08 July 2025

Farewell 15997

Apologies for the lack of recent updates, but time has been in short supply of late.

Midland Railway (later M&GN) 1886 6 Wheel Picnic Saloon 3 (BRONZE)

Completion is just days away with the finishing touches being made to the lining.

London North Eastern Railway 1950 Brake Corridor Third E1866 (GOLD)

Trimming and finishing works to the side paneling of the main passenger saloon continues.

London North Eastern Railway 1938 Brake Third Open E16631E (GOLD)

Exterior painting continues with a recent focus on the upper (cream) half. Beading and panels have received further coats and are now finished up to gloss.







London North Eastern Railway 1945 Gangwayed Brake E70621E (SILVER)

This vehicle has progressed very well having been the recent lead project for volunteers. The remaining rotten timber has been removed from the bodysides including the blanks for the top row of windows and the cantrail strips that held down the edges of the original canvas roof cover. With the rather rotten windows underneath revealed, these have been brushed down and stabilised before being primed to match the rest of the vehicle.



With the entire exterior now in primer, two coats of red protective gloss have been applied, mainly by visiting corporate groups. The sides and ends are therefore now ready for cladding in Aluminium Composite Panels shortly. In readiness for cladding, all the surviving fittings such as door bump stops and lighting cable connectors have also been stripped off the body. These will all be refitted after the cladding is complete.



Work has started on the two inward opening guards doors. These are receiving more attention than the other doors as having been screwed shut and out of use for many years are required to become the main entry points. So far they have been eased out of their frames and now open/shut again, and the smashed droplight window has been dismantled out of one of them and measured up for new glass to be made for it. The work to these doors has been assigned to a single volunteer who all being well will steadily continue with them till they are completed.



The underframe is now cosmetically complete, with black gloss also being applied all round by corporate volunteers. Remaining underframe work will now be confined to returning a few missing components and the recommissioning of the brake system.



The interior is being somewhat saved until the weather turns later in the year rendering exterior work impossible, so remains unchanged from the previous update.



British Railways 1961 Brake First Open (Kitchen) M14021 (GOLD)

The Holt end storage cupboard and associated saloon bulkhead continues to be worked on steadily.



British Railways 1958 Covered Carriage Truck M94125 (SILVER)

At the last update, around 50% of the steelwork bodyside and end repair work had been completed. The remaining 50% has now been treated, with work to the Holt end (and roof) being tackled before the landward side, which was actually the worst side of all, with all three windows requiring very invasive attention.



With all the rotten areas cut out, treated and repaired with new metal framework and skin, the window apertures which are being returned as windows have had their respective panes of glass refitted and resealed.



The two windows at the Sheringham end are having louvre air vents fitted where the glass used to be, to a sympathetic design that can easily be reversed back to glazing in the future when required. The new louvre units, produced externally, have now arrived and look great.



With welding work complete, filling and body prep sanding is now in full swing and is due to be completed quickly, owing to the straight sided design of the CCT and its short length. It should not be too long before the main painting of the vehicle commences.




Moving onto the doors, six out of the eight bodyside doors have been through the "door hospital" for repairs, removal of old rivetted patches and tidying up to make sure they are safe for use (e.g. some handrails had corroded and were pulling away from the doors). These have been quickly refitted to the vehicle. The final two are now in the process of being similarly repaired.



The Sheringham end doors are gently being repaired and adjusted so they open/close effectively and have received corrosion and wood repairs and new bolt fixings as part of this process. It shouldn't be too long before these are finished and can be painted.



Finally, the new generator which will be installed into 94125 to power the dining train has been ordered from the supplier.

British Railways 1957 Corridor Second W25189 (REPAIR)

The first round of steam heat repairs have been completed on this vehicle which was returned to traffic for the Mixed Traction Gala in mid June.



The new steam pipe duly arrived and was shaped and fitted to cure the holes around the central water drain and further down above the Sheringham end bogies where holes had been discovered.




Unfortunately a further couple of leaks were discovered during a test after the vehicle had returned to service, so we will have to return to this job in order to finish it before winter.

British Railways 1957 Corridor Composite M15997 

Our long-term stored Corridor Composite, 15997, has now left the railway for pastures new. Built in July 1957 from Wolverton works, M15997 was a typical vehicle of its type with four first class compartments and three second class compartments. Having run its entire life on the Midland Region first in Maroon and then in Blue & Grey livery, it was withdrawn in June 1981 and transferred to the Doncaster Works test train with the new identity of ADB977054 where it was used as dead-weight for overhauled locomotives emerging from the works to haul under test. The windows were plated over and the vehicle painted plain blue for this purpose. After just over a decade, final withdrawal came in September 1992 and the coach selected for preservation on the North Norfolk, arriving in 1994.



Despite the drastic appearance of the plated windows, the coach was in much better condition than it looked, and the original plan was for it to be quickly repaired and put into service. Sadly the resources were not available at the time to manage this and the coach kept in storage "to be done one day". Alas, multiple administrations (including ours!) failed to get 15997 to the top of the restoration queue, and in the intervening 30 years of outside storage, the condition of the coach fell to the point where restoration, whilst remaining completely possible, would be a much greater task than would have been in 1994.



By early 2020 the coach had become tantalisingly close to being considered for restoration, as the major dining train, suburban set and quad art projects had all been completed and every Mark 1 on the railway was either in use or in the workshop being overhauled. 15997 was on track for possible salvation by the mid 2020's. Sadly the effective stopping of the constant overhaul cycle during the Covid Pandemic for two years led to four other coaches deteriorating unexpectedly quickly and being withdrawn from traffic and put into storage, throwing 15997 from first in the queue to fifth almost overnight.



After allowing the effects of the Covid stoppage to subside for several years, so as to be sure, 15997 was recently reviewed again. With regret, it was concluded that with the new reduced volunteer landscape, the increasing ages of all the carriage fleet, and the required capacity required of the coach fleet going forwards, 15997 didn't fit into the future strategy, so was offered for sale. With no takers, an exchange deal (see below) was in time agreed upon, concluding with us bidding a fond farewell to "the one that got away" from us!



We wish the new owners all the best with 15997 and we are keeping our fingers crossed that one day, they can restore 15997 to service and we can visit for a ride!



British Railways 1959 Metro Cammell Railcar Driving Motor Composite Lavatory E51505 (BRONZE)

The railway welcomed a new Class 101 railcar vehicle onto the books, powercar 51505, to further build resilience in the fleet. It is in remarkably good order considering the time it has spent in storage and should be resurrected for service relatively quickly by a joint taskforce of Loco and C&W members.




The vehicle has some interior issues and a roof that is leaking in several places so requires an urgent (Bronze level) period of attention so that the job of keeping it in reasonable order does not grow massively in the future due to water damage!




This blog won't cover the mechanical works as it is outside our scope, but within a few days of arrival the exterior had received a good wash down which transformed its appearance greatly and showed that the paintwork is still very reasonable in its colour and not faded - as the photo shows, far too good to repaint you could even say!



The bogies and underframe equipment have also received a jet wash down and a coat of black paint to spruce it all up, partly with the help once again of a corporate volunteer group.



Maintenance

Rolling reupholstery work continues inside TSO NN3868, along with the steady stream of mid-season examinations.



Workshop

The second and third phases of the project to tidy up Weybourne Yard has been completed, with an area to the side of the C&W Shed that is on lower ground to the rest of the site (known as "Dingley Dell") being cleared out and steadily restacked with Diesel Spares.



This has in turn allowed a large strip of land alongside our main access road to be emptied and levelled in readiness for laying a track panel to house spare carriage bogies, which are currently stacked on the ground elsewhere and look unsightly.



On the subject of bogies, we have received a pair of spare "B4" type Mark 1 coach bogies as we did not possess any ourselves. These were exchanged for the CK coach (see above) and will strengthen our long term spares position. These bogies will ultimately live on the bogie track panel being prepared at Weybourne.




31 May 2025

Pipe Wagon Completed

Midland Railway (later M&GN) 1886 6 Wheel Picnic Saloon 3 (BRONZE)

Both sides of the vehicle have now had two gloss coats of maroon supplied by Paintman. As the saloon doesn't have to match any adjacent vehicles (unlike the maroon on the Mark 1 stock) we decided to use it as a trial for the Paintman gloss as we have been investigating a selection of paint manufacturers lately in response to previous suppliers either providing paint that fades too quickly or isn't a reliable match for original BR colours. Unfortunately, despite many good reports from other railways, our painters have not got on with the trial so the saloon will remain the only vehicle in this particular shade.



Exterior focus is now on lining which has been completed on the two ends and the seaward side, wiuth just the landward side left to complete.



The visible edges of the underframe have also been keyed down ready for a coat of varnish.

The running boards have been completed following the repair of any damage followed by the normal sanding down and applications of black paint.

Internally, the mould/mildew that had formed on the ceiling, lights and even walls has been tackled with a "magic product", which with much relief has returned the interior to its former glory.






The coach is on track to be returned to service for the peak summer Victorian Sundays.

London North Eastern Railway 1950 Brake Corridor Third E1866 (GOLD)

Interior paneling continues to progress well with the more difficult areas now being tackled away from the main saloon sides. The four oval windows, at the toilet end and at the accessible end, have all been paneled around with a special rubber section being ordered to join the side sections to hoop shaped inlays that have been fitted around the windows themselves.



The previously fitted panels continue to have varnished wooden trim added over the various edges and joints.



London North Eastern Railway 1938 Brake Third Open E16631E (GOLD)

A further coat of Crimson gloss has been applied to the lower half of the vehicle.



London North Eastern Railway 1945 Gangwayed Brake E70621E (SILVER)

This project has progressed very well outside as we have had a run of good dry weather. All of the vertical wooden side strips that capped the corners of the vehicle and the sides of each doorway have been removed meaning we now have a flat planked surface along the bodysides which can receive protective cladding in the future. Before it is clad however the process of chipping off the loose paint and applying a protective paint layer has continued. Both sides are now completed as far as primer, as are the two ends, so it won't be long before some gloss can be applied to seal the surviving timber.




So that we are reasonably weather tight well in advance of next winter, two of the three doors which had been removed in the past have been refitted, to the seaward side. Some limited door post repair work was required in some areas to provide enough material to safely reattach the hinges.




The underframe has also advanced, with the two bogies intended for fitting to the vehicle later this year now up to gloss black. The remainder of the underframe and bufferbeams on the vehicle itself are now in black primer awaiting glossing.



The two old LNER type vacuum cylinders have been removed from the vehicle and will be shortly heading north to the Strathspey Railway where they will find a new home.

There has even been time to continue with some interior work, with the whole Holt end half of the vehicle now cleared of its false partitions (fitted when it was a museum coach) and any stray screws, nails or brackets in the walls and floor. For the first time in many years, we can stand inside the vehicle and get an overall feel of how much of an open vehicle it was inside during its working life. This open nature will be useful once again in allowing the coach to have a versatile role as a mobile exhibition and commercial space.

British Railways 1961 Brake First Open (Kitchen) M14021 (GOLD)

The Holt end storage cupboard and associated saloon bulkhead continues to be worked on steadily.

British Railways 1958 Covered Carriage Truck M94125 (SILVER)

Focus has been on the exterior and roof of this vehicle, to reverse years of patching and some limited water ingress. The roof has now had all of its old paint chipped off it, unfortunately whilst on top of the vehicle around 50% of the vents were found to be in an advanced state of decay and were unusable. The four vents at the Holt end of the vehicle have therefore been removed and blanking plates fitted over, fixed through the original vent bolt holes so that vents can easily be reinstated in the future if ever required.



The Sheringham end, where the generator set will live, has seen the remaining good vents cleaned up, reused and resealed in position. The furthest vent has been replaced by a temporary exhaust pipe which will allow the generator exhaust to exit upwards through the roof rather than downwards which is now the temporary Norfolk Lights Express generator exhausts are routed.



The roof is now watertight and completed except for final painting which will be done closer to the vehicle's completion.



The seaward side bodyside, the better of the two, has seen much attention along with the Sheringham end. Where the roof meets the ends, corrosion had allowed water to enter and affect the corner posts, so all of the damaged material has been cut out and replaced with new metal skin. The damaged area on the Sheringham end/landward side corner was first tackled, allowing a replacement strip over the end of the vehicle and then flowing down into the Sheringham end seaward side corner.




With these repairs complete, the seaward side (minus the doors which will be treated separately) has now been repaired and work is now currently on the Holt end seaward side corner.

The Sheringham end opening wooden doors, which require more attention than the Holt end examples, have had loose paint chipped from the wood and primer applied. Further repairs to reattach hinges to doors where bolts are coming away are planned before final painting of this end.

British Railways 1957 Corridor Second W25189 (REPAIR)

Interior tasks are now finished, with a set of compartment table legs and side wall brackets now fabricated ready for fitting in the autumn. The side brackets have been drilled, tapped and test bolted onto the walls before being removed again so fitting will be easy when the time comes.

The steam heat repairs continue and are forming the rump of the work. Of the four required repairs to the main steam pipe, the first has seen the original curved pipe removed, cleaned up and built back up with weld before refitting.



The next two repairs, either side of the central water trap/drain, have been cut out, replacement pipes made ready and test fitted. The final fit will not be until the fourth repair is completed first to aid alignment. Whilst this part of the system has been dismantled, the opportunity has been taken to clean up the faces of the large flanges that mate the pipe with the water trap on a lathe, and to dismantle the trap itself for an internal clean.



The fourth and final repair, another innocent hole, grew quickly once we started to investigate it and now a revised option of replacing a six foot length of pipe over the Sheringham end bogie is being progressed instead. This long and unexpected section of steam pipe is now on order.

During testing it was found that four of the interior compartment radiators were not radiating heat properly. These have been removed and quickly cleaned/ overhauled, along with three spares for quick swap-outs on running coaches in the future. The four heaters from 25189 have now been refitted and will be tested at the same time as the rest of the coach once repairs are completed.

The remaining work on the coach is electrical, with all of the underframe cabling now fitted into place to facilitate the fitting of an in-built battery charger. With the vehicle now wired, the charger itself and a set of new batteries will be fitted shortly, after which we can test the lighting systems.



British Railways 1954 13 Ton Pipe Open B740918 (BRONZE)

The replacement tarpaulin "hood" has now been fitted to the vehicle and tied down, allowing the vehicle to finally rejoin the demonstration goods train. The main works had been completed in November last year so it will be great to see the refreshed vehicle back in traffic.





Maintenance

Routine maintenance continues now that the main running season is in full swing. A concerning number of wheel flats have emerged very quickly over a period of a week or so this is currently being investigated.



Meanwhile, anniversary coach NN3868 now has interpretation panels fitted to the interior with the theme of "a coach of many colours". Being the very first Mark 1 preserved and one of the few that was saved as long ago as the 1960's, NN3868 has had a lot of time and opportunity to carry different colour schemes, particularly during the early years.



The M&GN Brown colour scheme continues to be a talking point, which is exactly what was intended.



The rolling reupholstery work continues on the same vehicle, with the renewed "Trojan" moquette now present in 50% of the vehicle, the whole Holt end saloon now being completed.