Carriage & Wagon News: November News Part 2

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

A quiet week this time with all of the projects already described progressing gently.

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)

The project to install the sink and and plumb in the water system drain has been completed which means the toilet area is now only missing the pan itself and associated voodoo to pump it all into the new tank under the vehicle.

Some previous works were also finished off, with some loose cables under the coach pinned back up into place and draught excluders, which have fallen off very quickly, re-secured with a different glue.

The vehicle has now been moved to Sheringham for dispatch to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway for its toilet equipment to be fitted. Whilst it is away we continue to work on the five tables which will be fitted into the compartments upon its return.

British Railways 1956 Brake Corridor Composite E21103 (SILVER)

Further doorway welding repairs have been undertaken and the landward side has now been finished, meaning the landward side is also completely finished from a metalwork perspective! Doorway renewal has now moved onto the seaward side.

The first passenger door is now being adjusted and test fitted back into the doorway, close to the guards area on the landward side. This kicks off the start of the long journey of doorway adjustment/refitting.

Also on the outside, the renewed areas on the corridor ends are being worked on, and paint applied to protect the relevant areas which will soon allow us to refit the gangways.

The Sheringham end bogie has now also been removed for overhaul. It has been lifted up off its wheelsets as one wheel has a flat which needs attending to.

A start has been made on dismantling the brake-gear, which is worn and out of alignment, with some parts already being cleaned up ready for measuring, re-bushing as required and repainting.

On the inside of the vehicle, the aluminium sliding windows on the five window units which we have left in-situ are being cleaned to improve their appearance. The lighting inter-coach connecting cables have also been wired back up at the Sheringham end, mirroring the work completed a few weeks ago at the Holt end.

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Suburban Third Lavatory Open E48001

The fourth of the conveyor belt repaints has now started in earnest. There was a flurry of activity repeating the increasingly worn path of washing the coach down to remove the steam loco grime, rubbing down the paintwork ready, then washing the dust off again. This was followed by the start of painting, a coat of black on the roof.

The bodyside windows were then chipped back of any early stage rust, which was locally treated and primed, before all of the window bottoms were resealed to try and slow down the water ingress. The Covid compartment numbers used on the Santa services last year were also removed. E48001 is in very good condition internally, so unlike the other two suburbans, there are no other interior tasks to complete.

With all the other tasks complete, the coat of bodyside Crimson gloss was started. By the end of the week, approximately 1/3rd of the vehicle had been painted.

British Railways 1961 English Electric Type 3 D6732

The Class 37 bodywork has now been completed, it was in such good condition very little was required in any case. The focus during the week was undertaking the same headcode box repairs to the Sheringham end as was already done at the Holt end. This was followed by a quick run down the bodysides chipping out loose filler and checking there was no hidden corrosion underneath. The loco is now ready for contractor Heritage Painting to make a start next week on the body preparation.