May News Part 2

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

Progress continues steadily on the areas already in progress. The ever advancing guards double doors have had further adjustments and are now up to black undercoat, with several coats being applied inside also.

At the opposite end of the vehicle, the toilet area continues to progress with the door now fitted. The varnished corridor end doors also have had further work and many more coats of varnish.

London North Eastern Railway 1924 Quad Articulated Set 74

Conveyor belt coaches 10 to 13, or the Quad Art set as it's more normally known, has progressed well, with the seaward side varnishing now completed.

Also done at the same time were the two ends.

The landward side remains in patch varnish as we have had to build up five layers where the sun had damaged vulnerable areas. This tedious process has thankfully just been completed and we are now ready to varnish the whole side which will complete this work.

A start has now been made on some cosmetic subsidiary tasks including a coat of paint on the footboards.

We are hoping that tyre turning of the set will start after the Jubilee Weekend and accordingly we have arranged for the former museum coach (Thompson BG) to come to Weybourne form Holt to have two of its axles also turned at the same time, which in due course will be substituted into the Quads to replace two odd wheelsets that it has been running with for some time.

British Railways 1956 Brake Corridor Composite E21103 (SILVER)

Shortly after the last update the coach was lowered back onto its two bogies which we have now finished with. This work has been supported by a clean down and repaint into gloss black of all the visible underframe sections, which has really smartened up its appearance. The bulk of this work is complete with both sides finished and both bufferbeams at the end of the coach cleaned down and in undercoat.

The guards door handrails have been test fitted to ensure they still fit after the steelwork and woodwork had been renewed, this being seen as a good idea before much more paint was applied.

On the interior, the troublesome door cards have continued and are now all in place with final varnishing to complete. The two store cupboards are now also complete apart from final Formica cleaning. They have been trimmed out, painted where required, the lighting installed and revised locking arrangements fitted to make it easier for cleaners and staff to access.

In the wheelchair accessible saloon, all of the woodwork is now fitted meaning a start can be made soon on final rubbing down and repainting. Of note has been the refitting of the corridor end walls and sliding door with associated cover panels. There are now few parts still to physically refit to E21103.

British Railways 1962 Tourist Second Open M4958 (BRONZE)

Upholstery continues. It is now reaching the stage where a final audit will be made and the last spare cushions from stores selected to become the final "new" seats to form a set for the vehicle.

London Transport 1955 20 Ton Ballast Hopper HW426

The hopper project has progressed well now that outside work has recommenced on it. Several securing brackets have been fitted to the vacuum through pipe which are in turn welded to the chassis meaning the pipe is now fully secure. The flexible vacuum pipes (or "bags") have also been fitted onto the ends bringing this aspect of the project to a close.

Under-frame cleaning continues and has now progressed to some of the inside sections of the frames, although not a great deal more of this is likely to be attempted as it is a law of diminishing returns now that most of the visible sections are done. As each section is completed, rust inhibiting grey primer is applied.

For the rest of the wagon it has been a case of paint paint paint. As previously reported the outside of the hopper tub itself and the solebars have been primed before the vehicle left the shed, since then the outside of the running gear and under frame equipment has also been so treated. This has allowed the undercoat stage to commence, with the tub now in a coat of red undercoat and the seaward side solebar sporting black undercoat. It is starting to look smart and the eventual colour scheme is beginning to emerge.

British Railways 1953 20 Ton Loriot DB904093

No progress to report.

Hurst Nelson 1944 4 Wheel Petroleum Tank 5304

Final preparations for the tank repaint have been concluded following a few days of dusting, cleaning, applying rust inhibitor and wood hardener to relevent areas. The timber saddles at each end have cleaned up and subsequently filled ready for painting. 

Then the primer came out and quickly both the tank barrel and solebars were completed. Priming the tank with a roller was a time saver.

Maintenance

A exams have continued with the Suburban set being next in line. One of the coaches failed its passenger communication test, which became a problem as it was booked in service that day for a school charter with 300-odd children and no substitute coaches available. The pass-comms were fixed during the day in time for the return charter!

Additional door locking has also been fitted to the toilets on two dining train coaches, to allow them to be locked out of service for the Sheringham-Cromer section of mainline dining trains.

Workshop

A few items that have passed through the workshop for use elsewhere on the railway include the replacement Kelling Heath Park station sign and two purple headboards for use over the Jubilee Weekend!

May News Part 1

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

No prgress to report.

London North Eastern Railway 1924 Quad Articulated Set 74

The jewel in the railway's crown, the Quad Arts, have arrived at Weybourne for their refresh, becoming coaches 10, 11, 12 and 13 in the conveyor belt programme. One important difference is that we are swapping paint for varnish this time of course! It is fair to say that since their arrival they have dominated the labour allocation which is why several other projects have slowed or been paused for the duration of the Quads' stay. The first task after shunting them in (they take up two bays in the shed, one whole road) was a thorough clean as they were thick with steam loco oil. We had never come across them this dirty before, which is no suprise as they covered a much greater mileage during the "Covid season" when they ran all of our services.

With a thorough scruib down completed, and some semblence of varnished teak revealed once again, it was time for a rub down of the surface to prepare the bodysides for varnish. This has to be extremely thorough as the coach is a complicated mix of beading and alcoves, all of which have to be explored with the sandpaper. A large team of people spent five days completing this phase.

It was during the preparation works that we discovered that whilst the seaward side had survived well, sadly the summer of intensive use had taken its toll on the landward side and the sun had unfortunately destabalised the varnish in lots of areas, particularly below the windows and around raised beading. This meant we have had to split the set into two: land side and sea side, with the latter now declared ready for its full coat of varnish. The former is instead having the localised damaged areas stripped back to bare wood and new varnish built up, for which several layers will be required. This work is about half way to completion at present, and will continue next week.

The final job to be tackled was a damaged door striker plate which had split out. This was repaired with fresh wood and the door lock mechanism refitted and tested.

British Railways 1956 Brake Corridor Composite E21103 (SILVER)

What little resource which is not dedicated to the Quads has been directed towards E21103. Externally, the final section of bodywork, the Sheringham corridor end, has now been completed with the jumper cable mounts and data panel also fitted which completes this end and makes it ready for painting.

Painting of either end has however been postponed as it is much easier to do them when the vehicle gets a space in the satgaing area (currently occupied by the Quads). Instead just the two main bodysides have been progressed using portable platforms. The primer has been applied to both sides with an undercoat also added to the landward side.

On the underframe, the Holt end bogie has been targetted to bring it closer in line to the overhauled Sheringham end bogie. It has been steam cleaned and all the outside faces repainted into gloss black to smarten it up. All of the brakegear has been removed, the bearing faces all cleaned up and regreased followed by reassembly. The misshaped brake pull rods are now out for the same adjustment treatement which the first bogie received, but other than that both bogies are now ready to return under the vehicle.

On the interior, work to fit the replacement lower door card panels continues steadily, with three out of four now sucessfully trimmed and dry fitted. They have sadly proven to be more troublesome than predicted but we will get there! Beading out and painting of the two former toilets, now store cupboards, also continues. The wheelchair saloon is also going back together again, with much replacement beading, trim, panels and door surrounds being created ready to fit back in place.

British Railways 1962 Tourist Second Open M4958 (BRONZE)

With the Quad Art takeover, only the steady reupholstering of the seat cushions has been continuing.

London Transport 1955 20 Ton Ballast Hopper HW426

Other than attaching two "swan neck" vacuum pipe ends to the new through pipe, the hopper has been waiting outside for its team to return to it.

British Railways 1953 20 Ton Loriot DB904093

No progress to report.

Hurst Nelson 1944 4 Wheel Petroleum Tank 5304

The main barrel of the tank has been jet washed following the spraying of a traffic film remover like substance. It has worked very well.

The team are now rubbing down the tank before they attack the solebars and running gear.

Maintenance

The main "A set" have had their A exam completed and returned to traffic. Shortly afterwards, a table was pulled off the wall but this was quickly repaired with the help of the facilities at Sheringham generously provided by our friends in the Signalling department.

The dining set was prepared to run to Cromer but sadly this was cancelled. The set did at least run a "normal" diner from Sheringham to Holt however.

Two leaking air pipes on BCK E21224 were tigtened up, so we await with bated breath to see if this has cured the problem of the brakes not quite functioning 100%.

April News Part 3

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

The toilet door frame/surround mentioned last time has now been installed following several coats of varnish.

Both vacuum cylinders have also been raised up into position.

British Railways 1956 Brake Corridor Composite E21103 (SILVER)

It should not be too many more weeks now before this coach reaches the end of its stay with us and returns to service, with hopefully one more concerted effort to see it through. On the outside of the vehicle, a start has been made on the painting with the seaward side getting its first primer.

The Sheringham end, which is slightly lagging behind the rest of the coach, has been progressing well with the reassembly of the corridor bellows being completed leaving only the springs and "rain hood" to finish at the top. This advanced state has allowed the final 5% of bodywork preparation at this end to start.

On the underframe, the landward side has been the focus to bring it to the same completed state as the seaward. Due to a current lack of suitable paint, we have been cleaning down and preparing the side ready for painting when it arrives. This is now 3/4 complete.

The Sheringham end bogie is now completed, with final adjustments to the pull of the brake rods being completed. The modified rods will be crack tested before service but we shall get both bogies tested at the same time.

The Holt end bogie has been receiving a de-grease and scrape down prior to it being steam cleaned outside. This bogie will receive an external clean up and repaint and will have its uneven brakes brought back to standard, but won't receive the full strip down and overhaul that the first bogie did. At the end of the week E21103 was lifted which released the Holt bogie to be moved outside.

Interior paneling out in the wheelchair saloon and Holt end store cupboard (former toilet) continues to progress steadily.

British Railways 1962 Tourist Second Open M4958 (BRONZE)

The ninth conveyor belt coach is now completed externally, with the gloss paint being applied to the remaining bodysides, followed by another rub down and a coat of varnish all round.

The usual round of finishing touches to lamp irons, grab handles, window cleaning and sign-writing then followed. The vehicle will now exit the shed, to make way for the Quad-Art set, and be positioned outside again for the interior works to continue.

On the interior, the Holt end vestibule has now been rubbed down and given a freshen up coat of varnish, which it looks much better for. Provided there is time, the same will be done to the centre and Sheringham end vestibules. Re-upholstery work also continues steadily with the aim of having this vehicle back in service for the summer. 

London Transport 1955 20 Ton Ballast Hopper HW426

One thing that cannot be said of the ballast hopper team is that they have wasted their unexpected time undercover! It has been a flurry of noise and activity as more and more of the wagon has been needle gunned and/or wire wheeled to remove and stabalise 40+ years of corrosion.

The vehicle's handrails at the operator end have been cleaned down and two of the three hopper door wheels removed as they were loose and require shimming. The through vacuum pipe has been constructed, very swiftly, and is now dry fitted awaiting further works and clamps.

With the Quad-Art set fast approaching, notice was served on the wagon to return outside, and the final few days inside were spent applying a first coat of bitumen paint to the inside of the hopper, and a coat of grey primer to the outside, including sole bars and bufferbeams. Very quickly the hopper has transformed in appearance!

British Railways 1953 20 Ton Loriot DB904093

No progress to report.

Hurst Nelson 1944 4 Wheel Petroleum Tank 5304

The next project selected by the Holt Wagon Team is the Shell tanker which had been looking rather sorry for itself. Following the Steam Gala it was shunted under the museum awning for work to begin. The years under the trees at Holt has discoloured the paintwork with sign-writing in particular suffering.

The original plan was a simple clean down and full repaint, given that there was little serious corrosion or visible degradation present, so a start was made on the seaward side, spraying down with traffic film remover followed by a jet wash. The result was excellent, especially the sole bars, which are so good it is now thought that they may not need painting after all.

It is expected for more updates on the tank wagon project to come, especially as we are now entering warmer weather.

British Railways (SR Design) 1948 25 Ton Brakevan 55167

Although this vehicle was completed for the Steam Gala at the start of the month, sadly due to illness a group photo of the team behind it was not possible. We can now rectify this! Left to right are Peter Maynard, Brian Ashby and Peter Bedell who alongside Peter Turl (retired) masterminded the project to restore the SR brake. The finished vehicle is a credit to the four of them and brings fresh colour to the freight train, which is now the best (and longest) it has ever been. We live in a golden age for wagons!

Maintenance

The vacuum cylinder mentioned last time for DMU trailer car M56352 has been overhauled and refitted to the vehicle, which in turn has been returned to service.

"A" exams are now due for the main mark 1 running set, which has seen the suburban set out for a few days this week to cover whilst the vehicles were looked at.

April News Part 2

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

Work on further improving the fit and integrity of the double doors continues although as is often the case with this kind of work there are no major milestones to report.

A new piece of woodwork that has been started is the toilet door surround which was removed from the vehicle some time ago and has been stripped of its old varnish this week.

British Railways 1956 Brake Corridor Composite E21103 (SILVER)

Externally the vehicle is reaching maturing in terms of refitting and repair work. The final outstanding area, the Sheringham end, has been started now that access has been improved. The woodwork behind the gangway has been refitted to the end with the rubber bellows due to follow shortly.

The seaward side underframe has also been a focus this week, which is receiving a cosmetic clean up and repaint. The solebar, footboards, visible trussing and battery boxes and equipment have all been brushed down and painted gloss black. It looks much better for it.

During one of those days when everything comes together, all of the various parts from the dismantled Sheringham end bogie were grouped together and refitted, with first the leaf spring and suspension arrangements being rehung closely followed by the bogie frame being lifted back onto its two wheelsets, one of which had been tyre turned some time ago. The following week was spent fitting all of the brake-gear and pull rods back into place. Whilst the refit was successful, we now wish to rectify a long running (10+ years) problem with this bogie, where one of the axle's brakes pulls on before the other. This required re-welding of certain pull rods to bring everything back equal.

The interior has not been forgotten, with varnishing now at an advanced stage. The corridor and three vestibules are now fully varnished so this refresh work is now practically complete. The final task for this area is to replace the four lower door card panels, which are currently being custom fitted to each individual door.

The compartments have been finished off by having all the missing signage reinstated with replacement transfers. This included First Class and No Smoking signs.

Work has also recommenced on the paneling out of the wheelchair saloon, with the second half being progressed this week. The person doing this will be on holiday for a while so its completion will still be a while however it has made a good start.

British Railways 1962 Tourist Second Open M4958 (BRONZE)

The ninth conveyor belt coach has had much freshen up work completed now that it is inside the shed. The roof has had all its loose paint chipped off and has now been fully repainted.

The bodysides have been rubbed down and washed ready for repaint, 1/4 of which has been completed.

The corridor ends have had a freshen up, with the corridor "tunnels" repainted black, the doors repainted brown, lamp irons picked out in white and all the painted handles cleaned back to bare metal and refitted to the doors.

Internally, the middle vestibule, which for some reason was much worse than the others, has had a repaint to smarten its appearance.

London Transport 1955 20 Ton Ballast Hopper HW426

The hopper wagon, originally agreed to be an outdoor project, has taken advantage of a spare undercover bay in the shed, so has been immune from wind and rain the last two weeks. This has allowed progress to surge forward at an accelerated pace. The outside of the hopper "tub" has been needle gunned back to bare metal and in the most visible areas is being wire wheeled to a vary smooth finish. 

The Holt end bufferbeam, coupling and buffers have also been wire brushed of 40 years of rust and lack of attention.

Surplus and corroded wiring conduits and air pipework have been removed from the sides of the wagon, which both allows the extremely corroded and hidden areas behind to be treated but also creates the space needed for a through vacuum pipe to work its way down the sides in due course.

Progress is good and although we don't make promises it is hoped the hopper can debut at the Summer Steam Gala.

British Railways 1953 20 Ton Loriot DB904093

No progress to report.

Maintenance

Last week a vacuum cylinder failed on DMU car M56352. It was removed from traffic and the following day the cylinder was removed. It has been dismantled, overhauled, repainted and reassembled and towards the end of the week passed its test on the vacuum cylinder test rig.

Workshop

The team who normally work on Thompson coach E1866 have been tidying up the area of the shed next to their project. New benches, shelving and drawers have been installed and the area is much improved.