Thursday 9th - Another quiet Thursday

 Just 13 in today, with several regulars missing. However despite being a quiet day it was a busy one and successful overall.

Firstly two photos that I meant to take at the end of Tuesday of James' excellent repair work on the door from BSK 35308. Still a bit to do, but it shouldn't be long before this can go back on the coach.

6⁶ 

In the Barn Richard I is busy setting up the electrical wiring on the Weed Spraying wagon. Phil lends a hand to get the cable through the reinforced plastic tubing.

That red warning light on the Inspection Saloon's lowered steps is now working as it should.

Phil steadily works his way through a number of redundant items found on board the saloon.

Included is this somewhat futuristic light in the kitchen, which would be better suited on the Starship Enterprise.  No, that is not going back in!

Still on the electrical theme, as well as being in the Woodwork team, Dave is also one of the Railway's PAT testers and busy working through the many electrical items in the Works. Must tell him not to bother with that Startrek light fitting!

I received an urgent call from Glyn in our Toddington Station shop to ask whether we had available two specific cushions - one in Trojan moquette, the other in the blue/orange stripes. As luck would have it two were available in the "Online Only" pile. They were quickly bagged up and the bag labled, and then taken up to the station to be sent via the guard on the next train north. So hopefully another happy customer. When I got back I left a note for Laura and updated the relevant sales listing.

We are only just over a month into our new season and Glyn reported that our sales of cushions, bags and spectacle cases are already doing very well.

Our Indoor Gang were initially busy inside SO 4798. Geoff bores out a broken screw in a window slider handle .......

....... and then successfully refits it.

Roger adjusts a loose light shade.

The leather straps for the fire extinguisher had gone very hard. Soaking in linseed oil made no difference and one of the two halves ended up breaking. As luck would have it, I had a very good quality leather belt where the buckle had come away, which I kept as I thought there might be a use for it. And indeed there was because it was of the same width and thickness as the original extinguisher straps. Peter in Upholstery had already attached the buckle pieces and Alan now set about installing it.

A trial fitting and it's looking good. Just the excess lengths to remove and another job done.

Later in the day Stu, our Works Manager, received a urgent call from the guard on Rake 2. A fully opened window in one of the double doors on SO 4790 couldn't be pulled up. The gang were assigned to the job and travelled on the train on its next run to Cheltenham. With the back panel removed the window scissor lift was found to be jammed tight - it appeared that the window had been thrust down too hard. Careful teasing with a screwdriver released the scissor lift and the window sprang back into life. Some adjustments were made and hopefully the problem won't repeat.

It was just Ainsley and myself working on 4798's exterior today. Ainsley had been in the day before and completed the second coat of Light Grey MIO on the Cotswold side of the roof. He had then made a start on the Malvern side to use up the last of the paint. Two new 5L tins have been ordered and should be on their way. 

The upper line tape for the Malvern side north end needed doing, so I got that done. This just leaves the south end section to tape up, but the missing section of gutter will need to be reinstated first. This had been removed during the roof and filler pipe repairs at that end.

Ainsley got going with the top section undercoating.

Yet more filler was thought to be necessary at the south end. We have certainly needed a lot on 4798.

The threshold areas in the Cotswold side south and north doorways needed more attention, especially the former. Filler and a final coat of Dark Grey undercoat on the threshold area, door base and step really smartened it up. Undercoating on the treshold and step at the north end, and on the central door step, nicely completed the job.

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A comment at the end of Tuesday's post queried the levels of work that have been done on BSK 35308, and also what we mean by restoration, refurbishment, and repaint.

We tend to think of a restoration as the major work to bring back a coach that is new to the Railway - TSO 4867 and FO 3127 will fall into this bracket. 

A coach coming back in for another round of major work we tend to think of as a refurbishment.

A repaint is literally just that. We go to a lot more effort with prep and painting now, but the proverbial "quick repaint" used to be literally that and take something like 6 weeks. A quick overall sand, minimal filler, grey up, undercoat, one top coat, line out, and add the transfers. The roof and ends would be done at the same time. There would be no varnishing, other some interior tidying up. Check the mechanical aspects and then back out. 

This was a useful way to bring back relatively quickly a faded rake,  but of course it doesn't last as long, and quite simply the 40-50 year old coaches when I joined C&W are now 60-70 years old. Consequently the levels of structural work now needed can be considerable, SO 4798 being a prime example as regular blog readers will have seen.

BSK 35308's 1999 work would have been literally the minimal required. More would have been done in the next refurb. Now, a considerable amount of bodyside and door repair work is needed as will have been seen.

There will be set things to be done when a coach is brought in, especially with respect to mechanical well being and safety. However each coach will be different with respect to the levels of work required. It's what makes it all so interesting!

Reference the comment about the tower. We find it works well for us. Also there is more room for things we may need such as a Henry with attachments, paints, etc, etc. As for all the climbing up and down, with all the lovely cakes, sausage rolls and other delights, quite simply we need the exercise!

Finally, thank you for all the compliments in the various comments. They are very much appreciated.