This shot from Vauxhall Bridge shows that the majority of the fencing between Cumberland Road and the railway line has been removed. This is to be replaced and strengthened to prevent a metrobus going through the fence in the event of a collision.
Down at Sugar Quay/Whapping Wharf, the first phase of the new housing is nearly completed. This features a walkway that connect Gaol Ferry Bridge to Museum Square.
After a particularly cold and wet summer, the weather has taken a turn for the better, giving us some glorious days and incredible sunsets.
Here’s a (bad camera phone quality) snap I took of the golden sunset glimpsed beneath the Cumberland Road bridge.
Up North, Portbury has been kept busy at Beamish. In this photo reproduced from the Beamish Museum facebook page, she is seen in the company of WW1-era Gordon Highlanders re-enactors at the Agricultural Show event.
Back in Bristol, there have been multiple engineering projects in the railway’s environs. The Metrobus development has cleared a large area of land at Butterfly Junction and Ashton Meadows, and new drainage has been installed.
One of the most conspicuous developments has been the ongoing repair work to Prince Street Bridge. This is adjacent to the platform at M Shed and has involved the construction of a large temporary bridge. The girders on the swing bridge are corroded and need replacing, so it will be closed to all traffic for 6 months.
Also pictured is Kaskelot, a Bristol-based ship, taking the usual mooring point of Balmoral while the latter was at sea.
In this first look at the changing face of the Butterfly Junction area, you can see the extensive clearance of foliage that has taken place. Surveyors have been working in the area over the past few weeks.
Further down the line, the area around the Cumberland Road Bridge siding has also been cleared. The spare wagon wheelsets have been moved out of the way. The plans for the bridge indicate that the path here will be raised up to platform height in order to meet the new bridge.
The planned Metrobus route, formerly the line to Ashton Meadows sidings, has been tidied up.
This includes the line over Ashton Avenue Bridge (Rails are still extant on this section)
The clearance has exposed the old permanent way huts, some sleepers, and electrical boxes.
This Saturday and Sunday are the last two days of operation on the BHR for the 2014 season, and possibly the last services to travel to Butterfly Junction in its present form before the remodelling in anticipation of the Metrobus route construction.
Come down and take a ride!
Both lines have now been lifted, and the trackbed excavated.
As the housing at Sugar Quay is going up…
… Other buildings are coming down. The former coal office (Latterly the office for the car park managers) has been demolished, along with the partially-collapsed roof of the building on the right.
See this photo from February 2013 for a comparison
Over on the shed road, the old goods platform has been renovated and the entire wall treated to new paint. The remnants of the platform roof have been removed.
Compare this last photo with the view back in 2009
Likewise, this view back toward the shed has changed so much, and is due to change again, as the access road is to be built and will need to cross the two yard tracks.
This shot of the Ruston, taken from the same location, is about a year old.
The track gangs (Usually a team of no more than 6 people) have been extremely busy in modifying the layout at Butterfly Junction.
This was the view today – the line through the station has been lifted, as has the loop, and the sleepers from the Ashton Meadows Spur have been recovered.
Perhaps aptly, the station information board is rather lopsided.
In the shadow of the tobacco bond warehouses, the crane lifts the last few remaining rails from the station area.
Larry the loader assists
The foreground is where the spur to Ashton Meadows used to run – this is planned to form part of the Metrobus route
Just around the corner, the new shed and yard is taking shape. Compare these photos to those taken in January, another set of points has been laid on the approach to the Barn, which is already half assembled.
The Barn has now been dismantled and stored on wagons in the yard, allowing the headshunt to be reconnected to the shed road once more.
Down at A Bond, site clearance has taken place with a view to the proposed remodelling.
The war between the pro and anti bus route campaigners has spilled onto the paths.
Finally, a giant lottery ball hit L shed.
Found the phone cable and uploaded a few pics from the last six months or so.
The olive shed building has been re-roofed, which has resulted in the little goods platform around the back losing its roof (This used to be a sleeping spots for some of Bristol’s homeless population, I doubt they’ll want to rest here with no cover)
Before
After
A large part of the pay and display car park has been dug up as part of an archaeological survey, and the disused warehouse at the back of the old Western Fuel Depot has had a roof cave-in (It was sagging a lot for as long as I can remember)
This may well lead to the building’s demolition sooner than expected, who knows?
As discussed here:
The GUV that stood at the SS Great Britain Halt has been sold to the WSR to be dismantled and used as spares and storage.
It was dragged out on to the quay for its last few weeks in Bristol
A few assorted pics from 2012
The line that the coal wagon is standing on has now had bollards welded to the rails to act as a pedestrian walkway (The loop line around the back of M Shed is now useless, as M Shed’s foyer has taken the place of the back doors and crossover track into the shed).
The Matthew giving tours in the harbour
Crane 30 striking an impressive pose
Henbury on-shed back in June. The area of car park where I am standing in this photo has now been completely excavated.
Bristol Harbour Railway Blog 