Behind the signalbox, there were once three downspouts, and four drains from the void below the floor. Today's job was to work out where these drained to, exactly, so they can be reinstated correctly.
As illustrated, we discovered a long concrete gutter set against the wall. This has clearly allowed plants to thrive, and we had to saw through several large roots to expose as much as we did. We also unearthed some fragments of the original cast iron drainpipes (painted blue), a broken teapot, half a jar of jam and a few other items. The trough seems to extend a long way southwards, so we're far from done digging yet...
Meanwhile, the handrails were given a second coat of paint, and we broke away some of the bitumen covering on the roof area at the north-east corner of the building. This was intended to shed water into a drain, but has slowly warped so as to trap wet dirt against the wall, and encourage the growth of weeds.
Following last week's request, my thanks go to John Daykin, who has very generously sourced a suitable swan-neck lamp for the sign above the stairs!
