March News Part 4

Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853

It has been all about the woodwork this week, perhaps unsurprisingly on a wooden bodied carriage such as this. A great number of authentic tongue and groove panels (bigger versions of what you get on your garden shed) have been dug out of the stores having been collected out of different Great Eastern Railway grounded bodies over the past 20 years. These boards were pictured last week but were wrongly reported to be from the guard’s end of the coach. These boards have had their tongues removed (many of which were damaged) and replaced by grooves. A separate tongue has then been machined and inserted in-between the two grooves of adjacent panels. Very groovy indeed! There is enough of this reclaimed panelling to fully kit out the divides that form the two passenger compartments of the coach. There was even chance to use some of the off-cuts to clad below the seat at the Sheringham end, so it will look proper should any rivet counters get on their knees and look under the seat! With panelling obtained, some nice longitudinal bars were machined out of Meranti and dry fitted to give a tantalising glimpse of what the compartment divide will look like.

Whilst all of this action was going on, more mega-splicing of the rotten Holt/seaward corner pillar was undertaken.

British Railways 1962 Mark 1 First Open M3116

In preparation for the carpet layer, all of the grills which cover the heaters have been removed as these were screwed though the old carpet and were preventing its removal. The interior has also been cleared of stacked up tables and other detritus so that there is a fully open area ready for the re-carpeting, which is booked in for next week.

British Railways 1957 Mark 1 Tourist Second Open E4641

The vestibules have continued to progress, with the lighting installed in both the Sheringham and Holt end vestibules. The ceiling has also been fitted in the centre vestibule, which is now playing catch up to the other two. Elsewhere on the interior, all of the bulkheads (there are eight) have been varnished three times with just a single coat left to apply.

It was a good job Monkey was around to help with the enormity of the task...

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Suburban Composite Lavatory E43041

Woodwork stripping continues on the pieces from around the windows, the forth compartment having now joined the party. Two more window panels have also been welded onto the seaward side.

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Suburban Third Lavatory Open E48001

Bogie work has continued on an ongoing basis.

Dave rust treats the bogie

The Sheringham end bogie has had both of its wheelsets and axleboxes scraped down and painted in primer.

Midland & Great Northern Railway 1881 4 Wheel Tool Van 12

This interesting item of vintage rolling stock has been squeezed into the end of the shed for attention to bring it back into operational condition. Several years ago, severe wheel flats were put on the van which rendered it suitable for static display only until repairs could be made. Various deferrals prevented the van from coming in until now. So far, the van has been lifted and the two wheelsets extracted from underneath. The axleboxes have been removed so the wheels are now ready and are currently awaiting tyre turning. The opportunity of the wagon being indoors has led to the outside being removed of all its flaking paint and any areas that require it have been sanded down and filled. The seaward side appears to be much worse than the landward in this respect.

Maintenance

A great deal of effort has been directed this week on annual examinations of the operating fleet at Sheringham. This has focussed mainly on safety critical items such as brakes, couplings, doors and running gear etc however the interiors have also been assessed and a large list of remedial tasks formed. This list is now being worked through to make sure the coaching fleet is ready for the season ahead.