Thursday
About 12 in today. Holidays are beginning to have their effect.
With rain forecast no work would be carried out on the Discovery coach, but there was plenty to do inside.
The Indoor Gang, Alan, Geoff and Roger, were in Rake 3 doing more repairs. Being busy with TSO 5023 I ended up missing them.
As mentioned in Nick's Wednesday post there are a number of small areas on 5023 that need some new sheet metal. Gerry went round the coach cutting out further corroded bits. He then cut the replacement sections of sheet metal and temporarily held them in place with masking tape ready for welding in place.
Bob and I spent a lot of time adding glass fibre paste to the reemed out and treated parts of the rivet line on both sides.
Stu and John were checking the vacuum braking system on RBr 1675. The vacuum pump, an invaluable piece of machinery for this essential job, quietly chugged away to keep the vacuum throughout.
The gauge at the opposite end of the coach will soon show whether the coach's system is holding the created vacuum.
John keeps a wary eye on the gauge. There was a leakage and the problem was with the communication cord apparatus at the north end of the coach.
Phil cleans up a component of the RBr's water filter.
In the kitchen/pantry Richards I and II were in the process of commissioning the water system.
They were checking the water pump and accummulator where a leak had been found.
This was resolved and the commissioning has now been successfully completed.
The two final bits of beading, recently on the trestle tables being painted, are now fitted either side of the north end exit.
Now fully curtained and with half the chairs in place, the saloon looks really nice. The remaining chairs will be brought on board after Paul has cleaned the floor.
The counter now covered in cardboard to protect the glass. The rear wood section will have another coat of varnish.
Adding a bit more to Eve's excellent coverage of Upholstery tackling the latest consignment from the DFR, the above shows two seat cushions now complete with the replacement moquette.
A good start has been made with the headrests, with one already part re-covered.
Seemingly endless headrests and seat cushions await refurbishment.
Another very heavy bout of rain soon had the yard full of large puddles. The car park side of the Works returned to its "Great Lakes" appearance.
Rake 3 has been placed in Platform 2 ready for the Real Ale Festival beginning on Friday. The beer tent is in place in the garden.
The weather cleared up to give a very pleasant evening.
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Saturday
Attendance was pretty much the same as Thursday with all of us thinly scattered throughout the Works on various jobs. The Real Ale Festival was in full swing and seemed to be doing well with lots of visitors on both platforms throughout the day.
It may be quiet with respect to attendance, but certainly not quiet with sanders buzzing. Richard attacked the lower half of the Cotswold side of 5023, removing in particular the three-banded lower line. With the coach going into crimson & cream it will be back to a two banded lower line.
Bob got going on the Malvern side .........
.......... and also made quite an impression. I worked on the newly filled rivet line on the other side.
Two of the back panels on the Cotswold side doors need replacing. Chris and Robert check the fitting of a new panel for the north end door.
Later in the day Robert wrestles with the screws holding the centre door panel.
Moving on to the Open C wagon where final top coating is being done over the next few days. All the painted ironwork stored at the south end of the Paintshop was loaded on to the wagon.
Chris tightens the final nut and bolt.
Paul top coats the north end.
In the relative quiet of the Upholstery shop it was just Peter and Jane attending today. Peter has a good knowledge of sewing machines so is just what we needed to keep our machines in good shape.
Jane staples the new moquette to the backs of two of the cushions.
John was cutting replacement sections of sheet metal ready for welding on the south end of RMB 1876.
Ken steadily dismantling the south end corridor connection from 1876.
Vacuum cylinders, both overhauled and repainted, and awaiting overhaul, the latter from underneath the Malvern side of RBr 1675.
John was in the process of removing the Cotswold side cylinder from underneath 1675.
Later, on the Malvern side, Ian and John were fitting one of the refurbished cylinders.
Richard assists John setting up one of the unrefurbished cylinders ready for servicing.
The next major restoration will be TSO 4867. Dave is sorting out internal window framing. Some new framing had already been installed quite some time ago when a number of other internal jobs were undertaken.
The green Class 37 pulls away from Winchcombe with Rake 3 on which Alex was guard .
3850 pulls into Winchcombe.
With temperatures rising from 24C to 28C next week, any work on the Discovery Coach may once again be suspended. However this in turn will mean further good progress with 5023.
