Still bearing signs of its former installation at Ketton Cement, the new bullhead point is installed at the junction of the platform and quarry lines.

The pointwork is a vital and complicated piece of the railway infrastructure and the Museum was extremely pleased that a local firm was able to donate an old but hardly used right hand ‘turnout’ from the Heidelberg Hanson Cement factory at Ketton late last year.

One of our local members recalled that the old quarry line was landscaped after the railway system closed and after some careful investigation was intrigued to discover that the pointwork still survived, simply buried 6 inches under the grassed surface.

We were able to apply to the company who were pleased to assist and after a great deal of preparatory digging, we recovered the parts required for the new turnout and as expected, the components were barely used.

We have now installed the point on new timbers and site levelling took place to adjust its final layout.

The point will be completed with the required safety mechanism, known as a Facing Point Lock (FPL) through our close working relationship with the Great Central Railway in the next months.