Saturday 28th - We are almost there

Today was it as regards getting everything ready for the new season and very importantly Rakes 2 and 3 ready for Race Week. It was touch and go with respect to getting a signalman, but John M, who is Head of our Monday Cleaning Team, is also a signalman and very kindly stepped in to help us. As luck would have it he was at Winchcombe anyway as also being a member of RCS he had intended going to their annual meeting in the Tim Mitchell Building, so thankfully it all worked out very well. Thank you John!

Many thanks to Paul W. and Alex for the extra photos.

It was good to see Graham back in, one of our two professional loco and coach painters who have joined us as volunteers. Graham's approach to resolving the uneveness on the sides of SO 4798 was to apply large swathes of filler vertically.

All sanding was done by hand. Earlier in the week I had thought correctly that pad sanding these large swathes would remove too much of the filler. 

The end result appeared to be just what we wanted. It will be interesting to see how it all looks now when further grey undercoat is applied.

On the Malvern side of 4798 Ainsley was cleaning up the south doorway ready for greying up. The coach body in the foreground looks nicely undercoated and ready for more filler.

With still plenty of activity in the north end of RMB 1876 prior to it being shunted out today, Bob transferred to 4798's north vestibule to prepare the ceiling for top coating.

With the edge taped up he began painting and soon got the job completed.

Another milestone for 4798, the reupholstered seating could now start going back in. Tom pauses for the camera with two more seat backs.

Getting the various parts reinstated can be quite a battle as Andy and Tom were finding out. Dave H was also assisting with this job. 

The snapdragon moquette looks really nice. The seating has been stored for quite a while in the Upholstery workshop so it's good to see it finally coming out.

Being very tall has its moments! :-)

And of course someone is bound to follow suit! :-)

Yes there are curtains going into 4798. Jane is busy ironing some of the recently made ones.

Thank goodness Peter is so good with the sewing machine servicing and fixes. He seems to have to do a lot of this.

The luggage compartment door with the new skin now mounted on BSK 35308.

The Mink D van really is a big beast.  You could probably fit a skittle alley inside.

Paul and Maurice were securing one of the ventilators at the south end of the van.

Two of the very large footboards now top coated.

Maurice producing cut-outs at both ends of this plank to allow it to be fitted.

[Photo : Paul W]  Some urgent upholstery repairs being done by Peter and Jenny in SK 25488 in Rake 2.

[Phito : Paul W]

[Photo : Paul W.]  It's nice to see Jenny back doing her old job, even if it's just repairs in the Rakes.

Jenny had previously been busy giving yet another clean inside RMB 1876.

Robert reinstating more items in the rebuilt toilet compartments in 1876.

Jenny giving both compartments another vac, while below Paul is ensuring the sinks are nice and clean.

With 1876's north vestibule and toilets now clear, Bob begins the remaining bits of painting and varnishing. Not everything could be completed, so hopefully we will be able to do this on Tuesday.

There were also various bits under the sole bar that needed brushing with Black MIO, and even part of the north end headstock, all of which I took care of earlier on in the day.

Now on to the main job of the day - getting RMB 1876 into Rake 2 to replace RMB 1808, and getting Rake 3 properly set up with 1808 incorporated.

Moving FK 13326

TSO 4763, with its replacement bogies, being attended to by Andy and Alex.

SK 24804 destined to rejoin Rake 3.

Time now to extract everything from the Works through road, beginning with the weed spraying van. Next were 35308, 4798 and the Mink D in a linked group.

While waiting for the 03 to collect 1876, Alex has a rest. Shunting is tiring work as I know from doing it myself in my early days in C & W.

At last it's the turn of 1876.

[Photo : Alex]  It's always the reward after months of hard work. 1876 positively glows in the sunlight and very much highlights the fact that crimson & cream totally dominates the scene.

[Photo : Alex]  4798 in its temporary grey livery.

[Photo : Alex]  The Mink D giving an early impression of what it will look like when completed.

4798 has now been shunted into the Paintshop.

Alex guides the Mink D and 35308 through the Barn and into the Workshop.

Getting Rake 2 finally together with 1876 leading the front half as it is propelled towards the rear half.

Finally the GW Inspection Saloon is brought into the Barn.

No free for all with this coach. Absolutely nothing is to be done until expressedly advised by Stu T.

Graham is back to work on 4798.

To finish off the day, Rake 3 comes past the Works with CK 16221 and six crimson & cream liveried coaches. We are almost there with our aim to recreate a full crimson & cream rake.

Weds 25th / Thurs 26th - Getting ready

With the new season beginning in just over a week's time there is the final rush to get as much completed as possible.

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Wednesday

Thank you Gerry for another excellent set of photos.

We begin on a sad note. The sad aspect being the life of someone who can do little more than throw a brick through a coach window at Toddington. Thankfully Stu, Rex and Bryan (and Ken) were able to make the repair with a replacement pane.

Nick cut a section of sheet metal for fitting to the Mink D van.

Bryan sharpening drill bits before fitting a missing hinge and section of capping strip to the Cotswold side south doorway of SO 4798.

Ben is working on the repaired luggage compartment door from BSK 35308's Cotswold side.

Before the trip to Toddington to fix the broken window, Ken was cleaning a vacuum cyclinder chamber. 

In the connection gangway and vestibule at the north end of RMB 1876 Mike and Ainsley were reinstating the access doors of the utilities cupboards.

Neil (?) was fitting the lengths of beading to the corners of the Malvern side toilet compartment. These will receive two coats of varnish.

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Thursday

Thanks to Roger and Paul for the extra photos.

Another job done on Wednesday. Nick's team have started painting the top yellow section of the weed spraying van.

Now on to progress with RMB 1876. This coach will need to be in Rake 2 in place of RMB 1808 (which will return to Rake 3) in time for Race Week (10 - 13 March).

The ceiling rebuild in the north vestibule is now complete with the beading in place. A painting job that must be started and hopefully even finished today.

The new beading in the Malvern side toilet compartment that must be varnished today, with a second coat to be done on Saturday.

The Cotswold side toilet compartment is beginning to look really smart. However the ceilings in both compartments still need top coating. Another "must do" job for today.

It was just Roger working on the plumbing today.

An adjustment to one of the tables is keeping Alan busy.

Then on to the south connection slider. Simon had done a heroic job refitting this very heavy door, made somewhat difficult with the coir matting in place. The door had ended up just slightly out of line, but Alan successfully made the necessary adjustments to the fittings to enable it to close correctly. 

The new 6 volt batteries have arrived, two on each side to provide the 24 volts needed for the 1876's servery electrics. I gave Richard I a helping heave to swing these two into the battery box, each one very much a dead weight.

Also being loaded by a member of RCS were the supplies for the store cupboard. Stu lends a helping hand to get everything on board. There were numerous trolley loads before the job was completed. Other items for the servery had previously been loaded.

The servery access door had also been fitted on Wednesday. The outside face needed a second top coat so Bob preceeded to give it a light sand before later painting it.

Meanwhile those toilet compartment ceilings needed their top coat and Bob gets cracking.

Roger prepares to fit the mirror in the Cotswold side compartment.

[Photo : Roger]  Job done, and doesn't it all look good. Still more to do though.

[Photo : Roger]

[Photo : Roger]  The vestibule access cupboard for the Cotswold side compartment.

Bob got the beading primed in the north vestibule ceiling. I have thinned the primer so that it now dries a lot quicker and as such he was later able to give the whole ceiling a top coat.

On now to the outside and Barn activities. In this case the fitting of the refurbished bogies (in the foreground) under TSO 4763.

With 4763 now in the Barn and the coach body raised up on the jacks, the existing bogies are pushed together and will be hauled outside using the special towing rod. 

The new bogies will then be brought round and fitted underneath the coach.

[Photo : Paul W]  In SO 4790 Paul was busy with more cleaning in preparation for Gold Cup Day, when Rake 3 is run from Broadway for the racegoers who have come down on the Northern Belle.

[Photo : Paul W]

Tim returned to the improvements to the backs of the toilet compartment doors from SO 4798.

The cross beading was removed from both doors ready for a good sanding down to remove the old varnish and, on one of them, old graffiti. Tim then repainted both doors. The door fronts have already been given another coat of varnish.

We made some more good progress with the external refurbishment of 4798. At the south end Ainsley cleaned off all the old paint on the tank filler pipes using a powered wire brush. These were later coated in green primer.

Ainsley later gives the Malvern side south end a coat of Light Grey undercoat. All the bumps, lumps, troughs and grooves remaining now become very obvious.

Stu likes working right-to-left because he is left handed. Starting at the Cotswold side north end he applies the Light Grey undercoat. 

The Cotswold side now fully greyed up. Lots more secondary filling and subsequent greying will be needed, and almost certainly more after that. We will of course "draw the line" when it becomes good enough. We have many more coaches out there all screaming for attention.

Stu, never one to stop for long, was soon on the Malvern side and beginning to grey up the north end of the Malvern side. All this of course after checking that all the filled areas were completely sanded down.

He certainly doesn't hang about! It's great to see him back in action again after his long spell away following his accident.

It's also good to see the Malvern side gradually turning grey after the hotch-potch mess of preparation.