May News Part 4

The hot weather has hit the department hard, even ice creams were deployed on Friday! However we have carried the heavy burden of the English sun on our shoulders and forged forwards as always:

Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853

The main focus has undoubtedly been on the underframe this week, although beading and wooden bodywork has continued to progress on the body alongside. A small army of painters has been busy giving the outside of the underframe a coat of black undercoat.

The remaining strengthening plate on the Holt end has been fully attached by weld directed by the Axeman. He has also been busy welding other odds and sods and this task is now finished for the whole underframe, with the possible exception of some brake rodding once the underframe is lifted off the naval flat wagon. Who knows, it may not be too long before this happens?

The four W irons, which will be holding the axles in place, are now progressing fast to catch up with the underframe itself. Each is at a different level but they have all been cleaned up and received some form of protective paint.

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224

More interior woodwork has been stripped, sanded and varnished with a 50/50 varnish/white spirit mix. I know readers will barely be able to contain their excitement at this fascinating update!

British Railways 1956 Tourist Second Open E4236

The main focus for the regular staff this week. Priority has remained on the exterior. The Sheringham end has now had the two sides of the corridor aperture and the two bottom edges of the vehicles re-panelled with new. Now only the section above the corridor remains before reassembly can commence.

The Holt end has had all four of the structural crash pillars renewed and it is now solid, and safe, again.

The refurbishment of the half dozen windows which had been removed has now been concluded, and these were all refitted to the coach. More of the sliding windows have also been refurbished, cleaned and refitted into position, so the bodysides are now almost ready for paint preparation to start.

Welding repairs have also been going on with the six doorway surrounds. These are now all sound again, and the week has been spent undertaking a lot of fiddly door hinge alignment and other boring tasks, but the edges are now protected in some sacrificial gloss paint before the weather strips are riveted over the top to form the final, visible, door edge.

Inside the vehicle, some ceiling repairs have been done where gaps and other damage had appeared to cosmetically freshen it up while it is in the works.

British Railways 1957 Corridor Second E25189

The mechanical repairs described last week have all been completed and the vehicle returned to service.

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Motor Brake Second M51192

Oh dear oh dear. Loud noises from underneath the DMU a week or so ago required it to be removed from service to investigate the repairs. This has meant that the loco department has had to borrow our lifting road and jacks to undertake this work. We shall not be following the work in too much detail as it is being done by our friends next door, however they are inside our shed so the lift was observed with interest and the mangled bogie removed for assessment!

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Trailer Second Lavatory M56352

This vehicle, at long last, has finally been finished! The bolts which were required to re-fix the floor inside the corridor connection recently arrived so a morning was spent refitting these which in turn meant the side curtains could also be fitted, which completed the corridor connection. The toilet waste chute (mmmmmm!!) was also re-secured as it had lost its bracket at some point. It has now been officially released back into service and will be back in use whenever the operating department have need for it.

Royal Navy 4 Wheel Flat 269

No progress to report.

British Railways 1958 Conflat B502824

This wagon has received a quick re-varnish to spruce it up, whilst we have some good weather!

British Railways 1957 16T Mineral Open B558090

There had been reports that the "false roof" inside the mineral wagon was leaking so a small team was dispatched to Holt to reseal it to try and prevent too much water getting in. Whilst there, they also varnished the wagon to liven up the sides which had faded a little.

Maintenance

Part of the team has been hard at it at Sheringham working through coach repairs which have been required. There has been greater wear and tear than usual for this time of year due to the second rake of coaches being out every day to deputise for the DMU whilst it has been out of service. Amongst other task, a window has been replaced after its predecessor fell apart!

Workshop

After a long period of contemplation, Monkey has decided to reappear on the scene. He is currently assisting with the mezzanine floor project and is a dab hand and sorting out old nuts, bolts and fittings to reduce our disused stock and tidy up what remains! We are now working through the workshop itself, having emptied most to the external C&W stores on top the mezzanine. There is a lot of stuff around which has not been seen for a very long time so a thorough super-tidy is also being done as we go along, to improve the work environment. So far the corner of our staging area has received the culling.

June News Part 1

Next week, what would have been June News Part 1, will be delayed over to the following week (Friday 9th June). This is due to the start of the week being shortened by the bank holiday, and the end of the week being shortened by staff holidays, so there won't be much to report on in any case. Monkey remains in residence however and will be handling any inquiries...