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Railway Industry again helps WRA
Report and Picture by Phil Kirkland
Rail industry contractor Fastline Ltd has generously assisted the Wensleydale Railway cause yet again. This time a quantity of surplus infrastructure equipment no longer required by the company after use on main line works contracts, has generously been gifted to the Wensleydale Railway Association.
The items include:
2 x Mechanical rail saws (as a source of spares for existing equipment)
1 x ¾ size Rail trolley
1 x Rail signalling bond drill
1 x Hydraulic lifting trolley
2 x Iron men (gantries for transporting heavy rails and points)
2 x Rail scooters (for transporting lengths of rail)
2 x Camlock rail lifting hooks
These items whilst not brand new and in need of just a little maintenance, are a substantial cost saving to the railway in terms of future equipment investment. The equipment will also reduce the need for some heavy manual handling by infrastructure volunteers and others, making certain tasks so much safer and easier.
The exchange was effected through the lasting professional working relationship between Phil Kirkland (representing WR) and Fastline Ltd managers Paul Stephenson and Geoff Kyle at their Darlington depot. Fastline Ltd is to be most gratefully thanked yet again, for their on-going support of Wensleydale Railway and others in Northern England.
A small group of volunteers accompanied by Geoff Kyle and Phil Kirkland were escorted into the Fastline Ltd Depot at Darlington (former LNER workshops in Victoria Road) to load the various items on to the WR BRUFF lorry for transportation back to Leeming Bar. (See picture below)
Wensleydale Railway have been assured that should any future surplus items become available, then contact will again be made to see if further assistance can be given.
Industry is working with us, with increasing participation becoming more evident daily. 
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Heavy Metal - A Joint Effort
Report and Pictures by Phil Kirkland
So Colin (Brown), what's on the plan for this coming weekend ?
Well, we've got a good squad of volunteers and with the train service suspended, the plan is to take the BRUFF Road Rail vehicle out and install some of the missing level crossing signage along the route from Leeming Bar to Bedale.
(See the Infrastructure Photo Gallery for pics of this work).
There is however another small job that needs doing.
Well, what's that Colin ?
There's this rail joint east of Leeming Bar which has pulled apart and we've had to fit a temporary clamp on to it. Would you like to have a go at repairing it ?
Go on then, we'll give it a go.
And so the weekend arrived and once again we headed down the A1(M). At Leeming Bar Station the volunteeers were already there loading up the BRUFF when we arrived. A quick work plan discussion and then down to business.
First job is for the Person in Charge of Possession (PICOP), Colin Brown, to take possession of the track and sign the Train Register Book. Then, as Engineering Supervisor, I signed on to the PICOP Form for the works east of Leeming Bar and also signed myself on as Controller of Site Safety (COSS) for my own work group. Safety is paramount and the hierarchy of command must be applied at all times - it's not as onerous as some people might think, but it IS safe.
| My small team of Andy Lunn and Sid Lewis were given a formal safety briefing before we assembled the necessary equipment and sought permission to place our hand trolley on the line. On a fine crisp morning we then headed off in the direction of Ham Hall to seek the defective rail joint. After about 10 minutes we came across the rail joint about opposite the end of the runway at RAF Leeming and set about dismantling the emergency clamps and fishplates. |  Team work ! That's what it's all about |
Because the joint had pulled apart, our predecessors had not been able to fit all four bolts. On a cold morning like today it would prove a challenging task to solve the problem !
After a bit of head scratching (supported by a lot of rail experience) we calculated that the eastern side rail needed to move west by about 12-15mm to line the offending bolt holes up. This rail was only 30 feet in length and would not move very far with today's cold temperatures. If anything it may contract and make the situation a whole lot worse !
 Andy and Sid assembling the offending joint | To gain the necessary linear movement, we calculated that we would need to unclip at least FOUR consecutive rails and loosen all the fish bolts in those rails. Once loosened, we levered, hammered, prised and pushed the rails along to close the gap. New fish bolts were offered up and after lots of manipulation and some choice phrases, all four bolts were secured. All that remained was to lubricate the fishplates and tighten up the remaining bolts and insert all the track clips and keys. |
The equipment is loaded back on to the hand trolley and it's back to Leeming Bar for us. Now this may seem to have been a relatively small and unglamorous job. However it is one of those essential tasks that keep the track intact and up to standard. A job that any small group could undertake given some experienced guidance.
| For those of us who are professional railway engineering managers, it's a way of testing ourselves without the availability of a ready-skilled workforce and proving that we can still complete both mental and physical challenges that can and do occur at anytime on any railway system - usually in the wee small hours of the night when it's raining ! If you fancy the challenge ...... come on down !! |  The finished job - another fine example of WR track |