October News Part 3

Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853

No progress to report.

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

No progress to report.

London North Eastern Railway 1929 4 Wheel Pigeon Van 6843

The two wheelsets have now been turned back into profile on the wheel-lathe and have been returned to the workshop. The first set is in the process of being cleaned prior to repainting as the wheels both look a little sad.

The end panels, repaired last week, have been repainted gloss black which has boosted the appearance of the vehicle's ends.

British Railways 1957 Mark 1 Tourist Second Open E4641

The stainless steel water tank has been completed and was refitted to the plumbing system, but during testing some of the joints were unable to be sealed. The tank has been removed again for the joints to be looked at. Once the system is leak free, a test will be made to see if we have hot water to the sink! The six door cards mentioned last week have now been fully varnished and await refitting once the painters are out of the way.

On the subject of painting, this has been progressing well over the week, with the whole vehicle in primer by Wednesday.

By close of play on Friday, the undercoat had been applied along both sides of the carriage giving the vehicle its two tone appearance for the first time.

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Suburban Composite Lavatory E43041

The refitting of exterior glass has continued with the toilet areas being the latest to be glazed. A sheet of toilet glass was broken some years ago and will have to be replaced.

The wooden door surrounds have now been fitted so the mundane task of stripping off the old paint from the areas of bodyside that were not replaced  has been progressed instead.

Roger Ison took the opportunity (whilst E4641 was being painted) to clean down the two bufferbeams and remaining chassis solebar (on the landward side) and get them painted up to match the rest of the underframe.

Metropolitan Cammell 1965 4 Wheel Petroleum Tank 53083

No progress to report.

Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway Society Lorry

The Society's Austin K2 lorry has been brought into the workshop for some restoration work and a repaint, all of course supervised by Monkey. This has seen the teams usually associated with the vintage stock helping out the lorry volunteers. Aside from a series of mechanical tasks which had accumulated since the lorry had been purchased by the M&GN Society, rubbing down and preparation works for repainting have been undertaken, and some areas such as the flat side doors and wheels are already seeing paint.

The Axeman, himself an aficionado of classic road-going transportation, has been involved with the restoration work, concentrating on the vehicle's badge. The owners and the police have been informed...

October News Part 2

Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853

No progress to report.

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

Vintage themed work has concentrated on the 6 wheeled chassis this week, with the Axeman continuing his gruesome work on realigning the brake hangars that hold the main cross-shaft (which is in turn attatched to the vacuum cylinder which operates the whole system). The seaward side support for this cross-shaft has had a new spacer machined from scratch and welded in as a degree of modification was required to fit it properly within the changed main chassis. Returning to the vacuum cylinder, suitably painted, this has now also been installed and is now nestled amongst the frames of the chassis.

The axleboxes have also been completed having been fitted with six brand new oil pads which will lubricate the axles whilst on the move. They have been itted in special trays within the axleboxes and these have also now been fully filled with bearing oil and declared complete.

London North Eastern Railway 1929 4 Wheel Pigeon Van 6843

The vehicle is now in the air having been lifted off its wheelsets and the axles removed. The first of them is currently in the wheel lathe and is in the process of being turned back into profile, as we do not like egg shaped wheels here!!

Whilst the axles are out, the four axleboxes have been removed and have been scraped back on the outsides as they were looking a little scruffy. They are now awaiting repainting. The axlebox guides have been cleaned down and polished up to ensure trouble free movement when the wheels are refitted.

On the vehicle itself, the underside has received some freshening up, with various items of ironmongery given a top-up coat of black gloss, along with the full length footboards. The Holt end bufferbeam had started to show signs of corrosion, so this was stripped back a little further before itself being repainted. A repair to the wooden end panels, which had split and were in danger of letting water in, has also been made.

British Railways 1957 Mark 1 Tourist Second Open E4641

The big visual step forward has been the painting of the roof, which has received a coat on top of the original covering. This roof has already been scraped down and treated with roof paint a the NNR in the past, so all that was required was a top up coat. Monkey was only happy to assist with this task, applying the tar like substance to the roof with ease.

Lower down on the vehicle, all of the windows have been cleaned up of excess sealant and general ditritus in order to ready the sides for bodyside painting next week. The end data panel has also been returned to its rightful place, along with some grab handles.

On the interior, the six door cards, which missed the varnishing boat last time around, were sanded and have received three coats of the golden stuff. The brass door treads have also been fitted, having been removed some months ago to make painting of the lino flooring easier. Progress on the toilet plumbing has also continued with the stainless steel water tank (mentioned last week) edging coser to completion and a blockage in the feed to the cold tap in the toilet resolved.

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Suburban Composite Lavatory E43041

Work this week has mainly been progressing larger tasks that have already been introduced in previous updates. The refitting of exterior glass, sanding and varnishing of interior woodwork and fitting of wooden door surrounds have both continued this week.

A start has now also been made on fitting the tightly curved corridor ceiling panels in the third class (Sheringham) end of the carriage, but this is proving a challenge so far, the hardboard panels not wanting to sit on such a radius as we want them to. Negotiations are ongoing!

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Motor Brake Second M51192

Our work here is done! The refresh works have now been completed with all loose ends tied up. This week saw the seaward side solebar repainted and a second coat of red given to the front end bufferbeam. Some green paint aloing the bottom edge of the vehicle which had come out a bit thin has been touched in, and the ends were finally finished off by painting on the blue square coupling designations onto the bottom corners.

With the power car now complete attention will turn to the trailer car in approximately six weektime once the DMU's duties for the season are over.

Metropolitan Cammell 1965 4 Wheel Petroleum Tank 53083

No progress to report.

October News Part 1

We are pleased to report that the Carriage Convention event, held last weekend at the NNR, was executed with great success and we have had very positive feedback from delegates who enjoyed their visit. The Saturday morning was spent in the boardroom at Weybourne enjoying various talks on carriage subjects including our own Suburban 4 Project as well as outside speakers including representatives from the National Railway Museum. The afternoon was for delegates to enjoy the variety of rolling stock in operation as part of the M&GN Society's Member's Day, before reconvening for an evening Fish & Chip special aboard the vintage train. Sunday morning saw a tour of stored rolling stock inside Bridge Road Sheds, which I believe was the first time this area of the railway has ever been made available to interested visitors.

In response to some recent requests, below is a list of the stock currently resident at Bridge Road sidings, although please note that the list is always in a state of flux as the circumstances of various vehicles around the railway change:

Operational Stock (removed from sheds periodically for use on the railway)

• M&GN Picnic Saloon 3
• Wisbech & Upwell Tramcar 7
• M&GN 4 Wheel Third 129
• LNER Pigeon Van 6843
• LNER Quad Art Set 74
• BR Mark 1 Suburban Set E43357, W46139 & E48001 (To be joined soon by E43041)

Stored Stock (Awaiting restoration)

• Class 03 Diesel Shunter D2051 (Currently visible outside)
• Class 04 Diesel Shunter D2280 (Currently visible outside)
• Class 101 DMU set E51228 & E56062 (Cosmetically restored but awaiting mechanical repairs)
• Great Eastern Bogie Brake 295
• Gresley Tourist Third Open 52226
• Thompson Full Brake 70621
• BR Mark 1 Tourist Second Open E4521
• BR Mark 1 Composte Corridor M15997
• BR Mark 1 Brake Corridor Composite 21224
• SR PMV Van 1216 (Currently visible outside)
• ICI Tube Wagon 4228 (Currently visible outside)
• Great Eastern Fruit Van 633023 (body only)
• BR "Lowmac" wagon 904148 (carries 633023)

Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853

No progress to report.

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

We had to suffer, no, enjoy the Axeman for three days this week but the upshot was many a Jelly Baby was shared and the spacing pieces for the W-irons for the underframe are now fully adjusted (cut down), fitted, painted and all three torqued up to the correct strength - this last one being quite important as these lumps of metal are fairly important when it comes to keeping the wheels on!

A good start has also been made on reattaching and modifying the various hangars that are required for the braking system. This is the main focus now that the wheelsets are installed and more updates on this are bound to populate future ramblings.

London North Eastern Railway 1929 4 Wheel Pigeon Van 6843

We have snatched a brief opportunity to eliminate the wheel flats that have plagued this vehicle for years, after complaints that they were getting much worse were received this year. It is now in the workshops awaiting a start to be made on it.

British Railways 1957 Mark 1 Tourist Second Open E4641

The new stainless steel for the water heater tank that had failed last week has arrived, and a start made on folding it up and welding it together to make a new tank, and most impressive it looks too so far. The main push on the bodywork preparation is now over with the entire carriage now ready for its final paint job, which is always an exciting part of the coach's restoration as it signals the home straight of the overhaul, which is just as well as the coach celebrates it's 2-year anniversary since it entered the shops for overhaul next month. How time flies when you're wrestling which coaching stock... In order to facilitate this, a shunt was conducted placing E4641 back into the staging area where painting can hopefully commence next week.

Before it was shunted, a series of "loose end" tasks were progressed on the underside of the coach before those areas became cut off. Various electrical box covers have been cleaned up, painted gloss black and refitted, and some missing steel foot steps are in the process of being made from new to replace examples which were missing. The vacuum cylinder (and associated framework) on the landward side has also been repainted to improve the appearance of the underframe.

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Suburban Composite Lavatory E43041

Undoubtedly the main focus at present is the final member of the Suburban 4 set. The brass grab handles mentioned last week have now all been polished up, and they have been temporarily fitted to the vehicle, the holes for which had to be relocated and drilled because the skin of the carriage is all new. The nuts on the back of the handles now have to be welded into place, essential as they will be hidden when the interior is refitted. All of the door "bump stops" (rubbers which stop the door slamming onto the body when it is opened fully) have also been fitted to the coach. The mass sanding and re-varnishing of the interior woodwork slowly also continues to progress.

Finally, the newest phase of the reconstruction, the fitting of the glass, has now started, with the Sheringham end compartment first to be fitted out. Will they go in smoothly, or will they be a pane in the backside?!?

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Motor Brake Second M51192

Chris undertook more tasks on this vehicle to try and finish it off on Friday, simultaneously satisfying his unnatural love for railcars. This week, all the second coating of the cream numbers and lettering on the bodysides has been completed, and the landward side of the chassis' solebar has been painted into gloss black to spruce it up.

Metropolitan Cammell 1965 4 Wheel Petroleum Tank 53083

Pete One has now departed on holiday leaving strict instructions on the progress he wants to see which has been put into the hands of Pete Two. Before he left, the second coating of the ends and landward side of the tank were completed leaving the seaward side to start on. Pete One had to get Monkey involved (we all wondered where he had gotten to!) so that we had a "Chimp on the Inside" to keep an eye on Pete Two, but don't tell him that!

Workshop

A smaller side project has been the refurbishment of one of the station benches from the station platform here at Weybourne. This was ably done with the voluntary labour of students from Gresham's School (a local independent boarding school) over several days.

It is now resplendent in M&GN brown, the standard "livery" for Weybourne's benches.