Saturday 15th - Paint, wood and metal

After a generally quiet race week in the Works with small attendances, we were back to normal numbers today.

I had a very big surprise at the start of the day when I was handed a box literally full with bundles of short pencils. In the Paintshop we use small pencils when setting up the lines on the coaches. Andy immediately grabbed a bundle for the Workshop tool bench, and on Tuesday I will walk round the Works with more. We are very grateful for this brilliant donation. There are enough here to last for very many years!

We had a very good day with RBr 1675 with a lot of second top coating achieved. The Cotswold side gutter band and windows had been done on Thursday, so Tony started with the cream panels at the south end.

Jeff arrived and soon joined in, starting at the north end.

Martin arrived next and began with the gutter band on the Malvern side.

Progress was very good and it wasn't long before Tony was opening up a new tin of GW Brown to begin the bottom panels. Bob arrived and finished off the central cream section, while Jeff got going on the brown panels at the north end. This side was soon finished.

Tony moved round to the Malvern side and started the gutter panel at the south end.

With the Malvern side gutter band nearing completion, Martin began the cream section at the south end before leaving at twelve. Tony completed the top band and left at one. Jeff started the cream section at the north end while Bob took over at the south end.

It was a brilliant day with the Cotswold side completed, the collection of barrier bits in place to protect the bottom section while still wet. We can begin lining out on Tuesday.

The Malvern side started. Hopefully we can soon get the second top coating finished here too and can begin that lining out.

Metal working next with John making the small base pieces for the vacuum cylinder sleeves, which have been made in Upholstery.

Gentle taps with the hammer complete the required shape.

The base pieces now attached.

The completed sleeve. 

And onto the next.

Continuing the metalwork theme with SO 4798. James is back after a week off and working on his area at the south end toilet compartment. He begins by generally cleaning up in preparation for the cross support.

An appropriate length of z section bar is prepared ..............

............. and then welded in. Alan is working on the opposite toilet compartment window.

With the new sheet metal panel cut and now spot welded in, James checks to ensure everything is correct. The curved base of the panel had already been made prior to fitting.

With the sheet now fully welded in, he grinds the weld flat.

Alan surveys his efforts so far with the Malvern side toilet compartment window. Still a section to replace on the right hand side where there is that hole.

Job done and primed.

Next the left hand corner and half at the south end. The support pillars aren't good, neither is the base plate. 

James produces a fine pyrotechnic display as he continues to clean up his welding. 

Alan returns with an even bigger display using the large grinder.

James' efforts look good.

The results of Alan's cutting. There's a fair bit to do here, and the bottom area of the adjacent coach side will also need attention.

On the Malvern side at the north end George continues the basic sanding.

Inside the north compartment Dave adds wood preserver to some new bits of inner window frame.

Jen looking after us again with a good vac of our changing room.

After the decision not to use the oak to make planking for the Open C wagon, much head scratching made somebody remember that we still have 987cedar planks stored in the china clay wagon. But where is the wagon? It wasn't with our running freight. It was found at the bottom end of the yard with the canvas almost completely rotted away.

Chris, Richard and Tom found that we still had loads of planks left, and although many were wet, the wonderful properties of cedar would ensure no rot would have occurred. Many years ago all the planking had been recovered free of charge from a building in Cirencester.

Tom fetched one of the Railway's trucks into which we could pile a large number of planks for the drive back to the Works.

They were initially put in the Barn, but later transferred to the Woodwork shop where it was a lot warmer and subsequently would enable them to dry out a lot faster. And of course out of the way of future vehicle movements through the Barn.

Maurice and Paul returned to creocoting the oak planks being used for the wagon floor.

Maurice creocotes the reverse sides of the planks when mounted on the wagon.

[Photo : Paul E.]  Some of the cedar planks were dry and once cut to size were being primed by Maurice and Paul.

With the races over and the Railway back to a normal two train service, we needed to get Rake 3 back to the siding.

The truck we were going to use to bring back the cedar planks had to wait until the rake had been stabled and the extra coaches removed.

James, Dave and Kevin watch P & O pass with the first train to Cheltenham.

The O3 is now on our side of the yard with two coaches - BCK 21092 and RMB 1876.

Someone brought in one of the race train drinks lists.

Bob, Jenny and Paul watch the main train return. 

Further down on Platform 1 the bubblecar is on the Cheltenham run.

While we were collecting the cedar planks the rookery on the Cotswold side of the yard was busy with a lot of very noisy rooks, who kept up their calling pretty much all day long.

More shunting, now on the outermost siding, to bring one of the storage BGs over to the headshunt line.

Our shunting team for the day with Ian (centre) driving, and shunters Clive and Andy.

P & O heads past and the O3 rumbles by in the opposite direction, not on the same line of course!

There was a lot of activity in the Woodwork/Doors shop today. With some of the large lengths of wood we have to deal with we really need more space at the south end, where the Wadkin and other saws are located. 

The racks at the north end were cleared and reorganised to allow the two main cupboards at the south end to be relocated.

The whole area at the south end was totally cleaned up and the wood to be kept relocated there.