The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust has been progressing with laying tracks at Darlington Locomotive Works ready for S&D 200 next year.

Last July, thanks to generous donations to the ballast fund and helped by a team from the Royal Engineers, sidings at Darlington Bank Top station were removed whilst a new platform was being installed.

Corners Transport carried out the heavy lifting and delivery of the track to the works, and by late August two new waybeams had been delivered for installation on the Otley Terrace bridge.

Vegetation has been cleared on the turnout next to the A1 shed, and the track has been jacked to the correct height and packed with ballast.

A large amount of rail had been collected on site and laid out ready for measuring and cutting to length, but torrential rainfall in September and October slowed progress as a drain needed to be dug next to the track formation to carry the water away.

260 tons of ballast had also been delivered to the headshunt, ready for grading and tracklaying.

By November, both tracks out of the A1 building had been laid and connected to the turnout, three turnouts had been assembled and were in place, and over 110m of plain line had been laid by the 1861 shed.

Otley Terrace bridge had been cleared, and the waybeams and 80% of the ballast for the headshunt had been delivered.

The Royal Engineers visited in mid-November for four weeks of training in constructing permanent way, and in readiness for their visit, ballast was delivered and individual rails cut to length.

1,700 tons of ballast have been delivered, all the rails north of the Network Rail turnout to Honeypot Lane bridge are in location and cut to length, and the stacks of rails stored next to the line as far as the headshunt have been moved to allow access to the sleepers.

With the help of a Hiab, redundant track with good quality wooden sleepers and bearers from a relaying project near Eaglescliffe station has been obtained and delivered to the turntable site for just £800, the price of the transport.

On Monday 18th, November, 32 Regiment, Royal Engineers, moved on site.

After a site tour and demonstration of what was needed, they started jacking the track and moving sleepers, and the next day were completing work that 507 STRE (Specialist Team, Railway Infrastructure) Royal Engineers
had started last July and were laying new track. So far, they have laid four panels comprising approximately 70 metres of track, and started levelling the ballast on the headshunt.

The team is now ahead of schedule but needs more ballast to maximise the work that 32 Regiment can carry out. To help fund the balance of this work, supporters can make donations to the Trust’s Track Gang appeal.