Ellon and C&W Team Work - early July 2017

 

Ray Keynon measuring up the rather dilapidated running-in board on the Down platform, 14th of May.

 

 

Fast forward to June 30th and the Up and Down boards are ready to be loaded from old Speyside platform at Aviemore onto Fish & Chip Special Diesel Multiple Unit, to conveniently convey them to their final destination. I believe Colin Frost above left paid for the new boards, many thanks, what I don't believe is that William Dodds from the Carriage Shed did the restoration, as they look too Good!!! (subsequently found out that a whole team from the C&W Department were involved, apologies to ALL, hopefully Keith's Blog will give due credit)

 

 

The following day Nick Coutier, Colin Frost, Dan Courtier, Jim Hardy & Ray Keynon (who took the above photos) erected the boards as well as cutting the grass by the picnic tables. 

Many thanks to the Ellon Team for their hard work over the weekend which also included finishing off the Train Watering plumbing works at Aviemore Station.

 

More recent works done by the PWay Squad included - grass strimming at Boat of Garten and Broomhill thanks to Ian Stanworth, manning the footcrossing at Boat of Garten during the Family Gala Weekend - Thanks to Roger & Andy and of course a continuation of Fishplate oiling, now on the Boat of Garten to Broomhill section. Thanks to Ben Tyrell, Ian Stanworth & Mike Tough for completing 3/4 of a mile in very wet weather.

 

 

Which looks as if cleared up by close of play.

 

More Fishy Tales - 30th June & 1st July 2017

The PWay Weekend started early for Volunteers from all Departments & Partners totalling nearly 60, as the Strathspey Railway Association organised a "Fish & Chips Special" in the form of hiring free gratis - Bob Faulkner's Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) from Aviemore to the Bridge over the River Dulnain.

 

Also many thanks to Bob for his expert Driving and stopping in time! Celebrated by stalwart Volunteer Martin Macleod, finding an appropriate beer in his collection for the evening.   

 

 

 

Above some Volunteers queue up in the car park at Broomhill, to be served very tasty fish & chips supplied by our local fish & chip "van". Thanks to Helen and Nick Thomson for putting on a good spread of condiments and "refreshments" in the Station.

 



 

Due to the remoteness of where we finished off fishplate oiling the last time, most of the large squad managed to get an early lift from Bob and his DMU, on the Saturday morning to milepost 86 as it went "Empty Coaching Stock" back to Boat of Garten. Above is a hurried shot of the first service train near 59 & 1/4 milepost.

 

 

Thanks go to Neil Howie(fore ground), Mike, Angus, John, Roger and Andrews Maclintock and McCracken for completing nearly a mile and 3/4's in one day, finishing at Dalfaber Level Crossing, which many of our Volunteers have been seeing rather a lot of recently-

 

 

as the Highland Council's crossing lights have been defective for in excess of a fortnight - necessitating our Flagmen to stop the road traffic. It seems to me as a Volunteer, just maybe Highland council could see fit as recompense for all our man hours & inconvenience, to use their Road Sweeper/Gully Sucker to remove all their accumulated dirt in the flangeway between the road and rail at the crossing, as it is on our to-do list, just haven't worked out a safe way to do it, as it is a busy road.