January News Part 4

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

More progress on ongoing projects such as the varnished end doors.

British Railways 1956 Brake Corridor Composite E21103 (SILVER)

Varnishing of the compartments has continued with compartment three joining the previous two to receive its spruce up. The opportunity has been taken to give the interior a good hoover out to stop too much spoiling.

The vehicle is now fully glazed again, as the final panes of glass were secured into place on the guards end windows. The second of the two new window frames were also fitted to the wheelchair saloon, finishing this end.

The Holt end corridor connection now has its springs fitted to the top to secure the faceplate and the rubber weather shield fitted over the top as a hood. This end is now complete apart from the two lighting jumper cables.

The bogie overhaul has now slowed due to the requirement to undertake C exams on the operational coaches at Sheringham. Some more painting of the side frames has progressed however.

Bodyside paint preparation is now in full swing with the lower half of the seaward side receiving the sanding and filling treatment.

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Second Open M4372 (BRONZE)

The sixth vehicle in the conveyor belt is now substantially complete, with the lining on the seaward side being applied and closely followed by a coat of varnish all the way round. Unfortunately the low temperaturtes prevented us from scraping down the paint off the window glass, so the coach has stayed in the shed to allow a further week of paint hardening, after which we will attempt to scrape the windows again. In the meantime, some finishing touches such as refitting the brass grab handles and painting round the corridor connections has taken place.

British Railways 1960 Restaurant Buffet (Refurbished) E1969 (BRONZE)

The seventh conveyor belt coach, which has been loitering outside the shed, has now been moved into the staging area and will be the next major focus for a few weeks. Mercifully, it is in much better condition than M4372 which slowed us down by around a week.

British Railways 1956 Tourist Second Open E4236 (BRONZE)

The eighth conveyor belt coach has been moved up from Sheringham early, partly due to the track works which are going to be separating the railway during the early part of February, but also because we will hopefully be able to start this one before the previous vehicle is completed, now that the Class 37 has exited (see below). It is currently outside the shed where it will remain until M4372 is complete.

British Railways 1962 Tourist Second Open M4958 (REPAIRS)

This coach has now been moved up from Sheringham and is in the yard to aid in the reupholstering process. All of the seating has now been removed from the framework allowing a good hoover out from under the seats, a task which is rarely able to be done. It may receive a few other odds and sods whilst it is up here, although this will be labour dependent. M4958 will miss the start of the season, but it is hoped it will be completed in time for the busier months!

British Railways 1961 English Electric Type 3 D6732

Now completed, this loco has been returned outside and back to its owner. It looks superb in the daylight and Heritage Painting have done an excellent job.

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

The upper regions of the cabin interior are now receiving cream top coat, after prepping was completed.

A number of minor jobs have also been undertaken including cleaning the vent covers, not an easy task. It is beginning to look very smart inside.

Maintenance

Whilst out on winter works duties, one of the windows on the Permanent Way "TRAMM" became removed. These are perspex windows and it survived intact meaning it was a relatively straightforward task to come out and return it into place, back in its rubbers, making the cab whole and watertight again.

Down at Sheringham, C examinations are in full swing with the main passenger "A set" being the focus of attention at present. A four coach formation (plus buggy carrier) has been formed for next month's half term week now that all of the end examinations to the couplings and gangways have been completed. The remaining tasks will be undertaken next week.

January News Part 3

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

More progress on bits and pieces mainly associated with the doors. The first of the door lock mechanisms are starting to be fitted, to the luggage area door on the landward side.

British Railways 1956 Brake Corridor Composite E21103 (SILVER)

Re-varnishing of the compartments has continued, with a second (compartment 4) joining the first which was completed last week.

The remaining three compartments have had their internal wooden window surrounds fitted making the compartments "whole" again. 

On the exterior of the vehicle, the Holt end rubber bellows have been fitted to the corridor connection and secured to the end of the coach. This end is now close to completion with only some minor parts now left to fit.

The bogie overhaul continues, with the leaf springs and associated hangars now removed and in the process of cleaning. The outer bogie side frames have been cleaned back and have received rust-inhibitor.

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Second Open M4372 (BRONZE)

The sixth of the conveyor belt coaches is now back on track following delays caused by unexpected corrosion. The affected areas around the windows have been built up through undercoat to bring them up to the same stage as the rest of the coach. This allowed gloss paint, both cream and crimson, to be applied to the relevant areas along both sides of the coach, bringing the luster back to the vehicle's appearance. The damaged lining has also been reapplied on the landward side, with the seaward side to follow next week.

British Railways 1961 English Electric Type 3 D6732

This week has seen a focus on finishing touches now that the loco is nearly complete. The headcode boxes have been secured shut and the winding handles for them polished or painted as appropriate and fitted back in place. Some overhead warning signage has been refitted to the nose ends, and the four worksplates are now back in place on the bodysides.

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

This week further undercoat has been applied in the cabin in places where it had not taken very well.

Both ends of the cabin floor were cleaned out and rust inhibitor applied. Timber to fill a void found in this area, has been sourced and primed ready for fitting next week.

Banger (of building department fame) deserves thanks for the loan of lights, tools etc to the Holt wagon outpost, along with Dave King for allowing access to the warmth of the museum during breaks at this inclement time of year!

January News Part 2

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

Progress this week has been a continuation of previous with the doors continuing the give trouble. It will be some time before these are brought to an satisfactory standard!

British Railways 1956 Brake Corridor Composite E21103 (SILVER)

This coach has moved on very well this week with several areas bearing fruit. The re-varnish of the interior has started in earnest (made possible by the recent re-glazing) with the first section to be finished being compartment number 5, which is a second class one nearest the Holt end of the coach. As already mentioned in previous updates, the coach's interior was already in good condition, so the re-varnish will not involve any stripping, only a top-up coat (or two) to return the shine. All of the tables (used for cream teas) have been removed from the compartments as they are no longer needed.

To keep ahead with the re-varnishing, the remainder of the compartment window glass was also fitted earlier in the week, finishing a task started last week. The same volunteer responsible for these has now moved onto the two former toilet windows (now store cupboards) which are in progress.

With the main glass fitted, the separate upper sliding lights have also been refitted to all five compartments which means they can now be fully sealed from the outside world again. These had been cleaned in advance.

Two compartments have also had their varnished window surround woodwork refitted. Once again, the plan is for the remainder to follow next week.

A start has also been made on refurnishing the wheelchair saloon (the former luggage area), with some missing supporting noggins being produced from timber and painted ready to fit around the refitted windows.

The outside of the vehicle is also progressing. On the Holt end, the vacuum passenger communication apparatus and linkages have all been refitted to the corridor end and the only remaining item still to fit at this end is the rubber bellows for the connection. After this, the Sheringham end will receive similar treatment.

The two passenger doors on the landward side have now been completed. One of the final items to add was the surrounding wooden paneling and draught excluders. We are currently awaiting the delivery of some more replacement door jambs before we move onto more doors.

Whilst we wait, some of the replaced steel in the doorways is being protected with paint ready to receive the new wood.

Finally, the bogie overhaul continues to progress with more painting of the second section up to gloss, plus the cleaning and repainting of axle boxes and brake gear from that end of the bogie ready to refit.

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Second Open M4372 (BRONZE)

The sixth of the conveyor belt coaches now has a completed roof. The areas where the old paint had failed and been chipped off were suitably treated and a coat of roof paint applied just to those areas to build depth. We then applied the usual top-up coat to the whole roof, which will see it good for the foreseeable future.

The bodysides have seen the most attention. The loose rust, once chipped away, has been rust treated before a small round of filler was applied and sanded back smooth. These areas have been patch painted in primer and work will continue next week. The areas not affected have just been lightly rubbed back ready for one coat of gloss to be applied to the whole coach once repairs are complete. Small cracks have been filled with mastic sealant to slow down water ingress until the coach's next overhaul. The four areas where the rust had progressed as far as holes were chopped out and new welded in, followed by the usual sanding and filling. M4372 has required the most preparation of all the conveyor belt coaches so far.

Spare hours whilst paints and sealants have been drying has been spent repainting the end doors brown.

The existing sign writing on the ends, as part of our current livery policy, has seen the white lettering over-coated with ochre.

No interior work is planned or required on this vehicle,. however the opportunity was taken to remove all of the tinsel from the luggage racking, left over from the Christmas diners!

British Railways 1961 English Electric Type 3 D6732

Heritage Painting have now completed their work on this loco. The final tasks involved completing the yellow panel on the Sheringham nose end, then varnishing the same end. This was followed by intensive painting of the red bufferbeams and all of the various coloured pipes and sockets etc in the vicinity.

Finishing touches involved refitting all of the removed window glass, polishing the external brass work and fitting the new overhead line warning signs.

The only outstanding task remaining is the fitting of the worksplates to the cab bodysides and refitting the internal panels which were removed for access. This is planned to be done by staff next week.

Everybody agrees how good the finish is on the loco!

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

The undercoating of the cabin interior has been completed.

January News Part 1

A happy New Year to all of our readers. Over the Covid pandemic, we unfortunately lost 50% of our readership, so as we go into 2022 I'd like to ask if anyone can share any links anywhere for this page https://nnrailway.blogspot.com/ in the direction of anyone you think may be interested, then we can try and encourage readership to return to normal levels. I hope those that remain continue to enjoy the updates, as that's certainly the feedback I get from those I talk to in person.

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

The team working on this coach have had various commitments in other areas of life so a return from the Christmas break has been slow as a result. However one hardy soul has been in this week making adjustments to the fit of the double doors in the luggage compartment, which are always a challenging fit on any vehicle.

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224

We were so busy on the lead up to Christmas that nobody from the department had chance to get down to Sheringham to inspect the new toilet. A quick opportunity for a look was arranged this week and it does appear to be all there! There is some finishing off to do, some minor damage caused by the road transportation and the outstanding steam heat repairs that we hadn't finished before the coach left for Yorkshire. For these reasons, when things are calmer, the vehicle will have to be returned to Weybourne for finishing off. I don't think the coach is needed in traffic for some time, so it may be that the coach returns when it is a bit warmer again and we can work on it outside in comfort.

British Railways 1956 Brake Corridor Composite E21103 (SILVER)

The two passenger doors on the landward side continue to progress, they are now both hung for the final time and work has transferred to the "trimmings" such as cutting in the dovetails and refitting draught excluder strips and the surrounding trim and paneling that was removed for the welding repairs.

Very visual progress on the windows has been made, with two sheets of glass (out of five) fitted into the compartment frames. These required much adjustment of the wooden securing bars on the insides, but now look most presentable!

Additionally, an already glazed frame (of a different design to those on the rest of the coach) was also fitted back into the wheelchair saloon, also on the seaward side.

The bogie overhaul continues to progress, with the second third of the frames being stripped down, primed and undercoated during the Christmas period. Lots of the brakegear has been prepared for refitting as well.

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Suburban Brake Third E43357

The fifth of the conveyor belt coaches was quickly finished off after Christmas. Any last remains of paint were scraped off the windows and finally the footboards and bump stops were treated to a coat of paint. The vehicle was then removed from the shed and will be returned to Bridge Road shortly. This of course means that the whole Suburban 4 set has now been refreshed/repainted over the autumn/winter, so look out for them in April when they make their return to service!

British Railways 1955 Mark 1 Second Open M4372

The sixth of the conveyor belt coaches has now entered the shed for its turn on the merry-go-round. It is part of the dining train. This vehicle was last in with us between February and April 2018 where failed cream paintwork and unstable windows were scraped back followed by a full repaint. This was done in preference to the treatment to dining train stablemate RBR E1969 which had all its windows removed to treat the premature corrosion below. Sadly the approach on M4372 has not lasted and the paintwork has faded with the window corrosion steadily getting worse.

Alas we do not have the time to remove the windows to treat the corrosion, so we will improve it cosmetically until we have more time to deal with the root of the problem. The first jobs were to give the coach a good wash down, and we then went around all of the windows and door edge strips scraping off the bubbled paintwork and surface corrosion. 

There are also several areas of failed filler which we have scraped off as far as a solid base.

Preparations for the repainting are simultaneously progressing. So far the grab handles have been removed from the doors (nice and easy to get off as they were only relatively recently disturbed) and most of the landward side has been lightly sanded to provide a key for the paint.

The roof area is also worse than the previous coaches dealt with in the program, with much flaking on the sun side. The unstable areas have been removed and any rust locally treated. The gutters have also been cleared of detritus, mainly from the trees when the coach has been standing at Sheringham and Holt.

British Railways 1961 English Electric Type 3 D6732

The loco was moved out of the shed in order to swap E43357 and M4372, so an opportunity to see it outside was available before being shunted back in for the contractors to return next week.

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

This week the inside of the cabin has been undercoated, but the white requires a second coat.

The group have a lovely, borrowed, little heater for inside keeping them going on the cold days!

One brave man has been derusting the platform on both ends and applying rust inhibitor.

Workshop

As the Norfolk Lights Express is now completed, CCT E94464 was tripped to Weybourne to have the generators removed. The rope lighting has also been removed from all six of the vehicles involved returning them to their original appearance.