We split into two teams again this week, working on much the same as previously.
In the station at Ruddington, that means the clamp-lock point machine on platform two. This has now gained two hydraulic rams in the four-foot, carefully packed to the correct alignment.
Those with a good memory might recall that we had trouble in the past with the hydraulic lines on a similar machine being burnt by falling cinders from a passing steam loco. We learn; the hoses on this machine have been routed through a galvanised steel conduit, clamped to the sleeper.
The machine can now be operated by hand, with these in, using the manual override controls on the pump unit. To be truly useful, it needs to be wired to a control system - but we are working on that.
This might be a good time to mention why we're going to the trouble of installing complicated point machines at all. "Couldn't you just fit a hand points box and have done with it?" asks a hypothetical reader.
The answer to that is "Not really". Certainly, a lever on the sleeper ends - as seen in any number of yards - would swing the switches back and forth. However, this is a passenger station, and safety principles demand that the points can be provably locked in place before trains are signalled over them.
In theory, you might ban passenger services from these release points, and halt any DMUs or top & tailed formations further down the platform. That would leave a small island of uninterlocked, undetected trackwork at the end of a passenger line. A key part of S&T, though, is to guard against human error. A half-hearted patchwork of technical protections and their absence would invite confusion and mistakes - especially with multiple engines in steam as you might hope for in a two-platform station!
Installing new kit is also a good opportunity for us relative newcomers to the game to learn how it's done. The next step must be to formalise those skills, to make the group less dependent on supervision from those who do have professional qualifications.
Back to your usual programming of project updates, I am delighted to say Hotchley Hill now has its first glazing for decades. We have fitted four panes of UV-protected polycarbonate sheet to the small windows in the locking room, and have disposed of the tatty old plywood panel previously covering the frames.
This serves as a bit of a pilot for us, to see how long it takes, to get a feel for the technique, and for a bit more confidence that the theoretical solution works in practice. Despite our inexperience, the panes went in quickly and easily. The main learning point is that cleaning away excess sealant is difficult and it's far better to get it right in one go.
We shall be keeping a close eye on them while preparing to do the big windows upstairs, to see how they stand up to abuse - but if you do happen to live in the area, please don't take that as an invitation!
(The big frames upstairs also received a second coat of cream paint, as did the WC window - a less dramatic change than the first, but just as important.)
