Back to work ! All guns loaded and firing today, our absent holidaymakers were back, and those on sick leave rose up from their beds and grabbed a shovel.

Today was the day we finished the back filling. 30 tons of back fill arrived in two loads, a roller and two dumpers were delivered. Ron and JC shared the mini digger driving, with Ron at the controls in the morning, allowing JC a go on the shovel. The last 20 yards of infill didn't take all that long, and soon we were on the slope at the end.

Half way through the operation Tony came to ask permission to be elsewhere. The committee considered this, scratching their heads. Where would he want to go?

 Here ! Vic Haines came with a large lorry and HIAB, and started loading a number of former (partly damaged) CRC2 slabs, which we had recovered from the undergrowth. The destination is (at least in part ) Broadway, and a volunteer was needed to accompany them there. Tony got his hand up first. JC is pleased as punch too.

It was quite a large load, as you can see. Straps over the top stopped it from moving about on the flatbed.

Meanwhile, down by the home signal Steve Warren and two PWay volunteers were making up a pile of flat bottom sleepers that were hidden in the undergrowth. You really have to know your railway well to know where they are, but Steve recalled a surplus of sleepers from the CRC opening back in 1999, and although covered in brambles and quite invisible, he knew they were still there.
Now they are in a neat pile ready for collection. More recovery and sorting out will take place here next Monday, it should be quite a fun day with the two parties working in the same area.

Having finished the back filling, the next job for the mini digger was the preparation of the platform to its full width. This meant removing a strip of approx 2ft along the Malvern side.

In this picture the team are discussing a catch pit that needs to be retained in the platform, and also what to do with the foundations of the former GWR Race Course waiting room. They are quite long; from the shiny surface in the foreground, past the scrap wood in the middle down to the end of the brown patch in the distance. Bob Stark explained what was in this building, starting at this end:

Gent's urinal, down the left hand side,
Gent's toilet (2)
Ladies' toilet
Waiting room

This building was made of wood, in the same style as the ticket office still existing, up by the road bridge. It was demolished a long time ago, I would say at least in the early 1960's. The two CRC1 and CRC2 buildings were gone before the station fell out of use.

Will we put anything in their place? There are no firm plans at the moment, but there is a general feeling that we would like to have something in their place. At least with the reinstatement of the catchpit, and a new water supply provided earlier, the basic provisions are there.

First Ron, and then JC gradually worked their way down the platform, with yours truly and Rod taking the spoil away, to be dumped at the rear of the platform, where it disappeared out of sight.

You can see the future full width of the platform. Rear edging slabs still need digging in, then lamp post sockets dug out, and the underground electrical supply set out here.

Here is where we dumped the spoil, mostly made of genuine GWR ash. How nice to know that, as it blew into your face and hair, that this was genuine GWR heritage.
Keith, Brian and John O spread the stuff out at the back, helped by Steve who flattened it for us, so that the dumpers could have a firm, non-wobbly trip to the dump site.

This is as far as we got today, almost to the end. We're about half way down the slope, and as you dig deeper, the quantity shoots up. Eventually, we will go right through to the L/C at the end, so that race goers can have an uninterupted walk off the train and on to the race course, or platform 1. Sitting outside the cabin in the sun looks a bit more limited now though.

A nice surprise at the end of the day was finding a gift from the head of the Cheltenham area Group, as a thank you for all our hard work on the platforms - two packets of biscuits. It was a pleasure, Bob! Nothing like a munchie to go with the tea or coffee.

The CRC2 gang is in fact divided between the Mini Swiss Roll enthusiasts, and the digestive biscuit afficionados. No need to explain which one was most grateful today!

See you again next week.