London North Eastern Railway 1950 Brake Corridor Third E1866 (GOLD)
Work this week has involved separating a guard's emergency vacuum brake valve from a severed piece of pipe. It had been reclaimed quickly off a scrap vehicle and was being held in stores. It is now back to its constituent parts and can be restored for use. Also reclaimed has been some pipework left over from another vehicle which will be added to E1866.
British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)
A few tasks which do not rely on the lino flooring being fitted have been progressed. The ambulance cupboard inside the luggage area received its final coats of internal white paint, which once dry, allowed the equipment to be loaded inside. This done and audited, the door was shut and the glass panel installed over the front to prevent casual access.
Staying on the subject of emergency equipment, the guards end fire extinguisher and emergency ladder have both been strapped into place having had new straps custom made to size. The ladder has been prepared steadily over the last month.
Inside the corridor and compartments, all of the gaps between the woodwork and glass have been filled in with mastic and wiped down to give an effective seal, so that condensations drains into the channels/drains rather than straight into the void below the windows. This left a matt residue so the affected areas were cleaned down again and an extra coat of varnish applied to return their shine.
We are also starting to prepare for constructing five tables intended for use in the compartments with cream teas. We have no suitably shaped tables in stock so we shall make new in the style of the removable compartment tables BR used - but one difference being ours will be permanently fixed as the temporary ones wobble aren't really secure enough for permanent use. We have four original metal legs from scrapped vehicles left in our stores so these are being used and we are constructing a fifth to as close as possible a match to complete the set. We have modified the original legs slightly with new "feet" as the originals were sadly too degraded for reuse. There is now also a materials list for the wooden tops which will be made in due course.
One of the final items of mechanical equipment to resolve was the air brake distributor. After two years on the back burner, this has now been retrieved and successfully reassembled following a strip down and clean. The exterior of the valve has also been cleaned down and is currently sporting primer. E21224 will be leaving the staging area soon so we anticipate the distributor can be fitted shortly.
British Railways 1957 Mark 1 Tourist Second Open E4641 (BRONZE)
E4641 was moved out of the staging shortly after the last update which allowed the solebars, footboards and bufferbeams to have a top up coat of black gloss paint to smarten them up and complete the repaint. Added to this was the solebar lettering and brake stars which couldn't be applied when in the staging.
Likewise the painting of stripes on the wheels (to indicate tyre slippage), a requirement to mainline running, was also undertaken. Another mainline requirement is the numbering of the exterior doors, which has also now been applied.
Finally, the remaining buckeye, on the Holt end, was swapped out for an example recently obtained from the mainline which has the extra "shelf bracket", yet another feature E4641 has required to make it suitable for registration to run to Cromer.
E4641 has now been removed from the shed and returned to traffic, its Bronze overhaul complete.
British Railways 1962 First Open M3116 (REPAIR)
With the departure of E4641 from the shed, M3116 was brought in for a brief stay to conclude its pre-pandemic "quick" repairs once and for all! Before entering the shed the task of replacing the vestibule carpets (described last time) had been progressing. Shortly after coming in the shed the final gluing and fixing was completed and the vestibules now look much fresher.
The last loose end to tie up in the interior was the fixing to the walls of the brackets which tie the curtains back to. These had been machined in house as we didn't have any originals to use.
The rest of the work has been mechanical. The main issue was that the coach was sitting too high on its bogies, so each corner was lifted and some packing removed to gently bring the coach back into tolerance. The coach has sat low for some years so it was nice to see it at the correct height. This done, the axlebox keeps were put back into place and the metal safety slings which wrap around the brakegear inside the boxes returned into position.
Similar to E4641, M3116 was then removed from the shed and returned to traffic, its much prolonged repairs complete.
British Railways 1962 12 Ton Box Van B784254 (GOLD)
The overhaul of this van, sadly halted due to the health of its owner, has more positively been resumed, as it has been recognised that with 95%+ of the work already complete, this vehicle can be made operational in the freight train with very little work. It is planned to complete this quickly to see the project through and clear the projects list and yard for new projects.
Like most aspects, the interior requires very little finishing off. The van received a brand new roof a few years ago which hadn't been painted internally. Originally these were often planked, the solid and unpainted 1950's wood resisting the damp very well. The new roof is modern plywood which will not fare as well if left bare, so whilst probably not authentic it will be painted white. This will offer both protection and also maximise the light inside the van. So far it has been primed.
On the exterior, the body itself requires little more than sprucing up having become faded over the lockdown, the brown being a very bad colour for this effect. Another coat of gloss has been added this week and is now complete, the van having regained its shine.
We noticed that the lamp irons had been bolted on but were bare metal so had rusted over the last year spent outside, and also that one of the (four) securing pins/chains for the door handles was missing. A replacement chain was found from stores and this along with the lamp brackets were cleaned and primed. Also getting the same treatment were the four axlebox keeps, which had been removed to allow the vehicle to be lifted off its wheels. Again, these will be returned in due course.
British Railways (SR Design) 1948 25 Ton Brakevan 55167 (SILVER)
The renewal of the roof has taken longer than anticipated, but the project is still moving forward. The roof has been painted with several coats of bitumen.
Wooden edging trim is being fixed to the outer verandah ends and some other minor roof components, such as the stove chimney "collar", are also being prepared for their next turn of duty.
Maintenance
The dining train Kitchen Car, M81033, was brought up to Weybourne, which really took us up to capacity as we had four coaches (an entire rake) in the yard! This vehicle simply needed its worn drawhook swapping off the Sheringham end. Being a brake and being permanently at the end of the dining set, and therefore always adjacent to the loco, it is no surprise the hook at that end has worn. The hook was changed quickly and without any fuss. This coach (which is in rather poor condition) has had the Sheringham end gangway door stuck shut for some years now, preventing through access to another coach at that end. Given that this end is never formed up to another coach in any case, it was decided not to bother returning the buckeye coupling to this end. On the bright side it will give crews a bit more space to maneuver when coupling up! M81033 was then returned to Sheringham back into traffic.
Meanwhile the repairs to M4958, including the seat swapping pictured last time, have now been completed, and again the vehicle has now been returned to traffic: four this week, possibly a record!
A day has also been spent up at Holt preparing the goods set for a trip out shortly. A thorough preparation was made especially given that the set has not run since before the pandemic.
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