Saturday 8th - More changes

A bumper turnout today with 28 attending, though obviously it was not possible to photograph everyone.

Beginning with TSO 4406 which currently is being shunted into the Barn as far as possible to allow Alan to continue metalwork repairs.

Both Alan's repaired areas and general patches of rust have been coated in green primer. The rivet line has been particularly highlighted. 

In response to the query raised in the last post by Graham of Dolbran, the rivet line was created in the early days of the Mk1s. BR found that the bodyside skirting was corroding rather quickly and as such replaced the bottom six inches or so with a heavier grade of sheet metal, which was rivetted on. The bottom part of the sides generally last very well, with rivets replaced if required. Rust tends to form where old filler has broken out of the rivet line. We usually clean the line out, removing as much of the rust as possible and then coat with oxide or green primer. Initial filling is with fibre paste which is waterproof and this prevents any moisture seeping through from the back, which would cause ordinary filler to break out. Once the crack is filled with fibre paste, ordinary filler finishes of the repair.

Dave does some more general sanding of the bodyside. The rusty rivet line is very obvious in the unsanded area on the left.

Across on the jack road John adds insulation to the new pipework under SO 4798.

The north bogie has been pulled out to enable John to do his job. Meanwhile Ian goes round with the pressure oiler.

Inside the Inspection Saloon's rebuilt kitchen Bob adds white paintable sealant where needed to fill any gaps in the ceiling beading.  This will then have further undercoat or top coat as required.

At the north end of TSO 4867 James will be having to make substantial repairs to the Malvern side of the roof, as can be seen in the next five photos, all taken by him.

It's all change at the south end with the toilet compartments and vestibule being completely stripped out. Robert brings out another piece, probably for keeping.

Some of the interior parts will be scrapped. Phil takes the trolley load and heads for the skip.

Chris takes this bundle for storage.

Almost finished.

Rubbish and platform cleared away.

Why such a drastic change? This coach is going to have an accessible area. It's a big job but we have already done this with TSO 4614, SO 4790 and BSK 34929.

Good progress is being made with SK 25451's body side. Filler is needed all over the side with the many craters to sort out, but the bulk of it going to ease out the area over the rivet line, which has been cleaned out, treated, and the crack filled with fibre paste as described earlier on. 

Graham has been adding more filler to further ease out this bottom section.

Ian has been doing a great job giving the main paintwork a complete sanding down.

[Photo : Paul E.]  The photographer photographed during one of the periods when I was adding and sanding secondary filler to the rivet line area.

John has been fettling more of the door catches. He's produced quite a pile now, as can be seen below.

We have received quite a few donations of tools lately, which takes Kevin quite a bit to sort out.

Under the Mink D Paul battles to remove the accummulated rust.

Maurice completely cleans the spring clip taken from the side of the van.

I should have asked Upholstery what they were covering in the lovely silver horsechestnut leaf moquette.

Alex has at last been able to do the signwriting on the side of the sack truck. He's a very busy chap and much in demand!

The penultimate Behind The Scenes day ended with an hour long tour of C & W with yours truly taking them round. They were a lovely group and real pleasure to look after, being very attentive and asking lots of questions. The final BTS day for this year takes place in September and covers the whole railway.

Our fish and chip evenings are definitely going up a few notches. When the Fish & Chip Specials run, Rose walks up to the station where the chip man and his team have their vans and places our orders. When ready she collects them and we settle down with cutlery, condiments, sauces and even some alcohol free beer. And this time it got even better because Rose had made a plum crumble and brought it in with some cream. Also the venue changed and we sat in the garden area by the greenhouse. All very pleasant and a great way to finish a hardworking day.

Weds 5th / Thurs 6th - No hanging about

When we need to get things done and we are able to do them, we certainly don't hang about. The two days portrayed certainly lived up to that.

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Wednesday

As always a big thank you to Gerry for all the day's photos.

We want to get all the storage out of vehicles and into containers, and at the same time have a grand tidy up. With the arrival of a second container in the old Building Services hut area we have constructed more racking for use in it.

The funding for further containers has been requested.

SO 4798 is now on the Barn jack road where the bogies are being inspected, serviced and any adjustments made as required by John. All settings will of course be recorded. We are so looking forward to getting this coach into Rake 1 to replace very faded SO 4787.

It's final cover up day for the Weed Spraying wagon. The Malvern side had already had its tarpaulin attached.

The Cotswold side is next.

This is followed by the south end which Bryan is attaching. The latter will be wrapped around the two sides as shown below.

Below Bryan repaints the draw hook.

Nicks makes more tarpaulin hooks.

Ainsley and Dave are on sanding duties, working on the Cotswold side of SK 25451.

While checking the Shark Ballast Plough for upholstery requirements, Eve can't resist a tweek of the "steering wheel", as we used to tell visiting school parties.

Ceri and Laura are busy with more door stops.

The freshened up seating from TSO 4867 ready for new internal covering and moquette.

In the Workshop the part repaired south end of 4867. Plenty of green primer already present.

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Thursday

Newly acquired TSO 4406 has been temporarily moved into the Barn to enable Alan to continue the metalwork repairs. It had to be moved back out at the end of the day as there was insufficient room to enable it to stay in. It's all a bit of a squeeze on the through road while 4798 is on the jack road.

The green primed area to the right of the passenger door indicates Alan's repairs.

SO 4798 looking magnificent up on the jacks, while underneath Dave watches John continue his work on the south bogie.

Stu is back in doing an extra day to enable him to continue unimpeded his work in the Inspection Saloon's kitchen. Almost all the varnished areas have had a second coat.

All the ceiling has now been undercoated.

Stu surveys it all and ponders the next steps.

The general view through TSO 4867 from the north end.

Phil is gradually stripping out the south vestibule.

 

The ceiling panels are down and the toilet compartment access cupboard door has been removed. It all looks pretty grotty.

More pipework removed. It's going to be a long job, but then what restoration isn't.

Another view of the toilet compartment access cupboard.

The cleared out interior from the south vestibule.

The long preparation continues on the Cotswold side of SK 25451 with Tim tackling that rivet line. This is often the longest of the filling/sanding aspects on a coach, building back the gentle curve of the bodyside.

Richard tackled the edges and frame sides on the south end door, generally sanding down and filling where required. Time for a sweep up.

Ainsley was back in and working on the Malvern side.