Meet the Teams - Upholstery
Updated 25th June 2023
The Upholstery department is responsible for the seating in the carriages of the running trains.
When refurbishment is required in a carriage, the seats, backs and side panels are removed and transferred to the Upholstery Shop where they are stripped down, the springing inspected or replaced and new fabric installed.
The workshop is on the first floor of a modern building, is light and spacious and has storage space for all the materials and the components of the carriage being renovated.
The work is carried out by a team who are not necessarily professional but who are practical people looking for an interest in their spare time. Most volunteers work two days a week and working hours are left to the individuals themselves.
Seat covers are made from Moquette material which is largely a woollen fabric with a pile similar to a carpet and the patterns used are those of the regional railways existing when the carriages were built. Sewing this material is difficult because it has a pile and an industrial sewing machine with a walking foot is part of the equipment used by us to help feed the material under the foot.
Seats and backs have a spring mattress covered by horsehair. In the backs this is retained but in the seats it is being replaced by foam. The foam complies with the furniture safety regulations schedule 1, part 1.
Helen (our newest member)
Eve (also our Office Secretary)
When completed the seats are reinstalled in the carriage by the team and it is at this point that the team gets the satisfaction of seeing their hard work come to fruition.
As of May 2023 the team: -
1. now produces cushions made with spare moquette for sale in our shops and during galas
2. has taken on contract work for the Forest of Dean Railway
What you can expect working in the Upholstery Department:
- Fun! We are a friendly team with good camaraderie!
- Satisfaction in a job well done – all our passengers get to experience our work!
- Practical hands-on work but without too much heavy lifting (we get others in the Department to do that for us!)
The Team
John - Team Head
Jenny
Laura
Helen (our newest member)
Eve (also our Office Secretary)
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The pre-pandemic team of Penny and Dave (husband and wife - now retired), Dave (sadly died in April 2023), John and Jenny.
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Former members
Dave and Penny Dron
Our husband and wife upholsterers announced their retirement in February 2022. Dave wanted to join the Railway but needed a fairly light job, so he joined C&W in 2010 initially as a generalist and then transferred to Upholstery. Penny joined in July 2011 having seen how much Dave enjoyed it and going straight into Upholstery as Dave said the team needed more help. Since then they have been very much a fundamental part of the team as will be seen in the Examples section that follows. Penny has also become well known for her wonderful paintings and drawings. For the Tim Mitchell Building during our Santa season, she also created the fabulous Christmas paintings and painted up the little moose and reindeer for the displays. Dave and Penny are very much missed.
Dave Hewitt
Dave was a great character and very skilled at his upholstering, often doing much of the woodworking and other structural aspects of the job. He will be remembered in particular for his epic Friday emails. Always cheerful and willing to help, it was a great shock when he passed away in late April 2023. He will be very much missed.
Stephen
John Hughes
John used to work in Upholstery on Tuesdays and was also a member of the Painting and Prep Team. He joined C&W in 2010 because of the large variety of work, allowing the use of existing skills and possibly learning more from others. There was also the pleasure of seeing our rolling stock transformed from decay into almost as new. Sadly we lost John at the end of 2020 from pancreatic cancer. He is much missed.
Vivien
Vivien also worked on Tuesdays. She is currently the Membership Secretary for the Friends of Winchombe Station and will frequently be seen with gardening tools in her hands during their Friday working days.
Pam
In late 2020 with Dave and Penny away, Pam became a temporary member of the team. Her former experience when self-employed in the refurbishing of the insides of period cars and light aircraft making her a very useful addition. Pam was originally involved with Metalwork, but is now a member of the Painting and Prep Team.
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Examples of the team at work
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Our Upholstery Team do a great job and many is the time we are complimented by our travelling public as to how nice the coaches are inside. A fair proportion of the praise will be about the lovely quality of the seating.