IT Related Matters - Hit Rate

Cher RVR'ers

As the developments at Robertsbridge are now becoming visible in the form of developments on site, we are witnessing a huge interest by people over the web. You may be interested to note this.

Yesterday for the first time we received over 2500 hits on our "News Blog = 12 RVR Railway News" and the reason why today isn't as good is because its still building up.

If we consider that 3 years ago we were challenged to hit 2500 in a month you can see how this has proliferated and the interest that the Heritage and local communities are showing in us. Let us not be under any illusion however that the source of the interest is the reconstruction and its inherent dynamism.

As a further target, in middle of November it seemed that to reach 250,000 ie a quarter of a million hits in a year, was a target still out of reach, but worth going for. As of early December it looked as though we would hit this by Christmas day but as of 11.45 now we hit 240006. At this rate we will hit target next week.

Post:TEDS

Sunday 12 August

What a nice day for working on the railway! The Sussex sun was shining  and the temperature rose through the day but never got unbearable.

So we were happy to hang the second door on the northeast corner of the mess van and make final adjustments to both doors to ensure they fitted into the newly narrowed aperture, then bolt them in,  having first cut the heavy iron hinges to length and cleaned them up for painting. We then routed the planking lines into the plywood sheet which replaces the old planking adjacent to these doors.  We can finish bolting this sheet in place next week, adding sealant, and secure the cut planking as well. A few more man-days should finish off this door set, before we contemplate tackling the final - centre - door set.  The last of the door furniture was removed from the old doors, which can now be broken up and disposed of. 

Already the internal cladding and insulation work is about to resume in the last stretch of the mess van interior remaining to be tackled.

Close by, painting continued on the chassis of the three-plank wagon, and on the brake van and its verandahs.  

On the trackwork front, next week sees the delivery of large amounts of ballast followed by another stretch of new tracklaying, rapidly approaching join-up with the old 'b' line. This temporary join-up will eventually allow the rolling stock to be relocated away from the station during reconstruction of the terminus.

Steve G  

    

 

Wednesday 1 August

I have rather got out of the habit of writing a post here about what's been happening on the railway.  However, here goes once again...

Over the last couple of working days, we've been majoring on the vehicles at Robertsbridge while  contractor Andrew Woods gets on with excavating the track bed north of the loading pad (ie north of the mainline station car park). In fact he has now reached the loading pad, the ballast regulator having been moved southwards to enable the track here to be lifted. The ground level is now about two or three feet below where it was, ready for the sub base of crushed concrete and a layer of permeable matting to go down. A series of drains have been installed.

As for the vehicles, we have completed the changeover of the doors on the northern western end of the mess van, which is effectively the main entrance, and now started on the opposite side doors. This changeover sounds like an easy job, but in fact it takes about 12 man-days to complete.

We start by loosening all the bolts holding the doors and the stanchion, leaving just enough to hold everything in place until we are ready to go, plus we cut the bolts on the planking adjecent to the doors. Then the hinges are removed and the very heavy old doors are dropped to the ground. Then the stanchion has to be removed, and as the bottom end is welded  to the vehicle some sledgehammer work is needed. This iron post is also heavy, and it must be rebolted to the old holes, which fortunately remain in place since the vehicle doors were altered sometime in the late 30s/early 40s.

The four long door hinges then have to be cut back to their original length, and re-primed to keep the rust at bay.  One of the new plywood doors is then offered up, propped, drilled and lighly bolted in place. Then the other door. Some planing is required because the new doors are fractionally oversized. Final adjustments are made and all the holes drilled and bolted through.

This of course leave a large hole in the side of the van, so existing planking must be cut back, having previously removed the bolts holding it in place. A new 1 inch thick marine ply panel is cut to size and tried out. Then this has to be removed and carefully routed to represent planking, which has to match the existing planking lines. Then after any bare metalwork is primed, this plywood panel has its edges primed and its then bolted in place, and sealant applied. Then it is primed on the outside.

Meanwhile, all the old door furniture has to be removed from the old doors, and carefully transferred to the new doors, having been cleaned up and primed as necessary. It's generally easier to cut away the old wood from these fittings, rather than trying to unbolt or unscrew them. The old doors are broken up, salvaging any few planks that are still useable.  All this is time-consuming in the platform, but slower and slightly nerve-racking when undertaken using our work-tower. We have to take extra safety precautions over handling the heavy doors. Eventually the old door fittings are refixed to the new doors, after cleaning up and priming.  then the whole lot is ready for undercoating and painting in RSR green on the outside. In the fact. all the east side of the van is awaiting a top coat of green.

Once this door set is done, the final big job is the centre doors, the on;y difference being that the doors being fitted are original droplight doors rather than the new solid plywood doors inherited with the vehice when we bought it a couple of years ago. 

At the same time we are painting the LNER hopper wagon, which is due to be sold, and also Titan the green Drewry loco - while we have some sunshine.

Steve G

Sunday 22nd July

The glorious summer has now come to Robertsbridge which gave the oppurtunity to repaint the gate at Northbridge Street. The GBLV was also full during lunchtime. Lockers formally housed in the Network Rail huts at the mainline station have been moved to the old office building. Elsewhere, work has continued on the GBLV doors, the picnic area has been strimmed and the decorating of the museum/information centre is complete so the public can now use the new facility. The displays are being developed.

Membership Cards 2013/14 - Photo Proposal

In the Winter 2011 edition (11q4) of the Phoenix (page 13 to be precise) I outlined the plan for the new membership cards to carry the photograph of the most significant, or mood setting picture of the last 12 months. The first card carried Donald Wilsons "Charwelton at Udiam", reflecting the opening of the Bodiam-Udiam section of the RVR East on the occasion of the Junction Road Weekend.

And now time is upon us again to select a photo from the RVR photo archives. I had always intended the Membership should decide.

For my part I would like to nominate.

TEDS "Charwelton at Bodiam"

Steve Griffiths "Bridge 1"

Geoff Wyatts "Bridge 2"

The mechanics of how this will be decided I have not worked out, but opt for this to evolve during the quarter.

 

The decision to be announced prior to the Winter Phoenix.

Trevor Streeter for Membership Services streetert@rvr.org.uk

Wednesday 11th March

There have been several downpours today but that hasn't stopped work starting on narrowing and replacing one of the GBLV doors.

Back in the VSOE building, a cupboard has been built in the corner of the shop to store cleaning equipment and electrics. Next is painting it.
The Hastings Tramboys are continuing to relocate their premises.

12q2 Phoenix - Robertsbridge Junction Station Plans

We had the pleasure at the AGM of a presentation by Mike Hart of the new plans for the development of Robertsbridge Station, on behalf of the RVR Heritage Trust. Detailed drawings have been drawn up for submission to the local authority, and a number of these are now on view in our mess van, pending completion of the visitor centre refurbishment. These are mostly too detailed to reproduce successfully in this small magazine, but a sketch showing the proposed general layout of track and buildings has been prepared (opposite –not to scale). We hope to be able to get the full plans on display soon, and perhaps more into the next Phoenix.

As the sketch indicates, and as widely anticipated, developments include a long new platform to accommodate K&ESR-length trains, and a long carriage shed opposite the platform. A water crane (currently stored at Rolvenden) will be placed at the southern end of the platform, fed from a new water tower to be built south of the carriage shed. There is space for a signal box (non-functioning) south of the platform.

The new station will have a run-round for locomotives. Coaling of locos will take place near the small loco shed to be built on the outer edge of the curve heading towards Bridge 1. The headshunt for this shed will be capable of being extended into the mainline station’s bay platform, should the opportunity arise at a future date. This could be useful for stock transfers, for example. A lever frame will be installed to control the turnouts at this northern end of the new track layout.

In terms of construction, preparation for the track layout changes should be starting later this year, once it’s possible to move the existing collection of railway vehicles further up towards Bridge 1. This is expected to happen this summer once new trackwork reaches the loading pad area. Stores and workshops also have to be relocated. Levels need to be improved on the track bed to remove the current slope towards the southern end, and the bed needs to be moved eastwards to give room for the platform to be built alongside the existing main station car park.

Under the plans, the VSOE building will be retained until after the new station building is completed, which is not envisaged to be for several years yet. However, everything else at the existing station site is either being moved or demolished to make way for the new scheme.

Workshops, stores, staff facilities including parking, and loco fuel etc will be distributed between the loco shed and carriage shed areas.

12q2 Phoenix - Dates for the Diary

East Sussex Gauge 'O' Group's
model railway exhibition, 15 &16 September, Bexleyheath (see advertisement below). model show, Sunday July 15th 10-5.00, Pett Village Hall, E.Sussex.
Details from Geoff Wyatt on 01424 813300.

K&ESR Hop-pickers weekend,
8 & 9 September 2012. Passenger train running is being extended beyond Bodiam across the RVR metals to Junction Road over the event weekend, for only the second time since the stretch of line was restored. RVR plan a stand at Bodiam.

Charity Toy and Train Fair, in aid of the Association of Bexley Charities,
Wednesday 29 August, Falconwood Community Centre, the Green, Welling, DA16 2PG. (6.30pm to 9.30pm –free parking). Erith Model Railway Society’s

12q2 Phoenix - Letters to the Editor

From Alan Bone – The 2012 Model Railway Exhibition was brilliant with nearly 400 visitors, the ACOL layout with its Col.Stephens theme, and excellent food for those attending and exhibiting. The layouts were better than last year, due to being smaller. It was ideal for everybody and credit must go to Paul Plummer of Erith Model Railway Society for his efforts to achieve lots of variety in a small space. Geoff Wyatt oversaw the whole event very well indeed. I’d like to thank all who helped, but I do need a person to help me put up road signs next year! The next event is already being planned for 18 and 19 May 2013, and I hope the editor can include lots of reminders in the Phoenix in the meantime! Alan

12q2 Phoenix - Elsewhere on the former SE division…

The last issue mentioned the remodeling of London Bridge station. What hadn’t been fully appreciated is that the scheme entails removal of the Victorian train shed. This shed is one of the dwindling number left in London, with Euston, Fenchurch Street, Blackfriars, Cannon Street, and Charing Cross having lost theirs over the years (Victoria has lost much of its main roof too). The only Victorian structure remaining at London Bridge will probably be the actual viaduct on which the station sits, though some of this will be removed to create a large concourse under all platforms.

Loss of the old train shed is sad, but it’s an inescapable consequence of adding the much needed extra through platforms at the high level. These will (in about 2018) connect to the new viaduct now sitting waiting alongside the old one right outside in Station Approach. Also going it appears will be the SER building shown below, which scrubbed up so well only quite recently.

Sunday 24th June

The work was concentrated on the VSOE today continuing on the shelves for the shop. Some units were being stained while others were being built. It won't be long before this is completed. Also, I believe the new carpet is due to be fitted very soon.

Finally, this afternoon we have received a thank you note (quite a large one) from Robertsbridge Children's Services for donating logs from lineside clearance. They've been put in good use in their garden.

Sunday 10th June

The VSOE upgrade of the museum and information centre is now nearing completion. The majority of regular volunteers helped out today. The new cream blinds are fitted which compliments the redecorated walls which has very much been finished. Since the last update, all five display units are built and painting those has begun. It won't be long before the new attraction is ready, however it is still in use for the shop refurbishment which is kept open on Sundays and the displays will need to be made.

(JE)

(JE) The display shelves at the end of the day

Sunday 27th May

Sunday has been extremely hot so we didn't get much done. Not many sun worshippers (except some of us volunteers) visited the site today. Some volunteers walked along the trackbed now the track has been laid over the previous three days. All but one side of the Robertsbridge lamphut has now been painted in gloss black, more painting has been done in the VSOE, a bookcase has been stained and the first display case for the info centre has been started.



(JE) A buffer-stop's view

(JE) The experimental display case for the info centre

Sunday 6th May

Last Sunday was a slightly vintage one.
A Vintage Bus Shuttle Service ran between Robertsbridge and Northiam Stations for the K&ESR Gala Weekend and I and Bob were marshallers at the Robertsbridge end. Mike Dawes, who organised the bus service, came down to the RVR with his Routemaster for the morning as backup. We gave him a tour of the site and met some of our volunteers. Overall, only 13 people used the service but we hope to be able to offer the service at other events in the future and promote it more in order to raise the profile for the RVR.

(JE) All change for...erm...Hereford? The iconic Routemaster. Unfortunately, this was only on standby.

(JE) Hop On!

(JE) The bus waiting to leave the station yard

Some jobs were fitted in though. Some wallpapering in the VSOE was done, some paint was sampled and some preparation works were carried out for more painting.

Sunday 29th April

Today was a very busy day.



(JE) There was twice this amount of people

The railway held an open day with a powerpoint presentation by Mark Yonge about the Past, Present & Future of the RVR including tea, coffee and biscuits in the village hall. A number of us were ready to be tour guides to take the visitors down the trackbed showing them the progress, historic structures and explaining future plans. This event was aimed at the local community. Me and Bob were only planning to be reserve tour guides because most of us were only expecting about 50 people. But no, there were probably up to 300 people who attended. Due to this, all tour guides were used and there were two presentation sessions because, even with standing room, everybody still couldn't fit in the hall. The shop sold some stock, a lot of Phoenixes were brought and a majority of ice creams were taken as well.

On the VSOE refurbishment side, the corner cupboard was undercoated and some woodwork was rubbed down. Four completed bookcases make the shop look more presentable now.

It's going to be a busy few weeks. Next Sunday is the Vintage Bus Shuttle Service between Robertsbridge and Northiam Stations to connect with the K&ESR Gala Weekend. More info from the RVR news site and K&ESR site. Then in another two weeks time is the Annual SAMREX (Model Railway Exhibition).



(JE) Bob guides a group of local residents

Sunday 15th April - JE

We walked to Northbridge Street via the bridges today. Still some work left to do bridge 1 but it's nearly there. In the VSOE, painting has now started and another bookcase has been trial assembled. Some work has also commenced in preparation for the shop counter to be moved pretty soon.

(JE) Geoff walks over Bridge 1

(JE) Painting has started

Wednesday 11th April - JE (continued...)

The dado rail and skirting board has also been fixed in the VSOE. The partition on the shop side has been painted in dark red. The weather today was sharp showers which turned into a triple rainbow!

(JE) The current state of the info centre

(JE) Three rainbows overlook the GBLV and the RVR

Wednesday 11 April

Wednesday 11 April

By about 10 am this morning, both girders for Bridge No 1 had been put in place over the stream, and work was beginning on bolting in the cross-members and walkways. Elsewhere rails were being laid out ready for welding up. After fixing a tarpaulin which was slipping off the Maunsell coach roof in recent winds, we emptied the ancient LNER box van in preparation for its imminent departure to its new owner. Inside we found lots of stored goodies including ancient brass luggage rack brackets, and the racks themselves, plus coach window blinds, numerous 1920s/30s coach light fittings, and some spare carriage doors - all relocated. After a bit of shunting the van is now ready to be pushed to the loading pad area for collection by lorry.  We also demolished the small shed by the main gates and mended the useful four-wheel trolley.  SG

Wednesday 4th March - JE

The VSOE made reasonable progress today. Bob has almost finished the cupboard, just the doors to go. While I started fitting the raised dado rail and skirting board which was specially made by Peter French's son. Finally, Helen continued with making the bookcases with some teething problems which she persevered through. Some of the bookcases are almost ready to assemble now.

(JE) The new dado rail and skiritng board. Where's the fire exit! A second door has been put over the existing one so there can be a continuous wall of pictures and exhibits.

(JE) Bob's new corner cupboard

Otherwise, it was quiet elsewhere around the site because everyone else replaced all 300 or so track clips at Junction Road which needed replacing.

Sunday 18 March - JE

The VSOE upgrade visibly made progress on Sunday. I did some wallpaper stripping on the the rear wall of the information centre side (a fiddly but rewarding job at the end of the day). Bob completed the task of cladding the partition on the info centre side with MDF while making way for electrical cabling which Helen was doing more to.



(JE) Geoff after his soaking

Geoff probably had the most eventful day. He tried to remove the stopcock from where the tea/coffee machine was connected to and the water gushed right through. The building interior might have got soaked if Geoff wasn't in the way. As a result he was dripping wet! The water inlet has now been fixed and new plumbing will be repositioned onto the partition wall where the coffee/tea machine will be moved as well.

Weds 22 March

22 March - SG

Arrived today to find the new (secondhand) prefab toilet blocks have been delivered, one large and one small. We inspected these inside - they're not too bad but will need some work to spruce up and sort out the flooring.  We removed algae from the outside and flaking paint - first job will probably to perk up the outsides to make them more presentable once installed.  Meanwhile the tramways club have begun dismantling the protective structure over the tram bodies, so that these can be readied for the move.

Sunday 11 March - Jack Evans

Just a quick intro about myself for those who don't recognise my name. I am 16 years old and I have been an RVR volunteer since Spring 2009. Trevor Streeter has asked me if I would like to contribute to the volunteers blog and I said yes.

A lot of progress has been made yesterday with good attendance. Me and my dad Bob built the studding for the new partition wall which will separate the museum/information centre from the shop. This is part of the refurbishment of the VSOE building.

(Above) The frame of the new partition wall

Also in the afternoon, a majority of us helped David slide a new tarpaulin onto his Maunsell coach after two attempts.

(Above) David, Geoff and Bob pulling hard

Trevor and Geoff fitted two new PC monitors for the GBLV office.

It is anticipated that Bridge 1 will be lifted in place in about a week or two. I'm just eager to walk over the bridges straight to Northbridge Street.

Wednesday 7 March -SG

Non-stop rain today, but will that head off the predicted drought? We got ahead with preparations in the VSOE visitor centre for making up and putting together the new display units, which will also be used in the shop. A lorry load of MDF sheets arrived and had to be unloaded. Each will be cut up to form the sides and shelves in the units. Two heavy sheets of ply are for the mess van, to be cut to fit into the sides when we finally get around to narrowing the door frames so as to fit the 6 remaining doors we need to replace. One pair on the west, and two on the east. The ply will be routed to look like planking. I rescued a couple of very old iron rail chairs from the big heap that I spotted, probably for sale in due course.  The new office space in the mess van got a coat of paint and some coat hooks.  SG

RVR Sunday 26 February (SG)

Feels like Spring already, and this made for a good turnout of volunteers on Sunday.

Work began on further improvements to the VSOE building, which houses the shop and visitor centre. For the time being only the shop will be opening as works proceeds in the 'visitor' section to create new display units and boost wall space available for photos, maps and posters etc, by rearranging interior cupboards and erecting a new partition. Wiring and plumbing work will be needed.  The hot drinks service is suspended temporarily.

We admired the stacks of concrete-sleepered 30 ft track panels newly deliver to the site during the week, still complete with the pots that recently carried third and fourth rail electrification. Bit of a clue perhaps as to where these panels have originated! 

In the mess van we finally laid lino in the kitchen,  with some patching to follow around two edges.  Work continued on the rescued lamphut, removing old paint, and on painting the northern end of the mess van.

 

Wednesday 22 February

A dull windy day. I wandered down towards Bridge 1 and saw the newly delivered 30 ft panels of track freshly delivered, with more due in a few days. The bullhead is still bright steel on top!  Starting soon, these must be dismantled to allow the rails to be welded up into 60 fts, with the help of something to lift the panels off the stack and move the rails etc around.

I also took a look at the newly placed bridges once more, now that the walkways have been finished off and very impressive the whole project looks. Notches have been cut in the parapets of Bridge 2 to allow the trains on and off the bridge, in due course, and also to allow excavators to access westwards. As a result, Bridge 1's eastern abutment now sports a large hole behind it,  ready for formwork and placing of concrete, to take the bridge span kit.

Back at base we began reviewing the contents of the right hand van body to see what could be discarded immediately, as the start of our preparations for relocating to somewhere beyond the loading pad once the initial tracklaying work has finished. We have quite a few  heritage artefacts stored, buried behind the clutter. In the mess van our new volunteer cook did us proud with a juicy-fry up, and the office area now sports a built-in counter and looks to be fully clad already.  We also heard that plans to further improve the shop and visitor centre/museum area have been approved to proceed.    SG

Wednesday 15 February - SG

Nursing a slight hangover, I managed to lose a second quality digital camera in 12 months on the train down from London this morning. Phone pictures are not the same, but will upload a couple shortly.

When I arraived, work was underway using a pneumatic drill mounted on a small digger to trim the overheight concrete parapets on Bridge No 2 (the abutments of which had been erected a few years ago by the local water company). Work will then no doubt follow to complete Bridge No 1 abutments ready for the new bridge kit to be erected over the little river beneath. New to the site is a 360 degree excavator which has ro-rail capability, recently acquired by our contractor Andrew Young who is in almost permanent reisdence these days. He has now cleared most of the south side of the embankment west of bridge 1 and carried out some reprofiling and widening.  All that now remains on that side of the track is a large heap of rails plus various sleeper stacks, plus the Weatherhill loader awaiting collection by its new owner. A large area has been set up to receive new trackwork supplies due in shortly. The 'B' road has now been cut back to the loading pad, while the main running line has been cut back to the lorry crossing under the Oak Tree, to allow easier crane and lorry movements.   

Main event of the day was a shunt around in the station yard to allow the antique LNER van , which has also been sold, to be released from the south end of the platform. This entailed disconnecting the mess van's power, gas and water and ensuring the plates inside did not fall off the shelves, then reconnecting everything.  Dougal and Titan were both required for this exercise. The crossing from the platform road to the middle road was put to good use - possible for the first and last time, as the trackwork at the station end is due to be remodelled completely later this year.  Some work was done on the mess van office cladding, on the tanker wagon chassis, and on tidying-up in anticipation of spring!   

Wednesday 1 February - bridgemaking day (SG)

By the time I arrived at Northbridge Street, around mid-morning, one of the refurbished bridge spans had already been placed by contractors Coussens at bridge No 5, and work was under way on assembling walkways to the other three spans. Through the day these were loaded in turn onto a flatbed lorry and driven the fairly short distance along the temporary road laid beside the footpath, and lifted carefully onto the abutments of bridges 4, 2 and 3, in that order.  At bridge 2 the old unrefurbished span which had been placed more than 10 years ago was removed so that a refurbished one with walkway could take its place. 

 This photo shows bridge span 2 being lowered into place (SG).  

The weather was fine, though the wind was cold. The ground was dry and on only one occasion did the contractors' flatbed lorry look like getting stuck at the assembly area until rescued by their Scania. There were a few dog-walkers and onlookers. Geoff and I managed to get about 100 photos which have been uploaded to the RVR archive, and many now made public.  

All in all a most enjoyable and exciting, well-organised day.  At long last, we saw four of the five bridges on the land we control at Robertsbridge now virtually completed after months of careful planning and preparation by the project team. All that remains is the completion of Bridge No 1, followed at some point by tracklaying activities and the inevitable fencing presumably.     (SG)

Call for Volunteers for Bridge Arrival Marshalling

Dear Members and Volunteers,

We have heard from the Trust who have made a request for volunteers to help at Robertsbridge, but do not wish to upset the village or transports getting through by having too many well wishers so early on. Hence this closed and unusual post method, normally reserved only for volunteers.

The RVR have a requirement for a couple of Vounteers every day

quote++

Update on the programme:
Monday 30 Jan - Walkways and Bridge 1 deck despatched from Wales. Arrive Afternoon at Robertsbridge.
Tuesday 31 January - Bridges 2 - 5 decks despatched from Lamberhurst and decks set on Northbridge Street carriageway, assemble walkways, take down cricket club fence and replace with temporary.
Wednesday 1 February - lay trackway and start bridge deck placing, Transport old bridge 2 deck to RBJS yard.
Thursday 2 February - complete bridge deck placing, complete bolting down of decks 2 - 5 and assemble bridge No 1 deck.
Friday 3 February - available if weather interrupts progress. Re-erect fencing to Playing and cricket fields.

We will need one or two volunteers from mid day Tuesday to direct traffic and prevent the general public from placing themselves in danger. Full PPE will be required and we will need to arrange some briefing sessions. Any response to the rota for 2 hour shifts from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

++unquote

It is hoped that our members will rise to the challenge. If this would interest you, although the work is light and simply to avoid people going under the bridges whilst things are being put in place, then please get in contact with us at reception@rvr.org.uk.

14th January 2/2 Paul King

Yesterday saw the delivery of the Corrugated Hut donated by Network Rail still covered in ivy over the walls and roof.

It's in very good condition and once given some TLC will be sited somewhere along the line at Robertsbridge.

January 14th 2012: - Paul King

Today saw the Forestry and Conservation Department working from Bridge 3 along the embankment by the football pitches to just short of bridge 2 hacking back the undergrowth.

I would like to thank a returning volunteer Duncan for his hard work today it was a shame that one of the brush-cutters decided to throw its air filter fixing screws into the scrub and stayed hidden so we only had one machine in action and the use of a scythe which made progress slow. Our next working weekend will be early February date to be announced.