Chairman's Notes - August 2009
Unfortunately another wet summer has hampered our progress slightly, but we have now started work on building the station platform at Trevarno. This is being built using steel girders and wooden sleepers as the photograph below shows. The construction will be back-filled with earth and compacted to en
sure a firm base. The top edge of the platform will then be completed with the edging stones recovered from the redundant platform at Penryn station on the Falmouth Branch. We hope to have completed this work by the end of September - weather permitting!
The railway has also taken delivery of a mail van from the West Somerset Railway. The van was built in 1958 and its full title is a High Security General Utility Van - high security because it was converted in 1995 with lockable roller shutter doors. . The van is of a type used by Rail Express Systems for transporting Royal Mail, but virtually all rail-borne mail traffic ceased in 2005 in favour of road and air - a sadly familiar tale for freight in this country.
We plan to use the van as a replacement for our shop at Trevarno as well as for storage. The van will be painted in its original 1950s Maroon livery, and placed in a second track panel we have laid alongside the siding.
We are also making progress with the tedious - but necessary task - of writing the railway's rule book, safety management systems and operational staff training arrangements. A group of four volunteers from the railway and the Diesel Group are carrying out this work with assistance from other preserved railways and railway staff on the national rail network. These instructions will be required before we can be assessed as safe to carry passengers and become an operational railway, so it is vital that we get this right. Any additional expert assistance would be most welcome.
We have also launched our latest raffle ‘The Push for Truthall' where we aim to raise funds to extend the line to Truthall Halt. First prize is £500, and there are other prizes of £250, £100, and £50. The tickets are available in our shop at Trevarno or by post to Dolar Cottage, Coverack, Helston TR12 6SX. Tickets are £1 each.
Finally, we have acquired one of the remaining GWR lamp posts at St Ives station and one of our volunteers has agreed to restore it for use at our station at Trevarno. Thanks to St Ives Town Council for agreeing to donate this to the railway.
If you are planning to holiday in Cornwall don't forget to come and pay us a visit at Trevarno Gardens and see the progress we have made in restoring the most southerly branch line in the UK..
Stuart Walker
Chairman
Chairman's Notes
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