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The McMullen Coal Company Light Railway


Owd Bob
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The loop is now connected and just in time before the gathering storms! Planters, soil and rocks have been put back along side the line and we've two steps to get over the line to finish off. A short spur with a spare set of points i had left over was also laid, an ideal future steaming up area. Lots to do yet but we'll have a week off until the weather gets better again.

New raised beds either side of new unfinished steps

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Short spur and inner step area.

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The loop is now connected and just in time before the gathering storms! Planters, soil and rocks have been put back along side the line and we've two steps to get over the line to finish off. A short spur with a spare set of points i had left over was also laid, an ideal future steaming up area. Lots to do yet but we'll have a week off until the weather gets better again.

New raised beds either side of new unfinished steps

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Short spur and inner step area.

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i am sweating my wotsits off today up here in ossie bob

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thursday saw a busy day when we got both the steps mortared in and finished and both their sides planted up. The bridge was set in its final place and leveled up. Some of the old track was laid out to get the final positions of the curves on top of the new wall roughly in place. We still have a lot of blocks left over which we'll use to build the new pit and coal yard/drops area with. We managed to save the old stone mine tunnel complete and still in one piece. Things are on hold for at least a week as the weather is going to be cooling fast over the next week, so the experts are now saying! 

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So glad you are bringing it back to life Bob! Not much more to do now, to get the track down?

 

I have been AWOL for a few weeks, dealing with a family matter in England, but I did manage to get to the Bradford show on 6th. Excellent, bought several kits and ordered my next, and final, steam loco, so not all bad (but have posted a query on my thread, if anyone has come across this problem). Final part of the foundations for my long loop circuit now laid, just blocks to set and then track, much of which has already been pre-bent. But, like you, weather proving tricky here at the moment, for block laying. But should finish in the next few weeks, and then will post pics on my thread.

 

Chins up!!

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Cheers Mike, sounds like good progress news at your end, i was at the Bradford show on the Sunday only and came back with a few more of those Binnie skips and GVT Granite wagons, one day i'll have enough of each to make a decent length train of each type  :) We've about two full barrow loads of mortar to make up to lay the rest of the old blocks to the new pit site behind Pendlebury Fold Station, the points are still in place from the last loop line which we'll use and come off at and then thread a single line through the existing plants to the new pit area which will have two sidings using up two sets of points we still have spare from the old route.

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Pit & coal yard area.

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I put the guttering back on the block wall top side today just before it rained :ireful: Several strong metal 'L' shaped brackets are used as extra strengtheners to hold the guttering up from underneath even though it was also screwed onto the blocks through the top of the gutter sides. All the gritty soil and the Alpine plants were roughly returned as it once was before. A few of my home made concrete walling panels have been put in position at track-side, and the larger flat panels are fixed on the top step riser with all weather sealer/adhesive but are awaiting to be permanently fixed in and thicker buttresses fitting over the panel joins with a strong mortar mix later this week.

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I also really love the way your multitudinous plants have survived all this hiatus. Mine just shrivel up and join the choir invisibule if I go anywhere near them with a trowel.....

 

Is it your Missus, or you, that has the green-fingered magic?

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I'm the Green fingered one Mike, it was my job for 30 years! The plants were all lifted and thrown in the old plastic mixing bowl with plenty of soil left around the roots, all the soil was also saved in another plastic tub, i think the rain helped to keep them going and then washed them in nicely yesterday afternoon. Phil'! the dog never leaves my side whenever i'm in the garden, and can get in the way most of the time, we have two but the other is a rescue dog and deffo all for 'Her indoors' and is very wary of all men folk.

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I've been re-doing all my Binnie GVT wagons over the last two weeks, and i have carved a bit more wood grain and detail into them using a Stanley blade. The last wagon that i purchased from the Bradford show has been cut down to a two planker and the two removed spare end planks were re-used as the buffer beams fitted with a pair of re-used Cambrian Models buffer heads. All have been Grey etch primed...the final colours have not yet been chosen! :scratchhead:

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Thanks! It's a shame CME when we have to give stuff its final coat of paint as the details show up very well whilst it is still in Grey primer, details that seems to get lost later. We made a barrow full of a cement mortar mix yesterday and we added a large tub of quality PVA water proof woodwork glue so that it sticks well to the wall top/blocks. About an inch depth was spread on, later the edges were filled and topped up with more soil. All is now level again and ready for track re-laying. With the little bit of the mix we had left over we just managed to lay three full blocks at the start of the new route to the pit area. A full barrow load of mortar today should get us nearer to the pit yard shaft end...but where's that chilly wind come from today....BRRRR! The weather Woman never said owt about that last neet on the telly! :mosking:

 

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A bit more progress and another load of blocks are now laid towards the pit yard and shaft area, most of yesterday was spent building up a rockery and soiling and planting it up to hide the horrible looking blocks, so only another ten foots worth of rocks and stuff to find and do :O

 The track is roughly positioned along the top to iron out a few high spots etc before i start to re-lay it. The pond up in the top corner was just too much trouble for us and needed too much maintenance so its now gone! To be replaced soon by even more rocks and plants. :mosking: At least access is great to that top corner now.

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By accident the road behind the station can now be continued South down towards the pit, and out the opposite way up to and across the tracks, which means i can now at least re-use my crossing gates. Concrete edging is laid flat in the roads position.

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We managed to re-instate the old station complete and still in one very heavy and thick concrete lump yesterday, by turning it around from its old position and sliding it up the grass bank onto the track side just before the viaduct, the hardest job was digging it out underneath and leveling it all up. Freezing rain and hailstone today so i'm staying indoors, hopefully it'll be a bit brighter over the weekend but i won't hold my breath. :jester:

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Managed to make a lot some great progress yesterday, we got well wrapped up and started re-laying the track in the chilly but lovely Sunshine, we started at the bridge to make sure all was level and that the bridge fitted in square etc...all track was spaced out and leveled up using various thicknesses of slate and stone slivers. Another chilly but Sunny day today so we should have the track re-layed and connected all back up again ready to use. :)

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The old track bed can be seen here on the far left along with the leaning fence! This will be stoned over and used as a pathway.

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Blimey Edwardian you must have eyes like an out-house rat and very-very nimble fingers, and the patience of a Saint, those are really superb!  :O  :yahoo: Yep! Alastairq the Dog was always there and getting in the way as usual, i felt sorry for him though yesterday laying on the cold frosty ground, he's a cracking Dog and i should'nt complain that much about him really.  :) I've just got the last of the track screwed down and i'm now in for a warming brew......i'll be running trial trains next when i've warmed up a bit! :danced:

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