Updated 7th March 2010
March
On Saturday (6th), the Diesel Crane was started up and a number of jobs were undertaken. In addition, we managed to get some more time on the 'Peckett' (an update has been added to the 2084 Overhaul page) and the volunteers began to remove the remaining items from the Station Master's Office. Today (8th), work continued on the Office, the S&T gang have been busy (a photo has been uploaded to the Gallery on the Trackwork page and a report added to the Signalling & Track page), the Class 108 DMU was started up to check various items, more tidying up took place and the bird feeders were refilled. Next Saturday (13th), our Sales Stand will be attending 'Scout Rail' Model Railway Exhibition at Settle Primary School (10am - 5pm) - please come along and support this event if you can.
Yesterday (3rd), we marked out the new alignment for the 'diesel siding' and levelled much of the ground ready for the track to be slewed over. In addition, Phyllis was busy with some preparatory work on the station garden and we continued to tidy the site in readiness for the new season.
Unfortunately, the snow beat us again last Wednesday (24th) and the mid-week working party had to be cancelled. However, this weekend the weather was a little kinder (although still very cold) and we managed to work at KSE on both days. On Saturday (27th), most of our efforts were concentrated on shunting all the rolling stock from the diesel siding onto the pasenger-carrying line - please see the photos added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. This will now allow us to realign the siding with the Tebay / Penrith trackwell, level / ballast and insert two more sets of pointwork. Yesterday (28th), efforts continued with the restoration of the Station Master's Office - approx half of the roof timbers were denailed and volunteers began the task of cleaning the sections of woodwork that can be reused. The S&T gang were at work - a further photo has been uploaded to the Gallery on the Trackwork page and a report added to the Signalling & Track page. In addition, further progress was made on the 'Peckett' - there is an update on the 2084 Overhaul page. Finally, yet more tidying-up took place and all the bird-feeders were re-filled - we are now having to do this on a very regular basis as our wildlife population are eating their way through large quantities of food each week. Our Company Secretary recently made the February draw for the monthly '200 Club'. The winning numbers and prizes are:
1st Prize. £15. Number 11. Derek Thompson
2nd Prize. £10. Number 15. Mike Pattinson
3rd Prize. £5. Number 12. Derek Thompson
February
This weekend (20th / 21st) saw good progress on Saturday, but the snow yesterday prevented most of our volunteers from getting to KSE. The 'Yorkshire Engine' was successfully started in readiness for the planned shunt of rolling stock but, in the end, this had to be postponed because of the weather. In addition, a good start was made on Saturday with fitting the vacuum pipework to the 'Planet' - again, we had intended to finish this yesterday, but were beaten by the snow. We also managed to get some more work done on the 'Peckett' and an update has been added to the 2084 Overhaul page. Inside the building, our volunteers have been busy starting to get the shop organised for the Easter Rally which is now fast approaching and, outside, some more clearance work took place around the station building. Finally, a new Gallery has been started on the KSE Station page which will illustrate the restoration of the Station Master's Office.
Yesterday (17th), we completed ballasting the connection between the 'diesel siding' and the main layout - all is now ready for us to move the rolling stock onto the passenger-carrying line. In addition, some further work was undertaken on the standing line west of the crossover. Finally, we spent a little time tidying up following the clearance work which has taken place on the northern embankment over the past couple of weekends.
Saturday (13th) saw the restoration of the Station Master's Office commence in earnest. The remains of the ceiling were removed and plans made for the next stage of the job - we hope to include regular updates and photographs as the project proceeds. In addition, the 'diesel siding' was connected up to the passenger-carrying line - some minor adjustments and ballasting are now all that are required before we move everything off the siding so that it can be re-aligned, ballasted and two sets of switches inserted - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. Elsewhere over the weekend, the S&T team continued with the rodding run and expansion compensator between Point Nos. 3A / 3B, more work took place on the Class 108 DMU and there was further progress with site clearance.
Yesterday (10th), we turned our attention to the 'diesel siding' and connecting it to the rest of the system - good progress was made and hopefully the work will be completed at the weekend. In addition, further efforts continued to install the base for the expansion compensator to be inserted in the rodding run between Point Nos. 3A / 3B. At the end of the day, a further meeting with our architect, Bob O'Neil, took place to discuss the drawings for the new door and platform extension at the western end of the building - this project is progressing steadily.
It is with the greatest sadness that we report the death of our regular volunteer, Richie Gregory. All at KSE have been deeply shocked to hear the news and we send our deepest sympathies to his wife, Cath, and the family - a tribute page can be found here. As you can imagine, there was a subdued atmosphere at KSE this weekend, but I am sure Richie's death will only serve to make everyone more determined than ever to drive the project forward.
On Saturday (6th), all the pipework arrived to enable us to fit vacuum gear to the 'Planet' and, in the afternoon, we made some further progress on the 2084 Overhaul. Outside in the sunshine (just for a pleasant change!), ballasting of the standing line and vegetation clearance work continued. Yesterday (7th), the Parcels Van was shunted along the standing line, the temporary panels were dismantled and the track was slewed back into position - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page. The S&T gang also continued to make progress and an update has been added to the Signalling & Track page.
Yesterday (3rd), the standing line was briefly connected to the isolated section of track so that the Parcels Van could be moved onto the main layout. Work then began to dismantle the temporary track - the next stage will be to slew the standing line back onto its correct alignment in preparation for constructing the new loading / unloading bay in the northern car park.
January
This weekend (30th / 31st) has seen progress on a number of projects. Volunteers have been busy on clearance work - taking advantage of the (slightly!) better weather before the nesting season starts. In addition, there was a meeting on site to assess and organise the work required to restore the Station Master's Office and, finally, efforts have continued to relay and then slew the standing line so that the Parcels Van, currently on an isolated piece of track in the north-east corner of the yard, can be brought onto the main layout - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page.
Yesterday (27th) saw the first mid-week working party of 2010. Progress continued with the Standing Line to the east of the crossover and two more 45' panels were relaid - a photo has been added to the Gallery on the Trackwork page.
This weekend saw our first volunteer working parties of the year. Inside the building, we were busy measuring up for the pipework required to fit vacuum gear to the 'Planet' so that it can work passenger trains - we hope that installation of the equipment will start shortly. Outside, efforts continued to re-lay the siding that will ultimately become the loading / unloading ramp in the Car Park on the north side of the station building. Our Company Chairman recently made the January draw for the monthly '200 Club'. The winning numbers and prizes are:
1st Prize. £15. Number 35. Ken Ball
2nd Prize. £10. Number 10. Derek Thompson
3rd Prize. £5. Number 15. Mike Pattinson
The next Volunteers Meeting will be held on SUNDAY 28TH FEBRUARY AT 1PM in the mess room at KSE. All welcome.
Thankfully all the snow and ice have now disappeared, so we will re-open to the public for the first time in 2010 this weekend (23rd / 24th). The 'Eden Valley Messenger' has recently published an interesting article on Iain Robinson, one of our volunteers who regularly travels over from Japan - please see here for more details.
A Happy New Year to you all!
With the current snow, ice and freezing temperatures and, apparently, yet more snow on the way, KSE remains closed for safety reasons until further notice - please watch the website for updates. Our Company Secretary, Sue Jones, recently made the December draw for the monthly '200 Club'. The winning numbers and prizes are:
1st Prize. £15. Number 4. Mike Thompson
2nd Prize. £10. Number 19. Bill Watkin
3rd Prize. £5. Number 14. Mike Pattinson
The next Volunteers Meeting (weather permitting!) will be held on SUNDAY 24TH JANUARY 2010 AT 1PM in the mess room at KSE. All welcome.
Finally, many thanks to those of you who have recently renewed your annual Newsletter subscription and / or taken out a subscription to the '200 Club' - your continued support is greatly appreciated.
All the 'Latest News' prior to 1st January 2010 can now be found on the News Archive page.
