GWSR Broadway Developments

Also scuffing from vehicles turning and tree sap (look at any road surface under overhanging trees). (To be clear, this is a comment on tarmac in general, not a criticism of GWSR's use of it)

 

And any repairs are inevitably done in a different grade and colour of black! I also can't abide the stuff, our country is swamped in it.

 

Note that the new council car park only has tarmac at the throat, the main part has been surfaced with permeable blocks.

The surface of the station approach is not an easy choice.

- The railway has no spare cash despite the Broadway success, due to ongoing heavy infrastructure repair costs
- The original 1904 surface was Cotswolds stone gravel, which is quickly ground to mush (like my drive :-( ) and is out of the question today.
- Also to bear in mind is that it is a shared drive with 7 other properties, who have certain expectations for cost, ease of use etc.
- The drive is on a slope with the embankment next to it. The builder's original intention was to let the stormwater drain into the embankment, without the use of kerbstones!

It is probable that the drive will be used by coaches, so how the tarmac behaves we shall see. It seems to be OK at Toddington.

 

I love it. More tarmac please! Preferably without ice and snow on it!

 

Seems we need a new thread for GWSR extension discussions.

 

Or dig out one of the numerous old ones!

 

I'd have to disagree Al. When I get notifications of new posts about Broadway and visit the page, I expect to get just that? Not speculative stuff about unlikely future extensions. Ta

 

The thread title seems to have changed - I don't remember calling it what it is now.

 

I agree with @Sheff can we keep this thread just for Broadway please, and revert to original thread title? There's still lots of future development work there and it would be nice not to dilute it with talk of extensions which surface every few months or so. There is a perfectly good thread at https://www.national-preservation.c...er-reach-cheltenham-spa-station.35999/page-14 for the recent discussion to be moved to.

 

keeping it Broadway focused then, did you see in the last blog post the very nice GWR poster frames being made for th3 station building. Very authentic and can only add to the ambiance.

Also once the steps are completed what would be the chance that part of platform two being open for taking photos and visits to the signal box. Maybe for Galas and the like.

 

Thanks for the compliment about the poster frames. We are also working on V boards, using the same mouldings and more replica letters. We have a REFRESHMENTS one almost ready to go.

Re the footbridge steps, we are not planning access to P2 so there will have to be some sort of barrier at the end of the centre span. The bridge will be a viewing platform for a while.

P2 is unsurfaced and unfenced, and looks set to remain so for a while yet. It has been declared a CDM zone and when one of us was invited to attend a meeting in the office there a hard hat was forced on him for the 50 yd walk to it!

 

And the danger of head injury on that fifty yard walk was ?

Bob.

 

Zero. There has been no work there for a year, and none is forecast. It's an example of the crap thrown at us to which I referred earlier.

 

Blimey, you lot have got more threads than the West Somerset

Tom

 

Not zero hassle though: there was more than a little relating to chimneys, the exact position of the footbridge, etc; but happily all satisfactorily resolved.

 

I think I know some of these answers from looking at the blogs but just fir clarity which of the following projects will be completed for the new season start? And if later any best guesses.

Cafe and kitchen
Local authority car park
Driveway etc
Signalling
Stairs to foot bridge
Extension to end of station building

I know P2 is a while away but again what period have people in mind for starting / completing the P2 waiting room. Assume all materials will be rail delivery !

 

Here's what is most likely:

Cafe and kitchen Ready mid March 2019
Local authority car park Ready mid March 2019
Driveway etc Ready mid March 2019
Signalling Ready March 2020
Stairs to foot bridge 2020 season? - P1 steps and centre span will be first, P2 steps only when P2 is declared fit for use (not 2020 though)
Extension to end of station building Construction is penciled in for the YE 2019 winter shut down. Many parts already made.

There are no firm plans for P2 or the P2 waiting room at the moment. Other priorities for free cash exist elsewhere on the railway.