28 March 2020

COVID-19 Lockdown!

Unless readers have been living on a deserted island, they will be aware of this week's nationwide "lockdown" procedure. As a result of these extreme measures, North Norfolk Railway closed its doors to all staff and volunteers on Monday evening until further notice. This has inevitably directly stopped all Carriage & Wagon works so there is no longer any activity for this Blog to report on.

We are still doing our bit and Monkey has accordingly been offered to the UK government for clinical trials - there's no such thing as animal rights here in Carriage & Wagon! Keep smiling and see you all on the other side - until then we would suggest rustling up a nice hot cup of PG and wait for all this to blow over...

21 March 2020

March News Part 3

Firstly we would like to give a big shout out to the majority of our volunteers, whom we have now lost to the social distancing measures in place. Keep smiling! Whilst progress on all things Carriage & Wagon has slowed considerably, we are still going at the moment, but for how much longer we shall see.

Great Northern Railway (later M&GN) 1887 6 Wheel Third 129 (BRONZE)


No progress to report.

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


Those who have been able to come in have been busy continuing to progress the wooden framework repairs to the twelve doors currently dismantled. Lots of blocks have been inserted, some larger than others, to rid the frames of the considerable rot that had affected them.

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)


The last two weeks has seen a large part of the seaward side of the vehicle prepared for final paintwork, with lots of filler applied and sanding down to achieve that all important smooth finish. A lot of detail sanding is still required, however the entire exterior of the coach is now ghostly white and very smooth to the touch.


The last of the four water filler pipes have also been sanded down of their old paint and so they also are now ready for the big repaint. Working towards the same aim, the individuals working on the guards end doors are also doing very well. The inward opening guards doors, which have arguably been the most troublesome when it comes to adjustments and getting them "right", are now on the verge of completion. The inside planking has been fitted into place permanently, with many planks requiring material to be added or removed to get a snug fit. Draught excluder has also been fitted around much of the doors, as have the lower "boots" which sit at the bottom on the inside. On the landward side along the passenger corridor, a "bump stop" has been fitted to the wall of the corridor so that if the door swings inwards the full 180 degrees and hits the wall, it won't damage anything.


The pair of double luggage doors on the landward side are now all but complete, with just the draught excluder strips left to fit. They are now fully planked, locking mechanisms fitted and working successfully. Planking on the seaward side pair is now ongoing.


Inside the vehicle, with the trim now completed in the toilet, some of the signage and fittings which sit on the walls have been able to be fitted. Although impossible to photograph all at once, most of the wall labels are now in place, along with one of the two mirrors and the paper towel rack. We can fit the rest of the wall furniture, but can't yet fit anything that sits on the floor (such as the sink etc), as these will have to wait until the lino flooring is laid.


Speaking of flooring, sanding of the floors has progressed with the aim of getting it smooth enough for the flooring contractors to lay the lino throughout the coach. With all of the flooring repairs and disturbance, there are quite a few holes, ridges and hollows to either fill in or knock back so that there are no sharp edges that would stress and crack the lino in the years to come.

Inside the compartments, the fixing bolts for the luggage racks have been painted, which completes the wider job of the luggage rack installation. Pictured last time was a two-tier first class rack, so for comparison this week there is a glimpse of a single-tier second class example.


Possibly the largest transformation this week on the coach has been in the luggage area. Two weeks ago the ceiling area was still completely stripped out. However the pre-prepared ceiling panels were all fixed into place one glorious Wednesday, and the following week was spent cutting and fixing all of the beading back into place over the joins and around the edges. This in turn was followed by the installation of the centre wiring trunking which runs along the middle of the ceiling containing both wires for the interior lights and also coach-to-coach through lighting wiring. The latter had had to be cut in two a few years ago as it was impossible to fully strip out the ceiling with it still in place. These were jointed back into place and heat shrunk to prevent shorting. This done, it was all able to be boxed up and all the trunking and lids painted. It made sense at the same time to also fit the two surrounds for the lights that will illuminate the luggage area, and also to wire up the switch that controls these lights. The beading is now in white undercoat and hopefully next week the entire ceiling (panels, trunking and beading) will all be sealed in together with one, final, coat of white gloss.


Elsewhere in the luggage compartment, the end wall which the sliding corridor door disappears behind when opened has been bolted back into place and planked out. This now means that all the wall planking and trim is now fitted and just required further sanding and filling work before it too can be painted and declared complete.


With the compartment wall panelling and trim now complete, the same volunteer has turned his attention to the same task along the side corridor. Early days yet, but test fitting of the veneered side panels and window surrounds around the nearest window to the Holt end has started.


British Railways 1957 Tourist Second Open E4521 (SILVER)


Great progress has been made on the metalwork repairs. The Sheringham end is now complete (hooray!) with the final sections of roof hooping being finished last week. The bare metal has been spot-primed in primer, as on the last silver overhaul (M4843), we made the mistake of thinking "it won't be that long before we do the full paintwork on the coach, and it's staying indoors so we will leave the metal bare for now". This resulted in minor surface rusting, so this time we have covered over the repaired metal as we aren't sure how long this coach is going to be before we are applying the paint work and readying it for service!


With the Sheringham end done, we move onto phase 2 (there are four sections of metalwork overhaul) which is the area between the Sheringham end and the centre vestibule/doorway. So far we have had a really pleasant surprise. With the areas around the windows in such good condition, we had already decided we were going to take a risk on hidden corrosion and not disturb them this time around (Silver overhaul, not Gold!). This meant the only areas to replace along the bodysides is the longitunal joint that BR introduced when they riveted a new six inch strip to the bottom of the coach, presumably in the 1970's. Usually when we cut these off it reveals bad corrosion to the framework of the coach below, which in turn requires lots of interior disturbance and stripping out to access. However after cutting off the corroded lower strip of metal skin along the landward side, we were greeted with the sight of a full row of framework sections in good condition. In less than one week, these have been needle gunned and repainted ready for re-use and and this section is now ready for its new "skirt" to be welded back into place. This discovery is quite unusual these days and a real bonus to this coach's prospects.


Less lucky are the doorway pillars flanking the section of passenger saloon now being worked on, which in contrast are very corroded. A start has been made on stripping them back to cut them out and replace them. It is likely that we will replace the lower 2/3rds of them, as they are OK at the top.

Meanwhile the door rebuilds continue, with some of them now starting to be built back up, after the last of the sanding was completed. Three of the six now have their droplight window panes refitted inside cleaned up runners, along with the lazy tongue springing mechanisms that operate them.


Whilst doing roof repairs to the Sheringham end, two rain gutters were removed from the roof so that they could be cleaned in more comfort on a bench, prior to the main roof scrape job which will be done at some point in the future. These cleaned, they have now been primed and await refitting to the roof, probably once it is berthed in the staging area where the safety wire is located.


British Railways 1962 First Open M3116 (REPAIR)


With a decision made on the problem wheelsets, wheelset number two is now almost completed in the wheel lathe. This will be followed by a further turn on wheelset number one and we should at last have a pair to put back into the patiently waiting bogie. Said bogie is now completed as far as the brake gear clean up is concerned, all of the links and pins now operate more freely than ever before! The only outstanding job on this bogie is the refitting of a replacement side damper and it is then ready to receive the two wheelsets already mentioned.


Following a period of re-certification, we are now able to use out jacks again, after a short period out of use. This has allowed the coach to be dropped back to a more normal height whilst it awaits its bogie work to be progressed.


With the wheel turning playing catch up, the team working on the bogie pin removal, cleaning and greasing have turned to the second bogie. This has been heavily supported by volunteers and consequently has progressed faster than normal. More than half of the second bogie has now been treated, with much of it stripped and back together this week.


Maintenance


Maintenance work has been rather decimated by the stoppage of all services. All staff have been recalled to the workshops and rolling stock intended for the steam gala returned to storage inside the sheds at Holt. Two carriage sets are prepped and ready and now stand in eerie silence at Sheringham awaiting the visitors return...

Workshop


Sack barrows have been breeding like rabbits, with a fresh batch intended for Weybourne (even more!") and now Sheringham. The Sheringham ones make sense as examples for Holt and Weybourne have been flowing these past six months so it would be unfair to leave them out. The sign-writing on them seems to be getting even better with the grey Sheringham examples approaching completion and looking very smart.


All of these trolleys have had differing degrees of restoration, some just being sanded down and repainted, whilst other more rotten examples are "new builds" from a woodwork point of view, with the metal wheels, straps and fittings etc being transferred from the dead ones to the new ones. Not quite trigger's brooms, but on their way!

08 March 2020

March News Part 2

Great Northern Railway (later M&GN) 1887 6 Wheel Third 129 (BRONZE)


Welding has been completed on the brake rodding, so all being well these will be refitted soon.

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


The never-ending door rebuilding has continued, with most of them receiving framework repairs and wood splicing this week.

Inside the coach, the guards compartment heater is now installed properly, complete with gauge.



British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)


Sanding and filling work to the landward side has now been completed signalling the half way point for this large task.


Other external work has also progressed, with the fourth and final gutter now back in place.


It was mentioned last week that the Holt end corridor connection bellows and mechanisms were all reinstalled, this week saw the same treatment for the Sheringham end, this being made possible after swift replacement parts were able to be produced in the machine shop.

Work to complete the doors continues with the guards doors in particular nearing completion.


A selection of internal planking, now fully machined to size and test fitted, have been off the doors and painted in primer before being refitted in some cases.


The missing toilet and compartment beading pictured last week has been fitted into the coach, finishing these areas from a woodwork point of view. This allowed the luggage racking to be installed throughout the coach, which has made a big difference to the compartment interiors.


Further filling of the floors has been done, with over 90% of the coach now completed. Sanding work will be required to achieve a smooth finish prior to the lino flooring being laid. Also filled have been many of the screw heads in the planking around the luggage van area.


The ceilings for the luggage area are almost ready to fit now, with half of them in gloss and the other half in undercoat. Beading to cover the joins has also been produced this week, and primed.


British Railways 1957 Tourist Second Open E4521 (SILVER)


Steelwork to the Sheringham end continues, with the required skin repairs to the roof undertaken at that end. Whilst the roofs of Mark 1's generally fare very well with age, they do rot away in the corners of the coach and at the ends. Replacement galvanised steel has therefore been put in where required.


Downstairs, the door rebuilds continue, with a nice set of locks being refurbished and repainted for the vehicle.


The "lazy tongue" sprung scissor mechanisms for the sliding droplight windows have also been cleaned up ready to reassemble in the doors.

British Railways 1962 First Open M3116 (REPAIR)


We are still working on a way forwards for the wheelsets, so in the meantime the bogie pin greasing/cleaning has progressed with the second part of the bogie being treated this week.


Maintenance


Corridor Second W25189, or the "Bourbon Cream" as it is now known in some circles, was tripped to Sheringham this week so has now officially been returned to the operational pool of coaches. We are looking forward to seeing its first public appearance at the Spring Steam Gala at the end of the month.

Also for the gala, the Suburban set has been extracted from Bridge Road sheds to be examined ready for the season ahead. The Quad Art set is due to follow, but will be done closer the event as it makes sense to do the wooden bodied stock last to reduce the time they spend standing outdoors.

01 March 2020

March News Part 1

Great Northern Railway (later M&GN) 1887 6 Wheel Third 129 (BRONZE)


All of the "3" symbols have now been applied to the doors (ten of them), which concludes the sign writing, and indeed all of the work above deck. The only task now that remains is the adjustment of the brake rigging, which is currently stopped awaiting the Engineering Department to assist us.


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


Another week of door rebuilds, with all twelve of them now in progress. Most appear to be stripped down now, with large chunks of rotten hardwood being pulled out of them ready for new bits to be spliced in.


The guards heater has also been test fitted in place inside the coach.

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)


This coach has remained the top priority with work on both the exterior and interior progressing. Starting with the outside, sanding and filling work has spread down the landward side with around 2/3rds now completed. It has had several skims and is now looking a lot whiter than it was two weeks ago!


Other fittings are being returned to the exterior alongside the filling work so that it can all come together for painting at some point. Three out of the four missing sections of gutter have now been returned to the vehicle. The end toilet filler pipes are being stripped back and cleaned up as these got missed out of the main paint stripping effort a few years ago. The Holt end corridor connection bellows, shock absorbers and "weather hood" have all been reassembled completing this connection at long last.


The Sheringham end connection has had the rubber bellows bolted back together, but the shocjk absorbers will have to wait as we have discovered there are missing parts up there that need machining.

We have started to undertake "snagging" work to all of the doors which have been hung, correcting small faults with them and finishing off lose ends. One of the largest tasks was to correct a stiff window in the landward guards door. This required the door to be removed from the coach and stripped down again so that some material could be removed from the wooden frame to ease the runners which the window slides in outwards to allow more room for the glass. Pleasingly this adjustment was successful and we now have a much smoother window.

Moving onto the interior, the missing beading for the compartments and toilet has now been fully varnished, having received several coats this week. This can hopefully be fitted in place this week.


Luggage rack netting has now been completed with all of the nets now fitted to the racks ready to refit. A series of missing brackets for the walls to accommodate the racks have also been remade ready for fitting. We are now sorting out the dome headed bolts which hold the racks in place, before they are fitted to the compartments themselves.


Along the side corridor, body filler has been put in over any gaps or cracks in the floor so that we have a smoother surface than at present on which to lay the new lino flooring.


The internal woodwork varnishing for the Holt vestibule doors has also been completed this week.

British Railways 1957 Tourist Second Open E4521 (SILVER)


Steelwork to the Sheringham end continued this week, with the passenger communication apparatus mounting plates welded on, and the mechanical linkages and pipework test fitted in place.



British Railways 1962 First Open M3116 (REPAIR)


Axle 1 (pictured last week) has received coats of black undercoat and gloss paint this week and is now ready for refitting. Axle 2 suffered problems in the wheel lathe with more material than expected having to be taken off. As wheels in the same bogie need to be of a similar size, Axle 1 may have to return to the lathe for more to be turned off. However other options involving swapping the positions of the four wheelsets around on the coach are being investigated to see if we can avoid taking any more material off Axle 1.

Meanwhile the wheel-less bogie currently on the floor in the shed is having all its bolts and pins in the brake-work removed for a quick inspection and thorough clean,. A full split pin renewal will also take place during this work. So far it all looks to be in good condition...


Maintenance


The vacuum cylinder pictured last week was fitted back onto W25189 during the week and tested successfully, so hopefully no more dramas for this coach. It was to be returned to Sheringham as part of a test working for one of the diesel shunters recently overhauled, however routine booked signalling maintenance that day meant that we couldn't exit the yard so the move was postponed. It is expected that W25189 will be returned to Sheringham next week.