Wythall Works - Progress Report
High winds during the winter caused the tops to break off two of the large conifers adjacent to the car park and although no damage was done on this occasion it was obvious that if they had fallen when visitors were using the car park serious damage or injury could occur. Consequently, several recent Saturdays have seen Bill Hyatt, Fred Withers and Ray Ward taking the tops of the remaining trees. Not only should this make them safer, it tidies their appearance and allows more sunlight onto the car park. Although the felling has been completed, more work is still required to cut up some of the wood and mulch the small branches. Several people with real fires at home have been taking logs home to burn which saves the museum disposing of them. Getting more sun to the car park should help to dry it out more easily after rain. With all the wet weather recently it is badly in need of a good sweep and the lines will have to be repainted before the Easter open days if there is a long enough dry period.
The observant visitor to the site should notice that there are a few new signs, including those on the toilets. Also if you look at what the Elmdon Model Engineers have been up to during the winter you will notice that the other end of the tunnel has been completed and very impressive it looks too. Less obvious changes round the site are repairs to the perimeter fence and new straining wires in the fence between the display area and the railway line.
Work to prepare a larger exhibits area in the railway carriages continues and much of the bus related display is already in place. Some items have been relocated from the café / shop building and the group of people trying to move one display cabinet had a problem; it would not go through the door despite recollection that it had been brought in whole. Eventually it dawned that it did indeed come in complete but since then the café / shop building has been rebuilt with single doors whereas it used to have double doors. Fortunately it proved possible to dis-assemble the exhibit enough to make the required move. Bob Court is in the process of removing redundant wiring from the carriages and new lights have been acquired to provide better illumination than hitherto.
The on-going task of keeping the site tidy and removing waste has continued. Often this means carting the rubbish off to the tip but in the case of aluminium it is worth taking it to the scrap yard and getting money for it. The quantity taken in early March netted enough to go a long way to paying for the refurbished S16 fuel pump which was collected at the same time. The engineering workshop has been tidied and reorganised. One objective which has been achieved was to have enough space to have a 36 foot long bus on the pit and still have enough space to get between it and the wall.
More preparations are now taking place for the Easter opening. The café was cleaned in time for the Leyland National Group’s AGM on March 18th but it is hoped to give the wall a new coat of emulsion paint before Easter. Dave Potts has been busy sorting out the stock for the shop and Fred Withers has been assisting him by constructing new display cabinets.
As the open day season has begun, further work is required to make the site as presentable as possible. Any assistance you can give with washing buses, cleaning buildings inside and out, gardening, and, if the weather is suitable, painting, will be much appreciated.
Phil Ireland
Chapel Lane, Wythall, Worcs B47 6JX
Tel : 01564 826471 e-mail us
A registered educational charity no 507191
