Thursday 3rd/Saturday 5th - Mainly good and even brilliant, with a lovely ending!

It was quite an eventful couple of days with a lot to report so another huge posting. It was slightly marred by some unwelcome aspects but the good side far outweighed those.

Thursday

Thursday began with the Main Rake being brought down from Toddington for a variety of aspects to be dealt with. With the rake left in Platform 1, the 3rd Rake was propelled back into its own siding on the Malvern side of the yard and the 47 then returned to Toddington.

The Main Rake was picked up by the 03 and propelled into the headshunt and then drawn forward into the Works siding. 

One of the main jobs was to replace the existing generator in RBr 1672 with the refurbished one. This was looked after by Richard I and Phil.

On Monday evening Roger, who does the postings for our Monday Cleaners, reported a number of issues following the gala weekend: -

1) Broken slider window in the new maroon disabled coach [Maroon Rake BSKD 34929]. Compartment with seat number 3.
2) Choc set [Main Rake], coach A [TSO 4986]. Broken head rest. Seat 26.
3) "Mary" [Main Rake FO 3132] Middle door, Malvern side. The metal bar on the window is completely detached from the glass. Pulling up is a challenge!
4) Choc set [Main Rake], disabled [TSO 4790]. Grill below seat 9 completely detached. 

Bits are by relevant seats.

Geoff and Alan tackle item 2. This, and items 1 and 3, are just wear and tear. However, not so item 4 and the first of the two unwelcome aspects. Alan and Geoff reckoned by its state that the grill had been deliberately kicked. Thankfully vandalism on our coaches is rare, but if this was the case here it's sad that someone could pay to attend and no doubt enjoy the gala, and yet do this. Another grill on 4790 required attention but it had merely become loose.

Also from our Indoor Gang, Roger attaches a new veneer door panel on NYMR SK 25488 that he and Alan had been making the previous week. This coach is scheduled for a repaint in the same livery over the Winter shutdown period.

While all this was happening, Paul and Dennis were beginning the post-gala interior clean of the 3rd Rake.

Well done Gerry! A good sweep up after the work to prepare the south end of RBr 1675 for the second of the preformed end panels, the bottom corner of which can be seen in green primer.

Gerry was the only one from Metalwork in today. More work on the cantrail above the south door on the Malvern side.

The first of the quarter doors from the RBr had been sanded to bare metal by Trevor on Wednesday. The next job is to fill the metal face where needed and clean up the sides.

On to CK 16221, where Martin tackles the first of the lining out on the Malvern side.

The electric heaters on the compartment walls in the corridor of 16221 are not used. All were cleaned up and brown undercoat applied to each by Phil (and Bob K.). They will be topcoated in brown and as such will blend in well.

Later on Bob applied more varnish to the south end of the corridor. As I have said before, we will keep piling it on until it all looks great.

Dave begins rebuilding the last of the luggage racks for 16221. He has done a grand job. It's quite a battle rebuilding one.

Saturday

It was quiet at first with not many in, but it wasn't long before others arrived. The mid-morning break had a threequarters filled mess room.

The second unwelcome aspect concerned the mess left after dogs had been brought into FK 13329 despite notices saying "No dogs except guide dogs". Dennis took me over to the Third Rake and showed me these two adjacent compartments and almost certainly used by the same owners. This will take some vacuuming as the fur will cling to the carpet.
 

Alex brought in four of the six templates required for our new sign boards that he had made at home. The four have been placed on their respective boards.

Pam was hoping to begin the signwriting, but both she and Alex felt that yet another coat of gloss brown was needed to give the best possible surface for the letters. So to begin, a light sanding with 240 paper.

Next the green masking tape (that and the yellow give the sharpest edges) to protect the cream.

The gloss goes on and, wow - that's better! Pam hopes to be in Tuesday and can make a start. As they will be displayed in the lobby and at the top of the stairs we want them to look their best.

It's Saturday, so the Wagon Gang are back in and soon get cracking on the BR vanfit refurb. Having cleaned up the south end buffer beam, Maurice is now making a good job of the north end.

Paul meanwhile is cleaning up the roof.

George later joined in and tackled the sanding and deflaking of the old paint around bolt heads and other places inaccesible with a pad sander.

I originally reported the vanfit as in for a repaint and minor repairs. The first is correct, but the second is not quite so minor (see again the photo on Tuesday of Clive undoing the hinge bolts, and the hole and shabby appearance of that particular door). The two doors recently made by our Woodwork team are to replace the existing ones on the Cotswold side of the van, which the PWay team always use for access. Robert and Ben are in discussion while viewing the back of one of them. Could it be with respect to the quality of the build or perhaps the fixing of the locking bar, catch and hinges?

 

John and Jenny are cutting out and attaching small lengths of canvas with which to attach the spring base to the wooden seat frame. I meant to ask where this seat is destined.

On down into the Workshop with Ken, Phil and John all busy with their respective projects.

Ken showed me what could be a very useful and neat way of attaching plumbing and electric conduits inside our coach access cupboards and similar situations. This was a free sample.

Phil was making some new inserts for toilet roll holders, one of which will be used for CK 16221 (we already have one). These were later coated in wood dye and are now ready for varnishing.

John was cutting an aluminium bar from which he will make a guide for the bandsaw in the Woodwork shop.

The fettling process underway on the milling machine.

[Photo : Alex]  Despite taking the many photos during the day, I did manage to get quite a bit of work done. Here finishing off sanding down the filling on the initial quarter door from 1675. I had also grabbed the second of the three quarter doors from the Door team's bench and plastered the metal skin and sides with Metstrip, a powerful paint stripper. 

I had intended sanding down the paint, but the use of the stripper vastly speeded up the process. The first door meanwhile was in the process of having paint removed from the sides. 

By the end of the day the original door in the background now has a coat of green primer and with the second door sanding down to bare metal has begun.

More care of our Workshop stores by Kevin. While the racks are fine, the back wall in this storage area is becoming a bit of a jumble but he will no doubt have this sorted out soon.

The Main Rake had been taken out to the Platform 2 line to enable the exchange of one of the vacuum cylinders (several had been noted as not maintaining their vacuum). The relevant coach has been positioned over the crossing to enable a hard surface for the pump trolley. While John is underneath, Bob takes a break - he is the signalman for the various movements of the rake to enable this job to be done.

In the distance Ian, driving the 03, looks on.

Having brought in the cylinder removed from the rake, Bob and Andy transfer it from the pump trolley. 

With Andy guiding, Richard carefully lowers it on to the wood base.

The cylinder is taken apart. Ken vacuumed out the drum and later I think I saw him putting on a new rubber seal. Andy is checking the records, presumbly seeing when this cylinder was last serviced.

[Photos : Paul W.]  With the Main Rake now pushed back into Platform 2, Paul and Dennis supplement the good work done by our Monday Cleaners and wash the side of TSO 4986.

[Photo : Alex]  Paul W. asked Alex to take a photo of John S. drying the mugs (a rare sight?). Phil finishes off the washing up.

A call for help from Dave H. to get this heavy seat base into storage. This seat by the way will be one of the ones used for TK 24006, of which Dave is the co-owner.

Apologies to Bob and Dad Tony for this somewhat distorted view of them reconstructing this part of the bogie (think I should have taken a landscape view instead of portrait). Bob had previously posed in comic fashion, but the distortion in that photo was even worse!

On now to CK 16221 and the considerable amount of effort going on. Firstly Dave H. has almost completed the final luggage rack for one of the second class compartments.

Ben and Steve discuss the fit of the emergency window (I think there may have been problems). BR gave up fitting these as not unexpectedly they had issues with water ingress. CK 16195 in the Maroon Rake never had one, or if originally fitted it was later removed.

 Steve was making new shelving for the two toilet compartments.

The beautifully made sections of shelving await varnishing. No distinction between first and second class with these.

 Phil reconstructing the second class toilet compartment.

The templates for the new Works signs were not the only ones Alex appeared with. He also brought in "CHARLOTTE". The letters aren't easy to make out, but they are there.

 

Regular readers will know the various steps in adding lettering and numbers to the sides of our vehicles. Alex carefully rubs French chalk over the back of the template.

Next a quick check of the position of "ABIGAIL". Very important to get the same measurements on the Malvern side.

 

I assisted Alex to get the template lined up with the chalk marks on the body side, and then a double check with the tape measure to ensure all is correct.

With the position correct, Alex very carefully traces over the letters and ends of the border rectangle, which in turn leaves an outline in chalk on the body side.

The tape for the border rectangle is in place and, with maul stick providing the arm rest, Alex carefully overpaints the chalk lettering with the dark yellow paint. He made the comment that our yellow for lining out should be the same colour - hmmm, that's a thought for the future - back to "T & R W" for a colour match?.

Well that's the main part completed and what a superb job! Black shadowing next.

And then look who turns up with perfect timing and a lot of very happy faces. No wonder Charlotte is smiling as she sees her name freshly painted. In the background Abigail also looks very pleased having seen her name on the other side.There really is an exceptional effort going into the restoration of Clive's coach. After waiting almost 30 years, no wonder he looks so happy!

 

And the work goes on. Alex lists some of the jobs for Tuesday.