Meet the teams

 Just because the railway, including Carriage & Wagon, is largely shut, doesn't mean our blog goes quiet! We've got a variety of content in the pipeline to keep us all amused over the next few weeks. First up is the first in a series of "Meet the teams". We always intended on having a section for this, and you can now see a link along the top where they will be collated for easy access as and when we publish them. Over time we hope to cover the whole department, but Upholstery volunteered to go first.

The upholstery department is responsible for the seating in the carriages of the running trains.

When refurbishment is required in a carriage, the seats, backs and side panels are removed and transferred to the upholstery shop where they are stripped down, the springing inspected or replaced and new fabric installed.

The workshop is on the first floor of a modern building, is light and spacious and has storage space for all the materials and the components of the carriage being renovated.

The work is carried out by a team of three or four volunteers who are not necessarily professional but who are practical people looking for an interest in their spare time. Most volunteers work two days a week and working hours are left to the individuals themselves.

Seat covers are made from Moquette material which is largely a woollen fabric with a pile similar to a carpet and the patterns used are those of the regional railways existing when the carriages were built. Sewing this material is difficult because it has a pile and an industrial sewing machine with a walking foot is part of the equipment used by us to help feed the material under the foot.

Seats and backs have a spring mattress covered by horsehair. In the backs this is retained but in the seats it is being replaced by foam. The foam complies with the furniture safety regulations schedule 1, part 1.

When completed the seats are reinstalled in the carriage by the team and it is at this point that the team gets the satisfaction of seeing their hard work come to fruition.

What you can expect working in the Upholstery Department:

• Fun! We are a friendly team with good camaraderie!
• Satisfaction in a job well done – all our passengers get to experience our work!
• Practical hands-on work but without too much heavy lifting (we get others in the Department to do that for us!)

From left to right, Penny and Dave (husband and wife team) Dave, John and Jenny.