February News Part 1

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

Not so much progress this week, although a few compartments have had the luggage racks refitted. These were removed so that painting could progress unhindered.

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

The doors continue to be the main focus of attention. A further pair of double luggage doors have been removed from the vehicle and brought into the shed. These have now either been dismantled or are in the process of. Meanwhile, the second guards inward opening door is being built back up again to match its twin mentioned last week. One take-home point with these doors has been the poor quality of the screws being found inside them, both to hold the skins to the frames and also the screws that had been holding the hinges to the doors. We believe the latter were possibly a temporary measure to hold the doors in place during its previous restoration.

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)

The progress on the coach this week has sadly been far from exciting, with a lot of "more of the same" being undertaken. Smaller fittings continue to be added to the various doors located around the luggage end of the vehicle. At the other end of the coach, the Holt end seaward side door is now substantially complete in its hanging, so the last door on the vehicle to go on, the Holt landward one, has now been started.

Inside the toilet, the beading has all been cut to size and now awaits varnishing, while other miscellaneous trim has been progressed throughout the five passenger compartments. The two sets of interior wood intended for fitting to the Holt end vestibule doors are now also very close to completion.

Inside the luggage compartment, the final adjustments to the planked walling on the seaward side were completed, so now both sides of the compartment are fully planked out.

Much work has been spent on preparing the bellows metalwork for both corridor connections at each end of the vehicle. These have all been stripped and cleaned down ready for some small repairs and repainting. Also treated were the upper "shock absorbers" for the Sheringham end which somehow got missed last year when we restored a bulk batch of these from 21224 & 4521.

British Railways 1957 Tourist Second Open E4521 (SILVER)

All six of the passenger doors have had the worst of the exterior paint stripped off them, and the process of sanding the remains down to a secure surface for new paint to be applied has started.

On the steelwork, the remainder of the repairs have now been completed to the Sheringham/seaward corner.

British Railways 1957 Corridor Second W25189 (BRONZE)

The interior has now progressed to within spitting distance of completion. All eight compartments have received their final coats of varnish, which concludes the re-varnishing work undertaken to the interior. All that remains now internally will be any minor cleaning jobs such as to the floors and to the glass, where dirt has built up or paint has dripped.

Externally, the two ends are now painted in black gloss which brings them closer to completion, and the upper lining has been applied. The coach has now moved out of the staging area so that the lower line can be applied next week.

Now that he painting has been completed, the "finishing touches" can begin. The gutters have been painted where bodyside paint over spread onto them. The passenger communication apparatus has been refitted to the end of the coach and tested to ensure it still operates freely post-repairs. New mounting plates for the lighting jumper cables have been machined and are being painted in preparation for the lighting cables to be refitted to the ends. Windows have been scraped of old paint, and the door locks and catch plates also cleaned up to improve their appearance. All of these small items will contribute to, hopefully, a finished product that passengers can admire!

British Railways 1958 Covered Carriage Truck M94125 (REPAIR)

No progress to report.

Maintenance

C exams continue, with both rakes of "ordinary" Mark 1's now substantially completed. A shunt around at Sheringham saw the dining train split into individual coaches so that this set can be next to be thoroughly examined. The list of "work arising" grows ever longer!