Broithe

I found a set of doubles left in the bog for next year, so it would be narrow enough to take home for the winter. it did look like a very specialist alien abduction...

A landmark on the journey to where we are today. MIR, MM, SSM, PW, IRM + many I will have not thought of immedately

We went back under 194 today and, after a wet night, it is clear that the new drainage points are working - a drip every 2 or 3 seconds from each one. This picture won't win a Pulitzer Prize, but the blurred line below the pipe is one of the drips... We did a circuit from there, coming back out over 189. Nothing to report there, beyond the current situation on the track - all looking very neat. North. And south. We arrived there a little after 1pm and just missed a train in each direction...

Maybe they could print a tripod for the camera next?

This is what they need.

Today was another of those days. The pads have been boxed in now, so the reason for the platform remaining on site has been revealed. All the debris from the job is gone now and, apart from a few tyre marks, there's nothing to reveal that anything ever happened. The bees were still active, but not to the extent of the action on Saturday. Only noticeable to those who know they're there. Probably no more rail-based excitement here for a few more decades again. The reason for today's visit was to further reconnoitre a route that we failed to complete on Saturday. We will need to return with implements to restore a human-sized portal through a natural hedge that has healed up in recent years, but that can be done. We turned back on Saturday, just before the other side of that obstruction - and because we fell into a big, but completely invisible hole. I am standing on the bottom of it to take this picture of the dog laughing at me. I had time, on the way down, to consider when I last saw the old B&W version of Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

I'm under 194 regularly and I've never heard the bees before - the noise was very obvious that day, though.

Thanks for this tip-off. We caught some action at the waterproofing job. And we recorded the style of the temporary signage, for those that might be interested. This happened on the way to a small task in the bog, so we were able to record the elevating platform mentioned above, which is still there. Walking under the bridge, I became aware of some considerable bee activity. It was the noise that I noticed first. There were a few buzzing around, quite placidly, but my efforts to discover where the busy nest was failed, presumably in one or more of the corrugations. But, looking for the nest made me notice that the "sleeper pads'" have been replaced now. It would appear that a drain point has also been provided in each corrugation. The removed remains are piled up there for now. Most of the wood looked OK, but there were some dodgy bits.

I think you're right - possibly this building, prior to some modifications, it would also explain the availability of the viewpoint. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ballycarry,+Carrickfergus,+UK/@54.7776491,-5.7252894,3a,31.3y,301.64h,81.94t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1svOOhIGAqLNYR8v-b6pPNNg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D8.060042763159458%26panoid%3DvOOhIGAqLNYR8v-b6pPNNg%26yaw%3D301.64384073391926!7i16384!8i8192!4m6!3m5!1s0x486198903e8a0825:0x4f768758010cc833!8m2!3d54.7734199!4d-5.7475799!16zL20vMDluMTg1?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDkyMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

And this one - listed as being at Ballybrophy, which seems rather unlikely for a few reasons... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/398377227010

We were back there last night, to complete our reconnaissance of the bog above Lisduff station site. I noticed that the autoballasters were stabled there, but the looming darkness and an empty battery in the camera precluded any pictures, which would have been poor anyway - plus, the fence makes it awkward to get a clear shot from the road. So, a small diversion from the Lidl trip this morning was in the programme. The weathering patterns are quite similar on each vehicle. The two-stage approach also gave me the opportunity to bring equipment to get up my viewpoint above the top of the fence. A Draper Fully Collapsible Step Ladder - not a thing you would want to be going up and down all day, but conveniently small to stand in a corner in the house, for a quick job.

We went under UBC194 again last night and there is currently an elevating platform parked there - possibly for a closer inspection of the sleepers/bearers? The reason for the journey was to cross a ford that is beyond the capacity of either of our vehicles, but we sorted out suitable equipment - a pair of wellies, and a couple of fertiliser bags for me. It was, luckily, not possible to record me hobbling across, holding up the plastic bags.. On 'the other side', we were in a rarely frequented area and we went as far as the closed crossing, just before where Lisduff station was. As we approached that, I heard a train approach, but it was quite dark by that point and the photos were even more blurry that the ones at the bridge above. I like to think that they are even more artistic - perhaps in an 'Impressionist' style?

Perhaps turn the track-bed into a greenway for the last few days..?

It has just come to my attention that @Dawn Quest was involved in a significant traffic collision recently. I'm sure we all wish her, and others involved, a speedy and full recovery.

This is a pub in Stafford, at the other end of the bridge over the WCML from where the Bagnall's factory was.