We’ll today saw the last 19 80lb rails installed in Tangent 14-15.
We set sail with out trusty fleet from a slightly warmer than usual Maldon, it was already 2 or 3 degrees today, much warmer than recent mornings.
We were hit with a light rain shower around 10 so decided this was the perfect morning tea time.
We’d almost finish pulling spikes on the 60lb by then and had started slewing the 80lb across.
Morning tea was in the truck, to avoid the rain and it took no time at all for Clive’s warm coffee to fog up the windows.
After lunch and the spiking hammer shows where works had progressed to. We have only spiked 1 in 3 today, enough to still run a train if we do run into any trouble tomorrow.
It’s hard to see where we started but it’s about 4 rail lengths in front of the truck.
Of course, without fail our new rails fell only inches short of the existing 80lb on the bridge! So we decided we would actually use an additional new piece of 80 and remove some of the lower quality rail (all that was available at the time) that was on the bridge.
Here Rolf cuts the existing rail to length.
Rail cut and just awaiting the rolling in of the new length. These plates are from the 80lb already on the bridge and as they were holding the rail to the correct gauge it was a waste to remove them, so just one spike was pulled allowing for the old rail out and the new in!
Afternoon tea and job almost finished, well today’s part anyhow.
After a quick tamp to lift low sleepers for drilling as well as bolting in the last rail, we packed up camp, here the truck and trollies are making their way back to the crossing for loading onto the truck.
Using the excavator the gear is craned carefully onto the back of our small crane truck. We have quite a few toys these days so this process does take a little while.
We’ll be out again tomorrow to finish off the drilling and spiking, but we’ll be testing out our new sleeper drill! So check back to see how we go.
It’s looking fairly light on numbers tomorrow so any extra hands would be appreciated, even just to help carry tools and fuel is a real weight off our small gangs shoulders. Maldon from 8am or on site from 8.30am.
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