2015 November - Outdoor Week

This was certainly the wettest Outdoor Week we can remember!


A report of the week's achievements:

• Drilling 100 sleepers for the re-sleepering that’s planned for the Spring ODW
• Drilling 50 sleepers for the re-sleepering work in Dolgoch woods
• Collecting up, loading up and transporting to Wharf over 200 garden grade sleepers for disposal
• Off loading the remaining 50 blank sleepers from the bogie wagon at Quarry Siding
• Delivering a few firewood sleepers to the bonfire field at Tynllwyn ready for next years bonfire
• Routine drainage work in the Dolgoch and Abergynolwyn areas
• Digging a cross drain at Quarry Siding
• Leaf clearing from near 4 ¼ milepost through Dolgoch to just east of Quarry Siding and in the Abergynolwyn area – most of the way between 6 and 6 ¾ mileposts.
• Attending to fallen, broken, dead branches and trees between Quarry Siding and 4 ½ milepost
• Removal of a dangerous Ash tree at Rhydyronen
• Bonfire and loading boscage at Rhydyronen
• Jacking and tamping the turnout that leads to the Guest House and subsequently topping up of the ballast
• Bonfire of arisings at Quarry Siding
• At Brynglas:
  • Crowing the 1st few metres of the siding
  • Jacking and packing with slate waste
  • Installing the last of the fixings
• Hedge laying a 150m section of hedge between 4 ¼ and 4 ½ mileposts, including the removal and disposal of all the arisings.
• Re-sleepering 3 lengths east of the 1950’s slip site in Dolgoch Woods – this work has eliminated the 2 tie bars that we installed a few months ago to maintain gauge.
• Tamping the re-sleepered section
• Improving the drainage in the re-sleepering area
• Progressing the installation of the lever frame for the heritage siding turnout

For the re-sleepering work we made use of the digger to remove the old ballast, which in turn ensured that we maintained the vertical alignment through the curve at this location. The completed work was subsequently ballasted with fresh stone.

Numbers (approx at this stage):
People days for the week, last years in brackets - 248 (297.5)
People attending - 49 (58)

Many thanks to everyone who braved the wet Welsh weather.

Photos and atricle by Keith Theobald