An Australian Blogging site has set up a page that allows you to use Google Search and support some worthwhile charities at the same time. It still works the same as using Google.com but provides much needed funds for worthwhile causes. See the Blognow Site for more details.
This inititive is worthy of your support so give it a go.
The Carriage page has been updated again. Some history details have been added for each car. Click on the link on the left to view the page.
There is no facility on that page to leave comments. however if you have any comments, ideas or suggestions please leave them here. Any ideas to improve this site or the carriage page would be appreciated.
One of the jobs that needs to be done but isn't very popular is looking after the yard around our carriages. We raked up leaves and removed fallen branches and other debris. This reduces the fire risk as well as keeping the area looking cleaner.
Justin arrived early and Alan and Jim a little later. Unfortunately that was all that turned up. It was a big job for so few especially given the warm day, into the 30's I believe. It is therefore surprising that so much got down.
There is still a bit to do but not much. It should be easy to finish next week.
In the photo, Justin was really getting into it loading leaves manually into the barrow. Innumerable loads were removed from the area over the day.
Click on the image for a larger view.
The Calendar published in the latest OnTrak shows a workday on 8th April. As this is Easter the workday will probably be held on the Monday. This will be confirmed closer to the day.
"It was a dark and stormy night", the famous words written by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton in 1830 as the first line of his novel "Paul Clifford" describe quite well the morning we woke to yesterday. As a result the workday didn't happen.
The forecast for next Sunday is more hopeful, fine and 31 degrees, so with a bit of luck we will be able to have a workday then.
Another change to this site is the addition of a "Meet Our Carriages" page. Click on the link under About us to view details and photos on all of our cars.
There has been some updates to this site and more are planned.
The most obvious update will be the labeling of all posts. On the left under labels you will see a list of the labels used. These labels identify what each post is about. Click on 683 for example and you will see each mention of 683 in this blog.
Maybe a quick explanation of what each label means is in order. The carriage numbers are obvious but the others may not be as clear.
Links are other sites our members and visitors might find interesting.
Misc. is for entries that aren't easily classified, this one for example.
News posts cover information about TRAK or news in general that might affect TRAK.
Plans will let you know what we intend to happen at the carriage site in the near future.
Reports will let you know what we did on our most recent workday.
If you think there should be other labels please let me know, (leave a comment). Do you find the labels useful?
What else can we do to the blog to add to your reading pleasure?
Keep visiting here as there are some more changes coming, very soon I hope.
The donated timber has arrived and the details follows but first a little background. A large Silky Oak tree was cut down and was offered to our friends at Hawkesbury Woodcraft. They had sufficient timber and remembered that the interior of our carriages used Silky Oak quite a bit for things like seats. So we were offered it. They would arrange for it to be sawn into manageable sizes and we would store it to age. After a few false starts and setbacks this is what happened.
Alan, Justin and Kevin arrived at the site early to clear a space inside 683 to stack it. They also needed to prepare spacers to go between the boards to allow the air to circulate. These are important as the timber needs to have a moisture content of less than 10% before it can be used. We had been given some scrap plywood that was cut up for this.
After lunch the Andy Macs' truck arrived with the timber. Paul providing an escort to the site (for no particular reason, he just timed it well!) where Alan was waiting at the front gate to guide it in.
After the timber was unloaded it had to be moved into 683 and stacked carefully. Paul and Kevin provided the muscle to move it while Justin and Alan provided the knowledge (and some muscle) to stack it.
There was some sign of moisture between the boards, we don't know exactly when it was cut and how long it has been waiting to be moved. As it is now stacked under cover and with spacers it should dry out fine. There are various sized pieces and after drying it will be useful as we progress with the restoration of the carriages.
