September News Part 3

This weekend sees the NNR hold the annual Carriage Convention, for the first time in many years, this being the second time the railway has hosted. The weekend will see a party of delegates from Carriage & Wagon departments from all round the UK gather for knowledge sharing and presentations before being showcased the NNR's collection of interesting rolling stock. An intensive timetable featuring plenty of stock and locomotives has been able to be put on, made possible by combining this event with the M&GN Member's Day. As is traditional for Member's Day, shed tours will be conducted, which the C&W delegates will be able to take advantage of to see round our workshops at Weybourne. Additionally (and possibly for the first time?),the doors to Bridge Road carriage sheds will be opened for the delegates to inspect some of the future restoration projects, many of which haven't been in daylight for 10 years! To facilitate this, a working party was sent down to Bridge Road sheds this week to remove the tarpaulins from some of the coaches in there, so that visitors will be able to actually see what is in there!

Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853

No new news, although works on the guards van interior and exterior beading continue to progress on an ongoing basis.

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

The packing pieces to space out the "W irons" that were described last week were completed and have now been fitted to all six wheels. However some modifications are required to the outer wheels so only the centre axle is currently fixed permanently.

The axlebox covers, which were a real mix of odds and sods, have now been brought into line by clever selection and some minor additions. Out of the six, there were three LNER examples, which have all been placed on one side for consistency, plus some Great Northern ones hich were placed on the other side. A couple of plain axleboxes have had "GNR" made out of bits of steel and washers and stuck onto them, in the name of completeness!

British Railways 1957 Mark 1 Tourist Second Open E4641

Unfortunately the water heater which was leaking failed after we attempted to repair it, splitting spectacularly during a pressure test. A new one will be required as this one is clearly "end of life". Stainless steel has been chosen and will be fabricated by hand one the required materials arrive. On a more positive note, the Holt end corridor connection, which has been removed and hanging around the workshop for months, has been  successfully refitted back onto the carriage, and the "trimmings" such as the shock absorbers and rubber bellows also fitted.

The bodywork preparation on the coach is being pushed forwards rapidly. Three quarters of the coach is now complete and ready for painting, with the final quarter expected to follow early next week.

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Suburban Composite Lavatory E43041

The dreaded scraping of old roof paint has now commenced for this vehicle, but will probably not be fully completed before the coach is removed from the staging area to allow E4641 to be painted. Also at roof height, the gutters have been fully refitted along both sides of the vehicle.

Some of the smaller fittings are being prepared for the coach in between the larger tasks. The brass grab handles, which have had to be cast from new, have been in the process of being prepared. Due to casting marks and air bubbles, this is a very time consuming exercise involving various forms of sanding and polishing to gain a fine brass finish by the end. So far, about half the handles for the coach have been completed.

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Motor Brake Second M51192

The lettering and numbering on the vehicle's sides have now received their first of two coats of cream.

Metropolitan Cammell 1965 4 Wheel Petroleum Tank 53083

Team Pete and Pete has been without a Pete leaving Pete to do the work of Pete until Pete returns from essential manning of the Weybourne bookshop. Pete will be in trouble though as Pete keeps saying how the weather is closing in, so the work Pete could have done while Pete was working might not be able to be done by Pete before the weather closes in. What will Pete say then? Regardless of the shenanigans, the project has progressed well with a second coat of grey gloss now progressing along the landward side.

60,000 Hits

The blog has recently welcomed it's 60,000th visitor. Many thanks to those readers who take an interest in reading the ramblings, which of course makes it worth doing.