Thursday 23rd - It's going to be a busy Winter shutdown
More on the title later.
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Firstly, to answer an enquiry from Tuesday's posting.
I haven't seen Pam in these blogs for a while, is she ok and just having some time out?
Unfortunately Pam caught some sort of bug (not Covid) and as such has been off since the Autumn Gala, almost 4 weeks. However I'm very pleased to say that she is now much better and should be returning this weekend.
John S., who does much of our metal fettling, was also away for a spell with what sounded like the same symptoms. He returned much better a short time ago.
Thank you for your concern.
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Now on to the day's activities, well most of them at least as I was busy working on 25488.
We were very pleased to welcome a visit from Sam, Head of C&W, NYMR, who amongst a number of aspects wanted to talk to our electricians Richards I and II about some of their innovations. What could be more approriate than to capture Ian (our Head), Sam, and Stu (our Works Manager) in front of NYMR SK 25488.
Moving on to 25488. I was slightly wrong in Tuesday's post to say that the Malvern side top coating was complete. On the white board Alex had written that the window frames still needed a second coat. Phil set to and when I left in the afternoon was well on the way to completing the job. So, assuming that this is the case, we should be able to get the line tapes off and begin lining out.
Jeff doing one of the jobs he loves at the south end of 25488.
And then there is the manufacturer's plate on the Cotswold side. The one on the Malvern side is in an odd position, in effect hidden behind the central door step, so no point in painting that!
Maurice continued the internal priming inside Tool Van 92 where bare wood was showing.
Another job well on the way to completion.
More things to paint on the trestle table. The new bits of the outer roof frame for the Tool Van have been undercoated and are ready for fitting. In the background Jeff paints in yellow a very useful tool used by the Dirty Gang - it is literally just a bar of metal.
Inside the south vestibule in FK 13326 Gerry cuts out more corroded metal above the doorway. As previously reported the repairs to this coach have been extended now we have found the floor under the toilet area needs replacing.
A interesting job for Rex as he tidies up another cut section of metal.
A number of these have been made. The curved pipe section will be welded to the flat plate, which in turn will be attached to the new generator for 1675. These little items will in effect act as handles and enable the unit to be lifted in and out of it's container under the coach a lot more easily.
1675's water level indicator, recently overhauled and painted in Hammerite, that will be fitted inside the kitchen area. The red light will glow when the water level is low.
Phil and Richard I discussing the electrics in the battery box area under 1675.
Cables running everywhere - I commented in a previous post that this is a very complex vehicle. It might look a mess, but they are doing a good job.
Ian's very long list of jobs to be done during our Winter shutdown period, which basically is just two months. It sounds a long time, but when you start adding up the number of individual days that various members of our staff are in, it's starts becoming scary.
A sample from the first sheet. The yellow section comprises jobs left over from last year. We are going to be very busy in early 2024.