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The Bluebell Railway is very grateful to Diageo, owners of the former Guinness Brewery in Park Royal (near Wembley), for making available to us a large quantity of track and fittings.
We can take as much as we want, free of charge - all we have to do is pay the transport costs and provide the labour.
Excellent progress has been
made recently, with many rails and fittings being discovered deep in the vegetation!
A large number of fittings and rails have now made their way back to Horsted Keynes, and the salt-yard is starting to fill up (which is how we like it!)
Even better, we have been given an extension to the period we are able to spend on site!
We will now be working on site every day until Friday 5th August - this includes the coming weekend (30th and 31st July).
If you can help over any of these days, please
email me (as we need to know who will be there for security reasons).
Don't forget to bring your Bluebell membership card!
Many thanks.
The first of the rails removed from the site have now been delivered to Horsted Keynes, as seen here on Sunday 17th July.
A variety of fittings, including fishplate bolts, c
hairs, screws and keys, as well as some of the pointwork, have also now been transported back to Sussex.
The site is near the junction of the A40 and A406 at Hanger Lane.
Click here to go to a map of the area from Streetmap.co.uk.
The arrow indicates the entrance from Cumberland Avenue that we are using.
At the end of Cumberland Avenue, there is a mini-roundabout.
Turn right here and almost
immediately on the left are two yellow posts.
There is a gate here which opens automatically on approach, and behind is our parking area.
For directions to the site, why not try the
Multimap Direction Finder.
In the third (destination) box, type in Cumberland Avenue, and when you click verify, select the NW10 address (Harlesden).
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If you would prefer to come by public transport, Park Royal station (Piccadilly Line, London Zone 3) is a ten minute walk from the brewery.
On leaving the station, turn right for a short distance, and then right again down the steps and under the underpass.
Continue on over the railway, and then underneath another road bridge.
You will see a sign pointing towards the brewery, and follow the path to the right and up to road level.
Turn left down this road, continuing on past the main entra
nce to the site.
About 100 yards or so further on, an alleyway veers off to the left (there is a sign saying the path is provided by Diageo).
Follow this path along, taking you over the disused track by a bridge and bringing you out at the end of Cumberland Avenue (at the entrance to the site).
We will meet at the site around 8.30am every day, and work through to around 16.00pm, leaving the site by 16.30pm.
However, if you would prefer to arrive later and / or leave earlier, this is fine
- just make yourselves know to the Security centre at the entrance when you arrive.
Although there is a café nearby, it is probably easier to bring your own food and drink with you.
Many thanks to everyone who has already volunteered, and if you haven't, it's not too late to join in!
This sort of work is usually good fun, and we already have a mix of volunteers from different departments across the railway, as well as those who by their own admission are usually 'arm-chair members'.
So don'
t worry if you haven't done any PW work before - you won't be the only one!
If you can help, please email me to let us know what days you can work (if you just turn up on a specific day, please remember to bring your Bluebell membership card with you).
Hard hats and hi-vis clothing are provided, but please bring your own if you have these items.
Steel toe-capped boots are also required.
Finally, many thanks are due to Nick Benwell, a No
rthern Extension volunteer and employee of Diageo who initially set the ball rolling, as well as our PW Manager Paul Robertson, Infrastructure Director Chris White, Nigel Longdon and Paul Norris.
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