Saturday 22nd - Well attended

Wow, after a quiet Thursday, we were very well attended today with 23 in. Despite taking a lot of photos I still managed to miss a few, so apologies to them. On the loco front we had a very pleasant surprise, though perhaps it should have been expected.

There was quite a bit of effort going on with vacuum cylinders and DA (direct admission) valves, beginning with Andy Th. wire brushing one of the latter.

Andy Tu. is using the tungsten carbide scraper to remove the old paint and rust from this cylinder.

Tony power brushes the inside of a piston.

Returning later to see Andy Tu. to find the cleaning completed and a coat of Micaceous Iron Oxide (MIO) going on. This paint in effect provides a hard shell and is ideal for underframe work.

Andy Th. and Tony provide a joint effort with this cylinder.

During the morning James and Stu seem to be making plans while looking at a DA valve, but I didn't interrupt and ask.

 

The result is a new facilty for servicing DA valves that James had fabricated during the day. Given its base coat of green primer, it will end up in the usual bright yellow.

Clive did a grand job painting 1675's gas cylinder boxes, ........

..... and then went on to paint the sole bars, headstocks and buffers.

Phil was back under 1675's pantry sink. The water heater skid had been moved out and he was working on the array of copper piping.

The gland plate mentioned in Thursday's posting on the way to completion.

The spray lacquered heating pipe covers have been placed on the saloon floor and carefully stacked and wrapped. These are now ready for fitting.

Pam added yet another coat of varnish to the oak frontage on the servery shelves.

She did a number of other things during the day, including some preparation for re-covering the seats from the guards compartment in BCK 21272. Her final job was to top coat in Silver Grey the back of the kitchen door on the Cotswold side of 1675, a colour suitably blending with the interior.

Tony adds filler where required to the frame of the Malvern side emergency door.

Upstairs in Upholstery the seating for SO 4798 is steadily building.

Following the under window repairs on 4798 another window pane has been reinstated.

Further along on the same side the next three windows are undergoing repair.

Returning to Upholstery where Laura is cutting out the shapes for the FODR coach seating.

Marked out in felt tip pen from the plyboard templates, these look like armrests.

Various shapes ready to use.

Once again Ian, our HOD, helps out by using the overlocking machine.

By pure chance Pam and I decided to join the other outdoor lunch regulars and this was the unexpected reward.

Following its major refurbishment 3850 has been doing a number of solo test runs. On Thursday we were having a late cup of tea in the Mess Room when we heard the rumble of a loco passing through Winchcombe and guessed it would have been the engine on another test. We missed it then, so it was a treat to see it now and double-headed with 2807.

The loco roster for September has a number of empty slots, so we guess this is for 3850 to fill, providing of course its FTR checks are OK

Also enjoying a day out were two of our Cleaning Team, fellow blogger Roger and his wife Kath. They were equally pleased to see the double-header go by.

At the south end of FK 13326 Ben discusses a door problem with James. 

The rebuilding of the south vestibule in 13326. I think Simon was working in here, but I kept missing him.

Ian and Tony were aboard the 03, and assisted by Clive and Andy Tu., were carefully shunting part of Rake 3 back together.

TSO 4772 has been brought over to our side of the yard for internal repairs. I heard loose tables mentioned.

Chris and Robert were creating the short planks for the MICA van's doors. 

Robert trues up the ends of these two planks. The mitre saw blade is slightly out and so not producing a clean 90 degree cut. As such it was back to hand sawing.

Now a trial fitting of the short planks followed by a loud clatter as a number slipped out.

There was now a general discussion on the door closure on this side.

With Paul and Maurice looking on, Chris and Robert assess what needs to be done.

Time for a major tidy up inside the van by Maurice and Paul.

Old wood planks on their way out.

The Hayles Abbey Halt bench is now ready. Just a tiny bit of brown paint needed on the nuts and bolts.

The undercoated parts of the Open C wagon which Maurice was cleaning up and priming on Thursday.

Dave H. has resumed his tidying up of some of our storage vehicles in the yard.

Alan welds the breaks in the gutter ends that have been reinstated at the north end of SO 4790.

All that is now required is some sealant along the roof edge,  and some fresh primer and paint to finish the job.

At the south end Martin surveys all his repainting, both inside and outside the corridor connection.

"Well the reflection is pretty good. Are you sure one top coat isn't enough, which is what we always did with quick repaints? It will be having two coats of varnish".

Alex is determined to get two top coats done, so it's back to the careful use of the rotary sander with very fine sandpaper, from the centre door to the south end on the Malvern side.

Also enjoying reflections on the opposite side is George. Having cleaned off any dust from the Cotswold side sole bar, he applies the Gloss Black.

Alex gets going with the Cream.

Malvern side to the centre door - second top coat completed. It still looks very good. We can recheck the reflection on Tuesday.

"Oh no! Not another photo!". Relaxation near the end of the day.