Today was spent not only enjoying the much cooler weather, but also preparing for our next re-railing exercise.
One of the main tasks being the unfastening of the steel sleepers, here Clive uses the rattle gun on its trolley to unfasten the nuts. In total only 2 of around 80 bolts needed to be cut, which is a better rate than usual.
After unscrewing the nut, a gentle tap with a hammer frees up the lugs / spacers and they’re removed. Followed by the excavator using the boom to push the bolts through the sleeper into the dirt below. We finish this process during the final re-railing as it’s much easier when the sleeper can be lifted a little. After which we can install the pandrol lugs.
The unbolting and removal of the last few anchors kept us busy till lunch. After lunch a slightly bent 80lb rail was straightened, using the buda (rail bender).
We then collected all the old jewellery and sorted it into drums for future re-use, disposal or storage.
Lastly we distributed 2 pallets of sleeper plates along the up leg in readiness for that side.
Tomorrow will be an odd jobs day, with some tidy up and sorting of bits and bobs at Maldon, more sleeper plate distribution and a quick run along the line to make sure the recent storms haven’t caused any issues. Meeting Maldon 8am
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