Today we set about the serious business of laying railway track, in preparation for the mineral wagon's arrival. This involves moving the buffers sideways by 5 feet and backwards by 6 feet as well as extending the line by 7 feet. Wensleydale Railway permanent way man Andy Feather lives in Settle and volunteered to help with the job itself and to show me how railway line should be laid - the old fashioned way, one sleeper at a time. He also has access to the right tools for the job. And we are indeed doing it properly, including replacing the ferrules of the rail chair screws (top left). The new ferrules are yellow plastic. Most of the old ones were also plastic but two or three we made of oak; an example is sitting on the sleeper alongside a new yellow one.
We did not finish the job today but between us we dug out, levelled, laid, drilled and chaired six sleepers. Only another four to go - hopefully during the coming week.
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