London North Eastern Railway 1950 Brake Corridor Third E1866 (GOLD)
The toilet door frame/surround mentioned last time has now been installed following several coats of varnish.
Both vacuum cylinders have also been raised up into position.
British Railways 1956 Brake Corridor Composite E21103 (SILVER)
It should not be too many more weeks now before this coach reaches the end of its stay with us and returns to service, with hopefully one more concerted effort to see it through. On the outside of the vehicle, a start has been made on the painting with the seaward side getting its first primer.
The Sheringham end, which is slightly lagging behind the rest of the coach, has been progressing well with the reassembly of the corridor bellows being completed leaving only the springs and "rain hood" to finish at the top. This advanced state has allowed the final 5% of bodywork preparation at this end to start.
On the underframe, the landward side has been the focus to bring it to the same completed state as the seaward. Due to a current lack of suitable paint, we have been cleaning down and preparing the side ready for painting when it arrives. This is now 3/4 complete.
The Sheringham end bogie is now completed, with final adjustments to the pull of the brake rods being completed. The modified rods will be crack tested before service but we shall get both bogies tested at the same time.
The Holt end bogie has been receiving a de-grease and scrape down prior to it being steam cleaned outside. This bogie will receive an external clean up and repaint and will have its uneven brakes brought back to standard, but won't receive the full strip down and overhaul that the first bogie did. At the end of the week E21103 was lifted which released the Holt bogie to be moved outside.
Interior paneling out in the wheelchair saloon and Holt end store cupboard (former toilet) continues to progress steadily.
British Railways 1962 Tourist Second Open M4958 (BRONZE)
The ninth conveyor belt coach is now completed externally, with the gloss paint being applied to the remaining bodysides, followed by another rub down and a coat of varnish all round.
The usual round of finishing touches to lamp irons, grab handles, window cleaning and sign-writing then followed. The vehicle will now exit the shed, to make way for the Quad-Art set, and be positioned outside again for the interior works to continue.
On the interior, the Holt end vestibule has now been rubbed down and given a freshen up coat of varnish, which it looks much better for. Provided there is time, the same will be done to the centre and Sheringham end vestibules. Re-upholstery work also continues steadily with the aim of having this vehicle back in service for the summer.
London Transport 1955 20 Ton Ballast Hopper HW426
One thing that cannot be said of the ballast hopper team is that they have wasted their unexpected time undercover! It has been a flurry of noise and activity as more and more of the wagon has been needle gunned and/or wire wheeled to remove and stabalise 40+ years of corrosion.
The vehicle's handrails at the operator end have been cleaned down and two of the three hopper door wheels removed as they were loose and require shimming. The through vacuum pipe has been constructed, very swiftly, and is now dry fitted awaiting further works and clamps.
With the Quad-Art set fast approaching, notice was served on the wagon to return outside, and the final few days inside were spent applying a first coat of bitumen paint to the inside of the hopper, and a coat of grey primer to the outside, including sole bars and bufferbeams. Very quickly the hopper has transformed in appearance!
British Railways 1953 20 Ton Loriot DB904093
No progress to report.
Hurst Nelson 1944 4 Wheel Petroleum Tank 5304
The next project selected by the Holt Wagon Team is the Shell tanker which had been looking rather sorry for itself. Following the Steam Gala it was shunted under the museum awning for work to begin. The years under the trees at Holt has discoloured the paintwork with sign-writing in particular suffering.
The original plan was a simple clean down and full repaint, given that there was little serious corrosion or visible degradation present, so a start was made on the seaward side, spraying down with traffic film remover followed by a jet wash. The result was excellent, especially the sole bars, which are so good it is now thought that they may not need painting after all.
It is expected for more updates on the tank wagon project to come, especially as we are now entering warmer weather.
British Railways (SR Design) 1948 25 Ton Brakevan 55167
Although this vehicle was completed for the Steam Gala at the start of the month, sadly due to illness a group photo of the team behind it was not possible. We can now rectify this! Left to right are Peter Maynard, Brian Ashby and Peter Bedell who alongside Peter Turl (retired) masterminded the project to restore the SR brake. The finished vehicle is a credit to the four of them and brings fresh colour to the freight train, which is now the best (and longest) it has ever been. We live in a golden age for wagons!
Maintenance
The vacuum cylinder mentioned last time for DMU trailer car M56352 has been overhauled and refitted to the vehicle, which in turn has been returned to service.
"A" exams are now due for the main mark 1 running set, which has seen the suburban set out for a few days this week to cover whilst the vehicles were looked at.
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