Following the successful Open Day, we have had a busy week. The weekday group continued work on Ongar station restoration, and the Thursday group got the Pway Maintenance Unit (Badger) back into traffic. Meanwhile the Parcel’s Office saw its restoration advanced, with the cigarette stained ceiling sanded back, before several coats of paint. We have been careful not to get the paint too “brilliant white” as we are trying to replicate the distemper they would have used in Great Eastern days. The Parcel’s Office will be used as a museum and educational display area once the restoration has been completed.
Warren applies the first coat of paint on the ceiling of Ongar's Parcels Office
The week finished with two teams undertaking community service days, helping their local community return its rail link and enable green tourism to the area. We were very pleased to welcome a team from Ford, who kindly came down as part of their community service program. Their team helped on a number of areas, including sleeper changing and sleeper straightening near North Weald, getting the track ready for tamping. The rest of the team worked in the Blake Hall area, clearing vegetation back, which has sprung up following the warm weather.
The team of volunteers from Ford, who kindly came down to help out at EOR
Meanwhile at Ongar, we were pleased to welcome a team from the Royal Mail, who undertook a deep clean of the Thumper (205205), as we get the unit ready to return to traffic. The unit had probably not been cleaned for some time, as original tickets and timetables from its last mainline run in 1994 turned up, which have now been passed to our archive team.
The team from Royal Mail, who completed a deep clean on the Thumper interior
Saturday 10th saw a signals team working at North Weald, and despite the hot weather made good progress installing and testing transformers and installing cabling underneath the signalbox.
Sunday 11th the track team continued the good work undertaken on Friday, and changed 6 sleepers west of North Weald, getting this section ready for tamping.