August News Part 4

Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853

The extensive yellow lining has now been completed on both sides, including the notoriously difficult seaward side which in this particular corner of the shed is very dark to work in. No further colours have yet been started however as second coating of the yellow elements of the lettering has been the next task.

With lining in progress much of the other "finishing touches" are being done now there is no danger of paints splashing onto them. Receiving their final coats have been the buffers and bufferbeams, along with the rear lights which are now being painted red (as opposed to black), reportedly due to new evidence which has come to light suggesting this is the colour they should be.

Inside the vehicle, trim and netting associated with the luggage racks continues to progress.

London North Eastern Railway 1950 Brake Corridor Third E1866E (GOLD)

Planking in the luggage van end continues, with areas of the finished planking being painted by further volunteers. Many areas are now already up to cream topcoat.

Also in the luggage areas some electrical trunking is being installed for the planned lighting.

The electrical lighting connections at the end of the coach have also been installed with the retention boxes for the plugs the next task. The footboards mentioned last week are now finished in gloss.

Further plumbing work has been done in the toilet, with the sink test fitted.

Externally, needle gunning of the landward side continues to progress with most of it completed this week, and paint now being applied of various types at different stages.

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)

Bodywork continues. This week's progress has been a strip welded along the side of the Holt end landward side doorway, to marry up with the renewed roof panelwork installed last week.

Door work has also continued with the early preparations for hanging the middle door on the landward side. This is the door opposite to the one which has been being worked on for the last month.

The two last doors which require overhauling for use on the vehicle are also seeing attention. The second of the pair has now had its skin separated from its frame so that all the components can now be checked and restored ready for reassembly.

Internally, planking in the guards office which has been test fitted is now being permanently secured in place, this being possible after a number of supporting pieces of woodwork were returned to the metal framework.

Our old stack of varnished veneered woodwork, which was restored the best part of two years ago, has been dusted off, sorted into groups and placed into each of the five compartments ready for the interior refit which can begin soon.

British Railways 1957 Tourist Second Open E4521 (SILVER)

Not so much progress this week, but a few small victories. The landward toilet window which was recently removed has been stripped back to bare aluminium and etch primed on its inside, so it is now looking much better already.

Supporting timber removed from the two toilet compartments is currently in the process of being dusted down, assessed and a coat of primer applied to the ones in good condition. The visible varnished woodwork from the toilets is also being stripped down, sanded and bleached to return it to its former glory.

On the vehicle itself, all of the components have now been removed from the Sheringham end bufferbeam and most of it needle gunned to ascertain how much welding it requires to build back up historic corrosion.

Lastly, most of the sliding windows have been removed from the windows so that they can be cleaned up and made to operate smoothly once again.

British Railways 1957 Corridor Second W25189 (BRONZE)

Bodywork has now been finished on the Sheringham end. The next area to receive attention is to be the landward side. Some failed BR window bottom repairs are being stripped back and re-welded to improve their integrity...

...whilst other window bottoms have corroded away so are being replaced.

British Railways 1962 12 Ton Box Van B784254 (GOLD)

No progress to report.

Southern Railway 1952 Covered Carriage Truck S1439S

This privately owned wagon is not normally featured in these notes, spending most of its time in the bay road at Weybourne. It is one of two vans stabled there and is the one which doesn't house the model railway. Over the past two weeks its owner has had it in the loco shed to undertake a series of repairs to the doors and other areas which had rotted, followed by a full repaint into British Railways Southern Region Green. It looks very smart and is now back in its normal position once again. Hopefully pictures will follow, although photography of vehicles in this area is difficult due to the proximity of fences.

Next Week

No Blog next week due to holidays!