September News Part 1

The blog returns after a week off due to holidays.

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

Work has continued to focus on the step boards which have all now been fitted to the vehicle. There is a triangular section at the back of the lower boards to prevent feet slipping and these have now also been fitted, although they are only in primer so require more painting in situ. The main boards will also be repainted again and several imperfections and joints have been filled to provide a smooth board from end-to-end. A session painting them all black again will no doubt be conducted soon. The fitting of the boards has once again changed the general appearance of the vehicle.

Boards fitted showing the triangular section

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

The buffer shanks have been receiving attention this week. The stronger buffers from the donor PMV chassis are to be retained, so the Great Northern era shanks have had the centres bored out slightly to accept the larger PMV buffers. This was after a new buffer compression tool was fabricated to enable everything to be dismantled safely. Suitably modified, the shanks have been bolted to the ends of the chassis and the buffers test fitted successfully.

British Railways 1957 Mark 1 Tourist Second Open E4641

The job of stripping down the paint on the doors (described in August News Part 4) and on the side of the carriage continues steadily. The latter is getting close to completion: both sides of the coach and the Sheringham end are now fully stripped and coated in a fresh layer of metal primer. Only one end to go Dan!

The upper section of the carriage having been stripped of paint and primed

A further four of the exterior window frames have now been installed completing the landward side. We are now in the process of filling the countersunk rivets over with filler to give these windows a seamless finish.

On the interior, some curved wooden supporting noggins have now been installed in the Sheringham end saloon kicking off the interior reconstruction.

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Suburban Composite Lavatory E43041

The asbestos contractors are on site once again to clear the remaining material out of this carriage. They have so far made a start on sealing the vehicle so they can do their extraction safely. All work on the body of the coach has been suspended for the duration of this work.

E43041 being sealed for asbestos removal

The asbestos hasn’t stopped the door metalwork repairs however, and several more of them have been stripped back to bare metal so they can be assessed and welded. Once this has been completed, each door has been painted in primer on the outside and floor paint on the inside. The wooden frames have also been protected.

Refurbishment of the doors for E43041

British Railways 1954 Mark 1 Suburban Third W46139

The roof has received its second (and final) coat of paint this week.

Roger Ison painting the roof

On the interior, the window frames mentioned last time have been glossed which allowed further wooden trim to be installed all around the windows. Upholstery could then be fitted with the “side cards” and armrests being pinned into position first. The seat backs themselves are now in the process of being fitted.

Wood interior progress and seating starting to be fitted

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Suburban Third Lavatory Open E48001

The seaward side toilet is on the home straight with the toilet pan and sink now installed complete with fittings, pipework and taps. The various shelves and handles in the toilet are now being screwed into the wall panelling to complete this area.

Sink fitted

Mirror, towel rack and litter bin fitted

Workshop

The workshop has recently gained a hooter to help announce the start of tea breaks and the end of the day. A true example of cooperation, the whistle was turned on a lathe off-site by an M&GN Society volunteer and then installed into the compressed air system in the shed by an NNR volunteer. It now makes a very suitable noise when the specially designed pull chord is operated!