Tuesday 2nd - Final tweaks

Just a small group of us in today, but a lot was achieved.

At the end of Saturday Alex and I had been discussing a number of aspects with the Queen Mary that could do with some more work. One was to coat in matt black the messy material within the duckets and on the seats that couldn't be re-covered as we had run out of the lovely red-brown vinyl. Maurice got cracking on this.

The top of the brake setter had not been painted. Prior to sorting out the duckets and seating, Maurice painted a coat of red over the tarnished metal and also the associated pipe, and this too was a distinct improvement.

Roger had a go at cleaning up the windows as best as possible. There's little that can be done with the opaque nature of the old plastic, but odd paint spots and grime were removed. It's amazing how something is endlessly missed and over the past few weeks of painting we all failed to spot the unpainted door handle at the north end. Roger did the honours.

 The end results of Maurice's efforts and the huge difference inside the cabin.

 

Ainsley was back in today, so at last the mystery of the disappearing doors on the benches could be explained. With 16221 still with much to do, the two doors from it could wait a little longer before being required for refitting. As such this gave the team a chance for a big sort out of all their supplies. The two storage cupboards have also been put to good use and now reside under the middle bench.

As for the two doors they had been put back in the rack area devoted to the storage of parts from 16221 and covered with sheets (which I have partially drawn back), so no wonder we didn't spot them.

During the day Ainsley, as our new head of the Door Team, is working on the Doors spreadsheet.

Keith had a number of trestle table items awaiting him. Initilally he second coated the varnished items from TK 24006 that Pam had been working on last Saturday. The three-link coupling in the background was also finished off and later hung on the appropriate rack in the Barn.

It was then back to the lamps destined for the new building at Toddington. A second top coat will be done and then these will be ready to go.

While at the trestles, one of the jobs Pam did on Saturday was labelling the lid of a newly acquired drum of grease. Alex very kindly lent Pam one of his special brushes to do the job. Hmm, well done Pam, that's very good  - Alex you have competition! 

With the Queen Mary van now finished, we will be getting back to BSK 34929 more and more, especially as the final snagging with the various doors is proceeding well. Richard vacs the north end door area on the Malvern side prior to giving both that and the corner section a second top coat. The folded sheet had been draped over the window to act as a pad to prevent the door hitting the corner, the securing straps having been released to enable to door to be fully opened.

It was then on to the remaining areas of the Malvern side that needed a second top coat. Just before starting Richard spotted a screw head that needed a topping of filler.

The double doors and panelling to the south end had already received a second top coating, so it was time to remove the line tapes. Bar the Guards door, the rest of this side is now ready for lining out.

The final job was to remove the original vertical demarcation tape at the south corner and add a new tape to allow the black glossing to be completed up to the maroon.

Bob did a number of jobs, including black glossing the main battery box frame on the Malvern side.

With the Gala this weekend, Maurice vacs the Cotswold side of the Paintshop.

It was then up to the north end of the Paintshop with Roger now also helping. Even the track troughs were cleaned.

With work on the Cotswold side centre doors of 34929 scheduled for Saturday, our Gala visitors will be prevented from walking alongside the coach. However the north end of the Paintshop has been tidied up as a replacement display area.

We are all looking forward to holding a big gala once again after such a long break. It should be an interesting one with both steam and diesel running, and a freight train with our newly refurbished Queen Mary van available for rides.

Here's to a good weekend!