Plenty of volunteers meant plenty got done at Apedale today. The main activity was the annual delight of track maintenance; it’s sobering to reflect that many of the sleepers in the main line are now 15+ years old, having been laid in 2008-2010. That’s not a bad life for a wood sleeper, and a few are beginning to reach the end of that life. Quite a group in the station area needed renewal, but spot re-sleepering was done elsewhere, and on the Field Railway. Not a particularly difficult job, but pretty physical, and some care is needed to get an acceptable result.
Down in the yard, a mega-shunt extracted the Orenstein steam loco from the shed, and it was then washed out and prepared for the annual visit by the Boiler Man. In the workshops, progress continues on stripping Hudswell 1238. The team have been sent on a Quality Management course, and clearly the bit about labelling everything has taken root.
