October News Part 2

London North Eastern Railway 1950 Brake Corridor Third E1866 (GOLD)

This week has been the focus of the failed vacuum cylinder although its true that other jobs have also continued but haven't reached any newsworthy milestones. The cylinder was dismantled and received a standard clean up and overhaul, utilising one of the industry standard overhaul kits which are readily available for this purpose. Upon reassembly the cylinder passed all of its tests so its now off the rig and ready to be fitted onto the vehicle underframe.

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)

Temporarily in service and awaiting a return to Weybourne for the last of its snagging jobs to be completed. Although originally requested to run for just a driver experience, whilst at Sheringham E21224 was also able to be used for this weekend's Members & Shareholders day to substitute for E43041 which is currently out of the suburban rake and with us. This allowed our latest restoration to be viewed by many of our supporters and favourable comments were received.

Inside the workshop a start has been made on the five new build compartment tables although it is early days yet and these will be fitted in between other jobs.

British Railways 1956 Brake Corridor Composite E21103 (SILVER)

The sole focus remains the comprehensive bodywork. The Sheringham end renewals continue with a focus now on the landward side corner (previously the seaward side corner was the main subject). This is much the same as before: rot cut out, renewed, with replacement outer skin following. The top corner, where the gutter is, once again has been the source of trouble, a common location for Mark 1's.

The doorway stripping out is now complete and the doorways are ready for welding work to start.

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Suburban Composite Lavatory E43041 (BRONZE)

The second of the conveyor belt coaches was shunted into the staging area early in the week and no time was lost in hitting it hard to get the planned exterior work off to a good start. The outside was washed down thoroughly to remove the accumulated steam engine dirt and the bodysides were then lightly rubbed down to prepare it for a coat of new paint.

Before the paint came out however some concerning gaps which had appeared around the window glass were attended to and "topped up" with some sealant to try and arrest further water ingress. The windows are a really bad design and these early Mark 1 coaches were plagued with corrosion issues in their working lives and this has continued in preservation. Hopefully this remedial work (which is being done after not many years service at all really) will help reduce the onset of this typical window corrosion.

This done, the painting was started. Unlike CCT E94464, E43041 will be receiving one coat of paint as well as a coat of varnish, as the Crimson livery has faded badly in just a few years since the Suburban 4 project was completed. This time we have decided to switch suppliers Monkey was not impressed with the speed at which the most recent coaches out of works have faded in the sun...

By the end of the week, the landward side had been painted.

British Railways 1960 Covered Carriage Truck E94464 (REPAIR)

The seaward side of this vehicle was quickly varnished in a similar fashion to the landward side last week. Although not originally planned, at the last minute we decided to give the wooden ends a quick coat of black paint to smarten them up and to match the shiny sides. This complete, the vehicle was returned to traffic and has already seen use including Members and Shareholders day.

British Railways (SR Design) 1948 25 Ton Brakevan 55167 (SILVER)

No progress to report.

Southern Railway 1952 Covered Carriage Truck S1439S (BRONZE)

This privately owned van has been back in the locomotive shed for repairs to its wooden bodywork, despite only last being done in the summer of 2019! Over a dozen sections have been cut out and replaced and are being refitted, resealed and patch painted, in order to keep the van in top health. Three of the window have also been removed and replaced as part of the repairs. Sadly the original glass on several of the windows didn't survive the adjacent repair works!

Maintenance

In readiness for Members day, the Vintage train received an exam which it needed as it has not been seen in passenger use since before the pandemic. A few items cropped up including the onset of mold in several vehicles and a stuck door handle on M&GN 129. Both were able to be rectified before the weekend.

Workshop

The station bench, which has featured in several updates, is now on the home straight and has been painted again, looking much nicer than before.