Apologies, dear readers, for having abandoned these logs for so long!
Rest assured, that's not because we've been doing less - rather that there's been so much to do that write-ups have had to take a back seat.
Hotchley Hill has seen plenty of maintenance and modest upgrades over the last few months, including to the stove, the windows, the staircase, the guttering, the brickwork, the paintwork, the drainage and the path outside. Most of it subtle, but all on the route from dereliction to operation.
This week, we finally hung the new relay room door. Rather like Theseus' Broom (or Trigger's Ship), this is the original door built for the LNER in 1946, with new timber and new hardware. We'll leave you to guess which parts are (not) replicas.
By arrangement with a kind volunteer (and with a supportive discount from John A. Stephens), we took delivery this week of some new coping stones for the low walls around the building. These are the same profile as the remaining originals, most of which have been broken or lost since the 70s. We tried a few of them out for size, and look forward to fitting them permanently.
Back at Ruddington, we spent a few hours laying a new duct under the path around No.1 shed, which will soon carry telecoms lines, and close a crucial gap in the upgrade of site telecoms. We even put the herringbone blocks back afterwards.
In other news, I'm delighted to say we have secured the funds needed to repair Hotchley Hill's aging concrete. As usual, this means great thanks are due to everyone who had donated. If you haven't already, and feel able, please do make a contribution to the LNER(GC)HT or EMRT, both of which are vital to the railway's future.
