Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways - 'Scene Thru The Lens'
Boston Lodge Old Engine Shed (Part 3)
4th July 2008 to 1st May 2009
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04.07.08: I returned the next day to ensure that I missed as little as possible of the excavations. Work was already underway cutting sheets of rebar mesh to reinforce the concrete foundations of the new extension...
04.07.08: The excavation of the new foundation trench was progressing rapidly, and rebar sheets were already being put in place...
04.07.08: The material removed from the excavation was transferred by dumper truck - through Boston Lodge Works - and dumped in Glanymor Yard behind the Carriage Shed...
04.07.08: The rebar sheets were placed in the bottom of the trench and supported by some of the many bricks disturbed in the excavation...
04.07.08: By lunchtime the excavation had reached around half of its final length, and had broken through the outside wall of the inspection pit...
04.07.08: Looking back in the opposite direction, to the section of wall uncovered and photographed the previous day...
04.07.08: A closer look at the section through the outside wall of the inspection pit, with the loose rubble fill to the left...
04.07.08: Looking from the end of the excavation at the freshly exposed inner face of the inspection pit...
04.07.08: Seen from above, the freshly excavated area continues to show that the inspection pit was dug out of, and constructed in, a layer of sand...
04.07.08: A closer look at the inside face of the inspection pit. It is interesting to compare the construction with that of the two pits inside the main building – the yellow bricks used for this inspection pit present a much more ‘rustic’ appearance than those used for the other two...
04.07.08: Looking in the opposite direction, it is possible to compare the position of the rails from the recently demolished ‘modern’ extension (seen on the right) with that of the inspection pit (on the left). This shows that the original extension was wider than the modern version and that the rails were a couple of feet further away from the main structure of the building...
04.07.08: Looking more closely at the material used to fill the inspection pit reveals that it is a mixture of slate rubble and soil, but also includes some broken pieces of red brick. It would be interesting to speculate on the origin of this material, especially as I do not know when this inspection pit was filled in...
04.07.08: Using a telephoto lens emphasises the different curvature of the track entering the modern and original extensions...
04.07.08: The centre line of the area to be excavated next is shown by the red paint on the ground...
04.07.08: Realising the likely speed of progress, I returned to the site after the contractors had left at the end of the day. A further section of rebar mesh had been added and bricks positioned for more to be laid shortly...
04.07.08: Turning through 180°, it can be seen that the excavation of the foundation trench has reached the end of the surveyor’s mark seen previously. Having taken this photograph I then spotted a significant feature revealed in this area – the bricks piled on the right...
04.07.08: These bricks were red in colour, whole and clearly not part of the rubble infill of the inspection pit - they were also of much higher quality than the yellow bricks seen before. From their position it was obvious that they were from a section of the demolished inspection pit walling...
04.07.08: Looking at the recently excavated section of the inspection pit, I soon found the point where its construction changed from rustic yellow brick to the high-quality red brick. This can be seen slightly left of centre, below the rope hanging from the Old Engine Shed roof- and is approximately 50ft from the entrance to the extension...
04.07.08: A close-up of the red bricks further emphasises their quality – double frogged with ‘J.C.E.’ imprinted on one side and ‘3⅛’ on the other...
04.07.08: The yellow bricks are slab sided, made of much coarser material and bear no identifying marks. These bricks also appear to match those surrounding the recesses in the internal wall of the main building. The possibility exists, therefore, that the recesses were created at the same time as the extension was built – perhaps to hold lanterns to compensate for the loss of natural light...
04.07.08: I decided to do a little excavation of my own, as the foundation trench had not reached the bottom of the inspection pit, and I wanted to explore further. However, it didn’t take as much work as I expected – as the inspection pit was only 32
04.07.08: The extension’s pit was, logically, the same width as the others – just over 22
04.07.08: I next turned my attention to the outer edge of the foundation trench, where – in a real ‘Time Team’ moment - I immediately spotted this section of timber protruding from the soil...
04.07.08: It is apparent that this has to be a section of the timber frame of the original extension. The post is 6
© 1998-2009 Roger Dimmick - All copyrights rest with the Author
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