The passenger stock has been receiving a bit of TLC recently, a bit of fresh paint.
Up near the passenger station outside L Shed, some groundworks are under way.
RMweb user Kevin aka Rivercider has tracked down some photos of the then-closed Ashton Gate Station site, with Ashton Meadows sidings on the BHR in the background.
This one is from flickr user emmdee and shows an 08 shunting the yard.
Ashton Meadows – 1970s
Flickr user Blue_Pelican_railway uploaded this one dated 1977, showing that the warehouse on the right has now had its rail connection severed. Nature is starting to take hold of the platforms.
Ashton Meadows – 1977
Blue_Pelican_railway also uploaded this shot from May 1984 with a Billy Graham train in the foreground, and a BR Class 37 in the yard. The engineers depot was still in use at this time. The growth of surrounding foliage in the intervening years is evident.
Ashton Meadows – 1984
The concrete has now been poured for the level crossing.
As mentioned previously, this area was relaid with concrete sleepers as wooden ones do degrade and can rot over time. Next we should be seeing work done on the approaches, and the laying of the roadway around the back of the shed.
Some of the surplus track lifted during the remodelling of both ends of the line was collected by the volunteers at the Helston Railway in Cornwall.
This line is based at Trevarno, and they operate two Ruston diesel shunters very similar to the one based on the BHR.
The below photos appear here reposted from the Helston Railway’s Facebook Page.
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 phrase ‘ship shape and Bristol fashion’ refers to the high tidal reach of the River Avon in Bristol, where ships would have to be strong to withstand being on the riverbed every 4 hours.
During the harsh tides this spring, the banks of the New Cut between Vauxhall Bridge and the Create Centre sagged a bit, requiring this section to be closed while repairs were carried out.
This photo shows the ‘sag’ in the track.
The rails in this section were duly lifted, and the sleepers repositioned to form a ramp for construction equipment to get in.
Within two weeks the operation was completed, allowing ‘Henbury’ to propel the first passenger trains across the repaired section. A speed limit of 5mph is currently in place here.
