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WHR/FR news

Discussion in 'Narrow Gauge Railways' started by Sheff, Mar 25, 2011.

  1. AndrewT

    AndrewT Member

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    Contractors Jones Bros of Ruthin began moving plant and portakabins to Porthmadog Harbour today and the first deliveries of rock are due next week. 25,000 tons from Minffordd Quarry are due to be dumped on the seaward side of the Cob to widen 260 metres of it to allow construction of a new platform for FR and WHR trains and a runround loop for the WHR.

    Work is due to be completed in early Spring and volunteers will then begin laying the first sections of new track.

    Platform construction will commence later this year prior to lifting and relaying of the remaining five roads and completion of the new island platform in time for the start of the 2013 season.

    Total cost of the project is just over £1 million. WHR services this year will continue to use the pilot loco procedure. All WHR services will run through to Porthmadog, Pont Croesor will be downgraded to halt status.

    New timetables are online for both railways at Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways

    Outline of Cob widening work here.
     
  2. KentYeti

    KentYeti Guest

    A grainy photo of the train leaving Beddgelert on it's return in extremely dull conditions.

    I did think at the time it all looked rather merry inside the coaches! As well as rather full.

    [​IMG]
     
  3. AndrewT

    AndrewT Member

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  4. Sheff

    Sheff Resident of Nat Pres

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    Good start! Looks like some fine Welsh sunshine in the afternoon?
     
  5. steamdream

    steamdream Member

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  6. AndrewT

    AndrewT Member

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    Day 2.

    Cob widening Day2.wmv - YouTube

    We'll put a page up on the main FR site with a link to all these tomorrow, so I don't have to post a link every day.
     
  7. steamdream

    steamdream Member

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    fascinating!many thanks for the video!
    regards
    Noel
     
  8. huochemi

    huochemi Part of the furniture

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    William Madocks would be impressed.
     
  9. AndrewT

    AndrewT Member

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  10. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    Andrew, what sort of time interval is being used?
     
  11. AndrewT

    AndrewT Member

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    One frame every 15 seconds. I then assemble the 2,000 or so pictures from each day into a video allowing each frame a tenth of a second. I use an electronic brain to do this, rather than putting every one in by hand.

    We are assembling one video that will cover the entire Cob widening. We will almost certainly edit and speed this up to make it a sensible length. So the only way you'll be able to see the whole thing is by tuning into FRTV on the website each day. Saturday mornings will be added on the front of the Monday instalment.
     
  12. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    Thanks for that info. Is this easily available software that you use? It certainly is very effective in showing the progress like the one seen some time ago about the bridge replacement at Reading.
     
  13. AndrewT

    AndrewT Member

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    The videos are assembled from the jpgs using the free Windows Live moviemaker - works a treat and very fast. The webcam software is described by our IT supremo as 'Cheap and nasty. Well, nasty, anyway'. I'll try to ascertain exactly what it is.
     
  14. Nexuas

    Nexuas Well-Known Member

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    Being an apple user, I can recommend iStopmotion which controls the camera and movie compiling in one piece of software. But that is not much help to a windows user ( although they may have a windows version?)
     
  15. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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  16. AndrewT

    AndrewT Member

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    Having now had some direct experience of the software in question - I can now drive the webcam machine from my PC in the office and from home - I can but confirm our IT man's opinion of the software. It's ghastly and from France.

    We will be improving it substantially in the next month or so.
     
  17. Foxhunter

    Foxhunter Member

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    Andrew, the updates are much appreciated. Tell me, the rock from Minffordd quarry, is that just over-burden? If so, how does that play with the landfill tax, positive or negative?

    Foxy
     
  18. AndrewT

    AndrewT Member

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    It's quarried specifically for the Cob widening which doesn't attract landfill tax. The Environment Agency has also given us the go-ahead to use a stone washer to use stone originally quarried for the Port bypass as we're using the stone faster than Minffordd can dig it out of the ground. Again, this will be tax-free.
     
  19. Foxhunter

    Foxhunter Member

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    OK, interesting, thanks. I had wondered if some of the quarry spoil from the slate mines was to be recycled. I see there is a move to get the N. Wales slate mines "World Heritage" status - an argument I made thirty years ago in my degree thesis (although there was no "World Heritage" category then!) to prevent the piecemeal destruction of the landscape they created.

    Foxy
     
  20. AndrewT

    AndrewT Member

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    No slate waste, just granite.
     

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