More Bodywork

It has been a quiet month but we continue to work away on the various longer term projects...

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

The servery counter continues to be improved with the front being clad and the whole area being sanded down and painted.

London North Eastern Railway 1937 Restaurant Buffet E9128E (REPAIRS)

This vehicle has decided to copy the Quad-Arts and is now unexpectedly out of service with wheel flats awaiting tyre turning. We are aiming to have it rectified and contract turned as soon as possible and are currently working with the contractors to find a slot in their programme.

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

Work slowly continues on the landward side battery box rebuild and the overhaul of the eighth and final bodyside door.

British Railways 1958 Brake Corridor Second M35148 (SILVER)

We continue to focus on the accessible saloon at the Sheringham end. Unfortunately we have hit our first serious snag with much increased corrosion being discovered around the corridor connection at this end which was better hidden than is often the case. As a result, woodwork on the end which we were going to leave in situ and reseal externally has all now had to be stripped off to reveal the corroded steel platework and holes below. This is now in the process of being chopped out and replaced, and of course a great deal more interior woodwork has had to be removed to facilitate this.

One area of concern is the floor which has corroded and pushed upwards in "classic Mark 1 fashion" preventing the sliding door from opening and closing correctly. We are hoping to get one last run out of the steel floor before it is fully stripped out and replaced, which is a major task, so this has been deferred till its next visit. In the meantime we are treating what we can access and bring the floor back down level so we can attend to the sticking door.

The bodysides are going better with all the window repairs in this saloon complete so the windows can go back in soon. The plan is still to complete the accessible saloon externally so that we can move in volunteer teams into the interior, which is badly needed as we currently have no vehicles in the works available for those who undertake such internal work.

The windows which have been removed from the compartments continue to be diligently cleaned up, including the glass sheets, which will give us a head start when we move down into this area.

British Railways 1957 Class 101 Railcar Driving Trailer Composite Lavatory E56062 (SILVER)

Bodywork continues steadily. A full production set of laser cut window bottoms have arrived which will help continued metalwork. The first 1/6th of the vehicle has now had its bodywork repairs completed which is a small milestone, but important as we think this is also the worst 1/6th. The adjacent doorway will be next to complete.

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Motor Brake Second M51188

The new ambulance cupboard sign has been designed and produced and married up to a repainted frame and custom cut glass front. This week it was fitted onto the front of the cupboard in the guards van so we now just need to glaze the frame which covers the access handle and then shut the door for the final time!

British Railways 1954 13 Ton Pipe Open B740918

Recent progress has been de-greasing all around the axle-boxes and running gear in preparation for repainting these areas of the underframe.

British Railways (LMS Design) 1949 20 Ton Brakevan B950133

No progress to report.

Workshop

We have identified improvements to the dust extraction system that is fitted to the wood working machines in the workshop. These are currently being worked on with a view to making the system as efficient as it can be and therefore making the area as healthy as it can be. 

Returning to Bodywork

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

The main focus continues to be underneath, with the rerouted steam pipe pictured in previous weeks being moved underneath for reconnecting. Further work is also being undertaken on the mounting straps for the Control Emission Toilet tank, the reason for moving the steam pipe in the first place.

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

Several new asbestos surveys has been taken after the initial contractors either declined or quoted uncompetitive prices. We are currently awaiting fresh prices. Meanwhile steady rebuilding of the landward battery box continues.

The final door rebuild has stalled whilst other maintenance tasks on other vehicles have been undertaken.

British Railways 1958 Brake Corridor Second M35148 (SILVER)

Bodywork continues with the main area of attack being the landward side, in particular the guards doorway and nearby window apertures. The accessible saloon section on the landward side has also become the first to be flatted back in preparation for filling and painting.

Some further limited door patching has been done and many more doorway side strips have been removed and are having sealant and corrosion removed. Also being progressed is the sealant removal from the window frames that have been taken off the vehicle.

The first of the sliding corridor end doors (Holt end) has been removed from the vehicle, sanded and undercoated ready to be repainted brown.

British Railways 1957 Class 101 Railcar Driving Trailer Composite Lavatory E56062 (SILVER)

Work has picked up again with stripping out spreading to the cab front. All three windscreens have been removed.

The first passenger doorway to be repaired has had all it's new metalwork completed and painted and is now ready for reassembly and building back up.

This can't happen until the replacement door is ready however. This has been stripped as far as possible and will now have all of the serviceable interior furniture from the old door transferred to it.

The metalwork continues to progress on the seaward side along the rear saloon. All of the patches have been cut out and replacement metal tacked in place ready for full welding next week. Some prototype replacement window bottoms have also arrived and been tacked in successfully. With tweaks noted, the production run can now be ordered.

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Motor Brake Second M51188

No progress to report.

British Railways 1954 13 Ton Pipe Open B740918

The good weather has seen good progress continue. The main thrust has been needle gunni g down of metal on the chassis and body frame in the morning and protecting it in new anti corrosive primer in the afternoon. This cycle has worked well with three out of four sides of the wagon treated so far.

On less weather predictable days, some time has also been given to de-greasing the lower running gear with a view to painting in the future.

British Railways (LMS Design) 1949 20 Ton Brakevan B950133

No progress to report.

Gala Preparations

A lot of time and effort has been spent this week making preparations for the Steam Gala. Having an event where nearly all of our rolling stock is intended to be in use, so early into the season, puts a great deal of strain on the maintenance and examination side of the department, as it prevents us spreading the annual exams into May. All of the "special stock" has come out of winter hibernation and been ticketed for use for this event and indeed for the year ahead. It has been worth it however as a real show has been put on with some interesting formations and a good time had by all.

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

Work has restarted underneath the vehicle, with a good section of the new re-routed steam pipe being produced ready to fit, as the original route was needed for the new control emission toilet tank.

This tank continues to be arranged underneath the vehicle, with thought being given as to its mounting arrangement. 

A good step forward on the exterior of the vehicle has been the arrival and fitting of replacement glass for the small luggage area windows. Around 3/4 of these have been fitted already with just a few still to finish off.

Additional shelving and further tweaks are being made to the servery area inside the vehicle.

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

Work on the landward side battery box continues, which has turned out to be more rotten than first appeared.

British Railways 1958 Brake Corridor Second M35148 (SILVER)

In similar style to previous weeks, a continuation of the bodywork which is slowly creeping its way down the Holt side. Several doors are having in-situ metalwork replacements, particularly around the lower end. As we don't like to strip the doors fully down unless it is a Gold level overhaul, this is a good way of giving the doors a new lease of life and removing corrosion for relatively little outlay, albeit without being able to protect the rear faces of the metal as much as we would perhaps like.

Further passenger compartment windows have been removed to allow early corrosion underneath the frames to be dealt with.

British Railways 1957 Class 101 Railcar Driving Trailer Composite Lavatory E56062 (SILVER)

No progress to report.

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Motor Brake Second M51188

No progress to report.

British Railways 1954 13 Ton Pipe Open B740918

Now that Spring is in the air and we are getting some drier days, this wagon project which had to be stalled in the Autumn has now recommenced. This week the landward side ironwork has had a coat of red primer applied all along the body. It is planned next week to move onto the Sheringham end which so far has escaped attention.

British Railways (LMS Design) 1949 20 Ton Brakevan B950133

This week has been all about paint stripping, getting there slowly but surely.

A start has also been made sanding in areas where the existing paintwork is pretty good.

Peter Leny

It is our sad duty to inform readers that long standing C&W volunteer Peter Leny died last week. Peter was known universally as "Doctor Peter" owing to the fact that after joining the department there were too many Peters to keep track of and his career had been as a GP. Peter was old school, a gentleman, down to earth and softly spoken. I never saw him angry even once, and one of his greatest skills in my opinion was the ability to convey any irritation in such a way that the listener hardly realised he was complaining, an art which is surprisingly rare! Peter was an interesting person to spend time with, having a seemingly eternal bank of stories from times gone by providing heathcare to the general public. There was a case study relevant to almost any situation being discussed. Despite being long retired Peter was often consulted by other volunteers and paid staff for an opinion on any ailments in the department, something I never fully worked out whether he minded or not. He would be far too polite to say if it did bother him! Peter's entire life was dedicated to helping people beyond himself and being part of a wider cause, which he translated seamlessly into his volunteering at the NNR. Peter understood completely that his weekly contributions tediously cleaning down carriage components were part of the backbone of the restoration process despite not being particularly photogenic. He gave many years to the railway and his departure around the time of the Covid pandemic leaves a hole in the department hard to fill.

Doctor Peter (left) with partner in crime Nurse Peter

Tanker Rides Again

Thank you for all the well spirited comments following last week's April fool, it was nice for the readership numbers to (temporarily at least) return to pre-Covid levels. This week, in contrast, has been a short week due to Easter and lower levels of volunteers with grandchildren being off and holidays being had!

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

The woodwork associated with the servery area is being painted up.

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

The slowly advancing negotiations with the asbestos removal contractor regrettably has fallen through and they no longer wish to undertake the work. We have now returned to the drawing board and are now exploring a new batch of contractors.

British Railways 1958 Brake Corridor Second M35148 (SILVER)

Work continues to focus on the wheelchair accessible saloon, but not in a particularly photogenic way. Further metalwork has been tidied up and more small areas replaced and painted around the four window apertures and work is also ongoing on tackling the doorway edges on the double (former luggage) doors. Some of these are having the wooden frames removed, others can remain in situ. The rough aluminium weather strips capping the doorways are all being removed, cleaned and prepared for refitting. It would have been nice to replace these four-piece examples with the superior one-piece type which fit under the hinge between the body, but this would involve very time consuming stripping down, hinge removal and door resetting. For that reason we have decided to let this one go and simply stabilise any early corrosion and refit the old strips. A substantial amount of supporting woodwork modifications are also being made around the windows on the interior, to make window fitting and removal easier in the future.

Further down the vehicle, a start has been made on preparing for the future phases of the corridor and compartments. The first compartment window has been removed, following dismantling of the surrounding wooden trim.

British Railways 1957 Class 101 Railcar Driving Trailer Composite Lavatory E56062 (SILVER)

Focus has remained on doorways, with the first one receiving more metalwork. The second doorway has also been stripped out with wooden trim and door jambs removed allowing all of the metalwork below to be needle gunned so we can see where we are. We believed the second door to be better than the first, but underneath things have proven to be just as bad! At least this doorway doesn't have an out of shape door!

Removed seat frames continue to have their lower legs painted, many of these are up to gloss now, with a few still in undercoat.

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Motor Brake Second M51188

No progress to report.

British Railways (LMS Design) 1949 20 Ton Brakevan B950133

No progress to report.

Metropolitan Cammell 1965 4 Wheel Petroleum Tank 53083

The Devil Tank successfully had its buffer changed this week, a fairly straightforward task for once. We extracted a spare buffer from stores but then discovered that all seven of our spares had the smaller buffer head whereas the tank should have the larger type. After a head scratch for a bit we spotted one of the box vans in the yard which are internal use only had been fitted with a larger buffer out of convenience.

Given box vans normally have the smaller type, we placed the (small) spare onto the box van and moved the larger one onto the tanker. The actual removal and fitting of the buffers was pain-free, with all bolts behaving.

Although we didn't have much time, a quick clean up and a coat of anti-rust primer was applied to the area of bufferbeam normally covered by the buffer.

Whilst we had the tanker at Weybourne the air braking system (seldom used) was fully tested and found to be in working order. The wagon has therefore had its "fitted brake" ticket reinstated so provided it is moved around solo then it can run as an air braked train, which is not that common on the NNR.

Quint-Art Return

NOTE to retrospective readers: The section in red was constructed as an April Fool's joke!

London Great Eastern Railway 1907 Quint Articulated Set 74

As hinted in last week's update, we have now fully completed the work on the set. Satisfied that the wheel profiles were correct for the original 4-coach formation, it was back into the shed once again to undertake the final part of the puzzle. The M&GN Society's long term aim has for some time been to utilise Great Eastern 295 and run it with the Quad-Arts in matching teak to bring wheelchair accessibility to the set for the first time. With recent quotations for bogie overhauls having risen, instead the recently acquired articulated accommodation bogie has been utilised to its full potential and the body of GER 295 centrally placed to create a Quint-Art set perhaps decades earlier than would have otherwise been possible.

It is anticipated that the centre coach will be locked out of use for a few days whilst we complete the finishing touches to the bodywork, however the disturbance to the rest of the set for the tyre turning was too great an opportunity to turn down when it came to undertaking the body lifting works. The set will be in service this month so come on down and see for yourself... you'd be a fool not to!!

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

Back in the workshop the Thompson has seen some detailing work to the large sliding door at the brake end of the passenger saloon to widen it further in a way that the draught strips can be more easily fitted. The upper pelmet has also been added and surrounding pillars tidied up.

At the opposite end of the coach, the mini-bulkhead wall separating the bar counter from the saloon has been fitted and rapidly a framework made up for the counter behind.

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

The landward side battery box refurbishment continues with the box itself taking the focus now that the doors are complete. The right hand side is particularly bad with around two thirds of it having now been cut away with timber being prepared for its splice replacement.

The battered framework for door #8 continues to be soothed back into life with repaired parts being prepared ready for the framework to be reconstructed.

The corridor end metal oops for the gangways have now both been completed having been brought up to black gloss.

British Railways 1958 Brake Corridor Second M35148 (SILVER)

All four of the windows have now been removed from the wheelchair saloon, which has made a good start.

The apertures are in reasonable condition despite the eruption corrosion and we have caught most of it in time. Some small areas have been chopped out and replaced, with other being cleaned and rust treated. A start has also been made on cleaning up the doorways, which bizarrely have shown very poor outer weather strips but on closer inspection don;'t have the more normal heavy corrosion beneath. So far so good.

At the Holt end, most of the vestibule ceiling has been removed. this had suffered from leaks in the past and had become a damaged and untidy mongrel of repaired pieces. The opportunity of this overhaul will be used to replace what requires replacing and improve this area in the process.

British Railways 1957 Class 101 Railcar Driving Trailer Composite Lavatory E56062 (SILVER)

Unlike 35148, the DMU has been sinking deeper and deeper into the mud with more problems with the bodywork and doors pointing to the conclusion that this one isn't going to be a particularly fast turnaround! Nevertheless we plough on! The first doorway has been a major focus this week with more rot chopped out and one side pillar completed with new lower framework and skin welded in. The door was test fitted again but has found to be too out of shape to re-use so it will probably have to be swapped out with a spare.

Whilst we await laser cut window bottoms to arrive, the exposed framework is being needle gunned to stabalise it.

The removed windows also continue to be cleaned down to give the aluminium some life again.

The passenger seats are all having their water damaged sections at the bottom of the feet de-rusted and repainted. So far, they have been needle gunned, rust treated and primed where required. 

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Motor Brake Second M51188

The ambulance cupboard picture frame has been undercoated.

British Railways (LMS Design) 1949 20 Ton Brakevan B950133

The M&GN Society's brakevan, despite having last been refreshed as recently as 2016, has been taken out of service again for more remedial work, a necessity for wooden wagon stock that is kept outside sadly. It has been taken on by "Team Pete" at the museum at Holt station, who have turned out several wagons now including the Southern Railway brakevan.

There is a lot of work to be done, the timbers on the balcony corners need to be replaced as bolts have rusted and split the wood. A start has been made on preparing these for removal. 

Also started is the heat gunning of old paint from areas where it has become unstable.

Metropolitan Cammell 1965 4 Wheel Petroleum Tank 53083

The "Devil Tank" was stopped late last year as it was reported to have a compressed "oleo" buffer. Following tests to ascertain it was benign the vehicle has been removed from the freight set and tripped to Weybourne for a buffer swap.

Multiple Completions

With two weeks having passed since the last update, more than usual has been achieved, notably the boxing up of two major projects and the commencement of two more. Out with the old and in with the new as they say!

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

Modest progress on existing works. Further progress has been made on cleaning and painting the handrails for the guards door, which being LNER pattern are an unusual T shape. The gangway ends have continued to see adjustments to the bottom tread plates with the right angles and heights to avoid trip hazards eventually being set successfully.

London North Eastern Railway 1924 Quad Articulated Set 74

At the last update we were half way though the complex process of bogie extraction and tyre turning. The second pair of bodies were lifted successfully, the first one traditionally and the second was just raised a few feet at one end to release the intermediate bogie closest to the shed doors. The bogie furthest in was not required as it was the accommodation bogie which didn't require turning.

With the two remaining bogies extracted we repeated the craning (pictured last time) and these went to Leeds via road transport for an overnight stint on their state of the art wheel lathe. Bang on time they returned the following day and were craned back onto rails. We'd like to thank both of our neighbours the Engineering department and the Loco Running Shed, both of whom have been excellent in providing equipment, manpower and tolerance of us taking over more of the yard than we usually do. It was a case of everyone working together to get the job done smoothly.

Returning to the coaches, reassembly then followed which was a reverse of the disassembly. It was certainly a great feeling knowing the mechanical condition of the wheelsets should now set the vehicles up for a good life ahead. Before finishing the set completely we just have a few final tweaks to make to the vehicles, specifically in line with the M&GN Society's wishes for the set's formation in the longer term, which may for some be slightly controversial. More of that in the next update as it is still being finalised over the next few days.

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

Work on the landward side battery box continues and the front doors are now pretty much complete following extensive work and painting up to gloss black. The same volunteer has now started on tidying up the box itself which needs wood letting in on the two sides where weather and battery acid has taken its toll.

Corridor end components continue to be improved, with the recently welded gangway end "hoops" being cleaned up back to bare metal and painted in several coats up to black gloss.

Limited stripping of the underframe away from the areas containing asbestos has carried on, with more items removed from the bufferbeams.

A full set of wooden glass gripping bars have been made for the four small windows which will be reinstated in the guards and luggage areas. These are time consuming, some new, some repaired and all dry fitted to the frames and put into store to await window refitting.

Reconstruction of door #7 continues steadily with the luggage door locking bar being fitted and the full height wooden back panel now in place.

British Railways 1962 First Open M3116 (SILVER)

Once returned to the staging area the remainder of the lining in the upper parts of the bodysides was quickly completed. A few other minor cosmetic tasks such as repainting the gutters, returning brass grab handles back into place and cleaning/snagging were also undertaken. At the same time, a coat of varnish was applied to the whole exterior including the ends giving the vehicle that final shine.

It was then shunted out of the shed and a few days later tripped back to Weybourne where it was brake tested and given the final parts of the annual exam which ticketed it for passenger service again. 3116 was quickly marshaled back into the dining set and was star of the show at this weeks special train commemorating the awarding of the Queens Award for Voluntary Services (delayed from last year) to the NNR. We understand the day was enjoyed by all and a great success, with diners travelling the line in 3116.

With no finer launch back into service to speak of, 3116 now returns to its normal duties in the dining train, its Silver overhaul completed in just under five months.

British Railways 1958 Brake Corridor Second M35148 (SILVER)

The highest mileage single vehicle to ever run on the NNR, 35148, had been looking increasingly tired and was being attacked badly by corrosion in recent years. Like many other popular and essential vehicles, it was squeezed longer than desirable as we had sister brake 21103 in the works (the latter being withdrawn over the Covid pandemic) and 35148 couldn't be spared. With 21103 now bedded down nicely in service, 35148 has been able to enter the workshops for its much deserved Silver overhaul to start.

The initial focus has been the landward side, Sheringham end corner working anti-clockwise. This encompasses the wheelchair accessible saloon and the two windows on that side. The first has been removed and has revealed a lot of surface corrosion under the frame. The second window is proving harder to remove and the fight for this will continue next week.

Early days yet for this overhaul but the first spade has entered the ground!

British Railways 1957 Class 101 Railcar Driving Trailer Composite Lavatory E56062 (SILVER)

The second of the proposed railcar refresh programme vehicles is M&GN Society owned trailer car 56062. This requires much more work than the hired powercar 51188 which required little more than a repaint. This week it has entered the shed for a Silver body overhaul to be started.

Progress has so far been rapid, as it often is during the flurry of dismantling prevalent at the start of a big project. The interior has seen many volunteers descend on it removing the seating and lower paneling from the drivers side of the vehicle.

This has allowed access to remove the corroded window bottoms from the front and rear passenger saloon windows (middle saloon still to start), which has revealed reasonable condition framework but very poor outer skin. We have replacement sections on order but in the meantime stripping continues.

The first passenger doorway has also been started, as this was out of alignment and struggling to shut properly. It was found corrosion inside the door pillars, buried deep, was causing swelling and pushing the wooden door jambs inwards reducing the size of the door frame by over 10mm. It has had to be stripped down and the metal attended to to bring it back to a correct shape. This work is understandably still ongoing as the scope in this areas has spiraled somewhat!

Whilst welding has been started, others have been very busy taking each of the removed windows and cleaning up the aluminium surrounds, which will ensure a quality finish when reassembly eventually takes place, though at this stage that seems a very long way away!

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Motor Brake Second M51188

Following several complications, the retaining straps for the fire extinguishers and wheelchair ramp have finally made it into position.