Tuesday 9th - Preparations and a treat

Today was definitely a day to look forward to with Gala preparations beginning in earnest and both "Pendennis Castle" and "Capel Dewi Hall" (ex-"Foremarke Hall") running for the first time on the GWSR.

With the need to begin getting the Works ready for the Gala this coming weekend, we needed to clear the north end of the Paintshop ready for our displays and visitors. Scaffold towers and the new painted battery boxes for RBr 1675 were cleared away to the north end of the Workshop in the space left by the departing Mogo. The new freshly painted bench was placed in front of the toilet block just outside the Paintshop, one of our regular places for viewing the trains. As stated in a previous posting, our donor John M. was right - we did have a use for it after all.

The next job was the final clear up in the opened out former toilet compartment at the end of the Santa coach and then reloading all the items that had been stored in there - in fact all these were loaded in the opposite compartment leaving the opened out area clear.

The first return train from Cheltenham and so perfect for taking photos of "Foremarke hall" in her temporary guise.

 
All the hard work done by Alex and Pam with both the name and number plates has paid off handsomely and they look good now they are mounted on the engine. "Foremarke" will remain as "Capel Dewi" both up to and throughout the Gala.

 

Most of us were out of the Works, eager to see both our rebadged engine, and our visitor, "Pendennis Castle" heading south with the Maroon Rake. There were quite a number of passengers on the platforms also taking photos and videos.

The show is over for now, so back to work. Derek is cutting some new panel supports for the north end of RBr 1675.

 

 

 The refloored seating area.

 

 New internal window frames gradually being added on the Malvern side.

 

 

The counter acts as a temporary support for Robert as he trims one of the door liners for the doorway behind him.

The lighting channels from 1675's seating area receive their top coat from Maurice. Most of these will be temporarily cleared away from here for the three days of the Gala.

Members of the Painting and Prep team were busy with the Santa coach during the day. Alan cleared a lot of rust and dirt from the base of the solebar and bogie, while nearby Richard attends to more filling.

On the Cotswold side, while Ian takes a break from cleaning up the south end bogie, Pam clears out a lot of bits from within.

 Back to the Malvern side, at the south end Phil was also filling and sanding. 

Alex takes a break from his "all over the place" day with some filling at the north end where we have done a lot of welding to repair the corroded corner. Later on he helped Neil with adding a fourth goods vehicle to the group stabled on the Works siding. These will be taken up to Toddington to be added to the goods train.

A shout goes out, "The Castle has arrived!", and we all speed outside. And there she is, complete with the famous "Z48" headboard and "Ian Allan Railtour" board on the buffer beam. What a glorious sight!

As for some great photos taken on 9th May 1964 and a write-up of what happened to 4079 and how 6999 happened to be involved: -

https://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/60s/640509ia.html 

https://www.scribd.com/article/460463723/May-9-1964-Clun-Castle-s-Date-With-Destiny

No wonder Driver Andy B. looked happy when she eventually pulled away. And what a lovely sound she made too with that sharp four cylinder beat. She had a long day ahead with the evening special train later on.

The viewing area at the end of the Barn is very popular during galas for both photographers and those who want a great view of the passing trains. Pam and I set up the supports for the chain barrier and later took them up ready for setting out on Thursday.

With the supports cleared out, a chance to vac the area ready for the displays. 

Most of the afternoon was spent erecting the various bits ready for Thursday, both for here and around the Works, and having a general tidy up in the Paintshop. 

"Capel Dewi Hall" heads back to Toddington with the penultimate train of the day as Pam waves to the remaining passengers.