GWSR Lineside

Mass turnout today with   Alex, Andy, Chris, Dick, Ian, Lawrence, Robert, Trina, Paul, Sally and Simon.  Welcome to Simon on his first session at lineside clearance. Freezing cold start to the day (I had to pour a coffee over the container padlock to get in) and no Isuzu which was off for repair so it was a bit of a struggle with one of the new vehicles.  Still the team was all on site by 0930 and we made good progress through the day.  Sarah Clayton (Infrastructure Manager) also visited with another potential recruit. Ian and I were on chainsaws with Ian taking out the last of the tall trees at the top of the bank.   The main team ended up running two bonfires and getting rid of most of the cut wood.  There are now several piles of cut hawthorn logs ready for anyone who wants them by the side of the fence.  The bank itself is quite slippery as the ground thaws out so care needs to be taken. Work drew to a close at about 2:30pm in brilliant s...

  Five of us today on a lovely winters day, with blue sky and no snow. Our task was to clear a strip all along the fence line of the Ottersfield Estate, to the north of the sidings at Winchcombe, which we managed sucessfully, hopefully satisfying the requests of the residents that adjoin our land.  It was mostly brambles, but with the odd chunk of trees and shrubs to make it more fun. Some of us will recall that we cleared some of the fence line closer to the Station a while ago so that C & M Dept. could repair some of the fences.  Now that we have made such good progess we shall next week "join the dots" and clear the remaining section of fenceline along the Finches estate so we can say job completely done. Hopefully this will only take until morning break time when we can get back to Didbrook and carry on there. Nick Wright

 More progress today on the bank with Steve and Lawrence on chainsaws and Alex, Andy, Sally , Paul and Robert clearing and burning the cuttings.  The huge fire cleared most but we left one tree as w starter for next weeks fire. One or two of the trees may need to be left until the trains stop running as they would naturally fall toward the rails but the majority will clear ok. A couple of action shots attached which also show the incline which may be more of an issue when the rain comes.

Week 1 Week 3?  

W e had a team of 5 today continuing at Townsend's.  Dave Brown was on chain saw duty and was accompanied by Chris cutting down the trees  on the embankment.  Robert and Alex were disposing of the debris on a bonfire . This worked well and by the end of shift about another 30 metres of bank had been cleared so we are gradually now about half way down Mrs Townsend's drive .There are a stack of logs that can be taken by anyone wanting them .They are mainly hawthorn.  We will not be working next week (27th December) and hope to resume on Sat. 3rd January when we can expect trains running again on a purple timetable .

6 of us today at the Townsend's embankment and more steady progress. We are now past the oak which stands in splendid isolation. Mrs Townsend has no objections to our having bonfires and we certainly cleared more brash with a bonfire than a chipper. I think the preference is to continue to burn on this bank. The trees to clear are mainly large hawthorns, small blackthorn, some ash, and low level elder. The hawthorns are a challenge as they grow in stands of several trees together and intertwine so have to be brought down in a clump. Good job we like challenges! The 181 chainsaw was hard work, despite several sharpening attempts. It needs a new chain. Do we have them? It’s a 16” bar. Given the volume of logs, and as he is in effect an honorary member of the team for managing Alex’s diary, it was agreed that Alex’s Dad be invited to grab some logs for his log burner. Well done everyone. Every day at this venue is a good, but enjoyable, workout.