Weds 25th / Thurs 26th - Beginning to look great

Wednesday

Thanks again to Gerry for the day's photos.

Trevor is fitting the new back panel to the Cotswold side north door on SO 4798 ............

....... and then working on the footboard (?).

Now at the opposite side, south end.

Ken is fitting the top connection supports at the south end of BSK 35308.

Yet another doorside repair on the Malvern side of 35308, this time being done by Nick.

Preparing replacement sheet metal using the plasma cutter.

That's a very handy straight edge.

Welding in the replacement section.

It's PAT testing time again with our regular testers Dave and Ainsley.

The interior of the kichen in the GW Inspection Saloon, currently being rebuilt.

A happy Tony working on the vacuum braking system.

More testing and adjustment of the spraying equipment on the weed wagon is being done by Bob. As previously mentioned he is formally qualified to do this having been a farm manager. Currently no chemicals are being used, only water.

Gerry took a video of this but it is too large to load.

Jeff did a number of trestle painting jobs, which included the table from Rose's garden.

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Thursday

We were blessed with another fine day. Paul was cleaning again in Rake 3 (note the ladder!) which is due to be split into a short rake comprising specific coaches. Stu will have a fair amount of shutting to do to achieve this. The temporary mini rake is due to be diesel hauled during the Bricks event which is taking place over the Easter Weekend.

The remaining seating was installed in SO 4798 on Wednesday.  Take all the dust sheets away, hang the new curtains, and this will look great!

Geoff and Alan continued reinstating the numbered seat tops.

Tim continued the prep work on the north end of the coach. We need to get this greyed up as when checked, despite its appearance, the surface is actually relatively smooth. We need the grey to highlight anywhere that does need more filler.

Bob taped up the windows on the north half of the Cotswold side and then proceeded to undercoat the upper section, bar the windows which will be done separately.

Tim also spent the day sanding filler on the Cotswold side north end door edges and frame. This was completed with a coating of undercoat Light Grey. We can now get the rest of this side taped up and undercoated.

Ainsley worked on the Malvern side centre door. This door will be permanently locked out, but the edges were cleaned and greyed up for the sake of tidiness.

Amongst all the various logistical jobs, I worked on the Cotswold side south end, topping up with filler.

Phil is removing all the old 240 volt cable from the GW Inspection Saloon.

Rose enjoying the newly painted table. She is performing miracles in this area. Small trees have been purchased, and all kinds of things are now planted in pots, tubs and other containers. The greenhouse is crammed. The vegetable garden is being dug ready for potatoes, runner beans and no doubt other good things. Well done Rose!

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Finally to answer a comment in the previous posting, Pam is taking a break for a while with other things occupying her time. She will be back.

Tuesday 24th - Wide ranging days

In the early days of Tuesday working it became known as Painting Team day. With the number working on SO 4798, the Mink D steps and the trestles, it certainly felt like that again. Tuesdays now of course also have plenty of woodworking, plumbing and electrics. We had fourteen attending so it was very busy.

The kitchen area of the GW Inspection Saloon is having a complete makeover. Phil is busy replacing the plumbing.

The ceiling in the process of the rebuilding which is being done on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Following up on recent comments, a close up of the sprayer on the Weed Wagon. The folded up mechanism is safely within the confines of the buffer area and nothing will be attached to this end of the wagon. It will be propelled/pulled from the other end, happily spraying whichever way it is travelling.

On the Malvern side a close up of the gate locking mechanism. Above in the locked position and below unlocked.

The gate opens inwards. The handrails remain to be bolted on.

On the Cotswold side, the handrails are fitted, leaving just the gate and lock to be fitted.

I guess these are to do with the wagon as they are painted in the same Rail Grey top coat. They were hanging on the Paintshop hooks.

[Photos : Robert]  Chris and Robert have made a very sturdy planter for Rose's garden.

Keith had no shortage of jobs with various items for varnishing and painting lined up around the trestles. In front the dismantled table from Rose's garden.

At the end of the day, some jobs left for Jeff who is coming in the next day for a finance meeting. The table top has been cleaned up, the underneath painted black and the metal surround painted with Red Oxide. The notice board for Toddington had another coat of gloss black.

The table legs and centre frames also coated in Red Oxide. These and the table top will be top coated in Dark Stone.

Yet another job for Jeff will be painting the long pole in Warning Yellow. If I remember correctly this is required in relation to bogie refurbishment.

Now on to 4798 which was surrounded by various members of the Painting & Prep team. Firstly Stu, who was undercoating the lower panel on the Cotswold side. We all have our preferred painting direction, in Stu's case right to left because he is lefthanded. Bob K and myself are righthanded, so we prefer left to right direction.

On the Malvern side Ian is going over the filler, ensuring that any raised edges are completely sanded flat. 240 paper is great for finishing off filler.

David is working on the centre door, which still requires a lot of attention, in particular the door and frame edges which I am always keen to see taken right back almost to bare metal and wood.

With respect to the centre vestibule, the entrances are going to receive shelves, so this door will be locked out of use. However it is still a perfectly functioning door so it will be treated as such. The handle has been removed from the Cotswold side door so that is already out of use.

Richard tackled the filling on the Cotswold side south doorframe. 

Back to the Malvern side with Roger adding further filler to some of the rebuilt areas where the under-window panelling had been replaced.

Tony worked on the south end, easing out the rough surface wherever required.

Stu added more filler at the lower parts of the north end.

With his new filler setting, David gives the door a general sanding down. Work had already been started here sometime ago, but abandoned and then largely forgotten with so much else to do on the bodysides with the rebuilding work.

With the sanding and greying up completed on the Cotswold side south door, Richard moved to the opposite corner and did more on the Malvern side north end door.

With his filling and sanding completed, Tony had progressed to greying up the south end.

That is looking so much better. Tony also completed the other side of the connection, leaving just the area above the connection which will be done using the Lewis tower.

Inside the Mink D Paul E. and Maurice are making adjustments to some of the planking.

Stu hardly stops for breath. With a job completed, he flies off to the next, in this case top coating more of the new Mink D steps.

A nice treat from Paul E. which we all tucked into. What with Rose's sausage rolls and fruit loaf on Saturday, not forgetting all that Paul W. brings in from Tea Club funds, it's a wonder we aren't all overweight! Mind you, we do work hard and so certainly earn it.

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Finally to answer another query, Painter's Friend was developed by T & R Williamson and is now produced by Thomas Howse Ltd from whom we buy our paint. It is a conditioner that thins the paint and improves the flow. We buy it in 1 Litre screwtop cans. It is currently priced at £26.50.