This Saturday and the week preceding, we've made good headway in three directions:
In the station at Ruddington, the new release points now have freshly-fitted stretchers, holding the switch rails exactly the right distance apart. At the same time, their running edges were dressed down to a clean profile, and an adjustable tie-bar fitted.
With a good deal of measuring, guaging and aligning, we're very happy with how they've come together so far. The next step is to fit the hydraulic rams, and the packing spacers that ensure they aren't driven hard into the limit of their travel.
The Permaquip Personnel Carrier and its trailer continue to come on apace. Wooden side panels for the trailer are slotting-together, and new LED lighting has been fitted. The machine itself has seen repairs too numerous to list, from the emergency engine stop to the electric kettle. The instrument panel has been tidied-up, and the overhead storage bins close properly. The windscreen wipers even gained an intermittent mode of operation.
Down at Hotchley Hill, we're another step closer to glazing, with all the windowframes having now received a first coat of paint, and some a second. The warm weather makes painting easy and pleasant, for all it's a relatively simple job, and the result is more than worth it. We hope you agree!
