Miles to go?

by: Will F.

The cry for help went up from the Wallbridge visitor centre, “our milestone is a bit unstable”. 
The National Waterways Museum at Gloucester has kindly leant us a replica stone milepost with an original mile plate from Bakers Mill, Frampton Mansell. Trouble was the uneaven bottom meant the whole assembly was liable to topple over. 

Chippies to the rescue,  Ray made a new base from a repurposed oak work top we had at Weston Depot and the resulting stand provided a fitting support. Now where is that tin of paint we had to pick out the lettering....?

Project 'DNF' - No.5 Refit

Yet another dry and fine day, we've done really well for them on this project.  An initial debate took place concerning the future of the cab, but either way, scrap or keep, it had to come off.

A cunning plan was hatched to highjack the tipper and load it on by first lifting it and loading onto skids, then sliding it across the decking onto the truck.  This all worked well.  On arrival at the landing point in the yard, we had the benefit of gravity and a raised tipper to help it progress to ground level.

All this has made our project look somewhat different.  Out of the shed came the two freshly painted fuel tanks.  These have now been placed in position.  They only just go past the engine, but that's enough for us!

Elsewhere, preparation and painting continued in the yard.  We also completed a stage one clean of the boom & jib.  Here loads of grease and dead foliage were removed.  A general clear-up of the site then followed.  In all, a lot to show for our days effort.  Thanks to the fine team that gathered for todays bash.

Time now needs to be spent searching for possible cab options.  We have Mr. Hydraulics arriving on Wednesday to plan the substantial plumbing job that awaits.

Weedie gets a new conveyor mesh.

by: Myron

Wednesday morning first thing.  I am at the depot looking for a vehicle and some help to load it. ‘Use the tipper’ says Buffer, ‘I’ll give you a hand’ says Peter, taking a few minutes off from the dredger.  Loaded I say to Buffer a few minutes later. ‘Good, Dave will take it down in a few minutes, do you want some help unloading’ says Buffer.  ‘Too right’ says I. At this point Richard A and Steve C got roped in.  A few minutes later we met up with Nick and Rob at Stonehouse Court who had already got Weedie perfectly placed on the landing stage.  The six of us made very short work of getting everything in place. The tipper and its crew then went off to do more vitally important stuff. Thanks Western Depot.

In the mean time a crew was taking Goliath out from Ebley.  A very new crew were taking first tentative steps on their own on the big bad canal.  I’d already found out from Iain that the Wookey would busy themselves around Harper’s Field and even without an engine and wouldn’t need any assistance.  Great, time to get on with the job in hand but not before admiring the wonderful setting around this area.  This has to be one of the greatest spots on the whole canal network.

The next bit broke my heart. We have been nursing the old mesh very tenderly for a good while. Now hacksaws and chisels soon ripped it apart.  No time to dwell though.  Cable ties secured the first new section of mesh to the old.

The hydraulic power on Weedie was then used to drag the new mesh into the bowels of the conveyor structure.  About a metre or so at a time the new mesh was added and pulled onto the craft.  Old sections were dismembered as they came off.  Very quickly the new mesh appeared at the other end of the conveyor.

  

Next was the first tricky bit.  This was to disassemble the idler shaft so we could put the new sprockets on.  It resisted our efforts for an hour or so, but a combination of heat and an impact driver got it apart.  Re-assembly did not take long.  Power was again used to pull the new mesh onto the conveyor until all was new, none was old.

That was it for the day.  Literally tie the loose ends up, pack up and go home.

Thursday saw a change of crew.  We were now joined by Brian and John.  The task for today was to set up the drive roller at the front and make all the final checks and adjustments.  Here we had things go our way. A short while ago we had struggled with umpteen years of corrosion around this area, putting on a new drive motor for the drive roller.  This time round it all came apart in our hands.

The whole issue was re-assembled quite quickly.

Now came much measuring, adjusting, test running, measuring, adjusting, test running, measuring, you get the idea. The result was that it

It works!  A final clear up then home.

Ham Mill 11^th and 13^th Feb – The Trench Gets Ever Deeper

by: Matthew J.

This week the trench digging got serious with the return of the Slightly Bigger Digger (SBD). Actually it wasn’t the previous 8 ton digger but its slightly smaller cousin, the 5 ton Very Slightly Bigger Digger (VSBD). First job of the day was to uncover the trench box protecting the end of the bypass pipe that we had laid before Christmas. The bad news was that a fair bit of water had accumulated in the end of the pipe due to the rain over the last couple of months, so that when we removed the end plug it all gushed out and left us with a gloopy mess in the bottom of the trench.

The VSBD then set to work extending the trench back towards the bridge so that we could lay the next 6m length of pipe. Unfortunately the stickiness of the mud meant that the digger bucket regularly required mechanical assistance to empty it out, resulting in a strange mating ritual between the VSBD and the mini-digger.

The depth of the trench by this point was such that extreme care had to be taken, but the job was eventually done and by Monday evening the new section of pipe was in place with a wooden marker to show where it ended.

Finally the trench could be back-filled, enabling the team to exercise their creative skills by simulating a World War 1 battlefield. The end result was satisfyingly realistic.

On arriving back on Wednesday morning, a slightly reduced team faced the challenge of extracting the trench box from its previous resting place, so that it could be moved over the new pipe end. Unfortunately the VSBD proved to be unequal to the task, so the two halves of the box had to be lifted out separately.

The rest of the day was spent in extending the trench to meet up with the previously-dug section going down the sloping towpath. The pipe has to negotiate a 45 degree turn at this point, and this is also where it is effectively at its deepest, so the final excavation was of epic proportions. The trench box was then reassembled and slid into place over the pipe end. Further manual excavation will be required to allow the final sections to be put in place, but that will have to wait for next week’s thrilling instalment…..

With thanks to Bob, Duncan, Richard, Matthew, Jason and Kay.

T for Training (and Tuesday)

by: Bob H.

The Wet dredging team decided some time ago that Tuesdays would be good for training days. We soon discovered that in the words from the Michael Jackson song “You are not alone.”  

This week, two, crew and an Instructor gathered at Ryeford for a “session.”

Since the dry boys had used our previous work area, we carefully manoeuvred Patricia backwards to a new patch towards Ryeford Lock. To make life interesting, we had a mud hopper attached alongside, (“breasted up” in Narrowboat parlance.) 

Now, we knew that the trip boat team were having a training day and would arrive about 11:30 (we get calls from them asking if all is ok.)  Of course we always agree a plan. 

It was a bit of a surprise when Goliath the Tug and crew turned up just after we lowered Pat’s legs down!  They decided to “play” with a full hopper but got it firmly wedged between OUR hopper and the bank.

  

So, it’s 11:30 as they began to free it,  and?

Here’s Percy!

Bob M and his crew happily pirouetted on a deep, freshly dredged bit before waiting to go down through Ryeford Lock.  After assisting them passed our hopper, we eventually had to yield, lift the legs and move over a few inches to allow Goliath to pass through. 

Later still, after unavoidably putting water into the hopper, we have developed a technique of helping remove the water by using our bucket, starting in the closed position!  Even with the holes drilled by Peter A and Vince H, we can still remove about 100 litres each move (it’s a 150 litre bucket). 

Project 'DNF' - No.5 Refit

…"we had a sort of feeling, if we remove the ceiling..."

Well, with the removal of a bolt or three, we had the blighter free!  That meant that the whole cab section, which is in need of serious tin worm therapy, can be lifted off the vessel.  Our intention is to transport it into the barn so that the repair task becomes considerably easier.  That's for another day.  A test lift proved that it would separate.

The decks have been pressure washed.  Considerable detritus had collected over time, so since it was spring like, a spring clean was in order.

The main job was the fabrication of the cradle to support the hydraulic tank.  This had to take into account the 50mm slope on the bottom of the tank so as to keep the top face level and not too visually offensive.  All the metal was found to create this thing, which now sits waiting in the paint department.  It will bolt onto the webs in the bottom of the hull.

Just three and a half of us today, but fine achievements for a days work.

The Week after the Snows

By: Buffs

After the weekend’s snow Western Depot slowly came to life. The chill in the ground seeped slowly into the morning sky creating a gentle haze over the canal at Pikes Lock. The ice which had crusted the water held fast and in the shadier places was still there as we left in the gloaming. Along the cut our boats worked created crazy paving over the water as they passed through. The yard, washed over with a muddy brush, was soon to be patterned by the deep cut soles of our boots.

A slow start as snow depth stories were swapped and the sign in sheet crept to nearly full. A bench to be fitted so off went 4, the dredger to be worked on - away with another 6; fittings to be turned and joints to be welded - 3 to huddle in the workshop around the potbellied stove to soften cold joints before delicately caressing the machines. 

The yard soon echoed with ring of hammers on metal and the scream of a grinder as the current ‘sculpture’ hanging from the A frame was worked into a working HIAB crane for the heavy barge Delilah. Frames and fixings were measured, cut and shaped to be welded into their final form.

Now the hiss and splutter of the burning torch as it was coaxed into life and steel was cut to size for the deck of the dredger. The always fascinating dance of the white hot molten steel spray driven away from the flame to hiss and twist into red then grey as it cooled on the muddy ground.  

The sun crept through the barn warming the part painted parts allowing second coat to be applied with every prospect of it drying before the end of the day.  
The Office rang to say that the new van would be ready for collection ‘soon’, but alas as the day wore on soon became tomorrow which means Wednesday.  

Wednesday came with a high demand for movements. Tower scaffold to go back to its owner and could we pick up a pillar drill on the way, the van to collect from Gloucester, the small pick-up and deliver jobs with the two Mitzis and not enough drivers signed on. Not entirely true as most of our drivers have other skills which were needed throughout the yard on Wednesday so it fell to the duty manager to spend time behind the wheel. 

The Office finally confirmed that the new van was ours and had all the correct papers in place. Off to Gloucester went the driver and the van returned to the yard before lunch. The general comment was ‘It’s red’ followed by have we got enough white/ green/purple paint for it. And a common aside ‘we can put some Wergie stickers on it and blame them if anything goes awry’

After lunch a more detailed inspection generated a jobs list for the next couple of days but none of these will stop it being used if required. It is reported to have a reasonable turn of speed and it stops when the brakes are applied. It will have a long and fruitful life with us.
The WD volunteers have become accustomed to the lunch call and musical accompaniment being provided by the raucous scream of an angle grinder on metal. Someone forgot to tell John D this and he started to cut the hinges from the old engine cover from the Dredger far too early in the day. The sound of stomachs rumbling in a Pavlovian response to the siren call could be heard in the far corners of the yard. John proceeded to break the pattern further when he stopped for lunch. You just can’t get the staff these days