February News Part 3

Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853

The headline news this week has to be the unification of the body and underframe following 11 months work rebuilding the running gear. The body was carefully jacked up and the completed underframe then rolled underneath. The body was then lowered slightly and carefully aligned onto the rubber pads which sit between the steel chassis and the framework of the body. The following day was spent bolting down the body which pulled it into a flat position, as it had settled to become slightly banana shaped whilst it was a grounded body. It is remarkable to note that this body now has wheels for the first time in 91 years! Quite an achievement for those involved...

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224

The exterior paint preparation has been completed along the side of the brake/luggage compartment on the seaward side. This is now ready for painting, which will have to be done before the coach goes "on holiday" to Bridge Road sheds whilst the workshops are taken over by the Quad Arts later this year.

Internally, the floor repairs to the second compartment which needed them have been completed, so we now have a full compliment of five compartments with no rotten flooring! The store cupboard has received its first coat of paint, a special primer which is designed to key onto smooth surfaces such as Formica.

British Railways 1959 Tourist Second Open M4843

More metalwork has been completed on the Sheringham corridor end. A start has also been made on removing some of the apparatus on the Holt end corridor ready for welding repairs to start on that end in due course.

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Trailer Second Lavatory M56352

No progress this week as the vehicle has been in use on February half term services!

British Railways 1960 Covered Carriage Truck E94464

We are nearly there with this one... Signwriting continues on the exterior, there is such a lot of it on this particular vehicle! The black part of the middle (waist height) line has also been applied.

The underframe has received a coat of black gloss finishing it off, and several smaller items have been picked out, including white handbrake handles and red battery charging sockets. Other lettering such as the white stars on the underframe (which show where the brake release chords are located) have also been added. The final underframe task, brake testing, is now in progress and we are currently repairing the several leaks that were found. The steel vacuum pipe had rotted away at the Sheringham end, and various rubber hoses also require changing.

On the inside, the Sheringham end folding doors are now painted in brown to match the rest of the walls, meaning there is now no more work to be done on the side walls. The floor has also received two coats of red floor paint which has transformed its appearance.

The last job now remaining on the interior is to paint the wooden floor boards in the four doorways and then it shall be complete.

Southern Railway 1939 Parcels & Miscellaneous Van S1359S

This has now been out-shopped, but I have yet to get the chance to capture a decent picture of it!

Other Projects

The repairs to the ex-Billericay seat continue. The front legs have received strengthening this week and the new wood has been dyed to match it with the old.