Oswestry Update

Another lorry turned up today. This is getting to be a habit!
On the back were the new beams and fittings for the cattle creep. A really big thank you to those who donated to the appeal and it's good to see something physical for your money. I will update the blog after the weekend as maybe tomorrow something else will turn up on the back of a truck! I am still hoping for a Manor!

 

Yesterday the main beams were positioned over the cattle creep. These now need to be locked in position with the other steelwork. There are about 20 rail lengths to lay before we need to cross. The track gang will be there soon though so no time to rest. Photo will be posted later in the week as again I am away from home this week.

 

Picture has been uploaded to the blog. More pictures will be uploaded when I get back to a country with a better connection speed. It's taken me until 3am local time to get the post to load. The return could be fun as Air Chance are already predicting delays and that's before I even go to sleep the night before.

 

Pictures uploaded with work done this week on the coach. The working weekend planned for today and tomorrow has been put back due to the weather, although the ritual tea drinking sessions will still be held at both sites and work will continue on undercover projects.
https://ilvaporista.blogspot.it/

 

... priorities which define true civilised behaviour ... Top hole, ol' boy!

 

Carry On Up the Kyber.. You would not get away with half the jokes in that film today. The line 'And up yours' still rates in my top 10 of classic lines along with ' You're only supposed to blow the b. doors off'

 

"I've never been in a cart pulled by cows before".....

Do you happen to know whether there's a timetable for reassembling that lovely roof they've got in store? I n my books, if any one thing would give Oswestry Station a real lift, that would have to be it!

 

I think we are looking at a while yet before any thoughts can turn to a canopy. To put things in perspective we need to attract many more passengers, volunteers and donations to move things along. Nice though it is we won't get that many people with a brake van ride for 3/4 of a mile at Oswestry. We need to break out of the steam centre type operation and become a working railway with operations between stations. We need to connect up both operating sections to move up a division in the heritage railway leagues. Of course if money is no object then I think we would all like to see a three road station, two platforms and canopies.
It will take time but once again the stations will shine again.

 

Bullocks!

No honestly I haven't.....

 

With the scale of reinstatement from next to nothing, a few comparable rail projects over the years jump to mind, though in all cases, the situation on the ground was far simpler to get yer head around. One line, extending in one direction. Simples!

The two isolated CHR sections and (at least) three possible directions in which to extend are confusing enough, before the Tanat Valley Rly's operations further muddy the waters in the eyes of many - mine included!

One thing which might help to lift the fog (thereby making things more attractive to potential members and backers) would be inclusion on the website of a readily accessible and clear "restoration map", showing which sections are in railway or local authority hands (operable or under active restoration), which are subject to ongoing negotiations..... etc. etc.

The Wey & Arun Canal Trust have a route comprising active sections, not-entirely-inactive lengths, bits under active restoration, areas outside trust ownership and a couple of miles of 'gone for good' formation requiring diversion. As confusing as all hell in word form, they've included just such a "restoration map" on their website pretty much from the "get-go". As major milestones are achieved, it gets updated too! It's a picture which paints a lot more than 1000 words! Here's the url:
https://weyarun.org.uk/node/5

What say you? Food for thought perhaps?

 

At the moment we have this on the website.
http://www.cambrianrailways.com/html/map_of_chr_lines.html
This gives an overview from Gobowen to the ends of the lines. The website could do with an update and there was a trial site that was being worked on. I'll see what I can find out.

 

Cheers for that. I'd assumed "Where to find us" would be directions to Oswestry Station! The "Click here for more detailed map" box on the page seems not to link to anything (on my andriod, at least).

It could still do with an easy (for idiots like me) to understand colour coded key to clarify the status of each stretch 'at a glance'. That's where I feel the WACT style of map scores very highly. Graft that onto the image being used now (the photos are a good feature) and you'll have a winner.

IMO it underlines why web presence is such a vital area these days. Several lines have "got" this, others seem, frankly, clueless. The CHR's is by no means the worst offender, but with a few tweaks here and there.....

It's the sort of issue which prompted me to start a thread on web presence, the response to which has been less than stellar. It seems I'm none too good at communicating things on-line either!

 

Things that I found that I liked:

• Online membership [tick]
• Online payment options inc. PayPal [tick]

 

Seen in Northern Nigeria.

 

On the where to find us the 'Click Here' box takes you to a large scale version of the OS map which on a phone might appear as a blank page, but if you scroll far right you should see the start of the map. This can be blown up to fairly high detail but does not give any further information about sections etc. than a normal OS map.

I have passed on the request for an update to colour code the map and I also feel some form of overall strategy document/page would be nice. If you search hard enough the data is there but it needs to be brought together. With all that is going on the detail parts of the strategy are being reviewed but the overall vision is still the same. Give us a few months to get that sorted as we also need to see the results of what is in the pot cooking away in the background.
A website clean-up/upgrade is on the cards but we don't have a version to go live just yet.

This week the work has gone on mainly on the coach and I have uploaded a few pictures on the blog. It's like rust on a car.. the more you poke the more holes you discover, hopefully now we are towards the end of the cutting out phase and can move to putting metal back.
https://ilvaporista.blogspot.it/

 

@ilvaporista Thanks for the response. It's good to know there are folks who are interested in feedback before launching a new website version! ... and I'm rather glad it's not me who has to design a site which functions across umpteen different platforms and devices (that apparently blank page accessed from 'Go To' link being a case in point).

Regarding the A5 trunk road which is currently such a pain in the proverbial: Problem or opportunity? When the time comes to thrash out a solution with the highways wallahs, the potential for access from the road network could go through the roof..... especially if the Local Authority and Chamber of Commerce like the sound of an umbrella project giving "Park and Ride" access to the town, hand in hand with developing the railway .... and the canal.

The "powers that be" in the area seem highly amenable to projects with long term benefit and look to be anxious to get interested parties working towards agreed aims (unlike a few other locations one could think of!). Of interest, is there much contact between the CHR and the Montgomery Canal Restorationists on common issues such as erosion of access by roads?

 

This week's update is mostly about the people and recognising who is doing the work. We had a good weekend of scrub clearing but mounds of waste are not the most photogenic. The usual work of track preparation was going on in the background and the site is getting tidied up ready for when we reopen.

The timetable is being finalised but one event that can be announced is the Football Special on Sunday 10th June. This is not aimed directly at the railway enthusiast but builds on last years successful event bringing together collectors of football memorabilia.

The preparatory works for the big dig are in hand and the next major working weekend will see the area cleared ready for the machines to move on site. Work 'should' start before Easter but like most things in the construction world it will depend on the weather, the machines needed have to finish other work first and any delays in that could have a knock on effect on our dig. It's looking good so far but we will only really be sure of the dates a few days before. Unless we can convince 3000 volunteer navvies to come and dig by hand....

https://ilvaporista.blogspot.it/

 

It's a quiet week this week but that is to be expected given the weather, fingers crossed that the snow clears quickly and does not push our big dig plans off target. This week's blog looks a bit further afield than Weston with work going at further south.

CHR is again participating the Shropshire Star's fundraising initiative so if any of you read that paper we would be pleased to receive your tokens at Oswestry station. Call in or send to the CHR address at: Cambrian Heritage Railways Limited, Old Station Building, Oswald Road, Oswestry, Shropshire, SY11 1RE.

The Facebook page has more details
https://www.facebook.com/cambrianheritagerailways/

The weekend of the 10/11th is the next big planned session on the track, weather permitting.

 

There is a quick update on the blog about playing around with a few lengths of rail in idle moments whilst on tea break....
https://ilvaporista.blogspot.it/
A full report on the weekend will follow when the pictures are available. Lots of work was done but we still need some more hours to get ready for the contractors. Here's hoping the weather holds for us and the snow stays away...

 

I wonder if you really could make such a track for multiple gauges..... I can see my next long plane journey being taken up working out the clearances and the optimisation to see if it is possible.... The suggestion of 3'6" has got me dusting off my address book from my days in South Africa to see if they have a spare loco.... Or would MOSI miss the GL... I feel that a lie down and more medicine is on the cards.