Things have been a little quiet on the Hollywater Railway as one of the staff has been struck down by Covid-19. Fortunately, a visit to the hospital was not required but the effects are lingering on and cannot be shifted.
The Company has invested in a Waiting Shelter for the Down platform. It's a Woodbury Models structure and is just the job to add an extra dimension to the scene. Painting will commence as soon as the weather improves.
On the whole, the railway has come through another winter without too much degradation. The boards are holding up well and the 4 x 2 timbers are still looking tidy and solid. Some of the ballast has been pecked away by the birds but this is very minor damage and to be expected.
I did have a point tie-bar come adrift from the blades but I managed to take the soldering iron outside on a dry warm day and carried out a repair which seems to have held. No other problems have been identified by the P-Way dept. so far.
The hedging that was planted a while back has been doing well and has now reached baseboard height in one or two places. I will prune it back a bit when the weather gets warmer to encourage it to thicken up, but so far so good.
The Company have also placed an order for a new locomotive. Live steam and should be right at home on a secondary route such as the Hollywater line. The first part arrived in the works during the week. Very exciting
All the best,
Keith