Thursday 25th - It's Thursday, so another biggy

There was certainly a wealth of activity, now very much a feature of Thursdays at C&W, and considering not everyone was in, still a lengthy signing-in list.

Phil and Richard I check the latest acquisitions for the electrics in RBr 1675. The photo would make a great captions competition!

Rex called me round to the Malvern side to show me the new generator now located on the, as yet unattached, base of its cradle. Today's job would be attaching the four vertical supports.

 

Initial check measurments were taken.

Tidying up one of the supports.

 One of the inner vertical supports being attached.

Just to the left of the generator Richard I is sorting out the cables to be attached. Richard II and Phil were mainly working inside the coach, but sorry chaps, no photo as I never got around to going in.

 On the Cotswold side Gerry is adding the last touch to the first of the kitchen windows.

The completed window with nice new rubber seals. Painting Team please note - NO paint on these please!

Gerry fits the main pane on the second kitchen window.

It was just Phil working on the bodyside today, applying more paint stripper.

Maurice was also on his own with the continuing work on the GW/SR box van, initially adding dark grey undercoat to the angle iron, one of two presumably from the van.

Later on adding more undercoat on the south end.

This goods label was on top of the green cupboard by the van - was it found inside? At the base it says "100,000 1/44 S". The number of labels printed and the month/year? 

The Paintshop trestles are literally groaning under the amount of things needing to be painted. Since Tuesday, the compartment door tracks have appeared (from TK 24006?), a replacement door step for one of the running coaches in the station, and one of the door bolts from the GW/SR van. With so much needed sooner rather than later, I spent the day gradually working my way through it all, which included some new underframe supports for toilet chutes hanging on the nearby row of hooks.

The trestles at the end of the day with most of the above top coated as far as possible. On Satuday it will a combination of initial top coating on reverse sides, second top coats where needed, and finishing off other things that weren't finished. Two more supports for the white tank wagon were made by Steven and appeared alongside the trestles for priming and painting. The new counter shelves in RBr 1675 also need painting.

And there was more to come with Tony cleaning up some spare window sliders ..........

.............. with the request for two in cream and two in maroon.

In the Workshop John was creating the various metal pieces for new vacuum cylinder sleeves, which had been made by the Upholstery Team.

On the tool bench, to the left of where John is working, are more compartment door tracks awaiting initial cleaning up.

Steven was busy attaching the top coated supports at the south end of the white GW tank wagon.

 

Another busy morning tea break with still more staff to appear when there can be a convenient break in the shunting currently underway.

Our Toddington Cleaning Gang were in again with John explaining why there are only three this week. SK 25743 was given a thorough clean, inside and out.

Despite his age, when it comes to painting and varnishing he's still the best. Happy Birthday Bob!

The Maroon Rake is returned to Platform 1, having been pushed towards the tunnel to enable the Chocolate & Cream (Main) Rake to be moved down the main line towards Chicken Curve and at the same time keep the 03 available. 

The Main Rake with coaches separated to enable the annual buckeye inspection the next day (and as it turned out, for a change, a day of glorious weather!).

Ian brings the 03 into the Barn to extract NYMR SK 25488.

Not long prior to the move John was reattaching the brake rodding under 25488 following the bogie servicing.

The two refurbished bogies, that were returned from tyre turning on Tuesday, are ready for putting under CK 16221 (not SK 25488 as I incorrectly reported in Tuesday's post).

At the south end of CK 16221 Ainsley had a problem with reinstating the door guides on Tuesday and as such deferred any more effort on them until he could speak to Stu, our Works Manager. I believe the problem was resolved.

Now a sight very few of us will have seen, the interior of a corridor connection slider. The panel was taken off to enable the repair of the base support for the tracking mechanism.

The rotten ends of the base section of the door have been carefully cut away and new sections made. Roger carefully screws the tracking piece on to the new left hand section.

The new right hand section fabricated by Alan ......................

.................... and ready to be glued in. The tracking piece will then be attached.

Roger had also replaced the north vestibule ceiling in BSKD 34929 following the repair to the toilet tank pipework. The two new bits of ceiling strip on the Paintshop trestles will be put up when they have been painted.

 Ainsley carefully labels the recently acquired boxes of taps for use by the Door Team.

Referring back to last Thursday's posting, and the loose tenon (domino) joining machine (bottom left), Alan carefully inserts a domino as he constructs some of the frame for the new counter for the Flag and Whistle Restaurant at Toddington. To recap, this machine enables the equivalent of mortise and tenon joints to be made, but much more rapidly. 

Meanwhile the enormous and very heavy counter top arrived during the morning. Chris carefully cuts this to the required length. 

Dave continues to refurbish the inside of SO 4787 with the recently reupholstered seating components from SO 4798. Both coaches are coupled together on the Works siding to make the transfer easier.

Most of the seating in 4787 is now complete. The next stage will be putting back the tables.

The interior of TSO 4798 with very little of its seating backs, cushions, and side panels left to be transferred to 4787. 4787's former mauve seating is stacked throughout.

Finally a look at the results in Upholstery after another week.

The completed section of re-covered Mk 2 seat components continues to grow ...................

.................. while on the side bench the piles of completed seat cushions have been replaced by more stripped inners awaiting re-covering.