Early start for our first ever Model Railway Exhibition

On Saturday, June 19th, it was a very early start for volunteers at our first ever model railway exhibition. Setting up the hall from 7am, the hall was open by 10am. We are grateful to everyone who visited and who participated in the show, and we everyone who visited enjoyed the mini show. Below are some photos from the event:-

Main Hall

Car Boot outside under the station canopy

Visitors watching Cannons Cross

and then there was the start attraction upstairs, a fully working model of the Wisbech & Upwell Tramway....

Visitors where given a proper Edmondson ticket for entry and most people seemed to really enjoy the show, even though we sadly had a couple of exhibits who were unable to attend at the last minute.

Update : Waldersea's On Fire

Towards the end of May, the track gang moved on to Waldersea to do a spot of Maintainence. With weed season in full flow, the track at Waldersea, and its surroundings where starting to look a bit on the bushy side.

As can be seen above, the weeds are now itching over the track once again, and it was time for action. The team got to work and within a short while the track was looking clear again.

Work then moved on to look at Waldersea sidings which was being overun by weeds. Only a couple of weeks before hand, the same shot below would have been almost clear of weeds.

So the gang got to work....

They say there is no smoke without fire....

and you can see the group is starting to make good progress with the clearing of weeds here.

If you would like to get involved, please get in touch. Working on the track is always a  good laugh and an excellent way to meet new people with similar interests. The team meet most Wednesdays and Sundays on the track, so if you are interested, please get in touch. E-mail bramley_line@yahoo.com

Update :- Track Gang at Coldham in Mid May

Over the last month, a number of things have been going on, in and around the track. In May, the opportunity was taken to do some light maintainence at Coldham Level Crossing. Following vandalism there, we have been showing a High Profile of going there. We decided the ground around the crossing was starting to look tatty, so went ahead clearing it. Below is a Before picture taken a couple of weeks before hand.

As you can see the grass goes over the site of the Down Road which was taken out years ago and the fencing. Now you can see the difference in these shots below:

As you can see, the grass has been cleared right back from the road to the crossing. You will also notice, the weeds are now starting to grow again, and the fence, which was only recently painted, is starting to be covered by weeds.

A much neater appearance to the recently repainted gates can be seen, the only thing missing now is the red target on the crossing gate. To help with the clearing, our resident Ray helped with the Roadsweeping.

After clearing the crossing, it was noticed that the securing bolts on Coldham Level Crossing had started to work loose. We decided to tighten the blots as we had to the tools necessary to do so with us. Below you can see the work in progress, everything that is good about the Bramley Line..... Teamwork.

Stange but true.... at Coldham

Recently, the Bramley Line has noted a number of vandalism acts being committed at Coldham. For Safety reasons, the access/egress gate at the crossing was locked up, as it was deemed that the track was becoming dangerous to those using it as a walkway.

As a result, someone obviously got very angry and damaged the Level Crossing gate. It was found damged by the team in early May. The damage can be clearly seen in the above photo.

Some repair work was carried out, to make to structure usable again. This gate was due to be repainted, but this has not happened as the time allocated for painting, was used up on repairing the gate. The wood which has been added as a short term measure can clearly be seen below.

We ask people to please be aware of vandalism problems that the line faces. Since the start of the year, there has been a number of vandalism issues at Coldham and Wisbech. If you see anyone on the track not wearing Orange Hi-Vis vests, please contact the British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40.

Coldham Track Clearing

Over the last few weeks, much work has been going on to clear some of the new weeds coming through next to Coldham Level Crossing. This is the track which has been cleared. While it is not a lot, some work has gone into doing this without using chemicals.

To allow us to clear properly, the gates where opened, and closed where road traffic came along.

A fair bit of grass had also built up infront of the Level Crossing.

So, Brian set about giving Blood Sweat and tears to work on the grass...

Then decided that the gates post needed holding up...

and then, the job was done...

After a bit of reflection, the team headed to Waldersea and noticed the road painters have been out...

If you would like to get involved, please get in touch. We need help with all sorts of things, not just trackwork. We need people to help with Fundraising and are looking to set up and Ebay Team. If your interested, please get in touch. E-mail us at bramley_line@yahoo.com

Waldersea fencing takes shape

On Sunday, the group where at Waldersea finishing off the fencing. There is still some more paint work to do, and this will be done over the next few weeks. Here are some photos from Sunday.

To get involved, get in touch. E-mail us at bramley_line@yahoo.com

We'll get by with a little help from a friend...

The Mid Week team has been very sucessful in getting to know a number of parties around the railway line between Wisbech and March. On Wednesday, the Mid Week team was fortunate enough to be allowed to join a team of Network Rail staff who where training on Re-Sleepering between Coldham and Chain Bridge.

The sleepers Ballast is dug out and the sleeper is ready to be removed below:

The Sleeper, having been lifted out, the chairs remain suspended in mid air.

Now, with a new sleeper in place, the ballast is repacked and put back in place.

A lot was learnt from the day, and we are extremely grateful to the Network Rail staff who allowed us to accompany them. We return to working at Waldersea this Sunday from 9.30am. If you wish to get involved, please get in touch at bramley_line@yahoo.com