Tuesday 23rd - Another nice day

Another fine and dry day. The cold wind has gone and lunchtime once again had some of our team enjoying the warm sunshine.

Following up a recent enquiry about Pam's long absence (she last attended during February), she has had a bad spell of ill health with a slow recovery. I keep in touch with her and usually phone her every week. Thankfully she now sounds very much back to normal and her old happy, cheerful self, and hopefully she will be returning sometime in May. As she often says, the Railway is her happy place, so it's a shame she has missed so much.

Please come back soon Pam, we need you.

Now on to today's activities.

A busy station scene with Ian and Keith waving to our passing passengers. Our trains had a lot more on them today which is a good sign.

Some of our regular Tuesday team were away today, including Richard who had his RCS hat on and was on the RMB standing in for someone who was unable to attend. Wish we could repaint 1876 which is now looking extremely shabby.

Door 10, the Cotswold side emergency door, on RBr 1675 has been continually problematic and so another strip down of the door frame is required. Robert and Chris work on the metal frame.

Later on Ainsley was busy working on the lock.

With that unwieldy grossly over-engineered trestle (sorry - I hate the thing!) pushed out of the way, Alan worked on the south half of the Malvern side sole bar, initially wire brushing and then applying a coat of red oxide. While being limited with further bodyside painting at the moment, it's good to get these other bits done.

Keith initially painted the cast step and gas bottle box cover, and then moved on to priming the various wood pieces produced by Chris for the Toddington shunter doors.

The electrical connection patresses are next, and once more those excellent plastic pyramids come into their own, enabling both sides of each patress to be undercoated.

Now a "seasoned commuter" regularly coming from Cheltenham by the train, Paul sands the north end of the ply van before applying top coat.

Moving outside to photograph Derek enjoying the good weather while doing more repairs to the Monster Van.

The next section to be repaired.

Walking over to Rake 3 where Dave is working on his coach BCK 21092, making some cosmetic repairs to the bases of the guards door and adjacent entrance to the two first class compartments.

Alan was in today instead of his normal Thursday working. He managed to free up this sticking door droplight on the Malvern side of SK 25341.

A well worthwhile job for me was applying sealant around some of the Malvern side windows on FK 13326. Fresh undercoat cream can now be applied with the paint going up to the glass and as such looking very much neater.

Ian cleaned up a lot of the south end of 13226. This will given a fresh coat of green primer and then dark grey undercoat in preparation for the eventual reinstatement of the corridor connection.

Following a walk up the yard to deposit a load of cardboard in the recycling bins, I decided to walk back through the station. Winchcombe is always a very attractive station and the newly replanted beds are already beginning to look nice.

With time ticking away I have now started the list of monitors on our lobby white board for when the Works is open to visitors during the three days of the Gala. Just a month to go now.

Walking through the station certainly beats walking through the yard!

Monday 22nd - It's Raining. That's Normal Then.

 Arrived to find the washing team Washing In The Rain.

Kath in the distance, talking to Peter and Tim, with Paul in the foreground.

After cleaning both rakes inside and out it was time to head down to the DMU, which will see regular use this year.

Lawrie and "Ghostbuster" Rick

Val - and Roger C dodging the camera again.

Kath.

The only other member besides myself today was Nigel.

It would be nice to have a warm sunny day!!

Saturday 20th - Good, steady progress

Another typical Saturday with plenty of projects moving forward, nothing ground-breaking, but good progress all round. 

Starting with the FK today, Robert is making good progress with the door thresholds, another one now fits.

Now if it doesn't, do you blame the woodworkers or the metal workers? Here the metal needed a little adjusting, James did the honours.

Simon also continued on his mission with the vestibule framing.

I was itching to get some more top coat on so towards the end of the day Dave captured me doing the cream panels. We're leaving the panels either end in undercoat for now whilst door work is ongoing.

Off the coach Dave spent some time cleaning up the corridor connection chequer plates before fitting, many years of grime and caked up stuff flew off with the wire wheel.

The ply van is coming on well, it was a chilly start in the barn but Maurice cracked on with undercoating the last 2 panels on the Malvern side.

While George finished glossing the underframe on the Cotswold side.

Later on continuing with the undercoat Maurice took care of the door frames.

And once it had warmed up a bit, I cracked the gloss open to do the South end and Malvern side.

Over on the jack road Ian's mission today (which he chose to accept) was the drawbar assembly on the spare SK. A bit of a fight to get it out...

But out it came...

Along with the old tailpin, success!

By the end of the day the whole area had been cleaned up, painted, and everything reassembled with a new tail pin, mission complete.

Once again, we felt obliged to watch the trains go by and give everyone a wave.

Train gone, and Paul and Dennis return from their adventures on the third rake.

With the good weather the model railway coach took another step forward as I added the yellow lining on the final large section. Hopefully I can do the black next week.

It was just Laura up in upholstery today, here sewing up some hand bags for the shop.

Glasses cases had also been on the production line.

And finally the RBr. Phil continued the electrical fit out inside.

Ben and Ainsley had a challenging day it has to be said, this door just wasn't behaving itself. In the end the door liner was concluded to be at fault. Annoying, but better to decide now than a couple of months into service.

Gutter work continues, with Alan welding up the many sections into more sensible lengths.

At one point it needed turning round, and the only option by that time as it had grown so long was to take it outside to spin, then take it back in again!

Thursday 18th - A nice day

A good attendance on what turned out to be a nice day, both the weather and the work that was achieved.

Looking towards the station with the former GW tool vans and tank wagons soon to be transferred to Toddington for display. The crimson and cream PWay mess coach still looks good; it was repainted in March/April 2021. S&T's Baguley-Drewry railcar in the far distance is in need of a repaint (last done in 2016), but isn't currently on the restoration/refurbishment list.

Lots of good progress with 1675 today. The Cotswold side of the coach with the primed gutter line now awaiting the reinstatement of the gutter.

Reinstatement is going ahead on the Malvern side. Gerry has attached the upper and lower seals to the back of this length of gutter.

 

Gerry, helped by Rex, now installs it.

Another length of gutter is cleaned up ready - I meant to ask which side of the coach this was for.

Test fitting another length on the Malvern side, with Rex assisting from inside. I spotted some filler on the gutter line at this end of the coach which needs overpainting (first job for me on Saturday!).

Rex building the outer box for the lithium batteries. My first job of the day was coating parts of the heavy main frame with black MIO (micaceous iron oxide), a very hard wearing paint which dries matt.

Richards I and II discussing more on the electrics for 1675 while enjoying an early cuppa.

With the generator rolled out, Richard I is working out the required lengths of the cabling.

Richard II has temporarily brought in the small skid to assess the various socket fittings that will be required.

Last week the large skid had been brought in for the same reason and the required sockets are now going in.

Phil installs the saloon lights.

The back boards for the tables have been installed under each of the saloon windows.

In the power supply cupboard (formerly a toilet compartment) at the south end of the coach Ainsley is inserting the panel enclosing the communication cord recess.

Moving into the Workshop for progress with FK 13326. Many of the windows have been undercoated but more work is needed on some of them, in particular where the seal against the glass was either in a poor state or missing. This particular frame needed some sanding to remove horizontal painting - arrrrgh!

Using a small brush Jeff carefully tops up the undercoat next to the glass in the places where it is missing.

On the Malvern side Richard is doing the same.

Bob applies paintable sealant where required.

[Photo : Paul W.]  Out to Rake 3 now where Dennis is filling tanks to check for leaks - one so far has been found and will need repair.

Inside SO 4790 Roger and Alan are reinstating the two ceiling panels at the south end of the compartment, one of them being the panel from the paint trestles mentioned in Tuesday's posting.

[Photo : Paul W.]  A little white paint on the beading completed the job.

[Photo : Paul W.]   Looking through to RMB 1808 where Paul has been cleaning.

Tony cleans up a vacuum cylinder at the Barn entrance.

This was later brought through to the Paintshop where I gave it two coats of MIO. It looks very glossy having just been painted on, but will dry matt.

[Photo : Gerry]  The piston section was also cleaned up and Gerry captured me applying the first coat of MIO. 

Finally a photo of Chris who is doing a great job with the repairs to the Toddington shunter doors. A pile of replacement wood sections is now in the Paintshop for priming and undercoating in Dark Grey. The final livery top coating will be done by the Toddington Loco staff.