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.