Thompson Park Miniature Railway Society,

Burnley, Lancashire UK.

Welcome to our June newsletter when we have been having largely hot weather in the month which in turn often makes it difficult to get going for us however at great expense Management have got us motivated again with a cooling machine in the clubroom and a large parasol pictured here. The parasol being very efficient. No doubt it will be pretty good when the weather returns to normal also !!!

We have been having quite a few visits from local primary schools and a Scout/Cub Group from St Cuthbert’s troop. Visits have been from Sabden Primary School who sent us a delightful booklet in return with children’s drawings of the Railway.

Pendle Community School and Cherry Fold School have also visited; we also have further visits from other schools in the pipeline. These visits are good for the children who clearly enjoy the trips and hopefully some railway safety facts are imparted quietly on the way.

One thing we hope we have sorted out is the station entrance ticket sign informing passengers where to get tickets. It is quite large but for some reason we still get asked where to get tickets. It has been sited in several places without success but hopefully this time we may have got it sorted.

We also hope we have sorted the two troublesome hydraulic turnouts in the station throat having completed aa full refit of all the components and underground hydraulic pipework. Everything has been replaced and refitted and all is well up to now, beginning to wish I had not said that already. We have also fitted both of them with some manual switches in case of failure which should ensure we can still use all 3 platforms.

 At this time of year encroaching grass and foliage are a constant problem and we have to ensure that our lineside is clear particularly in the wooded areas. It is impossible for us to cope with 2 kms of lineside( 1km for each side ).  Normally one man dedicates himself to keeping this grass clear but cannot cope at this time of year. Our new lawnmower helps a lot here and our new branch loppers but this remains a big problem.

We still cannot get to resurfacing the turntable concrete though we have all the necessary materials in stock. There always are too many priorities to catch up with as extra running and shortages of volunteers kick in where we lose time with maintenance but we hope to carry out this work at least when we cease running in September and before the poor weather starts.

The gardens are a problem at our railway as the gardener who happens to be my wife has been out of action after a knee replacement operation so that has been an additional burden. Any help in this direction would be gratefully received.

Regarding trackwork, we are fully committed to refitting plastic sleepers where required. It makes no sense to take out perfectly good tanalised timber ones, so we spot change the ones we need to. The process will take many years to complete but is surely the way forward. It is a much cleaner way of doing the job and is appreciated by the crew. They are more expensive in the short term but not in the long term.

Continue to enjoy the summer and see how bonny the park and railway look at this time of year.