Gwili Railway Company receives, 2011 Volunteers Award from the National Railway Heritage

the 2011 Volunteers Award from the National Railway Heritage Awards

The Gwili Railway Company has received the 2011 Volunteers Award from the National Railway Heritage Awards for their work on building the new set of level crossing gates at Bronwydd Arms.

These awards are presented annually to various sectors within the national and heritage railways.

The emphasis is on overall quality and thoroughness, sympathetic treatment, attention to detail, conservation practice, attractiveness to the public and regard for the local environment.

 

In the Voluntary Sector, entries frequently aim at re-creating a period atmosphere, in which case authenticity is an important factor.

Inspection of the gates was made during last summer and the award made by the Lord mayor of London at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall in early December.

Although presented to the railway, all volunteers would particularly like to congratulate those from the Signal and Telegraph Department who have seen this project through to this stage.

Other information can be seen on www.nrha.org.uk

 

Civil Engineering – Bridge 6 – Update 1

Work started on the 1st August on the repair to Bridge No 6. This we believe was built c1872 on conversion of the line from broad gauge to standard gauge. It is made of wrought iron having two longitudinal side girders with a corrugated iron deck. The deck is wasted and will be replaced by a reinforced concrete deck allowing the axle loading to be raised to twenty tons.
The bridge crosses the long-abandoned mill leat which fed the Morgan Iron Works in Carmarthen from c1750. Certainly no water has freely flowed along the leat since the Second World War when the army blew up the weir which fed water into it from the River Gwili. As residual and surface water still makes its way into this water course,the bridge will to be retained.
Civil Engineering - Bridge 6 - Update 1
Civil Engineering - Bridge 6 - Update 1
Civil Engineering - Bridge 6 - Update 1
Civil Engineering - Bridge 6 - Update 1
Civil Engineering - Bridge 6 - Update 1Civil Engineering - Bridge 6 - Update 1Civil Engineering - Bridge 6 - Update 1
Civil Engineering - Bridge 6 - Update 1

Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 9

Photos of the crossing gate mechanism. Some parts were refurbished but others had to be made from scratch. Also shown is one of the bullhead rails inserted in concrete to protect the gateposts from road traffic that may come into contact with them.
Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 9Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 9Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 9

Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 8

The two slam posts have now been erected and concreted in place.They have been painted in grey undercoat and one has received its cast iron cap.
We are missing the second – any help?
To protect some of the posts from boy racers and heavy articulated lorries taking short cuts we will try and protect the posts with a bullhead rail barrier seen here being installed.with the fine weather much painting of the iron and woodwork is taking place.
Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 8
Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 8
Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 8
Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 8
Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 8
Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 8

Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 7

Over the weekend of the 5th and 6th March we managed to get the two slam
posts in position, so that ends the heavy lifting on the crossing job (we
hope!)

The gates are standardised as being 4″ from the slam posts when across the
road, as the locking mechanism protrudes about 3″ from the slam post, so an
ample clearance of 1″ is provided.The slam posts need to be straight with
the gate when across the road for the locking mechanism, so when the gate is
across the railway it will be at quite an angle when meeting the slam post,
as can be seen from the photos.

The catch casting (gate locking mechanism) to be fitted to the slam post
will be fixed onto an angled bracket so to bring it straight with the gate.
The catch and locking castings in the photos were fitted temporarily to make
sure everything lined up. We were very pleased when everything did line up,
to within 1/8″!

On the subject of the catch castings, we have one right hand, and one left
hand version. We need two left handed castings,so another needs to be found
from somewhere. The hunt is on.

One of the cast iron post caps was also fitted, the other is soon to go to
the workshop to be cleaned before painting and fitting.

Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 7Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 7Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 7Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 7

Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 6

After a few weeks of aligning, drilling and fitting the hinges to the second
gate, this one has now also been installed at Bronwydd Arms. We were blessed
with good weather compared to when we put up the first gate.

Once again members of staff from all departments dropped what they were
doing to help, at one point we had staff from C&W, S&T, MPD, DMU group,
Catering and P-Way working on the gate at once! Excellent work by all.

The next stage will be to erect the slam posts on the opposite corners of
the crossing to the hinge posts. Their location is critical as they have to
be in the exact position to accept both gates during the opening and closing
sequence.

Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 6Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 6Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 6Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 6

 

Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 5

To align both gates in the correct positions, locating the south side gate
post was going to be the next challenge. The original concrete base needed
enlarging and was then drilled to take the post locating studs.These were
fixed in the concrete with a special waterproof resin. A few days later the
base plate and post were attached.

The gap between the concrete and the base plate will be filled at a much
later stage. This will allow the engineers to adjust the post if any changes
are required to allow the gates to move and operate correctly.

The hinge pin to be used on this post needs to be straightened as it is
slightly bent. Unfortunately when the gates were removed in the 1980s there
were no thoughts of reusing the parts and probably less care was given to
its removal.

Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 5Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 5Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 5

 


Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 4 (Update)

CNP NEWS 6th December 2010

Returning to the northern side of the crossing, the first of the two new wooden gates has been installed. The gates had already been drilled and fitted with the hinges.Conditions far from ideal but as the team were working to a deadline work continued.

With the gate fixed to the hinge pin,two long metal bars were fitted.These run from the top of the tall wooden post down to the base of the gate.At one point this bar,which is actually made in two parts can be adjusted by using the screw “bottles”.These either tighten or loosen the strain on the gates and can finely adjust the height of the gate.This will become important once the gate meets the striking post.

In one of the close-up shots the metal support straps (painted black) can be seen wrapping the top and bottom rails to the uprights. Also to be seen are the pre-drilled holes in the uprights and cross members ready to accept the tubular bars.

The S+T gang would like to thank the Green Light/SERCO gang who assisted in difficult conditions to achieve this stage of the project.

An interesting comparison with the original gates can be seen in a photo on the main “S+T” page of this web site.

Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 4

Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 4

Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 4

Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 4

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 2010
Its on! On friday, we managed to hang the first new gate at Bronwydd. Probably ‘just managed’ is a better word for it we hoped things would have gone smoother than they had.
Due to the freezing weather, the telehandler needed jump starting, but that was the easy bit. Then we found out the hydraulics were frozen up, so  we only managed to get it working about 3pm. Of course it soon got dark,then started to snow, then constant heavy rain, all the while being very cold!
A special thank you to the SERCO boys, it was very impressive to see the teamwork they had and the enthusiasm to get the job done. If they continue such performances when working on Network Rail in such challenging conditions they wont go far wrong.
comparison with the original gates can be seen in a photo on the main “S+T” page of this web site.
Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 4Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 4Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 4

 

Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 3

Removal of the southern pair of gates has now taken place.

Although not a straight forward operation as one post had to have a sizable amount of concrete hammered away before being released.

The surrounding area was then cleared and the the original concrete block foundation was exposed.

Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 3Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 3Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 3

Bronwydd Arms Level Crossing – Part 2

 

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