Cambridgeshire Progress Report

[John Candy]

Dave,

Control by Tokens and Tickets with a "Controller" responsible for the route setting/signalling and authorising all movements.
All turnouts, etc. from the running lines will be electrically and pneumatically controlled from two signal boxes with the key to each panel in the possession of the Controller (the only manual levers will be in goods yards/carriage sidings/loco depot) so nobody can run onto the main lines without the route being set properly and a ticket issued.
Each of the three circuits will have two tokens and a ticket will be handed to the driver with the token, specifying the movement(s) permitted.
Nobody moves without a ticket.

Probably a recipe for disaster on a grand scale when somebody disobeys the rules!

John.

[John Candy]

The concrete mixer has fulfilled its role and can now take a well-earned rest.
Today, the last of the concrete support bases was laid and the mixer has over five tons to its credit!

It needs a good clean (I have some special cleaner which dissolves Portland cement), a fresh greasing of the drive gear, tightening of a few bolts which have slackened and then can go back in the garage until somebody has a use for it.

Tomorrow, the last of the brick supports will be laid on the new concrete bases and the pillars I constructed today will be rendered.

If the fine weather continues for another week, I hope to start on laying the track base.

If all goes to plan, the formal opening ceremony will be in May 2014.

John.

[John Candy]

Since last report, much of the time has been occupied (with help of a brother-in-law) in generally tidying the  "site".

Large heaps of soil have been redistributed around the garden, another skip has been filled with rubble, tree prunings and similar debris, while cement rendering on the final batch of brick and concrete piers has been painted. There has even been some re-planting of reclaimed flower beds!

Happily, my builder appeared (unannounced) yesterday and is working on fence and gate replacement and promises to return in a couple of weeks (with a powered auger) to drill holes for the 21 plastic posts, which will support the main terminus.

The timberwork for the trackwork will (if the weather stays dry) commence shortly.

Another (the fourth) order is about to be placed for a substantial quantity of recycled plastic board, to be cut to specification.

Mike W has a substantial quantity of salvaged angle iron saved for me and I shall be going to collect from MK before too long.

So far, all is "going to plan".

John.

[John Candy]

Following a period of "consolidation" (painting, levelling and generally tidying the "works" to date), some real progeress has been made today.

Thanks to Ted Sadler, who spent the whole day assisting with timber work, the viaduct and part of the high level loop now has a track base.

The side timbers of the viaduct have still to be screwed to lateral spacers (which can be seen projecting from either side of track bed) but the laying of the first section of track will soon be possible.

Thanks again, Ted.

Regards,
John.

[John Candy]

This past week has seen more progress in the garden.

The 3 Metre span (which crosses the edge of the pond) was constructed from 6x2 timber, braced on each side by 4x2.
The span is extremely strong and very heavy (I walked across it without any detectable deflection).



Work then commenced on the sub-surface timberwork to support the boards which form the small (high level) branchline terminus.(4x2 screwed into the brick and concrete pillars).



Saturday, the Filcris grey plastic "Ecoboard" was laid across (and fixed) to the timbers to provide the branchline terminus base.






Yesterday, Monday, the support timbers for the single track which descends from the viaduct to the junction station were cut, fixed to the pillars and creocoted (photo shows plastic boards loosely laid out on the timber substructure).



Today, the plastic boards will be fixed for the descending line.

John.

[MikeWilliams]

Wow, now its really starting to look like a railway.  Impressive John!

Mike

[Peaky 556]

Very nice John.  Even though you have lost a lot of weight this year that load test seems perfectly adequate, even for a heavy steamer like a Brit (or a live diesel 'Peak')! 
Keep up the good work.  Fingers crossed for continuing good weather.
Tim

[John Candy]

Quite a lot has happened over the past week, although rain disrupted progress on a couple of days..

The base for the descending single track from the high level towards the main junction station was installed at the beginning of the week.
The substructure linking the branch terminus to the viaduct was next.

Attention then switched to the opposite end of the viaduct, where the base for the high level return loop was installed, followed by the substructure for the station which is to sit in the area where the return loop splits from the viaduct line.



Next, the base was laid which curves away from the viaduct towards the main terminus.



The low level line was next to receive attention, the base supports being fitted in the area where the line passes under the viaduct.



Today, Monday, Ted Sadler spent the day assisting with the installation of the double reverse curves (which carry the low level line around the side of the pond area) and attaching the sides to the viaduct, which was also bolted into the masonry piers.





Thanks again to Ted for his valuable help and advice.

John.

[John Candy]

Starting tomorrow, will be a week of R&R in Sussex.

So here is update on progress as of to today (Saturday), end of a week during which rain has "stopped play" on several occasions.

Following the visit from Ted (last Monday), I completed the northern end of the viaduct, screwing the final length of trackbed to the masonry pillars and then fitting the sidewalls.



Next, attention turned to the  the branch junction, followed by the section which links the branch junction to the southern end of the viaduct.





Finally, the section around the back of the pond was tackled : Difficult to access and made worse by the very uneven ground strewn with large rocks and heaps of spoil (from the pillar foundations).
The geometry of this section was particularly difficult since it involves a succession of reverse curves, to avoid trees.
The masonry pillars were not set in the optimum positions, since tree roots dictated where sufficient depth could be excavated.
However, timber cantilevers bolted to the pillars overcame the problems and the substructure to support the plastic trackbed has been completed.

In the foreground, the double track will split to enter (what will become) a twin bore tunnel, passing beneath the high level branch junction.

[John Candy]

Last week was spent in Sussex but since returning home, the first section of track has been laid.
It has been 6 months since ground clearance commenced and 4 months and 3 weeks since the first concrete foundations were poured.

The high level line will consist, in the main, of GRS/Tenmille type track and this has been used across the viaduct (to be named Witchampton viaduct, for reasons which will be obvious to those who know the location of my line) and a few photos are attached.

The gap in the viaduct is the removeable section which allows access with the mower.
The bridging section is next to be constructed (another 60 metres of timber was delivered today).

First two views are from southern end looking northwards (at the end of this section, the track splits with a station in the junction).





General view.



View northwards from the "gap" (junction between the continuous line and the branch terminus will be on the far end of the laid track, where the grey plastic board curves to the right.
The timber supports for the low level line can just been seen (crossing from left to right) in the background.



I am currently held up waiting on the next delivery of plastic board which is out-of-stock at the supplier.

John.

[John Candy]

The past week of (relatively) fine weather has seen more frantic activity in the garden.

Firstly, the next few sections of the base supports for the double track (from the viaduct, upgrade, towards the junction) have been bolted to the concrete pillars, ready for the next delivery of plastic board, which should be ready this week.






Next, the section of single track base which forms the base of the triangle (with apex at the northern end of the viaduct) was constructed of 6x2 timber, bolted to brick bases, and then overlaid with plastic planks of the brown and very "bendy" type from the original "Filcris" order (before I discovered the grey "ecoboard" was more rigid and better-suited for my situation). The problem I found with the brown planks was the effects of expansion and a lack of rigidity. I have deployed them in a shaded (by trees) location and fixed (along both edges) to the 6x2 timber with screws every 8 inches. The "cutting" though which this line runs will be backfilled with limestone chippings to cover the visible brick supports, which had to be placed "off-centre" to avoid tree roots.



Next attention turned to the main terminus approach line and the MPD area.





The MPD base is massively over-engineered but will (I hope) last for as long as I require it, without attention.
The central area will accommodate the turntable (which will have its pit cut from grey ecoboard) and will be further reinforced once the precise position of the turntable has been determined. The areas surrounding the turntable will, in all probability, be surfaced with timber, in deference to the effects of hot ashes upon plastic!

General view.



View towards terminus area (the running tracks will skirt to the left of the MPD).




View taken with back to terminus area.




The timber has all been been "creocoted" since the photos were taken (just as well, since it has rained overnight).

Still waiting for my builder (who had injured his shoulder) to come and (using a motorised auger) drill the holes for the terminus supports (Filcris plastic posts).
Once that is done,the main terminus will be next to receive attention.

John.

[yamie1900]

The super structure looks impressive, and looks it wil last for years without any maintenance .
Carry on the good work ...

[454]

John,
When are you expecting to include the railway in the GTG calendar?
Will there be a minimal prelim circuit in a phased partial track laying scheme to whet appetites?
Cheers
Dave
454

[John Candy]

Dave,

I hope to have at least one section operational next Spring.....and target is to have all trackwork laid by mid-Summer.

The factors which may derail these plans are the weather and how long it takes to get the (not insubstantial) quantity of "custom" pointwork built (in this respect John Witts has visited and is preparing CAD drawings for some of the more complex items).

John.

[John Candy]

A quick update on the past week.

Have made quite a lot of progress since last post.

Took delivery of a large consignment of plastic board last Friday.....not expecting to be able to use it until next year.....but the weather here has been dry and mild so have already laid most of that board and used up my (substantial) store of 5x2 timber.

The base around the back of the pond is now completed as far as the tunnel beneath the high level line, so is the return loop from the northern end of the viaduct, as far as the main junction area.
More work has also been done on the approaches to the main terminus (but still a "no show" situation with my builder and his motorised auger, which is delaying any work on the terminus area).

Today took delivery of another large supply of timber and placed yet another order for plastic board!

Tomorrow's forecast is for a dry day, so will be out straight after breakfast.

The base of the major junction area is being completed, as is the low level line from the tunnel beneath the high level branch to the main station limits.

Will need to make a visit to Wickes again soon......have used at least 2,000 screws so far, as well as having blunted quite a few masonry bits (engineering bricks are very hard on the drills which take a literal hammering)!.

Will take some photos tomorrow.