WELCOME to our new members, we even were asked how much for a company to join! - Never had one wanting to join before. We hope that you will join in the fun - (more likely plain hard work) - that can be had by doing something different to your usual work.
Our annual checks of our main rollingstock are largely completed. As part of our Safety Scheme, we drew up check sheets for all vehicles and our track to ensure that even those often 'forgotten' things get looked at. #3 car and Mines car have had their 2 yearly checks of the Westinghouse brake systems done with the with air leakage checks still to do.
We still need members who would like to train and then be certified in various jobs on our railway.
Our annual audits have been completed by Jonesy and Rodney, with only a couple of things to tidy up with Land Transport.
OPEN DAYS: July open day was pretty good but August was even better! - passenger wise. We needed 2 carriages for several trips in August. Thanks to all who help keep our passengers happy with their visit. It is important to remember "that our best advertising is by people speaking to other people" ...and we are often compared with other railways.
Please fill in attached open day work notice. Our next open days are:-
SUNDAY SEPT 5TH (Father's Day)
SUNDAY OCT 3RD
SUNDAY OCT 24TH (Labour Sunday)
SUNDAY NOV 7TH
Just a small point - some members seem to need reminding of -If you bring friends to open days, don't expect them to get FREE RIDES! FREE TEAS/COFFEES etc -Nuff said!
STEAM LOCOS:
F 185: This continues to run well - just as well. We have had to check another axle box as the oil wasn't draining from the oil reservoir. It meant another tight fit under the loco as it was pouring with rain SO we couldn't put it over the pit. We picked some wool fibres out of one oil hoe and, using lighter than normal oil, made sure the oil holes were clear.
PECKETT: Work on this continues to be fitted in with other job (and the weather). All new flame shields have been removed. The boiler was fitted slowly and any leaking tube expanded. Once all were tight we connected up the hydraulic test gear and gradually increased pressure to 60lbs, again expanding any tubes that leaked. At that pressure all are tight with a few showing very slight signs of moisture after approx. 1/4 hour. Next job is to put the firebars back in place, light a very small fire and use the heat to expand the boiler water to get 160lbs pressure. We are hopeful that all will be tight.
The problem with the taper tap turned out to be a 'muck-up' by the person who ground the threads on it. A normal tap starts one thread cutting at a time whereas our tap had inadvertently been made as a four thread start tap. This was fixed by grinding all threads off the tap and then completely re-grinding the thread. The tap has worked well and both washout plug holes in the smokebox have been re-threaded. Sid also put the washout plugs in the lathe and tidied their threads up.
The Company that made the tap have offered to thread two spare washout plugs we got cast last year.
The thread on these taps and plugs has a very unusual form, was only used on steam locos and is now virtually unknown!!! Details on it were obtained by the company from ENGLAND!
PRICE CB: Richard has used this loco on open days and it is a rather unusual attraction for our visitors. He had done a few minor jobs on it lately.
DIESEL LOCOS:
# 402- Rather embarrassing to be using it only day recently - stopped it and it wouldn't start. Problem was traced to one of two batteries that decided it had had enough. TWO NEW BATTERIES were purchased - (another unexpected expense). - As you might expect, they were a different size to the old ones, so Colin E had to alter the 'anti-theft' lid. Alan has rewired the radio so that the ignition key now turns the radio on OR off.
The diesel fuel has just been topped by Trev. "Perhaps this should have been followed on 402 ....... "THE FIRST STEP IN ASSEMBLING ANYTHIN, IS TO DIS-ASSEMBLE THE 'INSTRUCTION' BOOK" - oh well.
# 401- The re-welded forward/reverse selector fork has been fitted (after some modifications to make it stronger). All new side rod bearings are at the Junction. A few adjustments are needed as the drawings and our measurements don't tie up.
TR 217- Andrew has managed to get this going again and has used it on the railway a few times. It took some time to work out what the strange form was amongst the willows at the top-end of the line!!!
DS- Mike and Sean have been dismantling the front of the motor casing to get at the radiator. The bottom tank is badly rusted and must be replaced. Mike is convinced he can make one. The boys have spent several days trying to get the brakes sorted out, but haven't fully unravelled exactly how the spreader beams and adjustment shafts fit together to give a good brake adjustment.
FIREWOOD: Ian (Jenner) arrived at the Junction last open day with a heavily loaded trailer load - all cut to length. He was clearing out his warehouse and had to get rid of the scrap wood somewhere!!! (At least he found a 'good home').
CARRIAGES:
#3 CAR- Andrew has replaced all doubtful steps on this car and fitted them with anti-slip netting.
CAR VAN- Work continues on this at a fast rate - on and off site. Both veranda platforms have been repaired. Colin Webber (YES, we have a heap of 'Colin's in the Club)- has made and fitted new corners for the veranda roof framing. All veranda posts are temporarily in place (but since this report has been typed....just wait to you see). With the wetter weather, work has largely been confined to the inside. Some seats with damaged upholstery have been removed for repair. One seat has never had a back since we obtained the car-van, so we had some castings done for the steel and brass work and Wingnut has made up new framework. He, Teresa and Avice have been scrapping off the old varnish on the last side and re-varnished it. The new ceiling panels are almost ready to be fitted - Sean and Avice have been giving a hand at various times.
We haven't had the Wednesday PD work party for about six weeks - they are away on another job.
TRACKWORK:
The Friday PD work party are our main sleeper 'crew'. There are 2 small areas of our present main line left to re-sleeper and then there will be very few of the old hardwood sleepers left. So far about 280 sleepers have been replaced this year. This has meant that work has now started on the trackwork for our terminus area. One afternoon, all ballast from between the sleepers, where the loop point will fit in, was cleared away and next week the point was dragged up the line to where it will fit in. All old sleepers were unscrewed and shortly - other jobs permitting, the new sleepers will be put in place. The frog and its check rails still need to be brought into position. The idea is that when the point is re-sleepered, it will be jacked and blocked up in the air to allow the single track underneath to be towed out of the way.
The Club has recently purchased a petrol driven machine that has a chuck. This is proving very useful for drilling screw or spike holes in sleepers (and there is often an 'argument' over who is to use it).... increased output 100 fold.
Ian (Jenner) also used it for drilling the holes in the last headstock for the handcrane. He says it drilled 1 1/2" holes very easily.
As part of the terminus job, the provision of a 'site'-toilet was a major necessity. One was obtained from Glen Afton and shifted by the PD Crew and resited at the terminus end, with appropriate 'long-drop' - all before lunch!
They have also tidied up some of the trackside drains.
Alan and Colin (Ewing) recently decided to use our digger to clear a small slip in coal cutting and finish off a drain started by the PD crew. Rather unfortunate circumstances followed. The digger stalled and wouldn't start - so Colin E tried to back his van up the line from Hangipipi Road. His tires - front and back- fitted very neatly between some slippery 1/2 round sleepers.... And there it stayed as even the PD crew couldn't push it out of the way. Enter Mike with his Pajero and tow rope - All hooked up ...BANG!. end of tow-rope. Colin's van was finally shifted and the extra battery taken up to the digger by train! The drains and slip were cleared up with the digger and tidied up by the PD crew the next week. They found that the white fire clay really sticks to anything it touches and is hard to remove!!! (Where's our potters?)
PUBLICITY:
We have recently received a lot of publicity (good) in the local Huntly and Hamilton give-away papers and on Prime Time TV of Hamilton. We were also lucky enough to have a two page spread in the Waikato Community Trust Annual Report - delivered to every household in their distribution area. All this has resulted in more enquiries about our railway - and it all helps.
This message is for people who comment on the special pair of overalls I keep for crawling under locomotive. They just about stand up on their own now - Jan refuses to wash them, but complains when I get another pair covered in grease or oil. Even Sid has to wash his own railway overalls.
'One of Murphy's Laws' ......you only get grease on your best pants and never on your overalls. On this Law - I would be able to wear my overalls as 'best gear'. !!!
BUILDINGS:
Toilet block- Colin W and Son are presently replacing the old weather boards with new timber to match the station. The last half of the roofing iron has also been replaced with colour steel - to match the station also. The inside of the toilets are also 'spruced up' - don't wait to 'spend a penny', just come and visit! This is all thanks to the generous grants from WEL Energy, Waikato District Council and Huntly Community Board grants. So next time you use them - you may not recognise the building.
(It seems Richard's resident possum lived in the partition between the ladies and mens - so wonder where he's residing now?)
Workshop- Andrew has undertaken to see that this gets completed. A lot of progress has been made on it, largely using the PD crews on wet days. Two sides now have windows and covering corrugated iron all in place. There is still heaps to do on this side and then we can start on the other side, the sliding door and concrete floor around the rails.
Sean managed to obtain some corrugated iron (that comes as the outside wrapping on coils). This is new, but has the 'odd hole' in it was purchased at a very reasonable price. We have obtained two lots of it, and some flat galvanised iron for flashings.
Station- Further progress was made on this when a PD crew was put to good use on a wet day punching floor nails. This now means that after a few floor boards are replaced, we can get the floors sanded (then oiled).
The 'ex-shop' (utility building)- the concrete footings passed inspection and the base has been poured, so this will be re-sited very soon. Don't be too surprised turning up one day and the building filling in the gap between the toilet block and bank.
CHARTER TRIPS:
These continue with mainly kindy visits and for approx. 6 hours work proved a very useful income. More are planned during the latter part of August and early September.
We have even managed to sell a few souvenirs etc. During our charters. Thanks to Sid, Andrew, Bruce, Teresa, Avice and Phil for their help so far with these.
TROLLEYS:
Andrew has returned the second hand trolley - overhauled and slightly longer! - don't worry Andrew, this is a third still to do!!! (Just in case you've forgotten).
GRANTS:
No new grants are to hand since the last Newsletter. We have heard through the grapevine that we have been successful with another large one - and have two further completed and delivered a week ahead of deadline. These take a t-r-e-m-e-n-d-o-u-s amount of work, but can be EXTREMELY WORTHWHILE. These allow our proposals and budgets to be worked out well in advance of the eventual projects that need outside funding to be successful.
(WE have just heard a little more about the grant we received from the Huntly Community Board - our 'source' has told us that as we are just outside their area - we shouldn't have received it! TOO LATE NOW as the money is presently being spent). We know that as many people come from Huntly for a day's visit - and use these facilities- as visitors from outside this area. A 'penny well spent'.
This could apply to our thoughts when we consider what to apply for -and its very easy to apply for the world. "Opportunities knock - Temptations kick the door down".
WEATHER:
This winter has been a mixture of extremely heavy frosts and shorter periods of heavy rain. It is not uncommon to have seven or eight heavy frosts in a row, followed by heavy (and I mean H-E-A-V-Y) rain for a couple of days. Andrew was seen after a hail storm, attempting to gather enough hail to make a snowball!!
You should try lighting up and raising steam for charter trips in a short time frame, when the boiler water can't be far off freezing.
LEA ROBERTSON:
Lea passed away in early August after being in poor health for many years. Lea was Dave Robertson's wife, our first Inspecting Engineer. She often used to come to the railway with Dave, until her health would not allow it. Her health also restricted Dave's hobby in the stationary steam engine field.
THANKS TO ALL who continue to carry out the largely unseen jobs - lawns, toilet and general cleaning, carriage cleaning, rubbish disposal, garden tidy ups etc. etc. etc.
Often unnoticed, these things improve our general appearance.
WORKING BEES:
They are still the 4th weekend of each month. I am often asked, why hold them, as few(if anyone) turn up. My answer is that at least these weekends give a time for members to turn up and help with something on the railway. But as usual, you can't force people to give up their spare time! (Although, sometimes, very unexpectedly, many, many members turn up during the week - and get on with 'their projects' - it is not unusual to have half-a-dozen members on-site - HOW ABOUT helping make it up to a DOZEN?)
The next ones ARE: SEPT 25th & 26th
OCT 23rd & 24th
NOV 27th & 28th
There is always plenty to do - or see what has been done since you were at the Junction last.
It is not much use turning up a week late AND complaining no-one is about (and then finding out you've got the WRONG WEEK!)
SUCCESS is not measured by how high you fly, but by how high you BOUNCE! We have certainly had several 'bounces' over the years. (FROM the typist - 'We now have a trampoline - much more fun, and not such a hard fall!!)
FROM THE COMMITTEE:
A PLAY DAY- After many requests for socials etc. A day for Club members and their families ONLY! This is to be held on SUNDAY 17th OCTOBER. It will include as many vehicles as possible on line, and will wind up with a 'spit' (done to a turn by our resident chef - Andrew). ALL FOOD will be supplied by the Club, but the liquid refreshments will be the responsibility of the attendees!!! Remember - you all have to drive home afterwards..... safely! This evening will be wound up with a social natter session. (This will be in-lieu of annual dinner this year, due to no bookings being accepted from Workingmen's Club).
SPONSOR'S DAY- There will be NO SPECIAL DAY set aside this year. It was decided to express a really big 'thanks' for the year 2000 - which will also coincide with the Club's 35th year, and by then ALL the building programmes around the Junction WILL BE COMPLETED. We can 'officially' re-name the station building at this function!
KEEP UP WITH THE PLAY - COME TO THE JUNCTION FOR AN ENJOYABLE DAY!!