DEVELOPMENT – TRACKWORK (STEP 1.2.1) – Page 7
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The final furlong (uploaded 24 May
2010 )
With the
trackwork passed for running by HM Railway Inspector it is likely that this
will be the final page on trackwork. Our
previous page noted that we had reached the end of the line, but there were
still some jobs outstanding. We listed:
(a) removal of some largish tree roots from the
trackbed by machine which were too large to move by means of pick, shovel,
crowbar and profane language
(b) clearance of ditches (including work
associated with clearing November’s landslip
(c) installation of bufferstops and a sand drag
south of Blaenavon (High Level) station
@
(d) installation of a properly engineered foot
crossing near Forgeside, now called ‘Glantorfaen Crossing’
(e) installation of a properly engineered foot
crossing immediately south of Blaenavon (High Level) station @
(f) installation of facing point locks on all
the points noted above @
Although all
the items noted above are complete, nothing has yet been said of items marked
‘@’. This page seeks to put matters
right.
Additionally
two more jobs have been awarded to contractors, as noted below:
(a) Tamping and Lining (by contractors Railway
Support Services)
(b) Ballast Brushing (again, by Railway Support
Services)
Bufferstops, sand
drag and foot crossing at Blaenavon (High Level).
It has been
calculated that the maximum speed that a vehicle could attain whilst running
from Whistle in to Baenavon (High Level) woud be a fraction over 74mph. We stress that this is a theoretical value,
and that because the gradient eases as the station is approached, and level
through the station itself, not to mention the stiff bearings on our elderly
stock, we’d be lucky to get a real terminal velocity of 20mph. All the same, 200 tons of train reaching the
end of the line, even at 20mph would make quite a mess. For that reason we have not only a bufferstop,
but a sand drag, which , like an escape lane on a mountain road, would provide
sufficient friction to stop or at least substantially slow any runaways.
Well it’s
finished now, and hopefully it will disappear when we make a short extension
over the bridge in the next two or three years.
Hopefully we won’t have need of its services
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The buffer stop is in place and just waits for the
bufferbeam itself to be fitted.
Ballast extends all the way to the finish. 1054 - 28 Mar 10 |
The baulks that will contain the sand for the sand
drag are fitted byPBR volunteers. 1082 – |
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Here’s a longer view of the situation. There remains a substantial clearing up job
to do on the righf. The apparent pile
of rubble on the left is the wall of the erstwhile LNWR water crane. Most of the damage has occurred in the last
three years. There are plans to
restore it in due course... 1085 – 4 Apr 10 |
The baulks are now fitted, and viewed from the
other side of the line, the full extent can be seen 1116 – 10 April 10 |
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The filling of the sand drag with the regulation
soft sand was an irksome task with plant barely suited to the job…. 1224 – 9 May 10 |
…and an ill-disciplined semi-permeable membrane
seemed determined to make things even more irksome by blowing about in even
the faintest breeze, . Bricks are
borrowed from the damaged water tower in order to weight the membrane down. 1225 – 9 Mayl 10 |
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Backs are strained as sand is spread into the space
allocated. Even HM Railway Inspector was
surprised to see just how much sand was involved. 1228 – 9 May 10 |
The finished sand
drag. It has been installed in order
to prevent any train which over runs the station from hitting the buffers too
sharply, and works in exactly the same way as the ‘escape lane’ seen close to
the bottom of some of the more notorious local road inclines. We very much hope that it will never be
used! 1237 – 15 May 10 |
Ballasted track at
Forgeside
Here are some views from
Bridge 18 (
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Stretching south,we get some impression of the huge
amount of work done. In the middle-far distance lies the newly
constructed Glantorfaen Crossing, the track then does a gentle curve to the
right and it may just be possible to see the building at Blaenavon (High
Level) station. Another large stump
awaits removal in the right foreground – it’s days are numbered! 1164 – 24 Apr 10 |
Looking north we see the area once occupied by the so-called
1165 – 24 April 10 |
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In these last few frenetic
days before we open for public service over the extension It seemed an
opportune moment to do a bit of ‘before and after’ comparison. Although, in terms of the season, they were
taken six months apart. This picture,
reproduced from Page 1, and taken by member Andy Knock, and was taken in September 2007. Notwithstanding the change in season, and
the slight difference in viewpoint the
difference is astonishing, and the amount of physical work difficult to
comprehend. There is no doubt that the
appearance of the track in the upper image is a bit raw, and there are still
some earthworks and landscaping work to do, but nature will certainly smooth
some of the rough edges. It will be
interesting to take another picture in September 2010 . And that is almost the end
of the tracklaying in Step1.2 story except that we are awaiting images from
the final tamping and ballast brushing exercise and of the fitting of facing
point locks. As soon as they arrive
we’ll make the final upload on this page.
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