January News Part 2

We have now settled into our routine for the foreseeable future, with all labour concentrated on two major projects in the shed.

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

The preparations for the big reassembly of the second of the pair of bogies under contract restoration continue. The four axleboxes, which had just been started last update, are now completed and lie resplendent in front of the fire in black gloss.

These are now ready to be refitted to the wheelsets, and accordingly new oil seals at the rear have been cut and the bearing surfaces on the ends of the axles polished ready to accept the boxes and white-metal journals soon.

The marathon painting session of the ancillary equipment of the bogie is also practically completed, with some very uninspiring and "un-photogenic" boxes of assorted washers and pins being some of the few items available to record progress.

On the coach itself: the splash guards on the underside of the floor (described last time) have all been specified, material delivered, cut to size and fitted over the last two weeks. The coach was lifted again to facilitate this work.

The sheets involved more than simply screwing up into place, the design of the floor required a degree of framework to be constructed upon which the thin panels hang. They are galvanised steel which will last much longer in service but made the sheets significantly heavier to lift up into place in a socially distanced manner!

The opportunity has been taken whilst the coach is on jacks for volunteers to install new electrical trunking to route the new power feed cables from the main fuse box, diametrically across the coach and up into the guards area. This is still work in progress but the cable route is now clear to see.

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)

Progress has really taken off again now and whilst there are only two people on task making advancement limited, when judged in Covid times its been a busy two weeks. The interior has moved on significantly with the furnishing of the walls and ceilings in the vestibules and side corridor being a major area of focus. The final section of modified ceiling for the Holt end vestibule has been fitted meaning these only need beading to finish them off.

All of the veneered side panels, restored a year or two ago, very quickly were fitted to the side corridor making this area instantly look much closer to completion. The tightness of the corridor and lack of natural light means the photos can't do this area justice.

Not content with just the paneling, the window surrounds quickly followed, along with much of the beading. Some pieces were damaged or missing however, so a batch has been machined up and is now being built up with varnish prior to fitting.

Further down the coach, a delay in the paint for the exterior arriving allowed two days to be spent painting the luggage compartment instead.

This had been primed and undercoated earlier in the year but the gloss was still in its infancy when Furlough beckoned. Over the two days there was just enough time to get two coats of brown (bauxite) gloss on the cage, insides of the doors and wall planking. 

Also treated were all of the interior sliding doors (not currently fitted to the vehicle) which are also painted brown. These doors are now complete and will simply need refitting once the lino is in place allowing the floor runners to be returned into position.

Once the paint supplies were replenished the main priority task, exterior painting, could kick off in earnest. With all preparations complete it was not long before the pink primer made its way around the coach. By close of play Friday both sides and the Sheringham end had been primed with just the Holt corridor end still to do. The coach has returned to a single colour for the first time in many years!

January News Part 1

The yo-yo that is furlough has bounced back up once more and there are now four of us in Carriage & Wagon again. Sadly in order to remain responsible the volunteer situation has to remain the same which means we will continue to progress at a fraction of the speed we once ran at. However for the first time since October some non-contract work is now able to tentatively progress again, which I hope to resume bringing updates on, but please don't expect too much action!

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

Since the last update the contract bogie overhauls have continued to progress. The central sprung bolster was completed and painted on the first bogie and accordingly lifted back into position. The first bogie is therefore essentially completed now and is inside the shed awaiting its friend to join it. The second bogie has had all its brakegear painted which is now ready for reassembly. The final items to prepare for the big assembly have been the two wheelsets.

These are now fully painted up to gloss and the axleboxes are now being prepared to refitting.

Part of the contract is also to prepare and fit metal plates above where the wheels are going to sit to act as barriers to the "road dirt" that tends to get slung up onto the underside of the floor. This is particularly important to guard against on a vehicle such as this with its wooden floor. Measurements have taken place ready to cut these sheets.

In between lockdowns (back in 2020) some volunteer work continued to progress and the cleaning, repairs and general preparations to the sliding saloon windows were completed. These were good winter bench jobs and the windows are now stored ready for when the time comes to refit them. Other work has included some wire terminations inside the guards compartment, which accommodates part of the additional wiring being installed as part of the conversion from the coach's previous corridor life to the open saloon format that it will emerge as.

London North Eastern Railway 1931 Corridor Third E12493E (BRONZE)

The refresh work was concluded some time ago (in the autumn) and the coach now looks a lot better resplendent in maroon. I still haven't had chance to get a photograph of it, mainly as I have had no cause to visit Sheringham station for any "essential" reasons!

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)

Not a huge update this time, as the coach was halted immediately when staff were furloughed. However all being well there will be greater progress to report over the coming weeks as the coach is the current priority. Work has resumed on the Holt end vestibule and it is clear to get things right several of the wooden trim pieces have to be either modified or replaced where missing. This is of course taking time but more paneling is going in and making the area look more complete all the time.

Also started are the very final preparations for applying the much delayed paint to the exterior of the vehicle, which should hopefully transform it! It is being checked and double checked all the way around the ensure the outside is completely finished and ready for paint next week.

A few "loose ends" such as the corridor end lighting jumper cables and the small hooks that the luggage doors latch on to (when being held in the open position) are being prepared and fitted. Once these are completed we will work top down and apply the final coat of roof paint and then bodyside paint. This was originally scheduled for April (2020), and again in November, so third time lucky!

Maintenance

Maintenance has continued throughout... the only element of C&W not to cease really. This is set to continue and a series of examinations now need completing if our stock is to be safe to run later this year. These can't be done quickly so have to be done now and in a certain order if the correct compartment stock is to be available for any of the potential commercial/operating scenarios (best case right through to worst case) that are being considered.

The only large maintenance support that has been ongoing in the workshops has been the cleaning and partial repainting of a Mark 1 wheelset which is being prepared for brake coach 21103 which has wheel flats at one end.