January News Part 2

Undeterred by the gale force winds and snow that have struck Weybourne at the end of this week, progress marches on in the Carriage & Wagon department...

Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853

The Axeman has once again teamed up with Monkey to progress the step irons that are to be attached to the underframe of 853, not to be confused with the separate underframe project for 129 which has had a lot of similar ironmongery recently. The steps for 853 are being produced from some miscellaneous bracketry suitably welded to some offcuts from our friends int he Engineering Department. The results are a nice arrangement that will be able to support the two full length step boards that will run down the sides of the carriage.

Meanwhile, work on the doors has continued. One door in particular has had a particularly large piece repaired this week, as the characteristic hooped shaped top was beyond repair. A replacement example has been spliced onto it from another reclaim door.

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

No progress to report.

British Railways 1960 Restaurant Buffet (Refurbished) E1969

Work has started in earnest on this dining carriage. An edging strip, which runs the full length of the carriage along the bottom 9 inches, had been suffering from poor paint adhesion so has been scraped back to bare metal so we can start again.

The main problem with this coach to be rectified however is corrosion around the window frames. Two exploratory windows were carefully removed to assess the situation, careful being the operative word as the interior of this coach is sumptuous and cannot be damaged. Sadly we discovered far worse damage than the surface rust we originally anticipated.

The level of corrosion in metalwork which was replaced only 10 years ago is disappointing and a decision has had to be made to remove all the windows so that all failed window apertures can be halted. This is the best option given the circumstances as we like to see the dining train looking good at all times, so corroding windows is not an image we want to portray. By dealing with these problems now, we can halt further water ingress and also stop the problem before it has a chance to damage any of the interior. So far, all of the seaward side windows have been removed.

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Suburban Composite Lavatory E43041

More minor jobs have been crossed off "ze list". Two main areas of the progress have been the production of polished brass plaques which bear the names of the kind individuals who have sponsored a door or compartment as part of the fund raising initiative for the Suburban 4 project. These have been engraved in-house using our own machine and have then been painstakingly polished and the letters painted. There are over 30 to produce but after several days they are nearly complete!

In the carriage itself, a damaged pipe has been repaired above the landward side toilet compartment, following which the water tanks were filled up to test all of the plumbing. We found three minor leaks, so the tanks have been drained again so that these leaks can be repaired next week.

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Trailer Second Lavatory M56352

A lot of work has gone into this vehicle, being the main focus for the department this week. Preparation work has been progressed by Dan and Phil, who has been put forward for a new show "Crime Scene Investigation Weybourne" due to his new temporary overalls!

Our tame welder is also now working on this vehicle, having got back off holiday. There has been more corrosion discovered on this vehicle than it's powered partner (which we completed in September) so he has been rapidly working his way around the vehicle welding in the necessary patches of new metal. He is currently focused on the corridor end, which was a particularly bad area.

The replacement door mentioned last week has been undergoing repairs to its wooden frame prior to assembling back up again. Lots of holes plugged and joints strengthened!

British Railways 1959 Class 03 Diesel Shunter D2063

At last we have had our request to bring an engine "in for a gala" granted! Actually, this interloper has come in to us from next door as part of its major overhaul so that it can be painted. The locomotive came in on Monday and the owner has been extremely busy making the final bodywork preparations that are required before the painting commences next week. The engine room doors have been removed so that they can be repainted off site. Monkey is very excited that a loco is in our shed, so has had to be kept away from the controls...