2025 roundup

It's that time of year again, a chance to look back on what we've done over the last 12 months. As ever, so much work goes on that it becomes a real challenge to fully capture it, but hopefully I've got the main highlights.

Going right back to the beginning of the season and just about counting as 2025, FK 13326 entered service after a substantial rebuild of both ends - it being a 'quick repaint' between the inner door pillars! This had been languishing in the works for a couple of years so it was great to finally have it in service. It was also distinguished by having the proper BR coach emblem roundels applied, a new policy for chocolate and cream coaches.

TSO 4986 initially only came in the works briefly for some winter maintenance work but we soon started plotting. the lower chocolate panels were suffering from cracked filler and we began wondering what we could achieve in the short shut down period. After a bit of umming and ahhing, we took the plunge and decided we could squeeze in a partial repaint to crimson and cream, thus giving us a bonus coach in our set 2 repaint project. A little bit of overtime was required in the end but well worth it.

The vehicle that dominated most of the year has once again been RBr 1675, but it is finally more or less finished, beta testing going on over the Christmas period in service.

At many points it felt like we'd never finish this. Initial stripping out began in Autumn 2021 with work starting properly Spring 2022, so it's been a long old job, but we've finally got there. The interior has come out very nicely with the oak panelling.

Meanwhile the kitchen is fully fitted out with modern equipment and surfaces, powered by battery and generator. Inevitably a few teething issues have been picked up, but it has cooked and sold its first bacon rolls after Christmas, so success!

Onto some wagons then, and another rather long running saga, GWR Mica B 79636. This was definitely a much more complicated restoration than initially thought, but we got there in the end. The newly fabricated end handrails were a particularly pleasing feature to restore.

GWR Open C 99879 was another substantial rebuild and restoration, albeit slightly more planned that way, being our first wagon restoration direct from scrapyard condition in some time. The wagon was fully stripped back to a bare frame and grit-blasted before being rebuilt, with new timber, new corner plates, re-metalled bearings on the South axle, and one replacement buffer.

A slightly more straightforward project was a repaint and refresh of GWR starfish 100839, this project undertaken by the youth group. They did a great job!

All 3 wagons were shunted into the goods train on the first day of our Railway200 gala, giving us our longest consist in quite some time at 15 wagons, excellently captured here by Kieran Hardy coming out of Greet tunnel, hauled by 2807.

The other substantial carriage project this year has been SO 4798. Still having its early style flush glaze windows, and along with all the usual other problem areas, there's been an awful lot of metalwork needing doing on the panelling. It's more or less all there now though and over to the painting and prep team to tidy it all up.

Inside all of the window trim has been redone and the ceiling repainted.

The upholstery team have re-covered all the seats in this very fetching GWR snapdragon pattern moquette.

Speaking of upholstery, they continue to do sterling work for other railways. This year another coach was reupholstered for the Dean Forest, a Mk2. One pile of seats ready to go!

Sales of bags, cushions etc continue to be brisk, another big pile ready to go.

Our summer repaint was TSO 5023, another crimson and cream conversion to progress set 2. A nice straightforward job, before it re-entered service with us it was quickly whisked away for a short filming job elsewhere.

In-between everything else BSK 35308 has been receiving substantial metalwork attention on the ends and door surrounds - having been in near continuous service on the GWSR since it arrived in the 1990s it's overdue a thorough refurbishment. This is also intended to be the first coach in a planned short blue and grey set to better match with our diesel fleet.

Something a bit different, BR/MOD vanwide 4207 was selected to be turned into a weedkilling wagon, saving the railway money on using contractors to spray the line. The van body has been modified to suit and fitting of spraying equipment is in progress.

A slightly more involved job has been RMB 1876, initially posited as a repaint at the beginning of the year further investigation suggested it needed a bit more, so on we went with end metalwork repairs. This also necessitated the rebuild of the toilet vestibule woodwork, currently ongoing.

Its paintjob is nearly complete though, looking very smart in the paintshop at the end of the year in crimson and cream.

And to finish off, a couple more wagons we started towards the end of 2025. We initially hoped we could get away with mainly a strip back and repaint on GWR Mink D 28833 other than the doors, but hopes soon faded...

But the stripped back framing has already started gaining brand new planks and it's well on the way.

Finally at Toddington we repainted BR vanfit 755964 from its previous fictional army green into BR bauxite.

It's been another busy year on the blog too, 187 posts, with 238,000 views from all over the world, one of which was our millionth view since we set this incarnation of the blog up 5 years ago.

As for 2026, it should see RMB 1876 enter service at the beginning of the season, followed by SO 4798 at some point later in the year. We shall hopefully do one more quick repaint into crimson and cream to get set 2 all into one livery - likely SK 25451. On the wagon front, once the Mink D is finished we will tackle one of the fuel oil tank wagons. Beyond that, I'm not being a hostage to fortune!

So all that remains is to thank everyone for your interest over the last year, it really does make it all worthwhile, especially when we get recognised on the platform. We wish you all a happy and prosperous new year.

Tuesday 30th - It's been quite a year

As we soon say goodbye to another year, looking back we have had some real highlights in C & W and, as you would expect, a fair share of calamities too. What is good is how much things have improved after all the post-Pandemic struggles. It's a joy to see our new Crimson and Cream rake steadily increasing, to see the GW goods train at a very healthy length and know that a BR goods train is beginning to form, hear that even more Upholstery contracts are on their way, even to see a well stocked New Paint cupboard again. Alex is preparing another End of Year report with all our highlights which he will be publishing imminently.

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We had a good turnout again with everyone keen to get on with their relevant work.

Beginning with the Mink D and Alex trying out one of the new planks.

The Mink D is a very large van, so for quite sometime the brushes with wood primer, undercoat Dark Grey and top coat GW Grey are going to be much used, keeping Maurice and Paul endlessly busy.

Paul adding the chamfers with the plane.

The metal end vents had suffered from some rust jacking at the north end, these requiring a heavy hammer to adjust!

We've still got the doors to tackle as well.

Robert is back preparing the floor insert at the south end, a complicated effort with the various cutouts.

Now a completely different job, and a very mucky one, sorting out the axleboxes.

Lining out on RMB 1876 took another good step forward today in that Martin was able to complete it at the north end of the Cotswold side. This has not been possible with the amount of internal work taking place just inside here.

He then moved round to the Malvern side and began taping up the lower line to paint the black band on the main north section. The north end and door had been completed on Saturday.

Richard began taping up the main south section to paint the lower gold band.

Inside the south compartment David looked after the repairs to the ceiling, applying filler where needed.

Returning to the outside, Ainsley took on the cleaning up of the bogies. As most of the surfaces are covered in dry grime rather that oil and grease, we should be able to remove most of it and so have a fair chance of being able to paint them.

Some of the saddles for the buffer extenders are in a bad way and need replacing. With the split wood knocked off, leaving just the well rusted bolts, Ainsley gives the metal support a good brushing.

[I seem to remember someone pointing out the proper name for what I call the saddles, but I have done so many blog posts since it has faded from memory].

The bolts have been cut off and Phil lends a hand to knock out the remaining stubs. The metal support was then coated in primer. 

Back to the bogies, a few moments rest before carrying on.

As the saying goes, one step forward, two steps back ......  This door, while initially seeming to be ok, has been sticking and it's not a case of too much paint. While some of it appears to be fitting too closely, there is more to the problem.

Robert initially reduces the door frame which will certainly help.

We need now to look at the door lock and striker plate.

In the end the striker plate was removed as a lot of the trouble was eventually boiled down to this. It doesn't look good and is very annoying at this late stage.

I spent much of the day inside the servery. Jobs included fixing a gap between the top and bottom panels by the sink, giving the sheet metal backing and sinks another good clean, cleaning under the sink unit, adding Hammerite where required, and completing the ceiling painting as far as feasible.

Ainsley has a final sweep and vacuum in the last area where he had been working. 

Recyling is just as important, but this trolley load will have to wait until the large bins at the top of the station yard have been emptied. 

[Photo : Alex]  I didn't watch a single train today,  but I certainly heard that deep exhaust whenever "Pendennis Castle" pulled away on the northbound run.  Alex took a great shot of a very steamy Castle heading back to Toddington and Broadway. The really great news is that the trains continue to be very well filled.

So that's it for 2025. We will be back in 2026.

Happy New Year!