Part of the SRPS's Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway
The next DOWT weekend (28-29th July) is fast approaching and so it was time to get out the strimmer’s and tidy up the car park area ready for the marque to be erected. Bunting & banners will be installed during the week leading up to DOWT.
The new rockery area at the Lamp Hut end of the platform has now been completed. Its just a waiting game now to ensure we have managed to clear out all the weeds before replanting with alpine and other rockery plants. 
Whilst finishing off the kerbstone laying project it was noticed that the embankment area immediately adjacent to the Lamp Hut was a mess, covered in weeds, saplings and other vegetation, so while the pick axe and forks where still hot we commenced the clearance of the 4m x 4m section of embankment to eventually establish a rockery….well if we can find plants that will grow in the extremely poor soil conditions!!
Meanwhile the Clay mine hutch got a lick of primer / rust inhibiter
After 4 back breaking sessions and endless swatting of the little black flying beasties the kerb along the south end of platform 1’s embankment has now been completed. Hopefully it has tidied the embankment edging and reduce the muddy puddles that develop in the Autumn and winter months. Once it has had time to settle we will review what can be done from a planting point of view for the 2019 growing season along the whole of this section of the embankment.
on 25th June, the Monday squad was back in action and have now poured the concrete for the footbridge foundations, the last remaining section of the 2nd platform and also for the signalling system at the north end of the new platform.
The squad was also kind enough to deliver a couple of dozen surplus kerbstones from the yard down in Bo’ness for the Birkhill Group’s next mini project at the south end of platform 1. The intent is to create an edging to the embankment, however, with the glorious hot weather moving and positioning the stones into place is a challenge but the kerb edging is progressing despite the heat and little swarms of flies ‘we’ appear to attract!
Two jobs completed over the course of the week – Whilst we continue to be blessed with lovely sunny weather we continued with the grass cutting exercises and cut back the overgrowth on the embankment just north of the bridge along back towards Bo’ness to the 20 mph sign.
The station hutch (Birkhill Clay Mine) has now been completely stripped down to the base so that the ironwork can be cleaned up and repainted and new timbers can be eventually sourced to replace the rotten sections. Thankfully the engraved sections of wood are in a good enough condition to save and refit along with a few other sections, however 75% of the timbers are to far gone. The removal of the nuts was a task and a few choice words where used at times, but the ‘bolt splitter’ tool made sufficient impression to allow the nuts to be removed.
On a really wet Saturday morning it was with a pleasant surprise to see that the meadow walk path had been cut back a metre or so either side – all the way round and including the picnic table areas. We are still none the wiser who kindly did the work, but on behalf of the Birkhill Group we would like to say thanks as it has saved us a lot of work. We still had some work to be done around the mine picnic area but we did not let the rain put us off clearing the leaves and cuttings, still a little more work to be done to clear the weeds …..again…. from the garden boarder but hopefully this will be completed in the near future. So whoever did the strimming ….. thank you from the team.
Sporting our new logo’d Hi Vis Polo’s, work continued on the general maintenance of the platform gardens and the creation of a new border to the side of the station. Doing additional shifts during the week is now starting to pay dividends, thinning out the bedding area has encouraged plants to flourish which otherwise would have been swamped by the many dominant plants and the ever present weeds. We will continue with this process throughout the remainder of the summer months which we hope will provide a more orderly show of colour for many years to come.
Meanwhile the Monday Squad have been hard at it again, with the construction of the foundation supports for the new bridge which is undergoing renovation work off site.
During the course of the week and weekend, work continued on tidying up the embankment at far south of the platform, where the safety system to hold back the steep embankment has become overgrown over the last several years. Hopefully the clearing will enable the Blue Bells and other wild flowers to develop and eventually smother out the brambles and other weeds.
Work also started on creating a new bedding area to the side of the station building, it was thought a good idea at the time, but the sheer amount of ballast being dug up has took its toll on the olde wrist joints! However, it is hoped it will all be worth while and also help with the drainage to the area too. The intent is to create a step design on the steepest part to form a coupled of retaining levels to help reduce the soil erosion.
After constant watering and defeating the slugs, the Lobelia planted along the platform embankment wall have finally started to grow and hopefully will provide a lovely show later in the year! 
After yet another successful ‘Days out with Thomas’, getting to the bottom of the Clay Mine Hutch Mystery, and No.1 Lord Roberts back on regular runs along the line, it was back to the graft of station & garden maintenance, new ‘Birkhill’ letters have been fitted to the platform sign, planting of trailing Lobelia along the platform garden wall (visitors & volunteers please don’t sit on them) and final planting of the new half barrel tubs, its back to the olde favourite weeding! Work has restarted on the tidy up of the station garden in preparation of creating a mini formalised with box and lavender boarders. Inside the station finishing touches to the wash basin is under way…. for ‘Hand Washing Only’ a new pump has been installed, connected to a rain water harvesting system will provide water for washing purposes.
Oh By the way the Hutches!! the Scottish Mining Trust or more likely the Falkirk Heritage Trust apparently removed them and are to become an exhibit to mining in the West Lothian Area on a Falkirk roundabout.
Its with regret to have to post this, but the two remaining Hutches that where still in situ on the Clay Mine Incline appear to have been removed after 13:00 8th May 2018 when they where last seen. It is unclear who or why they have been removed or how! but a little more of our Industrial Heritage appears to have been lost. If anyone reading this article know of anything please contact B&KR – https://www.bkrailway.co.uk/contact
View from 10th My 2018
View from last year when work commenced on clearing the Incline
