KSE Signalling Project

Following on from the work to connect everything up, we finally managed to control No.7 points from No.7 lever! The various photos show the contorted 'out-and-back' nature of the rodding run, with the video showing each stage of moving the points. When setting everything up, and joining the rodding, time was taken to position each crank, correct for the mid-stroke of the lever itself. The point rodding was then cut (with an angle grinder) and had holes punched for bolting together, with connections or fishplates. Jonny gets to grips with the rodding punch just outside the signal box. Only a temporary link between the lever tail and the vertical crank was put in: we are now having some made and bushed to better suit the scheme. There is some more work to do, in order to get a tidier lead out, which will involve some customised bending of rodding connections to get the heights correct. This is important as we need to squeeze signal wires underneath the rods, without rubbing on th...

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!

 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...

 ...Err, yes, actually! Thermal expansion, to be honest... The saga of bench installation and 'finishing off' continues. The steel-topped bench, for which we dug into the rock in our previous post ("Benches" from 13th April), saw the holes being marked out for drilling. This ought to have been very simple, working from below and marking through the pre-cast concrete legs, to leave a mark on the underside of the soleplate. But, this being Kirkby Stephen, it was sat in a puddle, which needed bailing out first! Having duly accomplished this, we found that the marker did not fit through the holes! Fortunately, it was possibly to mark the holes from above, by alignment and measurement... We then placed the two compensators in position and used a string line to get the alignment correct in relation to the rest of the rodding run. The marker was then used to pick out the centres for the holes we required drilling. A centre punch was then used, so the marks getting rubbed off...