KSE Signalling Project

Continuing from Stake and Chips, Matt toils on installing the wire run for operating all the signals mechanically from the box... The run of stakes, from the box towards the signals furthest away from the station, is now almost complete. Attention has turned to the run that leads towards the station, located alongside the turntable road. We even discovered an original wire stake, buried as we dug in another bench leg!  This smashed lump of concrete will not be recoverable for further use... The blue string line has been set out so that we can see how smoothly the curve can be made, whilst following the track and avoiding hidden obstacles underground. Stakes can then be adjusted to suit. The ongoing battle with removing the wire pulleys from the recovered stakes can be seen. The wooden dowel into which the screws are tightened can swell and jam very solidly in the concrete. Attempts to drift it out can result in the concrete blowing. So why bother removing the dowels, and pulleys, if al

Saturday morning and Toby delivered the long-awaited chimney pot that he had sourced, and generously donated, to the signalbox project. So, while the sun shone today, without further ado, we cemented it into its rightful place atop the stack – hopefully to survey the landscape for many years to come. That done, we turned our attention back to fitting the battening and under sarking on the roof and managed to complete the north side before finishing for the day.  Just a little bit closer to a watertight building – keep watching!

A fine spell of weather saw us make a concerted effort to finish the T&G boarding of the signalbox roof and, late on Saturday afternoon, the final nail was hammered into place giving us a roof at last. Not waterproof yet I admit, but it soon will be. The next step will be the fitting of the under sarking (waterproof membrane) and slate battens, followed by the barge boarding and finally the reclaimed slates that we have acquired. All this takes but 2 minutes to write down and a lot longer to accomplish but, rest assured, we will keep you updated with each successive step. After all, when the roof is waterproof, we have the inside to fit out with an absolute host of equipment all currently being cleaned, repaired and assembled by our brilliant signalling team, so lots more to come – just keep watching!