being fixed and painted ready for erecting in suitable conditions. Roof panels will follow and some preparation to the existing building will be done to accept the joining of the new structure to the back wall.
The barrow/ foot crossing at Ropley had some boards that were staring to show rot in places and temporary measures had to be put in place to keep it usable. A couple of new boards were inserted and some fixings replaced, however a more comprehensive scheme was agreed and the whole crossing will be replaced with new timbers and covered in non-slip material. Some of the existing boards are fairly sound and will be retained in store for future repairs to crossings as required.
The long running saga of the running-in boards (no pun intended) for Alresford is coming to a conclusion as final painting has been completed in the workshops and the original wooden letters renovated and re-fixed. We await the opportunity to take the boards to Alresford using the RRV and trailer and to crane them back into position. A lot of deviation from this project has been caused by several more urgent jobs cropping up that were required to keep things in operation.
As time permitted, including some work done at home, an Aunt Sally board was made following a request from the Events Team to add to the features for Wizard Week. The board was painted in the event colour and was artistically finished by the Events Team with a suitable figure for souvenir photographs by visitors to remind then of their day with us at the event – not sure who the figure was based on though!
Bob Brooks
