Thursday 30th - Quite striking!

After the hectic weekend, as Nick and the others would have found yesterday, with the pressure to forge ahead with our various projects, it doesn't take long to get back into the swing of things.

Just to say before listing today's efforts, thank you for all the lovely comments following the giant weekend post. They were very heartening and very much appreciated, and it's good to know that the galas give so much pleasure. It makes it all very worth while.

And here we are again, with "Betton Grange" and 9351 running the trains this week, with a diesel on the last one to Cheltenham each day. I'm not sure how long the visiting locos will be with us (as always lots of rumours), but great to have them here still.

Starting off with a very important job. We have been given a beautifully made set of mahoghany gauge mounting disks to varnish. These will be the backing disks for the dials on 3850, 2874 and 7820 "Dinmore Manor". They will need at least three coats, the ones for 3850 being required in about two weeks. We will of course get them all ready as soon as possible. Martin makes a start with a thinned varnish coating to help penetration. 

Another "must do" job was to get the outside of the lithium battery box coated in MIO; well what we could do that is. It needs a small team to lift this, so the bottom will be done on Saturday. We would have done the inside as well, but Rex needs to do a bit more work in there first.

Yet another essential painting job was to get the south end of FK 13326 undercoated so that Ken can get on with the fittings. Martin also did this job.

Gerry photo'd me cleaning up two corridor connection springs, which I later coated in MIO. These presumably will be for 13326.

Quite a bit of activity on BCK 21272, beginning with Gerry and Rex removing a blown double-glazed window on the Malvern side.

Stu had brought in a superior cutting paste. Applied and then power-bushed, the results are amazing. By the end of the day Tony had completed the Malvern side of the coach, and what a difference!

Underneath the coach Richard I is installing the battery charging equipment.

On board in the luggage compartment Dave continued the cleaning up of the walls, work which had been started by Bob last week. I intended to join him, but had a tour to take round, after which I became involved elsewhere.

Two photos taken by Roger of Alan and Geoff working on one of the doors of FK 13337 "Gillian".

It was just Maurice working on the MICA van, adding more red oxide except where repairs to the metal were needed.

The remaining photos are of RBr 1675, beginning with Ainsley and Robert working on the Cotswold side emergency door, which has certainly been problematic.

Dave was back to fitting the boards behind the heating pipes in the saloon.

Jeff got cracking in the closet at the end of the servery. Good to get properly going on this at last. After cleaning up, it was a combination of priming the shelves and undercoating the walls and ceiling. Already looking very much better, there is still a lot to do in there. The Cotswold side of the compartment and door back were left as work remains to be done on those.

On the Malvern side Phil completed the prep work on the door and frame edges of the south door and then greyed them up. Great to see these in grey at last.

The wood backs of the doors were then primed ready for undercoating.

During the day a team of contractors were installing the various units for the kitchen and pantry. Later in the day I took photos of the kichen (above) and pantry (below). As the post title says, it really is quite striking!