Tue 11th to Thurs 13th - A bumper posting
Three days of activity, so another lengthy post.
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Tuesday - mainly Mogo
A quiet day with just 10 of us in, but some really great progress with the Mogo, which is needed for our Gala freight train in mid-May. Many thanks to Paul and Robert for taking a number of photos, and with mine as well, the title for this part of the post is very apt.
Maurice cuts the roofing canvas to remove the excess before it can be secured with the battens.
Part-painted battens with the door lintels await fitting.
Very handy having two sets of hills on which to focus. Regular readers will know just how much we use these two points of reference, both in our blog descriptions and within the Works during our various activities. The Cotswold escarpment is very near, while the 10 mile long Malvern Hill range is a considerable distance, but a spectacular sight on a clear day.
[Photo : Robert] This and the following photo, securing the lintel above the Cotswold side doorway.
[Photo : Robert]
[Photo : Paul E.] The south end.
[Photo : Paul E.] Maurice trimming the canvas on the Cotswold side.
[Photo : Robert - taken from the mezzanine] Paul applies the grey Flexacryl to the roofing canvas.
[Photo : Paul E.] The completed roof.
It's good to have regular clearing up, which is not only better for working but also great for morale. David D. went round the Wood shop machines with the vacuum cleaner.
Unfortunately, our latest coach 16221 "Abigail/Charlotte" has a vacuum cylinder problem. In preparation for a repair John services a spare cylinder release valve which will replace the one suspected of not functioning properly. In the background is a serviced DA valve which may also be a required replacement.
The north end of RBr 1675 with the vertical supports for the corridor connection awaiting fitting. We need to check with Nick's team to see if they have finished here - some of the spot welds need grinding flat and further painting is required where the supports will be attached.
The floor in 1675 is really coming together, with Derek in today to continue the rebuild.
Robert test fitting a new base section to this emergency door from 1675.
Kevin has made a super job sorting out all our metric spanners. The imperial ones are next.
With the wet weather curtailing Dave H's external activities, it was back to the TK compartment doors, this time Door 4.
Our Railway's events calendar over the next month or so is somewhat busy with some great things to come. This is reflected in the amount of stuff on our paint trestles - loco nameplates, cabside plates, a repainted station sandwich board. Plus all the usual mix of things of course.
[Photo : Robert] Another template from Alex laid out on plyboard from which Robert will create a loco headboard for the Cambrian Weekend - another trestle paintjob on its way.
[Photo : Robert] And here it is, being primed by yours truly.
Near the end of the day and I had painted as much as I could. More painted items lay on the wallside table out of sight to the left of the photo.
[Photo : Paul E.] Following all that painting it was time for something different with which to finish the day. Paul caught me cleaning up some more rusty patches on the Santa coach.
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Wednesday - the usual mix
17 in attendance on a very busy day again.
Starting with Upholstery and capturing Laura and Jenny stapling the canvas undercover to a seat back for TSO 4867.
Back to the bare bones for a cleaned up frame for a seat base with Dave making some repairs.
Later in the day Laura was helping husband Simon to cut out some shaped plyboard for seat side panels.
I don't normally do Wednesdays but with all the extra painting required I'm in and it gives me the opportunity to meet members of our staff I rarely see. It also enabled me to have my own photo of two of our excellent woodworkers Geoff and Colin, the Chuckle Brothers! Colin is the oldest volunteer on the Railway with his 90th birthday next week.
It might be a quiet hidden away job, but Eve's work keeping our records and related information up to date, and producing all manner of prints and labels, is just as important as all our other activities.
Steve, our newest member and recently transferred from the Toddington group, applies red oxide to some serviced DA valves.
In the Barn John is working on one of the two bogies in residence and having quite a battle to free up the location rod for the central bogie bolster.
We have some new rubber inserts and are hoping they will be the correct size to replace the existing worn out ones.
On to something completely different with Nick repairing a broken point rod for S&T.
I had quite an interesting chat with him as to how this was being done. In effect this is known as a root weld, the upper photo showing the first one completed and the bar still hot, the lower photo repairing the second break, where the metal will be built up. The weld will be stronger than the original metal.
Simon back on the new flooring in 1675.
Ken, Gerry and Ben (from our Door Team) discuss what will be a new fitting for the lower door hinge (Door 5) on the Malvern side of 1675.
Later I caught Ken battling to remove the hinge from the cut out area of panel.
Gerry meanwhile is preparing a new length of Z bar to go in where the hinge and corroded piece of panel. has been removed.
Rex applying green primer around this repaired window area. Good to see him painting vertically - it will be lightly sanded before subsequent coats of paint go on, but anything off vertical will show through no matter how much paint is later applied.
Two welders in action, with Nick working on the skirting while Rex has moved along to another window repair.
The little work area at the far end of the Barn has often proved to be very useful when the general Workshop metal bench is busy. There is also an internal grit blasting machine nearby. Ken R. cleans up the various fitments for the battery boxes destined for 1675.
These were later hung on the hooks in the Paintshop ready for priming and follow-on painting.
Phil works on the centre door and north half of the Cotswold side of FK 13326, initially completing the sanding of remaining filler and then beginning more greying up. It good to see the hotch-potch of old paintwork, oxide and sanded filler gradually vanish beneath a coat of paint. Sanity returns!
This cute little chap is Jasper, patiently waiting in our Changing Room for Dad (Trevor) to return.
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Thursday - an eventful day
"Hey Dave, I've just seen P&O take 16221 off the front of the Maroon Rake and head off towards the tunnel - what's going on?!".
Not a sight you really want to see when a coach has only been running for just over a month. It turns out that both vac cylinders had failed, not just the one, so on arrival at Winchcombe on the first down run, 16221 was removed from the Maroon Rake by P&O and shunted into Platform 2.
When train 2 had resumed its journey south, Neil in the 03 picked up the coach and brought it round to the yard and then into the Barn.
It wasn't long before John and Stu were removing the first cylinder.
With the cylinder dismantled Stu gives it all a good clean up.
At the moment it's a mystery as to why they have both failed. Obviously they were working when the coach became operational and inspection of the first one doesn't show any immediate fault. Investigation will be ongoing until we can sort this out and return the coach to the rake.
Next a quick catch-up from Wednesday. The plywood inners for TSO 4867's seat side panels that Simon was cutting for Laura and now ready to be covered.
Being a Thursday the Metalwork Team were once again attending. When enquiring what was happening here with 1675, Rex said that this skirting panel was coming back off as it needed modification with repect to the door hanging and the bottom hinge replacement.
Rex stands well back as Gerry with angle grinder detaches this end of the panel from inside the coach.
Bryan checks the inside while Gerry and Rex discuss the next step.
Panel removed and awaiting further modification.
Later in the day Rex is back on the Cotswold side of the coach with panel repairs.
Another long outstanding job is for the Painting Team to repaint the repaired U section for the north end corridor connection on 1675. Maurice used a powered brush on most of it, which really cleaned it up. A fresh coat of green primer was then applied.
Phil had taken down the light fittings from the passenger compartment and these are now in the Paintshop for cleaning up and a fresh coat of white gloss.
Dennis relocks FK 13337 "Gillian" after a check inside to see if there is anything requiring attention from the Indoor Gang.
In the 3rd Rake Alan and Geoff are going through each coach ensuring that the utility access doors in the vestibules are in working order. Often these are awkward to open and then close.
After all that wind and rain, a lovely spring day which we could all do with a lot more of. Back to rain again on Friday.
On now to the Santa coach refurbishment. Richard carried on the door and door frame work on the Malvern side. All three doors work very well; no surprise really as they are only in use during the Santa season and do not suffer the day-to-day wear and tear of our operational coaches.
On the Cotswold side Bob K. added filler to the oxided patches. Sanding was very limited today with all the trestle area painting.
I should be including a photo of Martin continuing the preparation and greying up on the Cotswold side of FK 13326 in the Barn, however annoyingly it looks as though my touchscreen press was too light and the photo wasn't taken - sorry Martin!
Bob M. completed the cleaning up and etch priming of the Malvern side of 13326's roof.
Jeff begins his day painting the array of battery box fitments cleaned up by Ken and a grab handle, all of which belong to 1675, initially in red oxide.
The back of the first nameplate for 6999 now in dark grey undercoat. 6999's cabside plates and headboard are part completed and wrapped up out of the way to make room for more items. The second nameplate for 6999 is part constructed and on top of a cupboard to make room on the trestles.
So the pace gathers with our existing work and all the extra items going towards the Cambrian Weekend (22/23 April), the Pendennis Special (9th May), and Cotswold Festival of Steam (12-14 May when C&W will be open for viewing on all three days). Have you bought your tickets yet?
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