27 September 2019

September News Part 2

Before starting the normal business we must give our best wishes to Pete Turl, a regular and stalwart volunteer who was recently taken ill whilst working inside a compartment of GER 853. Latterly a joint project manager for the same vehicle, Pete is now out and about again but has been condemned to a period of taking it easy which sadly precludes carriage restoration. If Pete is reading this, the place isn't the same without you and we're keeping the others in check and the seat warm for your speedy return!

Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853


The past few weeks has seen the coach surge towards final completion and a return to passenger service for the first time in over 90 years. The beautiful shading contained within the exterior lettering has been completed, allowing a coat of varnish to be applied to the bodysides and ends to end the exterior work.


Other finishing touches to the outside have included a final rub down and paint of the full-length footboards along with touching in of other items such as buffers and sections of underframe so the whole thing looks its best. Stars to denote the vacuum cylinder release pull chords have been sign-written onto the underframe, after the chords themselves were added with nylon rope. The brakes have been tested statically and a few mechanical tweaks made.


A snagging list has been created which contains rather boring "odds and sods" which have been found to be wrong with the vehicle upon inspection. These are being worked through with only about a day's work now remaining.

Internally more finishing touches such as final painting and adjustments of fittings have been made before the areas were declared complete and the final job undertaken: painting of the floors. This was done in both the compartments and in the guards areas.



Signage has also been added to windows and doors for the benefit of any neanderthals who want to hang their entire torso out of a moving train rather than just a bit of their head like most normal enthusiasts!


We now await a final test run and exit from the shed after which the underside can be lubricated and the vehicle weighed.

London North Eastern Railway 1950 Brake Corridor Third E1866E (GOLD)


Exterior work has been focused on the doors contained at the guards end of the vehicle. Several of these have now been removed and are in the process of having the external steel skins removed.


The fixings attaching the skins to the frame need replacing and several doors require repair and adjustment as required. Several doors have drooped over the years so need loosening up and resetting using clamps etc to bring them back into a truly square shape.


Others have some rot within the framework so are also having small sections repaired where needed. One door in particular has two side completely rotten so will have to be rebuilt with just the small cross sections remaining.

Internally, toilet sink plumbing continues steadily, with the recent focus being on mixer valves which prevent the hot water tap becoming too hot, this being a modern requirement.


British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)


Bodywork continues. The Holt end is now complete in terms of repairs, with the seaward side doorway receiving a new strip of metal top-to-bottom.


The corroded sections of skin on the galvanised roof have also been replaced with new sections welded in.


With the Holt end milestone completed, the metalwork turns to its very final phase for this long-running vehicle: the upper level repairs to the Sheringham end. This end is nowhere near as rotten as the Holt end, this becoming very apparent as the landward side corner has been cut back, cantrail repaired and skin returned on top all in one week. A nasty dent in the corner has also been knocked out improving its appearance greatly. A few small roof repairs have been made in the middle and now the seaward side corner is all that remains to be tackled.


Door work continues steadily, with the landward side middle door receiving its grab handle and also having further adjustments to get it swinging in and out of its frame properly. These doors are very time consuming but have to be right if trouble free operation is expected in the future.


The rebuild of the two Holt end doors also continues, but progress has been limited to making sure the two wooden frames are sound and coating them in red primer.


Inside the coach, the arrival of a long overdue shipment of hardwood timber has allowed a start to be made on the interior reassembly, which should hopefully be a dramatic transformation. Before large sheets of restored paneling can be fitted however, the more mundane supporting woodwork must be replaced and/or refitted if the originals survived. So far most of the lower and side supports that surround the windows have been produced, primed and screwed into place.


British Railways 1957 Tourist Second Open E4521 (SILVER)


Less progress than the other coaches in the works, nevertheless the removal of wasted steel outer skin from the Sheringham end is now complete, it will now rest until the welder moves on from E21224 onto this project.

At the Holt end, corroded and surplus items have been unbolted from the bufferbeam and the remains needle gunned to clean up the mess that was present before.


British Railways 1957 Corridor Second W25189 (BRONZE)


This has seen the bulk of volunteer resources put onto it recently, so good progress has been made. The fifth (of eight) compartment has been rubbed back to bare wood so is now ready for re-varnishing.


Meanwhile, the first four compartments to be tackled have now had four coats of varnish each, so their end appearance is now starting to come through.


One particular compartment had severe water damage so the ceiling has been removed prior to replacement.


Meanwhile three other compartments have had their ceilings patched up and repainted to freshen their appearance.


With the steelwork repairs around the windows having been completed along the landward side, we are preparing for the glass to be refitted. This has meant painting the window apertures, cleaning up the glass of old sealant so they can be re-bedded, and preparing the wooden gripper bars that hold the glass to the steel.


The bodywork repairs themselves are progressing really well, with the Holt end pictured last update now being completed,. This end was in worse condition than the Sheringham end so has been a bit of a slog but it is now back in a reasonable state.


This done, window bottom replacement is now proceeding along the seaward side,which is the final side to be tackled. Once all the windows are sound once more, the lower sections of the body will be repaired.


British Railways 1962 12 Ton Box Van B784254 (GOLD)


The replacement of the roof has now been completed with the new canvas receiving its final coat of black paint, it now has the best roof of any freight van on the railway!

The re-skinning of the four sliding doors has now been done, with all four new panels also painted in primer. Currently being restored are all the handles and other fittings that belong on the door.


A few small metal repairs to the corrugated ends have now been completed, so these are next for the repainting treatment.

08 September 2019

September News Part 1

Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853


Further progress has been made on the complicated shading lettering that is so much a feature of this particular carriage. Browns, reds, pinks, whites, blacks and creams have all been added to the various letters and numbers where appropriate. This process is still ongoing.


Inside the vehicle, the luggage rack netting is now complete and attention has been turned to loose components within the guards area. Obtained, painted and mounted items have included emergency ladders, a screw coupling and a spare vacuum hose, recycled from one of the DMU vehicles!



The wheelchair companions seat has also been upholstered and is receiving final trim work.


London North Eastern Railway 1950 Brake Corridor Third E1866E (GOLD)


The bulk of the underframe repainting is now complete, with both sides having been needle gunned and first primed, followed by black gloss.



Inside the vehicle, the luggage planking continues to progress with some areas now also painted with blackboard paint.


In a similar fashion to 853, an emergency screw coupling has been painted and fitted in place.


The toilet plumbing continues to progress steadily.


British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)


Bodywork continues.Over the past two weeks the lower half skin has been welded onto the Holt corridor end, giving a much more complete appearance.



These included two of the complicated compound corners which take a bit of time to get right.


The middle passenger door on the seaward side is now pretty much finished after its outer weather strips were fitted in place.


These same strips have also been fitted to the seaward side guards door.


Work on the two replacement doors for the Holt end continues, with the second one now fully stripped down to its individual parts. All of the metal pieces for both doors have now been grit blasted back to metal for repainting or repairs as required.


Stripping of the woodwork for these two doors also continues to progress.

Inside the vehicle, the woodwork along the side corridor has received a further coat of varnish which is steadily bringing it to a high gloss finish.


British Railways 1957 Tourist Second Open E4521 (SILVER)


The toilet window mentioned last time has now had the hidden faces painted in a protective coat of gloss, so this can now be stored safely until it is time to refit it.

Work to remove all of the sliding windows has now been completed. These will be cleaned up in due course.

Stripping down the corroded bodywork at the Sheringham end is now almost complete, with the seaward side corner now without its skin.


This shows, in all its glory, the unsafe structural pillars which are all missing where they should join onto the chassis. It is this essential work that must be undertaken before the coach can even be considered for running in service again, and is one of the reasons the Mark 1 Silver and Gold restorations take so long!


There is now just a small section above the corridor connection left to remove.

British Railways 1957 Corridor Second W25189 (BRONZE)


Bodywork repairs are racing along this coach faster than they can be reported on! Since last update all of the window bottoms on the landward side have been renewed where required, with each getting a greater or lesser degree of attention. Several have been replaced all along the bottom.


Work is now focussing on the Holt end. So far, a repair section has been made on the landward corner where the lower skirt had failed.


The lower section next to the corridor connection has now been sliced off, a repairs made to the bottom of the end pillar in the corner.


Inside the vehicle, four of the eight compartments have been rubbed down for re-varnishing. All four currently have different numbers of coats of varnish, however the first compartment is starting to look much better for it.


British Railways 1962 12 Ton Box Van B784254 (GOLD)


The roof work is now almost completed, with black paint being applied to the roof canvas which is the final stage in its restoration.

Attention is now firmly on the sides, specifically the doors, which are having new outer skins fitted. Two of these are now fitted, to the landward side, with the second pair being prepared.


A pair of buffers have also been sent away for overhaul for eventual use on the vehicle.

Next Week


It will be another two weeks before another Blog, heading to Wales this time!