Not a lot of progress to report this time with everyone concentrating on getting the extended Vivary Park track up and running. We have now installed the full 100 metres (320 feet) land drain that should ensure water collecting in the cutting will in future drain down and under the north side fence into the rhine below. The majority has been back filled and another 3 panels (60 feet) of track laid so this now stretches almost to the top of the gradient on the far side of the field from the station.

Thanks to the Hartnell brothers' efforts during Easter week the return track embankment across the north side of the field through the trees has been built to link up with the return loop in the north east corner. (See pictures below) Once this banking has settled final levelling can be done before the track gang arrives on site. With completion of Vivary, spare materials and tools have been moved to Creech ready to carry on track production (we have used the same section steel bar for rails on both sites) and we do have to complete final aligning and levelling of the track already laid. The point to be inserted in the return loop has been in stock some time and will be laid in at a convenient time. Mention is made elsewhere of the saplings planted by Gerry Willis while Andy Webb has undertaken to transplant some 25 hornbeams he no longer requires which will help to provide visual breaks for passengers as well as a pleasant environment for the trains to run through.

The 2009 running season started on Easter Monday when 170 passengers were carried thanks in part due to an Easter Egg hunt being organised by the Recreation Field Committee. With Alan Miller’s latest Koppel steam locomotive sharing the working of a 3 coach train with Tony Gosling’s ‘Duke of Wellington’ Wren, we kept ‘Robin’ the petrol locomotive in reserve. For this day Mark Hartnell had produced a new seating unit which was fitted to one coach to turn it into a ride astride vehicle to judge public reaction. Such was the favourable reaction that all three TME vehicles are now equipped for public use but can be returned to as-built condition when moving materials such as track around the site. We are now considering building a fourth vehicle but this will be as a ride-astride from the start.

We ran also on Sunday 26 April and Bank Holiday Monday 4 May but for only a handful of passengers on each day probably due to the weather which was not good. ‘Robin’ and the ‘Duke’ ran on the Sunday, with Alan’s Koppel and Tony Newberry’s GWR class 28xx on the Monday. Thanks are due to the members who were able to run with ‘Robin’ on Sunday 10 May when a number of key players were absent – passenger numbers are unrecorded but the donations received exceeded income the previous 2 running days. Well done.

Mike

If anyone can help out contact me here.

If any member with a 7 1/4” or 5” Gauge Loco would like to run his Loco at Creech when there is no public running, then he may do so on the second Tuesday evening of the month during the summer or alternatively, 'Rambo' has kindly agreed to open the track at any other time, provided that he is not otherwise committed. He can be contacted by Email through our Webmaster, or at Club Meetings or by telephone though any Committee members - telephone numbers on the inside cover of this magazine - to make arrangements.