Year Review

Year Review.

By Robert Law

27th December 2023

With so much talk, about things ‘not going’ well on the railway at the moment . I thought it would be good to reflect on the work fulfilled and how productive this year has been for the S&T department.

The first thing that was completed this year was the renewal of the lead off table at Boat of Garten South. This was so rotten and had been put off for a number of years. It had started to cause point’s failure and operational problems. With the investment of new treated Softwood timbers these problems have now all been resolved, with all equipment seems to be working correctly.

The Dalfaber level crossing has been the  biggest project that the railway has undertaken in a long time, allowing us to develop , the road deck, track, level crossing control equipment, road warning lights, barriers, public footpath, street lighting and power supply from the utilities company.

There has only been one operational failure with the crossing repaired within the same day with minimal disruption to the road users. We have taken on and have delivered the Maintenance of the crossing to Network Rail standards for the first year on behalf of the council, who owns and operates the crossing.

In comparison to 2022 where we saw an average of 2 reported level crossing incident's a week, 2023 has had no stated reports, thanks to the updated equipment.

Aviemore Station, North GF: To make operational requirements simpler, removing the need for extra time. The Shunt Key retained in Aviemore Speyside Cabin has been withdrawn and a new electrical release has been installed in its place. This making it easier and more flexible for operations to run an effective railway on event days.

We have also accomplished a the installation of two key token machines in Spey lodge ,this was required as our signalers required refresher courses and practical experience as part of the post COVID development . This year being the first in a while of actively running a two train service, in addition the Aviemore to Boat of Garten Key Token Machines worked the full year with no reported operational issues.

This year has been see us progress , providing much needed face lifts to aging structures and drawing from our colleagues individual strengths.The S&T department has been really productive year and we look to move this enthusiasm in to the year ahead. Wishing you all a very restive festive period and we all look forward to seeing you all in the new year!