Sorry about the late notice. We’ll be spending tomorrow breaking up more 60lb rail, tidying jewellery and tamping the recently installed sleepers. Meeting at Maldon at 8am or out by Walmer Road Crossing (just up the bike track) from 8.30am

It was actually 5 sleepers that still needed changing and 3 fishplates, all of which we managed in good time today. The final count of Yesterday’s sleepers was an even 80.

As part of a transfer train that was running today, we’ve unloaded 176 concrete sleepers lineside near Sawmill Rd, in readiness for re-railing the next section. It’s not often we’re 6 months ahead in these things… it feels very organised!

It was a very attractive looking works train, complete with Z van!

The afternoon was spent doing exciting jobs, like collecting the last of the jewellery and breaking up the 60lb rails that were dangling from Farmers and Walmer Road Bridges. We also spent some time stockpiling old timber sleepers and tidying up lineside in readiness for a flail mow over the coming weeks.

We’ve really only got a tamping pass and a ballast drop to go and we’ll have this section more or less complete, which will probably occur in around a fortnight.

At this stage, the exact task that we’ll be up to on Tuesday is a little uncertain, so check back on Monday evening for details. Likely we’ll all be meeting at Maldon from 8am.

It was actually 5 sleepers that still needed changing and 3 fishplates, all of which we managed in good time today. The final count of Yesterday’s sleepers was an even 80.

As part of a transfer train that was running today, we’ve unloaded 176 concrete sleepers lineside near Sawmill Rd, in readiness for re-railing the next section. It’s not often we’re 6 months ahead in these things… it feels very organised!

It was a very attractive looking works train, complete with Z van!

The afternoon was spent doing exciting jobs, like collecting the last of the jewellery and breaking up the 60lb rails that were dangling from Farmers and Walmer Road Bridges. We also spent some time stockpiling old timber sleepers and tidying up lineside in readiness for a flail mow over the coming weeks.

We’ve really only got a tamping pass and a ballast drop to go and we’ll have this section more or less complete, which will probably occur in around a fortnight.

At this stage, the exact task that we’ll be up to on Tuesday is a little uncertain, so check back on Monday evening for details. Likely we’ll all be meeting at Maldon from 8am.

An extremely successful day of inserting and clipping up concrete sleepers. We’re yet to do the actual count, but it’s around the 80 sleepers mark, with everything from Curve 10 to Sawmill Rd now complete.

It’s a very well practised artform now, the clipping up of the concrete.

And the little blue mark is just to indicate which sleepers have been replaced for tamping purposes.

Today’s sizable gang was able to out perform the rate at which the digger could insert. Spending most of the day close behind the action.

We did so well infact, we had to send the big digger off to collect more sleepers, as we just ran out of time on Tuesday to get the final 30 or so out.

In that whole length, we only had 6 joints which when we plated them up, prevented the failed sleepers from being replaced using concrete, so 3 of these were remedied with shorter or bar fishplates.

And despite severe weather predictions, it was only just starting to rain at knock off time.

Tomorrow’s gang has a grand total of 4 sleepers and 3 sets of fishplates to change before we can deem this part of the job over! However there’s still some jewellery to collect, lots of tamping to do and quite a bit of mess to tidy up, so we’ll be busy!

Meeting near the diggers by Sawmill Rd Bridge from 8.30am, apologies in advance if the day starts a little late, however a truck of point timbers needs unloading at Maldon prior to heading out on site, however this shouldn’t take too long.