We’re starting to make some real headway at Newport, with the job very very likely for a finish tomorrow.

We pulled the other end timbers out today… To call them timber is being overly kind.. Kindling is more fitting.

Unfortunately it meant we didn’t have a nice template to trace, however we used some creativity and developed a marvellous arc to cut to.

The mighty star picket is in fact the sighting bar for drilling a straight hole, works a treat.

We managed to get this end timber inserted into the table (not yet bolted down), pandrol plate cut outs completed and plates ready to be clipped up tomorrow.

Not much to go now, but extra hands would be much appreciated, meeting Newport from 7.30am.

A very successful day, another 58 sleepers installed into tangent 15-16. 71 sleepers (some from yesterday) were fastened up, which in itself is a massive effort for our small gang.

Everything has had a tamp and we’ll be back here late next week, boxing up and finishing off the job.

We’ll be at Newport again on Monday / Tuesday, meeting from 7.30am near the turntable.

Another successful day today, with another 70 odd timber sleepers installed into curve 15 and tangent 15-16.

As we’re recycling the removed sleepers from the concrete sleepering program, we need to avoid old holes, hence when installing the sleeper plates, drilling locations are marked.

A busy scene, with the spike removal gear being loaded back onto the truck, while Rolf tends to a sticking chuck in one of the drills.

And of course the obligatory lunch shot.

The cooler weather is much more welcome, with tomorrow forecast to be much the same, feel free to join us from 8am at Maldon or 8.15am from Donkey Farm Trk.

After a long day in much nicer, but still a little wet and windy weather, we have one end more or less installed.

It’s been quite a learning curve, as this turntable has a very different setup for securing the rail at the end than we’re used to.

After much debate and working out how to make it work, we decided we could do a far better job than the way it was, so we have changed fishplates and installed pandrol plates to hold the rain ends with no chance of movement.

It was a bit of a learning curve as we had to check out sections to allow for the pandrol plates. But we’ve now got a system for the other end and it should go like clockwork.

We’ll be back here Monday, maybe Tuesday next week and should knock the job over then.

Tomorrow we’re back into it on our Railway, replacing sleepers near Donkey Farm Track. Meeting Maldon 8am, site from 8.30am