January News Part 3

Great Northern Railway (later M&GN) 1887 6 Wheel Third 129 (BRONZE)

The brake testing continues on an ad-hoc basis as it is having to be slotted in between other priorities. The application of Great Northern blue lining to the interior panels and ceiling has spread to a further two compartments making three in total now lined. The half way point has been passed with a further two still to complete.

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

Work on the projects already mentioned in previous weeks continues to progress. More has been done on the sliding window overhaul/modifications, as well as the guards cupboard. The latter is now almost there and is currently in its penultimate coat of cream gloss. With only the door to go off (the rest is new build), this cupboard is now looking very good.

The doors continue to be rebuilt, with one now well and truly in bits (see picture!) whilst one of the guards inward opening doors has been test fitted and hung into place which is a milestone.

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)

Interior reconstruction continues. The fifth and final compartment has now had its veneered woodwork fitted, so we can now chase up all of the missing trim which we have been unable to fit and produce it in-house and start to get it all varnished.

Inside the luggage compartment, the troublesome flaking ceiling has now been scraped back to wood so we have a decent surface on which to apply new paint. We did try to just sand it some weeks ago, but further along the ceiling we couldn't get a smooth finish so regretfully had to go back to base.

Inside the toilet compartment, all of the Formica panels are now fitted allowing the first of the "stuff" to go back inside. This has included the aluminium dish above the window which holds the communication chain, plus the wooden window surround and grab rail around the glass itself. The final piece to be fitted has been the cover for the steam heat element, again on the same wall.

Moving onto the exterior, the grab handles for the guards doors have been trial fitted successfully. They will be removed again for the vehicle to be painted.

Meanwhile another door has been permanently added to its hinges, the one at the Holt end on the seaward side. The door lock and catch plate on the opposite side to the hinges can now be progressed so the door closes and latches properly.

Finally, the project to clean up the corridor connection components for the Sheringham end continues, with the main steel "tunnel" currently on a bench being cleaned down.

British Railways 1957 Tourist Second Open E4521 (SILVER)

Welding continues at the Sheringham end. This week has seen the lower skin around the toilet returned to its rightful shape, along with the relevant framework behind it.

Door stripping continues, with four out of six now fully dismantled and paint stripped. The fifth door has now been removed from the vehicle and started.

British Railways 1957 Corridor Second W25189 (BRONZE)

The repaint continues, with the second coat of gloss applied this week. Also glossed were the end doors, which we have decided to paint brown as recent consultation with the history books shows that the doors were brown pre 1963. Many doors were painted cream post 1963 and it is these which we have replicated within the NNR fleet up until now. After consultation we have decided to out-shop Mark 1 vehicles with brown doors from now on as it better reflects the earlier period of the coach's lives that we tend to recreate on the NNR. It may also carry dirt a bit better than the current cream doors!

Internally, final final varnishing of compartments is in full swing. Three out of the eight compartments are now finished so we are on the home straight. This coach was never originally going to receive interior work, so the appearance of these compartments after all the work they have had really shows some contrast with the original spec!

British Railways 1958 Covered Carriage Truck M94125 (REPAIR)

No progress to report.

Maintenance

C exams continue. There is a nasty rumour that there is "not far to go" on this job!

January News Part 2

Great Northern Railway (later M&GN) 1887 6 Wheel Third 129

The second coat of varnish has now been applied, which has completed the exterior work on this vehicle. It looks very smart again following the varnish work! This week has seen brake testing work, which has been slightly more in-depth than usual, owing to the fact that the vehicle's brake system has not had a "normal" overhaul, it's gained a wheelset for a start and a new design of brake rigging! To this end more thorough testing than usual is being undertaken to ensure the vehicle behaves like we want/expect it to, and that there are no last minute nasties or modifications required. So far, all has been well with no more than tweaks required. Further mechanical work will be required before it is passed for service, most of which will involve weighing and spring adjustment to maximise the vehicle's smoothness and ensure it is putting its weight down through the six wheels properly and evenly.

Moving onto the inside of the vehicle, the new battery has been fitted under one of the seats, which is powering the LED lighting. 129, being the first in the vintage train project, was not fitted with the same system as the others, so it has been brought "in line" with the fleet. Caravan batteries weren't really in fashion during the days of the M&GN, so it has been tucked away in a period box, just in case anyone were to spot it whilst bending down under the seats to retrieve any dropped shillings!

The premium job for this week however has been the application of Great Northern blue lining to the interior panels and ceiling in one of the compartments, with the rest to follow. This line, very thin, very straight and very attractive, sets off the otherwise plain white interior. We have kept, in the corner of the shed, an original GNR compartment wall covering from the original restoration in the early 2000's, as a pattern to reproduce this delicate lining. It has only waited 20 or so years to get round to the job of finishing the interior decorations. Due to the requirement to finish 129 for a gala in 2009, the lining was never applied first time round.

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

With 129's work coming towards a conclusion, work is increasing once again on this vehicle. The project to rebuild the doors has restarted with a further example dismantled for repair and others rising from the ashes.

The large guards cupboard is also gaining ground and has received a coat of cream followed by further sanding and filling work.

Metal works to the brass passenger window components continues to progress.

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)

Interior reconstruction continues. Four out of the five interior compartments are now fitted out with their veneered panels, with only odd trim which we have lost now missing.

In the luggage compartment, the last of the planked walls have been assembled, on the seaward side, with just a few adjustments now required to it next week. This area is now starting to look more like a coach once again.

Less exciting has been further door work, with the final adjustments to the door locks and catches made on the inward opening guards doors. This is a real achievement as they are notoriously difficult to get right... More work has also been done on the two pairs of double doors, with trim being added around the outside, required to be in place to get the "final fit" on the locking mechanisms for the doors.

Some parts from the interior, which were missed out of the "main effort" a year or so ago, are now being chased up so that they can be installed during the next few months. One such set of items have been the covers for the electric heaters in the side corridor: these are now repainted in silver and ready for refitting once we're ready.

Outside work has been limited to removing the metal elements of the Sheringham end corridor connection, which have remarkably stayed on un-restored for all this time. They are in OK condition so simply need cleaning and repainting before reassembly.

British Railways 1957 Tourist Second Open E4521 (SILVER)

Good progress is being made again on the Sheringham (toilet) end of the vehicle. The new skin has been fitted to the seaward side corner and now fully welded into place.

Paint stripping the doors also continues.

British Railways 1957 Corridor Second W25189 (BRONZE)

The outside (bodysides) is now in first coat of gloss, with rubbing down and a second coat due to follow next week. Whilst the gloss was hardening, the opportunity was taken to get an undercoat on the two end doors, which had lagged behind the rest of the exterior until now.

On the inside of the vehicle, the whole carriage has been cleaned down and de-dusted thoroughly before the compartments have one last varnish coat. This has also included cleaning the internal glass and scraping all of the spills and marks on the lino floor. The seats have also received a clean.

British Railways 1958 Covered Carriage Truck M94125 (REPAIR)

No progress to report.

Maintenance

C exams continue. Occasionally we use a helicopter to deliver maintenance staff to site, as this photo surely proves!?!

January News Part 1

We must now sail serenely through 2020, hopefully another year of good progression by our department! We are a little light on photographs for this week's update, we must still getting back into the swing of things after the break...

Great Northern Railway (later M&GN) 1887 6 Wheel Third 129

The exterior of the vehicle has been completed in terms of items being physically fitted or modified, most notably the full length footboards. Painting of the majority of said components has also been finished, the footboards now in shiny gloss black. This has left the re-varnishing as the main exterior task still outstanding. Close to Christmas, the first coat was completed fully and since then the body has been rubbed down again ready for its second, and final, coat. This final coat is now applied to the landward side, with the rest of the vehicle to follow soon.

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

The Sheringham end corridor connection was refitted this week and is now fully in place, minus its bellows which are still to be re-made. Complications with the fitting led to daylight running out so it was decided to leave the other (Holt end) connection until next week.

Metal works to the brass passenger window components continues to progress.

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)

The Holt end vestibule floor is now completed and in place, meaning the vehicle has floors throughout for the first time in a few years! Other interior work has included further fitting out of wood panelling in the five passenger compartments, and the refitting of all the Formica panels inside the toilet.

The reassembly of the Holt end pair of doors has now progressed to the stage where they can be hung in place on the vehicle. The Holt end seaward side door is now in the process of being fitted, so we now have three people tasked on door fitting.

The other two are still busy at the other end and have been making adjustments to the inward opening door in the guards compartment and also the double luggage area doors on the landward side.

British Railways 1957 Tourist Second Open E4521 (SILVER)

The laborious task of paint stripping of the aluminium doors eventually destined for this vehicle continues.

British Railways 1957 Corridor Second W25189 (BRONZE)

The roof is now finished having had its second coat of oil rig paint. This has allowed the main external focus to be on the bodysides.

The whole vehicle, including the ends,  has this week received its undercoat paint, gloss will follow next week...

The interior compartments are being rubbed down ready for the final-final coat of varnish. Once this is applied, the interior is officially completed and we will be shutting the doors and not allowing anyone in to avoid things getting spoiled!

British Railways 1958 Covered Carriage Truck M94125 (REPAIR)

No progress to report.

Norfolk Lights Express

These highly successful trains have now finished running and staff have been busy at Sheringham taking the lights off the coaching stock,. Damage is, in the main, minimal with only a few small scuffs to the paintwork where the lights have rubbed the bodysides. Internally, the decorations and sound systems were fitted so unobtrusively there is zero damage to the interiors which we cherish! It is worth noting on here the C&W department's thanks to those involved in the fitting of the Norfolk Lights paraphernalia, as clearly a lot of effort was put in to keep the gear non-destructive.

The presence of the lights meant that the coaches were unable to be cleaned whilst they were in use over the festive season, so a deep clean has been progressing now that the sides are clear again. Sadly during this cleaning work the paintwork of one vehicle (E4641) was more severely damaged so will be moved to Weybourne next month to be partially repainted on the affected side. However this work will be a small price to pay for the invaluable success and income of the light trains, which has proven a real boost at a time of year where we would ordinarily be struggling.

CCT E94464 has also been brought to Weybourne and quickly had its generators removed so they can be returned to where they were hired from. The vehicle's role is now complete and it will no doubt be dispatched back to Sheringham at some point to reprise its role as a bike & buggy carrier.

Maintenance

With the running season now properly over, the annual C exams for the Mark 1 coaching stock are fully underway, with the second (B) set of Mark 1's split at Sheringham and the exam work now being rattled through. Fingers crossed for not too many days outside in minus temperatures and a gale!