Platform 1 relaid and improved.

Once we had Christmas over with and had packed Santa off back to Lapland, work started in the New Year on lifting the track through platform 1 at Brockham. Most of this track is still the original laid in 1982-83 when the railway was built and, although not in a dangerous condition, its age was beginning to show.

A week or so into January and the track had gone; just the ballast to remove.

Volunteers broke it all up by hand.

View from the Amberley end of the station - the frog of the point being visible in the foreground

Geof Boote breaks up the old platform edge.

Well that's what I thought shovels were for - leaning on! John and Phillip take a break - not sure what they were looking so pleased about - perhaps it was nearly tea-time.

The trench for the new platform edge foundations.

Our hard working v-skip wagons took away the old ballast; Schoma Jenny is in charge here.

General view of the worksite - the stuff piled on the platform is to be reused under the new trackwork.

By the beginning of February the new track had started to be laid. Ballast was brought in using the v-skips of course.

The sleepers are drilled and the rails screwed down using ex-BR track screws.

A petrol driven impact wrench is a great tool to have. Not quite sure what Jerry O is doing with that large hammer. But we didn't dare upset him!

John Martin reacts to smart-alec remarks from behind the camera about getting the edging blocks in the right place next time!

Part of the track bed had to be lowered so the Museum's JCB was brought in to do the hard work.

General view of the site - it must have been our three o'clock tea break.

Some of the usable stone removed from the trackbed was used to fill the trench dug by the JCB to bring the level up.

While work was going on, the Museum visitors still had to be carried - here the passenger train passes the work site. It's the first time we have operated a limited stop service I think.

With a little gentle persuasion from our friend Jim Crow, the final lengths of rail were bent to the correct curvature - first one .........

....... and then the other. Once the track has been packed and levelled we can then concentrate on restoring the platform edging.

First Wednesday in March and we are now completing final ballasting and levelling of the track - isn't it strange that as soon as the camera appears, everyone downs tools and leans on their shovels!

Nick eyes up the bricks for the platform edge - "have I really got to lay ALL those?"

Overalls now dispensed with in the heat of the early springtime sunshine, the bricks were soon laid and ready for the platform edging stone - the last of those which came from Hayling Island. These can be seen in piles in the background.

Today, Sunday 9 March, the final course of blocks for the platform edge was started.

Low level view.

About 2/3 of the length of the platform was completed.