Carriage & Wagon News: January News Part 1

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

Progress has been made on the water system which will "feed" the sink. The tank has been successfully mounted under the carriage this week, a task that a single sentence cannot do justice! Work on the exterior woodwork has involved smaller "finishing off" jobs that are bringing the overall standard of the coach higher. Internally, boarding in the luggage area has been painted and work has started on manufacturing the bars which go over the windows in this area.

British Railways 1957 Mark 1 Tourist Second Open E4641

The "Gold" overhaul continues, with work focusing on the Holt end of the carriage. On the landward side, the lower half replacement of the steel panels is complete, the panels being fully welded up and the welds ground down this week. The welder has now turned his attention to the seaward side which has a very rotten area in the corner of the vehicle where the toilet (used as a cleaning store by the NNR) was. The lower section has been completely cut out (paneling and framework) for replacement. Additional work required which wasn't the case on the land side is the replacement of the heavy plate (which sits across the end of the coach on top of the chassis) which was found to be excessively corroded.

The Holt end Landward side of E4641. This image shows the coach before the steel panels were removed from the lower half of the coach for replacement.

There is also activity on the inside. Work has started to rebuild the landward side toilet, which has never been used in NNR service, the shell of which had to be tripped out for metalwork repairs. So far, a new floor has been fitted which has provided a solid base to work on to progress the refitting of the supporting wooden framework that the Formica panels will be pinned to. The Holt end vestibule has also lost its ceiling. This has been removed to allow the toilet water tanks (located in the roof space) to be taken down for repairs and testing as they are suspected to be leaking. Finally, work on stripping down and re-varnishing the interior woodwork from the Holt end passenger saloon is progressing, with the landward side approaching completion.

British Railways 1956 Mark 1 Suburban Brake Second E43357

This carriage has seen the most manpower this week. On the exterior, the bodywork preparation on the bottom half of the vehicle has now been completed down both sides with the top half still to undertake.

Internally, good progress has been made on re-paneling the guards van which was stripped out many years ago during the coach's time as the generator car in the railway's dining train. About 80% of the "tongue and groove" boarding has been fitted. Some new cabling (for lighting) has also been routed into the guards van, the original wiring having also been removed at the same time as the paneling. Finally, a brand new floor section has been fitted below the landward side set of guards double luggage doors, as the original had become weetabix-like!

British Railways 1954 Mark 1 Suburban Second E46139

A full set of original style wooden surrounds have been manufactured for the lighting shades that will fit in the centre of the compartment. The varnishing of the last of the compartment interior panels has also been completed, and these parts are now in store awaiting fitting.