Tuesday 15th - And it rained, and rained, and rained ......

Tuesday was a busy day with a good attendance. It was also a very wet one.

Pre-pandemic there were plans to concrete over the area immediately beyond the end of the Barn. Hopefully this will still eventually happen.

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However, firstly a response to three recent comments: -

1. From Decay (8th November)

At the end of "Mk1 interiors on the GWSR" (under "Special Articles" on the Blog Home Page), Decay requested several bits of information.

In the photo the unit at the base of the compartment wall is an electric heater with a protective cover. As we employ steam heating these are redundant and merely retained for authenticity.

 

Two better photos of these heaters in CK 16221 (the wood cover has yet to be reinstated) and BSK 35308 respectively.  

With respect to the laminates used, in particular the one with the cross pattern, I ended up getting nowhere seaching the Web. As such all I can do is include another two photos of this particular laminate as used in some of our coaches. Hopefully it will be good enough quality.

The true colour is more of a light grey. Taking these inside compartments with reflected light, etc, causes the above variation. The laminate in our coaches is often tarnished simply because of its age.

2. From Anonymous (12th November)

At the end of "Thursday 10th ..... " Anonymous asked whether we are intending to create a dining rake when RBr 1675 is completed. The answer is no - the two RBrs and two RMBs that we own are simply the catering coaches for the rakes. 1675 will simply replace RBr 1672 in our Main Rake, which in turn will be lined up for a full refurb and will no doubt require the same considerable rebuild as 1675. We do have a third unrestored RBr which is well down the "one day" list. 

3. From AardVark11 (12th November)

Also at the end of "Thursday 10th ..... " AardVark11 asked why we use green anti-corrosive primer as well as red oxide. I expect we started buying the green primer because the Loco Dept also used it. Both are achieving the same purpose, however in general we tend to use red oxide on metal that has been rusty and cleaned up, and green primer on new or very clean metal. I decided to use the green primer on the sheet metal on the two quarter doors from 1675 because once the old paint had been removed, very little rust had occurred. The new preformed parts from South Devon Railway Engineering have had green primer, whereas much of the cleaned up metal on 1675 has been given a coat of oxide. Then, as none of this is set in stone, in contradiction the new cross bearers in 1675 have been coated in oxide! 😀

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Now moving on to today's activities. 

As expected there was quite a concentration on CK 16221.

 

As part of setting up the Paintshop for the Mixed Traction Gala, 16221 was moved down towards the trestle end to make more space for the displays area. As such the hidden parts of the wheels on the north end bogie became accessible and Ian was able to complete their painting.

In preparation for painting the skirting boards that were still in undercoat, Pat gave the floor a good vacuuming throughout.

However David, who normally does Wednesdays, appeared again to do more work inside so we obviously gave him priority. One of his jobs during the day was fastening a line of beading along the base of the skirting boards that were not underneath the outer corridor heating. This will neatly cover the edge of the marmoleum and also means we can paint this at the same time as the skirting.

David's first job of the day was completing the beading on the walls of the first class toilet compartment.

Stu arrived early and didn't even stop for cuppa, but got straight on with the remaining black lining out on the Malvern side.

Richard looks up at the festoon of tape (in true Alex style) that Stu has removed with the completion of the job.

Now looking very good with lining out completed. Stu adds some finishing touches (that door stop can be a pain when lining out!). Just the numbers to add on this side, followed by the roundels on both sides. There will of course be the little bits of tidying up to do with little brushes.

Richard discovered a bit of lining out that hadn't been done on the frame and edges of the Cotswold side south door, so yellow paint first. 

With the first class seating going in, it won't be long before the Woodwork team are requesting the compartment doors to fit. So, with the need to get back to these, we select one for a first class compartment. It looks almost complete with just a final coat of varnish on this side to put on. Keith gives it a very light sand before starting. The final result looked great.

In the same vein, the tracks for the compartment doors also need a good clean. Alan got cracking with sandpaper on the lighter looking ones, while Keith later joined in the job using a powered brush to tackle the dirtier ones, including one covered in paint. They will be finshed off with wire wool.

Inside 16221 were the special skates that were made in-house to assist the Upholstery team, especially within the confines of a coach corridor and in compartments where full sized seat backs and cushions have to be moved on end i.e. in a vertical position.

Another completed cushion for the first class compartments in BCK 21092.

The array of new seating awaiting transfer to 21092. Owner Dave H. must be delighted to know all this will be fitted soon.

The basic priming of the backs of the new sills for RBr 1675 is nearing completion with just two to go. Unfortunately when they were delivered it was raining so a little surface rust has appeared but is soon removed with a light sand, followed by a wipe over with thinners to ensure they are clean. Then we're ready to go. 

The first two quarter doors now with parts fitted, and I would think could be mounted on 1675, if this were possible of course. Still a lot of rebuilding work to do on the coach before this can happen!

Keith carefully primes two of the heavy wood back plates for the south end corridor connection for 1675. These will end up well coated (particularly the backs) in gloss black and then stored away until they can be fitted. In the foreground are the newly made shelves for the two toilet compartments in 16221, lined up for another coat of varnish.

The hero of the day was definitely Bob who went inside the Santa coach, PWay's Mess coach, and every coach in the yard that we use in our 3rd and 4th rakes, looking for leaks following all the very heavy rain we are currently enduring. It was essential that this was done while it was raining so he got pretty wet, but he was able to establish where there are problems - Santa's grotto, Pway's Mess coach, his own coach FK 13337 "Gillian" and several others. When the rain eased off he was able to sort out the Santa coach leak with Flexacryl waterproofer, which can be applied in the wet. The others will be attended to in due course.

Talking of leaks, we now have one in our Mess Room, where I usually sit!

Top coating of the Vanfit is coming along well with both Paul ....................

................ and Maurice working hard. 

The new doors for the Malvern side are now well in progress. Robert adds wood glue ready for fitting all the relevant pieces of the jigsaw together.

Now pieced together he works on the door base/top.

We have done this with the guards corridor in BSO 9000 and BCK 21092. Now it's the turn of BSK 35308, the maroon brake used for our 4th Rake. The coach really needs a full refurb but that's a big job and it will have to take its turn in the long queue. For now a repaint of the guards corridor and compartment will be well worthwhile - the former two coaches looked so much better afterwards. Pat is also with us for Wednesday and Thursday, and hopefully Saturday too, so should be able to get quite a bit done. Initially of course it's a light sand and good wipe around with thinners.

A short span of our Gala viewing area barrier is mounted in the Paintshop to provide a photo for the Loco Dept, who are interested to see what we use as they now have a need for visitor barriers.