April/May 2012 News:

The official first steaming of the new season took place on 1st April, possibly not the most apt date? However the visitors were certainly out in force: we had already had a booking from a Riley owners club for a visit but before they turned up another group -this time of Mini owners- arrived, rapidly followed by some MGs, so by the time the Rileys came the car park was pretty full of classic cars.

Cabin Fever:

Work has continued on the ‘Marshall shed’: Ian welded plates onto the steel work and bolted a couple of frames together with some purlins to get an idea of how the new building would look, then during a couple of Sundays holes were dug to take some concrete to support the frames and the following weekend saw a major concrete mixing exercise with the holes being filled and checked with the laser level. While we were at it, a concrete base was cast for the Snodland winch in the wiggly shed. This should now enable us to reconnect it to the pipework and start operating it again. By the middle of May the frame for the shed had been built and stood in place ready for bolting down and just waiting for the Z-purlins to arrive to get it all fixed in place.

In the Pump Room, John D has been wrapping all the steam pipes in ‘hairy insulation’ to reduce the heat losses and the amount of condensate that inevitably ends up being sprayed out of the roof vent. Once the Snodland winch was concreted, he turned his attention to cleaning and oiling it up, ready for a lick of paint and reconnecting. On the subject of winches, inside the hall, Harold has been busy cleaning and painting the Hemyock winch. The connecting pipework and main steam valve have returned all nicely polished and black and white Hammerite paint has been mixed to the correct shade of grey to paint the frame and guards.

With Steam On The Levels rapidly approaching a lot of organising work has been going on in the background ready for the event. Apparently Jason has been inundated with exhibitor forms so there should be a good showing for the weekend with classic cars, vintage tractors and internal combustion stationary engines expected. There will be a news update later this month on how it all went.

Andy