Exhibition Time

The Great Cockcrow Railway will have a stand at the Egham and Staines Model railway show at Manor Croft School on Saturday 28th Jan, 10:30 till 17:30. Why not come along and have a go at our guess the parts of the engine competition and win a family ticket for a ride at the Great Cockcrow Railway.

For more details Click Here

 

What’s the Point?

When the GCR first started at its present site the points were collected from the old Greywood line in Burwood Park and retrofitted into the Cockcrow track plan. Where those points were due for renewal back in the late 1980's it was decided to build points which fit the location rather than construct standard units ( like Hornby set track!).
This winter the staff at the GCR have removed and replaced all the sleepers on the Meadowside line and various other places up at Cockcrow Hill. As part of the Meadowside work we decided not to repair the Meadowside point but replace it instead. The old point had given trouble over the summer as the old style plastic had warped badly over a period of 15 years.
Using the new spare covered space in the station building a new Y point for fork junction was fabricated by one of our members . He designed and built a point which was custom made for the location. The new point has distinct radii on each side of it in order in fits perfectly in the position it is meant for. This has also allowed us to improve the curve between Meadowside through the junction onto the up main.
Why do we do this? The staff at the GCR always look for ways to improve the quality of the line rather than simply replace existing or make do and mend. We don't expect the paying public to appreciate the work done over the winter but at least the enthusiasts who maintain the line and the occasional informed visitor will like the look of it. In future I may stop the train and show the public what we get up to between November and April !

News Update

Its been a busy few months at the GCR, hence the lack of updates to the website. This is the first time I’ve been able to put fingers to keyboard and get something written for here. All departments have been busy, So what’s been going on?

Permanent Way: Platforms one and two at Cockcrow Hill have been pulled up for re-sleeping, the other main project for the P-way guys has been the line through medowside and fork junction this has required a new point to be made. This is nearly completed and  it is hoped to have it installed early in the new year.

Structures: Work has been progressing on making the station building a secure shell, we’re unsure on when the building will be completed. All windows and doors are fitted and the building is now water tight. While discussions are had about the way forward with the building a temporary workbench has been made to build the point on and also to carry out some much needed coach maintenance.

Engineering: Work is progress on the new rods for WD 2-10-0 following its major failure. The NER R1 -4-4-0 has also had parts cleaned and painting and its overhaul is progressing well. The other main project in the workshop so far has been the rebush and repaint of LMS Black 5 -4-6-0, 5145, its new livery will remain a surprise until the opening at the beginning of the season so if you want to see a Black 5 with a difference why not come and visit us next year.

I’m making no promises as to when the next update will be however I’m hoping to enlist the help of other members to start a blog to keep the public more up to date on what is happening at the GCR.