Thursday 13th - Ticking off the jobs and a mystery resolved

 With Nick attending on Thursday this week, just a few photos from Wednesday taken by Bryan on progress with the blue DMU 51306.

Good progress was being made on rebuilding the front corner that had been damaged in BR days. With the basic framework coated in oxide, Rex carefully measures up for the first section of replacement sheet metal.

He also takes a measurement for the new section of crash pillar that will need to be inserted.

The new section of sheet metal is tried for size.

Thank you Bryan for the photos.

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Now moving onto Thursday and continuing with the reconstruction on 51306.

Gerry is assisting Nick with the rebuild. The new sheet metal has now been spot welded on. Just behind Gerry's arm is the new piece of crash pillar now welded in and coated with oxide.

Nick tries the next small section of sheet metal, which will be bent round to conform with the curve - never easy when you have in effect a double curve to contend with. Also not helping is the fact that the section of frame just above the sheet metal is bent inwards, a legacy of the past collision.

Nick then carefully marks the approximate position for the curve.

Photo: Nick

Returning later to find that Nick had successfully welded in the new curved piece. A really great bit of progress with the corner rebuild.

The progress on the restoration of the Mink A van is also coming on well. Richard and Paul are enjoying the break, after several hours of hard work.

It's not long before they are back to work. Paul is top coating the vacuum brake through pipe using up some redundant paint ("Carmine Lake" that had been bought by mistake many years ago and sat in the paint cupboard unrequired).

Richard is back to the "Dark Grey" undercoating around the main frame.

A walk down the yard to RBR 1672 (currently redundant because of Covid) where Richards I and II are inserting some new cabling to enable a second fridge to be used.

Richard I down below, feeding in the new cabling.

In the Workshop Geoff (welcome back!) and Alan were cleaning up a window from SK 24006.

The next stage with Alan carefully applying the sealant around the edge of the pane.

 The pane now put back with new sections of inner framing in place.

Meanwhile Dave H. (co-owner of 24006) has been busy cleaning up the ceiling vent covers, and they have come up amazingly well with all the old paint removed. Usually these are painted because the old plastic (bakelite?) has tarnished, but these are like new and certainly won't need repainting.

The photo I forgot to take on Tuesday (apologies to Derek!), with the new ceiling in place in the south end (2nd Class) toilet compartment in CK 16221.

The new ceiling for the 1st Class toilet is on its way.

Taken near the end of the day. Having been involved in a range of different jobs, Bob S. spent the last half hour or so continuing with the undercoating of the Cotswold side windows of 16221.

Just where do our chocs disappear?! Waiting on the Paintshop trestles was another large pile of these with a note: "In yellow please with C&W on both sides". Bob gives them an initial coat of wood primer, leaving just the base and curve. The yellow will go on during Saturday and then over to Alex for the signwriting - "C & W" 22 times! 😀

On to more progress with BSK 34929, with Bob K. preparing the toilet walls for top coating.

 Returning much later and the "Executive Light Grey" topcoating was almost finished and looking really good. Bob is a professional painter and always does a fantastic job. He also very kindly brings in some custard tarts for our afternoon tea break, a very welcome treat!

The top section of window frame had been mounted on Wednesday - this was removed and cleaned up ready for varnishing, and will be put back on Saturday ready for the continued rebuilding next week.

 

Another of the many jobs done by Bob S. was to clean the gathered dust and dirt from all the surfaces in the guards compartment. This meant that Bob K. could get straight on with making a start on a second top coat in here.

Another of the long list of requested jobs for 34929 was to apply Silver Hammerite to the bolt heads for the compartment luggage racks - Jeff was very careful with that new upholstery underneath. Tuesday's work was also very much in evidence with the newly varnished seat tops and Hammerited underseat heating grills now in place.

 Two more jobs done by Jeff was top coating this side of the guards compartment inner door and a second top coat on the north end corridor slider. Beyond that the cleaned up metal runners for the guards and compartment doors, another Tuesday/Wednesday job, await fitting.

Jeff's first job of the day was top coating the inner side of the toilet door. Just the edge pieces to be varnished and the door "furniture" reinstated, and the door can go back on.

Four superbly cut top sections for the seats in the disabled compartment in 34929 awaited varnishing. Bob S. applies the first coat. Another job to complete on Saturday, after which they will be fitted by our Wednesday woodworkers. In the background are various undercoated parts from the Mink A van.

Into the Door Team's area, with Ainsley fitting the door handle on the next door to be mounted on 34929.

Trevor and Des were reconstructing another of 34929's doors, with the inner base being secured.

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And finally, an email to Clive, owner of CK 16221, about the former liveries being uncovered by the sanding down of the doors and bodysides (mentioned in the Tuesday report), produced the following reply:

"It was new to WR in approx July 1961 and was built to diagram 128 which had 4-a-side bench seats in 2nd class. It was in Lot 30666 which was for 28 vehicles numbered W16198 - W16225. All were originally allocated to the WR and had Commonwealth bogies and dual heating from new. It would have been maroon from new I think.

It was transferred to the SR in April 1964, and then to the ScR in October 1976. It's not surprising that it got a coat of green and I suspect it would've been blue/grey before it went to Scotland.  At some point it was in SR Set 128. The info I've got shows it was an unallocated spare in 1969, but elsewhere I've seen Set 128 was 16221, a BSK and another CK.

Whilst on the SR it lost its Commonwealth bogies to an earlier SR coach that had been airbraked and got BR1s in return. This had certainly happened by 1974 and probably before 1971. At some point it got armrest seats in 2nd class - possibly whilst in Scotland?" 

A very interesting history. Thank you Clive.