Plc Board Awayday meeting

The Board of the Plc met on Saturday last for their annual Awayday. We had a full day's meeting from 9.30am until 5.00pm with hardly time to draw breath.

There were a large number of important issues discussed, but the one uppermost in most minds at the moment will be the progress we are making in getting to Broadway.

As a start, it was unanimously agreed that Lee Allibone who was elected a director at the last A.G.M should be appointed as Engineering Director, which gives specific responsibilities for Permanent Way and S&T.

Further to that it was proposed, and agreed by Lee that he would accept overall responsibility for co-ordinating the delivery of the extension of our railway from Laverton to Broadway. To start with, he was tasked with preparing an inital list of requirements for extending the track from the current railhead at Laverton to  Little Buckland.

As was explained to us all, building the extension has to be progressed in a logical way:

1 We have to fence and secure our boundaries. This will come at significant cost, and estimates are being prepared.

2. Clearance of the trackbed has to be undertaken. To achieve that we have to arrange for ecological surveys to be undertaken, to ensure that we comply with all legal obligations regarding the management of wildlife

3. Drainage clearance and improvement works have then to be completed.

4. The trackbed then needs to be graded, levelled and bottom ballasted so that a secure base is prepared

5. After all that, track laying can begin.

The intention is that the extension will be constructed in stages, as funds and manpower allow. We have access to sufficient necessary sleepers, but have to purchase rail.

Funding will of course be crucial to our success, and plans are being developed to try and ensure that adequate funding will be available within the timescale that we all want.

To bring all volunteers fully up to date, it is intended that a volunteers meeting will be held; probably on Saturday 1st November (subject to booking arrangements). At that meeting, the Board will explain what is proposed, and all being well we shall also have a presentation upon what is intended at Broadway Station. Full details of the proposed meeting will be published shortly.

I hope that this gives you a sufficient flavour of all the work that is currently on-going. Coupled with all the work now being undertaken on the bridges, we are getting closer to realising the dream of completing the extension to Broadway within a realistic timescale.

Richard Johnson LLB
Company Secretary