Tuesday 26th - The before and after

Just a short posting today as I was tied with some essential work on TSO 5023.

We are certianly going to town with RMB 1876. From a repaint and repaired ends, the whole coach is now having quite a makeover, and why not. Phil works on one of the Cotswold side doors.

At the south end Robert and Chris are fitting a new section of frame to the connection doorway.

The metal holder for the fire extinguisher is being cleaned up by Pam, the back being later coated in red oxide, while the front had a coat of silver hammerite.

Judging by the repeated banging Ken was having quite a battle removing the last of the corridor connection mechanism.

The metal U section has joined the main part of the connection ready for derusting.

The bit of overnight rain was welcoming, but the sunny weather continues to cling on.

Finally more good progress with TSO 5023. Alex came in today to assist our contractor Ralph with varnishing the Malvern side of the coach.

My job for the day was to complete the lining out of the Cotswold side, with involved adding the gold band to about threequarters of the lines (Alex had done a quarter last thing on Saturday). I adopted Alex's method of taping up a short section, painting on the gold, then carefully peeling away the tape and cutting it with scissors, making sure to keep the painted tape away from the bodyside. While painting, as this is the top line, the two rolls of tape are temporarily positioned in the gutter. Then move the steps along a few feet and repeat the process, and keep doing this until the end of that section is reached. When doing the bottom line the two rolls of tape are hung on a long wire suspended from the gutter.

Alex wanted to check one of the brushes and tested it by varnishing the back of the door with the repaired back panel. Prior to this I had worked on the panel with Georgian Mahogany wood dye to cover some scratches. The overal result looks pretty good.

With the varnishing completed on the Malvern side, Ralph very carefully rubs with scotch-bright the Cotswold bodyside, avoiding the fresh gold painted lines. This is to prepare it for varnishing on Thursday.

Lining out completed. Alex is in again the next day and will do any paint snagging required on this side.

Saturday 23rd - A very varied day

Another fun packed day at the Works with the usual range of things covered and at times not without its frustrations. However a lot was achieved, which is the main thing.

Thanks to Robert for two of today's photos and once again to Rose from FOWS for baking us some more delicious cakes. There's no such thing as weight watchers in C&W with all the goodies regularly available in our Mess Room.

Starting today with Jenny doing a great job cleaning inside TSO 5023. We are not far from finishing the repaint so a good time to get the inside done.

Oh dear - sorry Jen - caught you with your eyes closed! I should have checked the photo after taking it. She's not really sleeping, just taking a break while cleaning the floor and for me to take the shot.

With 5023 cleaned, time to do our store and changing room.

Robert and Chris began the door replacements on the Queen Mary brake van.

There was a lot of noise and a hand, so no doubt the job was well underway.

[Photo : Robert]  Chris dismantling one of the two doors.

Still on the subject of goods vehicles, John is fabricating some new pins for the Open C wagon.

In the Barn the through route floor has been swept and vacuumed as far as possible. Ken continues his refurbishment of the south end connection from RMB 1876.

Maurice sands the Malvern side of 1876. Below, still some of the lower line that needs to be completely removed.

In the south vestibule Simon attaches the new main veneer panels.

The fire extinguisher recess strengthened with beading. The metal insert is now in the Paintshop for sanding and repainting.

Vic cleaning up another vacuum cylinder. There is a real programme of cylinder refurbishment now, with coaches, as they arrive in the Works, giving up their existing cylinders and receiving serviced and repainted ones in their place.

The rebuilding at the south end of SO 4798 progresses. James pauses in his welding to enable me to take the photo.

I missed Andy working, instead catching him wrapping up the angle grinder lead. I presume he had been working with James on 4798.

In Upholstery Laura has a good sweep around the workshop, in turn making it nice and tidy for the next Lifting The Curtain tour, which I was soon due to take round the Works.

The tour begins with a general introduction in the lobby and then proceeds upstairs to Upholstery, where I hand over to Laura. She always gives an interesting talk on our general upholstering and then the current projects, including the commissions (we now have a contract from the NYMR). Tours around C&W are usually about an hour, and such is the interest in Upholstery that we can easily spend almost a third of the allocated time there.

In the foreground Laura has laid out a line of FODR seats showing, from right to left, the process from a seat as received, through the stripping, the new underlayer, and (out of sight) the eventual re-covering with the new moquette.

Next into Woodwork where Robert describes some of the items prepared for SO 4798. After another general talk on what we do and a mention of some of the more major projects done by the Woodwork team, the tour moves to the Paintshop, and then the Workshop and Barn, and finally along the yard road back to the Main entrance where the visit to C&W ends

We are now well into painting the lines on the  Cotswold side of TSO 5023. Bob marks the dividing line between the gold and black bands, before adding the yellow Tesa masking tape.

Bob has marked out and taped up some of the upper line, and now begins painting the black band on the corner and door at the south end.

Alex had turned up later in the day. With his intentions completed, he finished his day by gladly helping with the lining out, beginning the gold band painting.

[Photo : Robert]  The completed Malvern side, now awaiting varnishing.

Thursday 21st - Lines, lines, and even more lines

A very busy day with a good number attending. Wednesday was incredibly quiet with just 7 in - quite a contrast to its usual attendance.

Thanks to Gerry and Roger B (Toddington Cleaning Team) for the extra photos.

Beginning with Gerry cutting some chequerplate for the service area in RMB 1876.

[Photo : Gerry]  The floor before fitting ........

[Photo : Gerry]    .......... and afterwards.

The servery area is currently the store for the removed light fixtures, which are being replaced with the older style "flying saucer" type as shown below.

A general view of the north end of 1876 showing the metal working completed and remaining to be done.

John was in the process of removing the drawbar hook at the opposite end.

We are keeping the pressure up with the general bodyside preparation on 1876. The more we can get done with the coach in the Barn the better and will reduce the time spent completing the refurbishment in the Paintshop. No guesses as to what the livery will be!

On the Cotswold side of the coach Ainsley works on that triple banded line to remove every trace.  Its replacement will of course be the standard two bands in gold and black.

Maurice on the opposite side tackles the top line area.

Just across from 1876 is the weed spraying wagon where Gerry is removing more corroded metal, prior to attaching another length of angleiron for strengthening.

Alan and Geoff trial fit a replacment back panel to the north end Cotswold side door on TSO 5023.

Roger removes the door pull.

The trial panel was too large so some partial rebuilding soon produced the correct size. Then some minor cutting to make the fit a good as possible. Now up to the Painting team to clean up and varnish the panel.

On now to the continuing process of the repainting of 5023. With lining out completed on the Malvern side, Martin repairs some of the gold band that the masking tape annoyingly removed.

Phil removes one of the demarkation tapes at the south end of the coach.

Jeff on the Cotswold side painting the black band on the upper line.

Martin removes the initial bottom line tape from the same side.

At the north end Phil applies the tapes to enable the black band to be painted.

With the demarkation tape removed at the north end and a new tape protecting the crimson and cream paint in place, Jeff infills the missing black section. 

With the Cotswold side done, over to the opposite side to repeat the process.

The Cotswold side south end. With the tapes in place Martin adds the black paint.

On the Malvern side our contractor Ralph went round snagging. It may seem fussy, but this just finishes off the painting nicely.

Phil now paints the black on the Cotswold side north end.

In the eagerness to get the top coating right occasionally the brush stroke goes a little too far. We all do it. In this case a dash of cream on the crimson. Ralph tidies up a couple of places where this happened.

Alex applies the coach number to the Cotswold side.

[Photo : Gerry]  I was captured cleaning up inside the north end corridor connection ready for some extra painting.

[Photo : Gerry]

[Photo : Roger B]  During Monday's cleaning of Rake 2, Roger discovered two seat arms in SK 25488 that were looking distinctly woebegone. Alan, Roger E. and Geoff took a ride on the train to see what could be done, bearing in mind that the compartments in question may have been occupied.

[Photo : Roger B]   Roger reported that they had managed to repair one, but they weren't sure how long it would last. They checked all the compartments and found that a total of six arms needed repairing. Roger thought that Laura and the Upholstery team could be quite busy.

It was Jeff's birthday the day before and the novelty cake was enjoyed by all. Also of note is that last Saturday Jeff took charge of the evening Fish and Chip train for the final time after almost 10 years.

In the Weds/Thurs post last week I photo'd Phil testing the lighting circuit in SO 4798 and using a piece of equipment that prompted a comment from 

JNC:

Is the tester for the internal electrical circuitry something which one can buy outside, or was it a 'special' produced at the GWSR? (From the look of it, it could be either way.) If the latter, maybe some more could be produced, for sale to other heritage lines, to bring in a bit of cash?

Phil said his tester isn't difficult to make and in effect copies the coach regulator box, catering for the on-off relays for the lighting controls.

The regulator box under SO 4798.