KSE Signalling Project

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...