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 Current Infrastucture NewsArchive of Infrastucture News: 2013-14 - 2015-16 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019 - 2020 - 2021-22 - 2023 Archive Reports: Northern Extension Project - Permanent Way and Lineside News (2007-2011) - P-Way News (2002-4) 
A report from Bruce Healey on the completion of the pointwork and relaying of the track leading up to it, which will enable the original headshunt, now completely relaid and now to be used as a siding, to come back into use. 
The photos below, by Stuart Moon, show the new track in place into D road of the carriage works, enabling the paint shop to be shunted, and the point which will give access to B-road in the old shed. This follows on from last week's report which includes track plans of the layout of the down yard at Horsted Keynes. 
OP4 News, with an update of work on the carriage shed extension at Horsted Keynes, where the walls are now being prepared for cladding, following the successful fundraising appeal last Autumn. 
The contract for the cladding of the shed has been let to Robin Stevenson LLP, and work has started on the western wall of the maintenance road. The final appearance of the shed will match the yellow/green reverse profile sheeting of the existing C&W works. Reverse profile insulated cladding is not available, so the cladding will necessarily be in two layers - firstly the insulated cladding sheets, and secondly a cosmetic face to match the appearance of the existing shed. The Infrastructure team will shortly be moving onto tracklaying, relaying the connection from the running line into the yard. This is a major piece of work expected to take about three weeks to complete, and represents a significant step forward, providing full connectivity to roads C, E, F and G (and eventually roads B, H & J).
Barry Luck OP4 Project Manager (Infrastructure)
Above: the start of the dwarf wall around the Heritage Skills Centre, and the preparations for the casting of the HSC ground floor slab.
Infrastructure News update with thanks to Jon Goff, covering the relaying of 260 yards of track on Freshfield Bank in 24 hours.
Jon Elphic's photo shows the Q-class over the washout pit within the new locomotive maintenance shed at Sheffield Park, built thanks to funding from the NLHF as part of our ASH (Accessible Steam Heritage) project. The staff are already feeling the benefit of the cover for washouts, this being the third undertaken in the shell of the building.
Two photos below from OP4 Project Manager Barry Luck show the dwarf wall on the western side of the shed at Horsted Keynes almost complete, and the start of work on the access steps on the eastern side, this work being done by our infrastructure volunteers. The contractors are returning to site soon to clad the main parts of the walls around the western, eastern and northern sides of the shed and the Heritage Skills Centre, the money for which was raised thanks to our well-supported Double Donations Dash fundraising appeal last Autumn. 
The infrastructure team have been laying yet more track, but this time only a very short section into the new loco maintenance shed at Sheffield Park. The frame of the shed is complete and the cladding now in place on both the east and west walls. The request to infrastructure turned out to be a little premature as not all of the track bed was ready for track although the team did manage to get about 2/3 of the required track laid last Friday. It will be finished ASAP though so that the contractor can concrete the track in place. Unfortunately, due to the position and alignment of the west wall, the new track position will not enable reconnection to the tram road leading out to the top carpark without breaking out a lot of concrete and relaying the curve from a long way back. This is too big a job and expensive for now. The photos below from Jon Goff show the new track progressing through the new loco maintenance shed, yet to be finally aligned. 
The timbers under the crossing nose were also life-expired, so this was corrected before the full weekday running season began. In addition the adjacent track panel from road 1 which has been slowly sinking into the mud was lifted and drainage put in.
You can read more in Jon Goff's report, here. His photo on the right shows everything connected up, with the new crossing timbers (and unseen beneath, new drainage and waterproof layer), but as of then still to be fully ballasted.
Jon's report also lists all the recent track relaying undertaken so far, on the roughly 4.5 miles between Sheffield Park and Horsted Keynes, where the formation, under-track drainage, and even some rails, date back over 100 years, and were therefore due for renewal. This table repeats that information.
A small update, with photos below, thanks to Bruce Healey and Matt Crawford. Infrastructure have been working on the west side of Tremains crossing this week. At close of play yesterday the work is nearly complete with only a few more fence wires to put in which was expected to happen today. There will have to be a later visit to retension the fence wires. 
WG(South) is currently working in the Lindfield Wood area, while, in recent weeks, WG(North) has been working between Black Hut and the south entrance to the tunnel.
Brian Kidman's photo shows the 12.30 train from East Grinstead passing the gang as it exits the tunnel.
Bruce Healey and Jon Goff provide the three photos below, taken yesterday, showing the additional section of relaying which we have been able to undertake, started on Monday morning, thanks both to the main winter relaying having been finished in good time, and it having come in under budget, allowing the funding (from The Bluebell Railway Trust) to stretch further too. 
The first photo above shows the state of play on Wednesday 6 February before 9am in the early morning gloom. The second was taken at about 4.30pm, in the failing light, and shows the line nearly joined up again. Jon Goff's photo on the right shows Andy Palmer cutting in the closing section of old bullhead rail, as it was starting to get dark. After the last photos were taken, and in near darkness, the track was joined.
So in all, over just three days, the old track had been removed, plastic and Terram laid in the cutting section, ballast dozed even and wacked down smooth, all 13 panels of new flat bottom rail laid and a closing half panel of bullhead cut in. Despite the last joint being only fly-plated, and there still being some clipping up to do, the diesel, the ballast train, and the tamper can now run over the job, and ballasting will start on Thursday morning (i.e. today). This renewed section extends northwards from the Waterworks section which was laid in the snow last winter.
Following the completion of the track replacement between Sloop Bridge and Monteswood Lane Bridge we were fortunate to have the use of a big main line tamper (photop below, Jon Goff) while the tamper we normally use was undergoing maintenance. Balfour Beatty occasionally carries out operator training at the Bluebell, and in return we get some tamping done for free; a good arrangement for both parties. The tamper has on board computers which calculate the best position for the rails after measuring their existing positions and then lifts, push sideways, cants and tamps them accordingly. There is a tiny bit left to finish on the south side of Sloop Bridge, but all the rest of the half-mile stretch relayed over the last month is completely finished. The next job, starting immediately, is 13 panels north of Caseford Bridge which almost gets us on to the straight up to Three Arch Bridge. It is pegged and has materials positioned ready and waiting, as seen in Jon's second photo below. 
We had two 30-foot rails left over from the Waterworks relay last year which mean we didn't have to cut into new 60 foot rails. This completes half a mile, which was laid in approximately 80 hours with an average of 8-9 people each day. Much of it has been funded from bequests left to The Bluebell Railway Trust by generous late members.
During the January closedown, our infrastructure team are relaying roughly half a mile of track between Sloop Bridge and Monteswood Lane Bridge. Around 44 sixty-foot track panels are being replaced. By close of play on Wednesday 9 January, the new track reached the half way point. We have been greatly helped by the young volunteers of our 9F Club and Network Rail people on "away days". Ballasting and tamping will take place when all of the new track is in place. The unseasonally warm weather and lack of rain have made our task a little easier.
The three photos, all taken yesterday, show:
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Page maintained by Richard Salmon, with huge thanks to Barry Luck, Brian Kidman, Jon Goff and Bruce Healey, and with additional material courtesy of Peter Edwards and Stuart Moon.
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