A work day to clean up the site and remove all non carriage items will be held on 9th January. All members are encouraged to lend a hand on that day. The day will commence at 8am. For further information contact the secretary (see the latest OnTrak for contact details).
The TRAK committee recently announced that they have disposed of all the carriage stock that TRAK had previously collected. There were many reasons behind this decision but the uncertainty of the future of the association was the driving reason.
The small van had already been donated to the Oberon Tarana Heritage Railway. BL361 was purchased by a private buyer in the local area. The other cars have been sold to Australian Train Movers. As ATM is a dealer in railway rollingstock it is understood that they will be are available for sale.
Just a quick note that the working bee planned for this Saturday has been cancelled due to previous commitments for some people. A new date will be arranged and everyone informed.
Due to the changing future of TRAK the committee has decided to sell the carriages. Details are in the October OnTrak. It is understood that the van will be donated to Oberon Tourist Heritage Railway and BL361 has been sold to a private individual. The other cars are available at the moment.
The latest OnTrak announced a working bee on Saturday 7th November to clean up the site and prepare the carriages for sale. Please let Paul know if you are available.
August in Sydney is known for its winds and this year it got off to an early start. Strong winds hit the local area on Friday 1st August. Some local areas lost electricity.
Our carriage site didn't escape the storm. The damaged tarp on 1539 fared the worst. The little that was left has been totally shredded. Kevin organised a cleanup day yesterday and removed the remnants that were blowing around the yard.
This makes obtaining a replacement even more important. Kevin is following it up and would be pleased to hear from anyone who can help.
The tarpaulin that covers one of our cars, 1539, has deteriorated to the state where it is falling apart. Obviously it is not providing any protection at the moment. Kevin reports that he is trying to source a replacement. Unfortunately our previous supplier has retired and moved away. When a replacement has been secured we will hold a workday to install. If you can help with obtaining a new tarp or on the work day please email us at info@trak.org.au and let us know.
There haven't been any posts here for a while not because nothing has been happening but because I haven't been able to visit the site recently. That said things have been quiet over the last few weeks due to the continued wet weather and to a couple of promotions events we have attended.
However despite these interruptions work has been slowly progressing on CBA547. The recent activity is still on the exterior and end platforms. Both end platforms are now almost complete. The decks have been refurbished with new timbers. The headstocks have been repaired and repainted. The gangway plates have been repaired, painted and reinstalled. Now work is continuing on the railings.
One of the first things we did when 547 arrived was identify the railings that needed repair. These were removed and Kevin took them home to repair. They were returned looking like new in a coat of black paint. Since then they have been stored in one of the other cars. In the mean time the end platforms and headstocks have been repaired. This entailed removing every nut and bolt and refurbishing or replacing them, many were corroded beyond any hope of repair. They were then reinstalled and the whole lot repainted. Ultimately the repaired railings were able to be reinstalled.
There are still a few jobs to do to finish off. A couple of nuts and bolts are still to be replaced. Also the railings that weren't removed will need to be cleaned and repainted.
In between these jobs it has been necessary to do the usual maintenance things such as retying the tarps, cutting the grass and keeping rubbish under control.
That was the stage of progress after yesterday's workday. We also took the HM&HS banners out of storage so they could be taken back to the suppliers to have this year's dates applied. We needed to reattach the plastic that is covering the window areas while the windows are out of 547. It had blown loose in the wind. The wind really picked up overnight so I wonder if it is still attached! There are a couple of photos in the 547 album.
Things have been quiet at the site so far this year. With the weather being either wet or hot it has been difficult to arrange a workday. Kevin was there today and informs me the grass needs mowing. After the wet start to the year this is not a surprise.
He has done some work on the Sydney end of CBA547. There is still some work to be done to complete the deck of the end platform and Kevin has taken a board home to cut it to size. The headstock has received some attention with the metalwork partly removed and some preparation for painting done.
It is hoped to have a workday next weekend, weather permitting. The main job will be the grass but when that is done any extra time will be spent on 547.
