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One of the items identified for attention during a previous inspection were two turntable deck timbers and a sleeper all on the turntable beam itself. This may sound like a straightforward or routine task, but to avoid lifting all the rails and potentially spike killing the remaining serviceable sleepers it was decided to side-insert the replacement sleepers.
With the very welcome support of a small grant from Victrack, some new replacement Redgum timbers were purchased from the Arbuthnot Sawmills and were delivered to our depot in Traralgon.
The LRG volunteers then set about the removal of the deck (steel mesh), and prepared the new timbers by cutting special slots to allow the sleepers to sit over the turntable beam and rivets, as per the previous timbers.
Next, the team extracted the old sleepers and began the side insertions of the new timbers using some creative thinking and block and tackle. Obviously it would have been much easier with a large excavator to complete this work, however in order to save on cost a system of supports and the block and tackle were instead used.
Once the timbers were replaced, they were secured back to the rails with special short stubby spikes, and the handrail supports were then reaffixed to the new sleepers. The volunteer team also used this opportunity to adjust the handrail heights to be much more uniform/straight. The deck was then put back in place and will be welded back together by our team during the week.
Next steps with the turntable’s ongoing maintenance include complete repainting of the beam, handrails and restoration of the control cabin.