August News Part 3

The railway is preparing itself for Morgan the Railway Cat's big weekend, but we weren't sure if cats and Monkeys were compatible so have stuck to carriage restoration instead.

Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853

Setbacks can often come in threes and this was the case this week. The first concerned 853's brake-gear which on Monday was spotted to be in slightly the incorrect orientation for it to work when it is all connected up. This will require some further thoughts and modification. On the bright side however, the main vacuum cylinder overhauled last week has now been painted and fitted to the underframe.

The second setback was the fitting of the four leaf springs which had been cleaned up for the vehicle. These were also found to be slightly unsuitable in their shape when the first one was offered into position. This sadly means that Plan B will have to be implemented, which is selecting the four ex-PMV van springs and sending them away to be modified in their springing (made softer) which will be much more expensive than Plan A. Hopefully next week will be better!

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224

This week has been particularly fruitful for this project, our current major (or "Gold") overhaul, with a lot done mainly by volunteers. Following last week's interior wood stripping, some of the large wall panels are now being sanded smooth ready to receive varnish. These are large, time consuming areas so will be a big milestone when completed. So far the Sheringham end vestibule, adjacent to the guard's compartment, has been treated.

The second of the five compartment sliding doors has been stripped of old varnish and awaits sanding.

Those items already at the varnish stage have also been receiving further coats of varnish.

The store cupboard was missing several sections of panels where it had all been cut away to accommodate the hideous shower unit. These areas have now been paneled over in a plain plastic material. This plain approach is appropriate as because it is a store cupboard we will be painting the inside and not restoring any of the original Formica panels as such. A start has now been made on fitting beading timber on the inside to cover some of the joins between panels.

British Railways 1957 Corridor Second E25189

This carriage's brief stay with us is approaching its end. The collapsed vacuum pipe at the Holt end had to be cut out and removed in several sections, the level of corrosion around the pipe was not pretty and the toilet flooring had to be dismantled to gain access to it.

With the pipe removed, a new section was made and welded in it place. The toilet floor was then reinstated and the coach tested. Frustratingly there is some form of tiny leak somewhere else in the system (we wanted it perfect!) however this repair has improved matters considerably. We are now awaiting for the coach to be collected for a return to Sheringham.

British Railways 1960 Covered Carriage Truck E94464

Work has continued to focus on the extremely rotten window bottoms, which have spiraled out of control as there simply isn't anything left of them.

We have gained access to the interior of the vehicle, which was difficult as it is stacked full of equipment, and started removing the internal window woodwork so that the new bottoms can be welded in and the windows can be re-secured. Three out of the six windows have now been dismantled.

Southern Railway 1951 Parcels & Miscellaneous Van 1476

In case you thought we had forgotten the third mistake of the week mentioned in the section on GER 853, then fear not! This week was to see the gloss paint applied to the Model Railway Van, however it soon became apparent that the green was not really the desired shade... Never mind, the rest of the side was painted in any case, as a holding coat, and when the correct colour arrives it can go on top in due course. It will indeed provide an extra layer of protection on the vehicle.

Colman's 1908 Mustard Van 4807 & Hurst Nelson 1942 4 Wheel Tank 1982

No progress to report up at Holt.

Future Projects

A juicy delivery of wagon underframe spares arrived from the Wensleydale, bought by the M&GN Society for future underframe and wagon restoration projects. Of interest is four standard three hole wagon wheelsets and axleboxes. These will be cleaned up now and repainted and protected before they are put into storage. So far the first one has been cleaned down, rust treated and coated in primer.