February News Part 1

Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853

The general outward appearance of the coach has changed dramatically with the application of the first undercoat, which has been applied to the landward side and both ends.

This have transformed it into a plum coloured creature, and is the next step towards its final crimson colour scheme.

London North Eastern Railway 1950 Brake Corridor Third E1866E

Focus has continued to be on the flooring, which is being replaced my much more substantial timber than before. The main beams are now all in place along the length of the passenger saloon, so it will not be long before the floor panels themselves are able to be attached on top.

A series of corner brackets, salvaged from Great Eastern Railway grounded bodies and other similar vehicles, have also been prepared for fitting to the framework.

There has also been continued work on the passenger communication chord modifications.

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224

We are now ready for the wheelset swap to take place, as the fourth axle has been cleaned up and is now finished in gloss black paint.

Metalwork continues to progress, with an incorrect floor support located under the Holt end toilet cut out and replaced with a correct profiled example.

We welcomed back stalwart volunteer Roger Ison after some time away, who has got stuck in to sanding and repainting the vestibule ceiling that is located between the guards compartment and the passenger compartments. These are now in white undercoat as they didn't require much restoration due to their good condition.

Work to relocate the air brake pipework under the vehicle continues, and this has now led us up through the floor into the guards compartment where the emergency valve and gauge is located. So far there has been plenty of trail fitting to work out what will go where, as the air pipes will follow a more neater pattern than BR achieved. The picture shows the vacuum pipe and gauge roughly in position, as an aide to where the air pipes must sit.

British Railways 1959 Tourist Second Open M4843

There has been good progress on the interior refreshment works, which have been ongoing over the winter. The hidden areas of flooring beneath the seats have received a coat of floor paint in the Sheringham end of the saloon. Also repainted have been the various grills and heaters which all carry an aluminium silver paint.

Various items of beading and trim are also in the process of being sorted out and refitted where possible. In the Holt end saloon, spot re-varnishing continues where areas have been found to be thin.

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Motor Brake Second M51188

One last push this week on the sanding, filling and bodywork preparation has seen this major task reach completion, with the seaward side guards van being the last area to be treated.

Whilst sanding this area, the original 1950's lettering dictating how much could be loaded into the guards van was revealed:

It would have said "Load 30 CWT's evenly distributed" and this will be traced and returned to its exact position once repainted.

The route indicator box for the front end is currently having wooden frames made for it, so that the glass can be clamped into position against the steel box.

The painting of the corridor connection is now complete, after the faceplate was gloss blacked to match the rest of the scissor arrangement at the sides.

The ceiling repairs mentioned last week have now been sealed with PVA and painted in primer. Further coats are to follow next week.

Finally, the rather large task of chipping the old paint off the roof is now substantially complete, which coupled with the completion of the bodywork should see the main painting commence next week.

Maintenance

The main rake of coaches (A set) have all been parked rather oddly on the main line at Sheringham this week, with gaps in between them so that each can be fully examined prior to the season ahead.

These are now completed but the maintenance continues with the B set and dining train still to examine.

Several failures of equipment have already been identified, the first being a broken spring on TSO E4667. This has been immediately tripped to Weybourne for the spring to be swapped for a good one, making for a Crimson & Cream combination outside the shed alongside E1866E.