Lattice? Like a Pork & Apple lattice? Tasty...

 ...sadly not. Or maybe, thankfully not!

You may remember back to various updates and blog posts about the North Eastern Railway, Northern Division lattice bracket signal, designed and built by McKenzie and Holland for the alterations at Hell Beck...

Well, there is more of an update: we've now put the structure back together!

The individual component parts (T-piece that forms the landing, 2 dolls and the main post) had previously been repaired, cleaned up and painted, but for various reasons could not be reassembled in time for our great Signal Planting Week, back in 2024. So since then, the main post has sat, looking rather isolated and a little forlorn.

Scaffolding was erected for us by Bell and Prime, in such a way as to be able to be used to lift the components in to place using chain blocks, pull lifts and so forth. We knew the weights of the individual components, and then allowed a margin beyond this when specifying our requirements. 

We had the RAMS set out before starting work, but upon our start of the task briefing, quickly found a few issues! Since this was carried out the day before, as we got everything in to place for the works, there was time to amend and improve. There will always be unforseen challenges appearing with jobs like these. Bear in mind the age of the components involved, the fact they have been repaired, with new pieces added and you're basically trying to complete a 3D jigsaw puzzle whilst stood in the air!

We used a simple pulley to lift all the equipment up to the scaffolding, and set up accordingly: 2 chain blocks so we could swap between to get the required lift.

The T-piece which forms the landing was lighter than we expected, but a little more awkward to get balanced in such a way as to be able to position it accurately. Thankfully, this was lowered over the main post with great ease, with guying ropes used to steady it, and then hands on, from the scaffolding.

All bar one of the bolts went in place with minimal difficulty, but the last one refused. This was due to the distortion in the lattice from when the signal was decommissioned originally. Whilst the rectification work carried out straightened and repaired the dent, it did not cure the alignment, so we will address this soon. 

Upon standing back to look at the structure, prior to going for lunch, we were struck by how much taller and more slender it looked!! (The landing sits 18' above rail level, give or take a couple of inches).

After sustenance, it was then the turn of the dolls, which were heavier than the T-piece, and which presented all sorts of logistical issues. First up was the need to fit the castings to the very top of the dolls, which keep the corners of the lattice secured and onto which are fastened the finials. These had been cast from new patterns, made to the original drawings. What we hadn't anticipated was the amount of adjustment required in order to get the finials to fit over them. The angle grinder came out, and steadily the mating faces were ground back to suit. At this point, we had a power cut, so were down to our last couple of batteries for the cordless hand tools...

Having fitted the castings, we decided to also fit lightning rods (!) to the central holes!!! This was actually a ploy to steady the finials' spikes, and make them more resilient, but there have been suggestions to also fit flashing red lights to warn of tall structures for the low flying aircraft. (Tongue firmly in cheek, before anyone gets too carried away!)

We knew that we did not have the height on the scaffolding to lift the dolls from the top, and lower them in to their pockets on the landing, but we did need to lift them slung more vertically than horizontally to make life simpler whilst in the air. The balancing point was below the half-way point, owing to the specifics of the construction: additional stiffening in the form of square bars in the lower corners. We got it right on the second attempt from the point of balance, enabling the doll to be easily manipulated on its way up and then back down, into the pocket.

The hook bolts used to secure the dolls had previously been cleaned up, checked over and treated / painted, and we had just the right number for this task. It was then a case of inserting the bolts through the holes in the pockets, and hooking around the corners of the dolls, before tightening up. There remains some adjustment to carry out, in order to get the doll properly vertical, but we're holding off on this until the next stage of works.

By this time, we were feeling very positive and content with progress, as well as assured that we could repeat our successes with the remaining, taller, doll. But there's always some drama!

The second doll, being taller, required a bit more headroom for the lift. We had the chain blocks lashed as tightly to the scaffold, and the slinging of the doll completed to minimise the lift required. It went up nicely, swapping between blocks with no problems. We sat it just above the pocket into which we needed it to locate and made use of a pull lift to get a better alignment. At this point, dear readers, there was an element of profanity involved. We needed 1" more lift than we had available!!

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(I could leave this as a cliff-hanger, but I'm not that mean)

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A rethink of what we were doing was followed by a lot of faffing, use of guy ropes, a bit of brute force and ignorance, combined with pull lifts, chain block adjustment and witchcraft, which saw the foot of the doll squeeze in to place, to be hauled upright via a long rope, over the top of nearby rolling stock!

This doll, too, was fastened in place with the hook bolts, before we had to call it a day, and pack everything away. You can now spot the bracket signal from various places, and the slender nature of its design is very apparent. 

Next jobs will see the landing itself constructed, handrails and so forth made to suit, the dolls trued up for verticality and then the bearing plates and signal arms fitted. We have all the castings, but require adapter plates (plywood templates have been made) and more hook bolts. We have exhausted our supplies of these, so are having to have new made to suit. Tune in to see how we get on!