February News Part 1

Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853

Work on larger tasks described in previous weeks has continued on an ongoing basis. This includes door rebuilding, woodwork repairs to the sides of the body and removing of rusted bolts from the flooring.

The brake-gear has seen the most visible change, with a full set of brake show carriers now completed to the gloss black stage. Various other parts, including brake linkages and the main cross shaft are not far behind, having been cleaned of rust (by the Axeman and friends) and coated in metal primer.

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

No progress to report.

British Railways 1960 Restaurant Buffet (Refurbished) E1969

The focus has continued to be on the windows. These were all gloss painted so that the hidden edges would be well protected, and the seaward side of the vehicle now has these windows refitted. We now stand a chance at keeping at least some of the workshop dust out of this once pristine coach!

One laborious task has been the cleaning and repainting of the aluminium weather strips which go around the door apertures. These have been methodically dealt with and have now been repainted in primer ready for refitting.

Some work has now started on rubbing down the paintwork in the areas that haven't required any remedial attention. This will save time when the DMU vacates the staged area and the preparation work on E1969 starts "proper".

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Suburban Composite Lavatory E43041

More varnishing work has been completed in the corridors, and the upholstery of the final First Class compartment has been completed.

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Trailer Second Lavatory M56352

The "feathering in" process (described last week) was completed by the middle of the week, which allowed us to thoroughly wash down the sides, using many men, to ready them for painting at long last.

The roof was first coated with its new grey paint, which was the start of the transformation in colour. Management were even to be seen assisting with the roof painting!

The rest of the week has been spent coating the bodysides in undercoat. This is now complete with the exception of four doors which will be finished off early next week.

British Railways 1959 Class 03 Diesel Shunter D2063

This week has seen the black "wasp stripes" added to the loco, which really sets it off nicely. The handrails have also been painted white which leaves only the engine room doors and the running plate still to paint.

Roger Williams

This week was Roger Williams' final day working with us. He has been part of the department for over 10 years and has brought a multitude of skills to the varying tasks required over the years. We wish him well with his retirement!