Keeping the foundations strong.
While restoration work continues in the workshop, essential maintenance is also underway out on the line. Our team is currently replacing sleepers and renewing ballast along the top road of the network using a process known as undercutting, a method that allows the ballast to be refreshed without lifting the track itself.
Properly bedded sleepers are critical to the long-term health of the railway. By removing old, compacted material and replacing it with clean ballast, the track is lifted out of the dirt and given the solid foundation it needs to perform safely and smoothly.
This work is physical, precise, time-consuming and vital. Strong track underpins every journey, ensuring our locomotives and carriages can operate reliably across the line.
By the time these works are complete, the team will have achieved some impressive numbers:
By the Numbers
- 200 timber sleepers replaced
- 120 tonnes of ballast installed
- 800 screw spikes driven
It’s all part of keeping the railway in top shape for the generations of passengers and volunteers who will follow.
This post is part of our ongoing Workshop Chronicles, documenting the behind-the-scenes maintenance and restoration work carried out by our dedicated staff and volunteers at Zig Zag Railway.
