Tuesday 11th - Back on the roof

Another hot day with the next two days getting even hotter. Thursday running has been completely cancelled because of it and yet another day lost. Wretched weather - roll on Autumn!

The first day on the roof of SK 25451. Phil made a good start on cleaning up a fair bit of the south end. Overall the condition is pretty good.

[Photo : Phil J]

More good progress on the sides with David doing some filling on the Malvern side north end and then later some more general sanding down.

Ian continued his general sanding with the circular sander and completed the Cotswold side. He then joined David on the Malvern side.

A good vac round afterwards makes a world of difference.

Also having a good general vac round in the Woodwork shop was Robert.

The new kitchen in the GW Inspection Saloon is looking better by the day. Stu top coated the ceiling and then gave the shelves and cupboard doors yet another coat of varnish. The new corridor panel was similarly recoated.

Phil has now rigged up a light in the opened out south vestibule in TSO 4867.

All the spring clips from the Mink D van now totally cleaned up and top coated by Maurice.

As are all the roof battens. The roof canvas should be being installed this coming Saturday.

Dave primes more cleared areas of paintwork on TSO 4406.

Jeff brings another visitor on a tour of the Works.

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Finally, many thanks to Malcolm in Ontario for the very comprehensive explanations of the corrosion problems BR had with the Mk1s and the solutions to try and eradicate them. The worst places we find are the corners and the recent photo I took of the Malvern side south corner of TSO 4406, which I have shown again below, really demonstrates this.

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The Partial Eclipse - Wednesday 12th August

Now to jump to Wednesday evening and the 93% partial eclipse.

The venue for very many people, and where I ended up, was Minchinhampton Common, Gloucestershire, which is not far from my home.

Astronomer Wayne has some serious equipment. The large telescope was being used to make a recording that would show the moon's crossing in 3 minute intervals and make an excellent video.

The smaller telescope was for direct observation Obviously both had filters for safe viewing.

All this equipment naturally caused lots of interest and a number of people came over to have a look for themselves.

Louise had made two pinhole cameras out of box lids which, although producing a tiny result, were nevertheless very effective.

Fun could be had with a colander held high and directed onto a white board to produce a myriad of eclipsed suns.

By now the light level had decreased significantly.

Several of us had a go at trying to get a photo through the small telescope. It was quite difficult but I was lucky! 

Overall a lovely evening enjoyed by very many people. Minchinhampton Common is very spacious with big skies. And there was a cooling breeze too!

Monday 10th - Routine For Once

 

Rake 1 in P2, rake 2 in P1. Typically when I arrive Peter, David, Tim and Chris are washing an outside. Tom and Chris slightly in front, doing degreasing.

Inside was John M on toilets, Jane on windows, John S and Nigel with Ghostbusters, Nick, Roger C and Val on various items. Kath and I tend to start on "Mary", me with a GTech and Kath on windows and tables. After that I took the Gtech down rake 1 on all the floors. The buffet car chairs are very heavy so Kath kindly moves them aside so I can vac. I did find a metal fork on the floor in the next carriage. Fortunately Sherri from RCS was onboard so I could hand it back. Finally Roger C took the mop through rake 1.

Some other photos. Kath, Lynn, Greg and myself are part of the Teddy Bear Thursday team. Last week was the first for this year. Very busy in the morning.

The diesel drivers all had extra assistance

In the platform 2 waiting room we put the wooden train set in, for visitors to make their own layout.

TBTs are scheduled for 13th and 20th August BUT DUE TO EXTREME HEAT FORECAST FOR THURSDAY THIS WEEK ALL TRAINS ARE CANCELLED.

And in the yard the roof trusses for Broadway have been loaded.

These will be going up to Broadway next Monday. So presumably there will be just 1 rake available to clean. And if it is rake 1 it will be only 6 coaches as the buffet car is due to be taken out of service for a week to have comms fitted so that the card machine will work.

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. It is taken back out at the end of the day.

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 lasts 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 off 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.