Saturday 7th - Restoration two by two

There was again a focus on BSK 34929 today with work now available for several gangs all at once, most of which each comprised of 2 people.

On the doors, Chris spent most of the day working on the hinges for the central door on the Cotswold side:

Later on one of the really big screwdrivers had to come out, so I guess some resistance was being encountered.

Robert was doing some adjustments to some bits of door panelling on the woodwork shop before later fitting them:

For the woodwork team there was also progress. Dave carried on fitting trim in and around the toilet compartment:

While Steve was sorting out the wooden cover for the locking mechanism on the Malvern side double doors, having completed the Cotswold side one last time:

With several doorway areas now functionally complete, it's over to us to put the finishing touches on. Dave and I both picked a capping strip and door pillar and it was out with the filler and sandpaper:

I think I must have picked an easier one as mine was in grey undercoat by the end of the day (not that I remembered to photo it!) whereas Dave was still going.

Underneath, the dirty gang in the form of John and Andy were getting to grips with the brake rigging:

The handbrake was tested and the vacuum pump was wheeled out to see what needed to be done. Still some adjustment needed, but if 7 turns of the hand brake can put the brakes on, there'll be some happy guards, I think the BCK is currently at 15 turns - I have to take my socks off to count that high!

John also fitted the vac hose dummy, after sending out a search party to find it:

Once again this coach is throwing up some puzzles, this time underneath. It appears it was subject to some experimental fittings in the past, with some unusual arrangements and brackets that no longer seem to serve any purpose:

Note the bracket-thing at 45 degrees on the right, and the redundant bracket in the foreground

Another redundant bracket and a slightly different arrangement.

I hope I've captured the interesting bits! John suspected maybe experimental slack adjustors, but does anyone know any more? The "swiss cheese" brake adjuster bit is also a bit odd, with the 2 rows of holes not offset as you'd expect.

Elsewhere the Mink also had its team of 2. Paul was steadily working through the pile of planking applying whatever next coat was required. Here some are being stacked for drying in primer:

But later in the topcoat was broken out too, and I believe we should start to see the planking rise up the sides on Wednesday, exciting stuff! Richard meanwhile was making some adjustments to the floor with the saw out on the plywood:

Looking pretty tidy there!

(Photo by Richard)

Also in the workshop John was setting up to make some more plates for carriage door locks:

A few examples and the all important drawing are to hand:

With a lot of work having been done on SK24006, owners Dave and Robert had a tidy up day today to make sure nothing went astray and generally keep on top of things. Dave was armed with the Henry Hoover: