Saturday 14th - Another glorious day and a Sunday treat

Well, after all that rain, it's a joy to have some lovely spring days where lunch can be enjoyed outside again. Saturday was certainly that.

As will have been seen in Wednesday's post, we have started some basic improvements in the GW Inspection Saloon's kitchen ........

........ where Simon is rebuilding the ceiling.

Jeff was having a field day with trestle jobs, beginning with undercoating the new buffer extender saddles.

I was busy undercoating the frame (to be used for displaying a skip notice) and priming the top hardwood supports for the south corridor connection on BSK 35308.

Later on Jeff was into his favourite job of highlighting the letters and numbers on 4798's data plates, while Alex was preparing a notice board ready for painting and later displaying at Toddington.

  

Kevin was tidying up the store for the pipe fittings.

Some more good progress with BSK 35308, which has needed some extensive repairs, in particular the doors, doorways and surrounding panelling. Alan tackles another doorway on the Malvern side of the coach.

New sheet metal welded in and the weld ground down.

The next bit to repair.

Also on the Malvern side Andy prepares the repaired guards entrance for a new length of capping strip.

Ken is dismantling the metal U section from 35308's south corridor connection. A grinder was needed to remove some of the nuts and bolts.

John was still busy producing the metal bits for new vacuum cylinder sleeves, each one having a hole drilled.

Another hive of activity inside SO 4798 with Andy and Ian working on more of the reupholstered seating.

In the Upholstery shop Jane and Laura are preparing more of the side panels, ........  

........ while Peter and Clive are doing some more tightening up of the moquette on the seat cushions.

This rack had been stacked with the seating for 4798 for a long time. It looks strange to see it now empty.

On now to the outside preparation with Graham flatting the base coat on the central section of the Cotswold side of the coach.

Bob started at the south end.

The Malvern side still has some parts awaiting further preparation. Phil adds more filler to build up the surface where this is required.

A busy scene with Bob vacuuming the flatted side and Graham mixing more filler and hardener.

Robert tightening the door pull on the north end door. The old back panel had been removed and a new one made, which later appeared on the trestles and I dyed and varnished.

Maurice primed three more planks for the Mink D van. There can't be many more needed, bar the doors of course.

Maurice and Paul having a quick discussion on the next step.

[Photo : Paul]  The north end now looking really good.

Walking along the yard drive I spotted this drying puddle in a very familiar shape.

Lunchtime up at the station on a glorious day is always a treat .......

....... and is even better when the train arrives.

RBr 1675 looks empty.

For their lunch Maurice and Paul had joined Rose in one of her seating areas near the greenhouse. There was even a table decoration.

Rose had gathered all she needed to make up the table decorations in FO 3132 " Mary" for the first of this year's Afternoon Tea events the next day. 

[Photo : Paul]  She even bought ice creams from the Coffee Pot cafe for the three of them.

Jeff and I watch as 3850 pulls out of the station.

***************

A Sunday treat

The next day Louise and I were able to enjoy the first run this year of the very popular Afternoon Teas. They are held in FO 3132 " Mary" on the 1410 train from Cheltenham Racecourse Station. Last year's runs were completely sold out, so we booked early to make sure we got on. 

Alan Nicholls, who is our Catering Director, was at the centre door to welcome you, check your E ticket and let you know your table number. "Mary" was very nicely laid out, and very warm and welcoming.

Smart dress had been requested and, as I spend almost almost all my time in various pairs of jeans, casual shirts, fleeces, and overalls, it made a nice change.

The menu looked amazing! Wow, it looks a lot, will we be able to eat all that?!

Rose had made a lovely effort with the decorations.

And here it is. It is amazing!

Outside it was cold and very wet, but the steam was drifting past, and "Mary" was lovely and warm and gave a very smooth, comfortable ride. Our track is very good too.

Just before we set off I went along to 1675 to see my nephew Martin on his second day in RCS and found Rose having a quiet cup of tea.

When Martin said he wanted to become a volunteer I recommended RCS and was very pleased when he joined them. This is his first turn in the RBr and only his second turn with RCS. He thoroughly enjoyed the Race Trains on Friday, and was very much enjoying today.

[Photo : Martin Dix]   In the kitchen was none other than John McMillan, who is also a signalman and of course head of our Monday Cleaning Team at Toddington. After months seeing the kitchen and pantry gradually coming together, it's great to see them in use.

Martin had some free time so came and joined us for a while. The staff offer a cardboard box for any cakes left over and sure enough we needed one. 

Not only that, but more paper knapkins were available to take your table decoration home if you wished to keep it.

So what did we think of the Afternoon Tea?

Absolutely brilliant. All very well organised, lovely food, lovely staff and a lovely, very well laid out coach to travel in. 

Are we repeating it next year?

Oh yes!

Weds 11th / Thurs 12th - Down memory lane

Wednesday

Many thanks to Gerry for the day's photos.

Simon and Neil are evaluating and designing a new kitchen layout in the GW Inspection Saloon.

Ken is gradually rebuilding the hardwood back support for the south corridor connection on BSK 35308.

Part of the spring mechanism removed for servicing and cleaning up.

The two curved top sections of the support with the bolt holes drilled and the position of one of the spring mechanisms marked out. These will eventually come into the Paintshop for priming and painting in gloss black.

Ian fitting more of the seating in SO 4798. I'm looking forward to seeing the carriage fully fitted out with the reupholstered seating - the dark red moquette blends in very well with 4798's wood interior.

Also working on 4798 is Rod, cleaning up more of the edges of the Cotswold side south door and frame.  The door appeared to be rubbing the frame, so Rod applied some paint to the door edges. The paint will be transferred to the frame where there are high spots. These were certainly indicated on the hinge side showing that further easing will be necessary.

The door lock was also not engaging properly and as such a shim will need to be fitted behind the striker plate.

[Thank you Rod for the extra information]

Over now to the weed spraying wagon. Bob, who used to be a farm manager, is applying his skills and knowledge to finishing off the spraying system. He had just completed his training for working on the Race Trains.

Rex is adding another coat of Warning Yellow.  The painting must be almost complete now, bar the signwriting. 

Jim looks to be making more staff name plaques.

Trevor is working on another door from BSK 35308.

***************

Thursday

I didn't attend on Thursday so the only photos are two that Martin sent.

The Cotswold side north end door edges and frame on SO 4798 had previously been thoroughly cleaned up by Tim, so Martin was able to apply some filler where needed and then paint it all in undercoat Light Grey.

 

The result looks very good. Martin then moved to the Malvern side to do some further greying up.

************** 

To make up for the lack of information, a trip down memory lane to exactly one year ago and some of the work we were doing then.

Thursday 13th 2025

The day started with the car covered in a very hard frost and speckled with large frozen snowflakes. Add to that there was a bitingly cold north wind, so what would it be like in Cheltenham for the racegoers and for us in Greet?

The first of the two trains was headed by P & O looking very majestic because of its sheer size and with the "At The Races" headboard displayed. A year on and it's now out of action and undergoing its 10 yearly refurb. 

 

A quarter of an hour later we were in for a surprise when a tender first loco appeared round Chicken Curve. Where was Foremarke Hall which was on Train 2 on Tuesday?

 

The penny soon dropped! We had heard that Betton Grange had now arrived on the Railway and here she was coming up the gradient with eight coaches in tow. The racegoers were happy though, with many waving and smiling as they went by. So were we!

  

Later on a chance to catch the Grange the right way round on the return to Toddington for the layover period.

   

We were busy with the structural aspects of SO 4798's refurbishment and part conversion into a psuedo First Class coach. For months the interior had been a clutter with all the work going on. Now at last we could have a proper tidy up. Gerry sweeps through the south half of the coach to finish off the job.

[It's good to have a photo of Gerry. As he now takes almost all of Wednesday's photos he is rarely seen]

 

It might still look a muddle but it is a lot better than a few weeks ago.

As a result of under-window corrosion, every window had been taken out and the section of panelling underneath replaced with new sheet metal. The Cotswold side had been done, and Rex and Gerry are working on the final two windows on the Malvern side.

The special screws are steadily being added that clamp the inner and outer window frames, forming a tight seal around the glass. They can need a bit of force to get them really tight, but not too much force otherwise the glass can crack!

A close up of the screws.

At the north end Phil was removing the wall light fittings.

This is repeating an exercise we did a few years ago, basically replacing the existing twin bulb arrangement to a single LED bulb. Fitting LEDs means that we can rely now on just battery power, without the need to have to use the dynamos with the added "fun and games" of dynamo belts coming off and having to be retrieved by our PWay team.

In the Woodwork shop Alan bores the centre hole in one of the wood mounts.

The replacement light bulb socket now fitted.

The metal shade is also altered with a new centre hole.

 

 

 

The lovely veneer panelling in 4798 (I love the name tags). All this would later have a complete freshen up with another coat of varnish and the ceiling a fresh coat of paint, and what a difference this has made.

 

Doors and doorframes were still being progressed. At the north end of 4798 Geoff (and Roger) were remounting one of the doorway capping strips, redrilling the holes and using one of the hand riveters.

No guesses as to the other main refurb job in progress, and it was already a long running one a year ago. Yes, dear old RBr 1675 with top coating being done by David and Bob on the Cotswold side. With the light sanding completed and the side wiped down, David began adding the second coat of GW Brown to the gutter and top panel. Bob started at the south end and the top was soon finished.

 

Bob was now painting windows on that side.

 

 

 

Meanwhile Phil B. and I were taking care of the Malvern side, giving the first top coat a light sand with 240 paper and then a wipe over with white spirit. Now of course it would all have a flat down so as to achieve as perfect a finish as possible.

At the tool bench Richard I is setting up the take-off from the interconnecting pipe that is fitted between the two water tanks under 1675.

 

I'm often catching him underneath our coaches! This time fitting the take-off he has just prepared and then fitting the insulation.   

  

    

    

  

This could have been a "Can you identify these?" competition. They are door stops created by Derek for the Monster van.

 

So a year on, RBr 1675 has been operational since the start of the Santa season,  SO 4798 is in the throws of final exterior prep and initial painting and the seating is going in.

***************

And finally back to the present.

Friday 13th - Gold Cup Day

[Photo : Martin Dix]

The two trains at Cheltenham Racecourse Station with 2807 on Rake 2.

Thanks to my nephew Martin for the photo. Today is his first turn with RCS. Starting off as a new volunteer on a Gold Cup train is certainly jumping in at the deep end. And judging by his Whatapp texts, he is enjoying it too!