Bush cutter trial

Today, Gavin braved the land that time forgot behind the big shed and Strong sign to try and regain control of the bramble and weeds. This battle is long over due and is the start of the next big project at the box. For further progress at the box the small gardening shed needs to move to the other side of the big shed. To start this project we needed to get to this section of the site, so we volunteered Gavin to take on this task. These images show just the start of the project, and next moth (weather permitting) there will be further weeding and progress on this section of forgotten land.

Cutting edge Turfing technology



Today saw the completion of the area at the back of the site, in front of the big shed. After Dave's hard work to complete the second bench for the site,  and Peters work to clear this area we felt that this undeveloped area was a great place to put the bench so that visitors can sit and look at the site from a different angle.

 

After starting the day looking like this(on left); Gavin, Jamie and Allan (relative of a new member) started by laying the slabs, donated by Dave, in a way that would ease the user but also give space for turf. Once the ground was prepared, the slabs were put down and levelled. Once complete Jamie went over to the old school ground to cut squares of turf to lay round the slabs.

 

At the end of the day, the site was left looking like this(on right). The turf was watered in and has now been left to root. It may look a bit shabby at the moment, but after a couple of mows, it will fit in perfectly with the rest of the turf on the site.

 

 

On a side note, Josh (new young member) and Tom (young member) started work on protecting the two trolleys built by previous young members. the job involved sanding down the surface and then protecting it with new preservative. this is a job that will ensure the onward use of the trolleys without costly repairs.

 

All in all, another progressive open day which has improved the appearance of the site and the state of the woodwork we have at the box.

One Side Of Signal Box Complete - Nearly!

Yesterday the painting of one side of the signal box was completed.  The only thing remaining is the window, which needs new putty and then final painting.

It has taken many hours to complete this work, with much of the old paint being burnt off back to the wood.  A good deal of wood filler, primer, undercoat and gloss has been used along with plenty of elbow grease.

This should ensure the box is kept watertight and looking good for years to come.  Putting all this effort in this time around means that next time a repaint is required it should be a great deal easier.

I would like to emphasize that without Keith's expertise the end result would not be so pleasing.

Not every single blemish has been filled and sanded smooth, but partly on purpose.  Would such and old building look "real" if it were absolutely perfect?

Well... must get that door finished on the heritage centre next!

Dave

More slabs, a tidy up and weed control!

 After a lot of tidying by Peter, on last months open day, the area by the big shed was cleared of old metal work, old lawnmowers and general rubbish. Most of the waste was taken to the skip today so the area was ready for development. On todays open day, another row of slabs was added to the path, making it easier to walk down and allow wheel chair access to almost all of the site. This area has plans to be further developed by adding a grassed area with another bench allowing people to sit and look at the site from another angle.

 In the nice weather we've been having, the weeds have been growing too well through the slabs. So to ensure the site stays in a presentable condition, Keith, very kindly went on weed duty and cleared the ground frame area of weeds. This should give us clear paths through the winter and for a good few months into the spring (weather dependent).

So all in all a very good heritage weekend. Well done to the site team for continuing to progress

the look and resources of the site (Keith, Dave.T, Jamie and Gavin). But an equally big thank-you to all the operators of the box (Peter, Neil, Dave.C, Jamie, Steve, Allen and Dick) some of whom spent most of the weekend talking or operating. We must also remember to thank Marion for taking members of the public around the site and telling them what's what, she must have done many laps of the site so she could walk it blindfolded. This just comes to show that without the different skills and abilities that we have at the signal box, we would not be in the state we are in today, everyone has their own way of helping, and we couldn't ask more of them.

A welcomed rain storm

 On Saturday the 14th of September, the guttering on the pavilion was finally finished after many years of being incomplete. To finish the job, the guttering from the lean-to was joined to the guttering from the side of the pavilion, this was then plumed into an old container which will hold the water till needed. This will also be fitted with a pump so that water can be pumped out or so that it can come out of the tap to fill buckets or watering cans. There will also be an overflow fitted to this storage so that excess water can be deposited into the soak away. So all we need now is the rain, one thing that we are never short of in Britain.

Painting, Preserving and Tidying...

Initial work on the side of the signal box is now complete. All old flaking paint has been burnt off and the surfaces sanded smooth.  This has been followed by a good coat of primer.  The next step is to fill all the imperfections prior to undercoating and glossing.  This process will ensure the box is water tight and protected for the future.  The remaining three sides will be treated the same way in due course.

The new seat that was erected by George and myself has now received it's final top coat of green paint.  This will be ready for use when completely dry and may be positioned in front of the sheds as there is no seating on that side of the site.

Speaking of the area in front of the sheds - Peter has spent some time investigating what was under the tarpaulin in that area.  This has now been sorted into rubbish and items worth storing properly for any future use.

Work has been started on the old picnic table to the rear of the heritage centre.  Young volunteer Tom has sanded all the timber and a first coat of preservative has been applied.  He will apply a second coat when next on site and this will protect it for the future and make it much more usable.

The second heritage centre door has had the exterior paint stripped and a first coat of primer has been applied.  Much more work to be carried out but at least it's started.

Dave

New Blog Started

Hello and a big warm welcome to our new blog!

On it, we are going to post regular news and photographs, updating everyone as to what we have been doing. Previous news items have been archived on the blog, if you want to see these, you may wish to scroll down to the bottom of the blog and select a year to view.

Feel free to use the buttons under each blog post to send the page to a friend, 'tweet' it on twitter, 'share' it on facebook or give it a '+1' on Google. You can now add comments or questions to each blog post.

Hopefully this blog will give a more detailed log of the work that we do.