Well today we installed the last 25 sleepers in the UP end of the curve, we can now proudly say this curve is done!
Yesterday’s heat was a distant memory as a large lightning storm with accompanying rain pelted down throughout the morning, making us run for cover on a few occasions.
By morning tea, we’d removed all the old timber and inserted the concrete.
It all just seemed to go like clockwork today, with the methods and patterns well established.
One of the joys of clipping up the concrete sleepers is there’s no noisy equipment! It’s also a fairly easy task with this many people, meaning you can plug away at a steady pace for hours. John, Rolf, Neville and Trevor had by now got the system of clipping down to a fine art.
Some rock moving and tamping saw the job fit for traffic. It’s amazing just how good this curve looks.
A storm hit right on cue for lunch. John being the only one with enough foresight to bring protection! (the rest of us just ran for trucks)
The ballast regulated final product. It’ll be sensational when all our curves are of this quality. A not to unreasonable expectation these days.
We even found the time this afternoon to sort the removed timber. Re-usable we bundled and strapped, while the rubbish was piled for future disposal.
This week has seen 105 sleepers installed, taking it to a total of 161 concrete sleepers installed in the curve. It’s a proud moment for the civil gang, not only is our productivity incredibly high, we’ve completed the job in its entirety and should have a maintenance free curve for years to come.
VGR Civil Blog 