Work on Blandford Trailway

[Matthew Arnold]

Over the last week we have had a team of guys come from Weymouth. The are all on the Future Job Fund (FJF) which give people who have been o nthe dole for 6 months the chance to work. We've had 3 people via the job centre who are paid by the council through the FJF. We had two days on a section of old railway line (trailway) at Charlton Marshall. We cleared out a section of small trees with chainsaws, bow saws, loppers and clearing saws. The following two days we spent on the Blandford section of the North Dorset Trailway. We got them to clear the smaller stuff so we could get in with chainsaws and remove the bigger bits. Here are the pictures before and after two days of work. I was only in one day as the first day i was ill.

[Martyn Amos]

very steep banking to work on there matt:001_huh:

a job well done though:thumbup1:

bet it was a bit of a pain with public footpath:blushing:

[Matthew Arnold]

Oh yes. Every 15 mins we had to put the chipper to idle and had to keep the footpath as clear as possible. The slopes were the major pain though. Several times i would get up to the top to fell a small tree and would then slip down on my backside before i even made the first cut.

[jltree]

well what would health & safety be saying about that? slipping down an embankment with a running chainsaw...?

[Matthew Arnold]

well what would health & safety be saying about that? slipping down an embankment with a running chainsaw...?

 

Should have told the full story i spose. Basically i went up the slope with the chainsaw turned off, chain brake on and scabard (guard) on. When i had a firm footing i removed the scarbard and got the saw running. As i went to make the first cut i slipped and as quickly as possible turned the saw off. It sounds dangerous and stupid but let go of the chainsaw about an arms reach away from me as i will go down the hill quicker than the saw. The banks were covered in ivy and the ground is relatively soft. So the worst damage the chainsaw would have got is a blunt chain and slightly bent bar but on this occasion no damage sustained to either me or the saw.

[sean]

wow thats amazing.....you cleared all that stuff in pic 1 and revealed a tunnel (pic 2) ? The things you find:001_smile:

[Matthew Arnold]

lol. Tunnel was already there. Pic 1 was showing the 8 year old Ash and Sycamore regrowth ready to be removed. Pic 2 shows the tunnel. If you look closely at the last pic you can still just about make out the soot marks from the steam trains before the line closed in June 1966 thanks to Dr Beeching.

[Matthew Arnold]

If you closely in pic 7 the black bridge is the orginal one when the station was there (now underneath an old peoples home called Station Court). And the section of wall to the left is the old coal and water store. The original mountings for the buffer are still there. The small cottage next to bridge is called Station Master House and is the orginal from the station.

 

Here is a link with pics of the old Somerset and Dorset Line. Some of it is open to members of the public. The longest being Sturminster Newton to Stourpaine (6 Miles).

 

http://www.nevard.com/sdjr/blandford.htm

Edited January 21, 2011 by Matthew Arnold

[Matthew Arnold]

This is the new stretch of trailway between Blandford and Stourpaine. It is being surfaced with tarmac all the way from Station Court to Stourpaine Church.

[Matthew Arnold]

Some recent pictures of the currently open stretch near the town centre. Judging by the amount of litter on the slopes we are going to be litter picking on Friday with the trailer as there is loads.