Winter time has always been a different time of the year to do anything outdoors in the Highlands. Hard frosts, frozen ground. Snow on the ground, all this slows us down.
We have continued and have got on with a lot of the finishing jobs. The interlocking has now been completed and tested by independent testers. Who have reported back with no issues. Which is a tremendous achievement. It has taken a lot of hours to design, develop and implementation to achieve this goal. Which no one will see or realise that it is there.
Overall three new locking trays have been added to the existing locking. Several tappets have been removed and replaced with new. New notches have been cut to interact with the locks. Redundant locks and bridals removed or modified. New locks and bridals crafted together using cold rivets in the traditional ways, creating the locking of the signal box. Thus helping the signaller do his job correctly, removing the risk of human mistakes being made.
The main arm light can be seen in full daylight conditions, but the ground signals can only be seen as light levels deteriorate.
Lamp proving is provided by the back lights on each signal, which are clearly visible from the signal box window, even on a bright winters day.
Inside the signal box things are nearing completion. The new diagram is in place, a fresh coat of paint has been applied. Just a bit of house keeping to be completed before the trains start running and the box’s come into use again. With all this work now been completed, we can run trains in an Up and Down direction on the Down main or the Up loop now. Thus giving the railway much more flexibility on how to run the railway and stable trains in the station.
We will now be turning our hands to some remedial maintenance around the railway. This work is nowhere near as exciting work, but all in all still necessary. As I say most times if you have any free time and would like to Join us, be it for a cup of tea or to learn something new. Please get in contact through the company’s website.
