KSE Signalling Project

The point rodding runs were planned out very early on, but as I've referenced previously, sometimes reality hit home, hard! A lack of space to actually do what we'd planned led to a few alterations along the way, one of which actually reversed the direction of travel for the rodding when the lever was to be pulled. This meant we had to correct the direction underneath the box, at the point where the lever pulls up, and the rodding has to move horizontally. This is achieved by having a vertical crank, and more specifically, which way around it is sited... Vertical crank: Option A is the standard positioning which we had planned for. Option B is the location we had to adopt in order to change the direction of the rodding to match up properly. Space underneath the box is especially tight, and the optimum position for the vertical cranks was found to be where the end was in mid air, thus unable to be bolted down. Fortunately, Rob Murray had an offcut of heavy steel plate which I re...

The previous post dealt with the first half of the lead out bench. I am pleased to report that the remaining two timbers have now been fastened down, using the same technology!  Dave had chance to make further hook bolts, battling the wind whilst welding! Will and I then tackled the assembly: this time we placed the bolts in position between the rails, packed underneath to keep them raised in position, and dropped the timbers on top. We then just needed to shuffle slightly until the bolts slid through the holes! We shall probably use this method on the junction box, as it worked out pretty well! With everything bolted down solidly, we then looked again at what was required ON the bench, and where!

The far from ideal weather over the last couple of weeks has somewhat limited the amount of work we have been able to undertake. However, some fine weather at last has allowed us to progress the blockwork in the footings of the Junction ‘box and bring both end walls up to brick level, while also inserting a piece of pipework in each end to facilitate cable access for the signal engineers at a later date. The threaded steel uprights you can see built into the low internal wall are to secure lengths of redundant rail that will eventually support the huge timbers of the leadout bench. Our first delivery of bricks is now expected in early July, by which time, we hope to have all four walls up to brick height – Cumbrian weather permitting of course!

 Progress towards connecting up the rodding run comes on in leaps and setbacks. A lot of time was spent on the design side, and various drawings done. As has previously been reported, there have been times when we've had to make subtle alterations!  The Bench in question. Not all the cranks are in the correct position here... In this instance, we have a bench that sits between the two running lines (Eden Valley and Tebay), and takes cranks for No.8 points, No.9 Facing Point Lock as well as levers 1 and 2 from the Bridge ground frame, giving access to the turntable road. This is very compact, and had to be altered as the space for the bench was not quite enough to locate the cranks as planned. The proximity between, and likelihood of an interference fit, can be seen here, with the cranks and connections. A tall base stands ready! To overcome tight clearances between two of the cranks, we swapped out a low crank base for a high one. This prevents any clash between the two cranks...

If you think back to the frame installation last year, you may have realised that the main girders, upon which the frame sits, were not held in place: relying on gravity. We had a plan for this (well, actually two plans...); to use steel angle to locate it against the side walls of the box, preventing any movement. The six pieces of steel were cut to length and drilled some time ago, and have appeared in various photos in different layers of paint! Following a lot of rearrangement underneath the box, we gained access to shere we needed to be: in a constricted and awkward space, behind and underneath the frame itself. It was simply a matter of drilling in to the blockwork, then winding in the thunderbolts. The two support girders (which are fastened together) are now prevented from moving by three bits of angle at each end. Apologies for a lack of photos: as happens so often, we got stuck in to ticking this little job off the list, and completely forgot! It would have been awkward to ta...

Mad dogs, Englishmen, and the signal box team were out today in the blazing sun, laying out the corner blocks that will define the shape of the Junction box, with the good old ‘3/4/5 triangle’ providing nice, accurate right angles at the corners. Very hot weather is not ideal for laying bricks, as the bone-dry blocks and hot concrete were sucking the life out of the mortar before the blocks could be levelled. However, a bucket of water provided an effective cure! We also manhandled a ton of ‘crusher run’ onto the base of the maintenance pit to provide a cheap, effective surface, which compacted nicely into a solid working floor. Progress should be steady now, weather permitting, so watch this space!