New Arrival CCT 94338

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

Despite several days of attention there are still elusive leaks on the vacuum system, but it will now likely be next year before it is looked at further.

London North Eastern Railway Brake Third Open E16631E (GOLD)

The four wheelsets mentioned last week have progressed with all the chipping down now completed and all brought up to undercoat stage.

British Railways 1961 Brake First Open M14021 (GOLD)

Stripping work has continued. The seaward side has had all of its doors removed, which means the coach is now fully door-less. Only two window frames remain to be stripped from the seaward side.

With the doors off, many of them have had the wooden jambs removed to assess the steel doorway which lies beneath. Pleasingly, apart from one or two near the Holt end, most of the doorway uprights are in good condition save for the bottom six inches. This will mean partial replacements can be undertaken rather than full length, saving much £££.

The interior continues to be stripped, and all of the side planking is now removed from the former luggage area. The first item has also received varnish, a sliding door which has been on the bench being stripped, repaired and finally varnished first coat.

British Railways 1956 Gangwayed Brake (Kitchen) M81033

The 15th member of the Conveyor Belt refresh programme has seen good progress following a belty of fine weather. Shunted into platform 2, the final cream and black paint has been applied to the landward side and ends respectively, bringing to a close its cosmetic refresh.

Attention has now turned to solving the generator issues which have blighted the vehicle in recent months. The replacement generator has finally arrived so two days were spent fitting it into the vehicle, and making numerous modifications to cater for the differences between the old and new installations.

We now have a working unit once again. A few more modifications are needed, such as returning the system to twin gas bottle rather than single and re-introducing the remote start feature, but we are certainly getting there.

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Motor Brake Second M51188

The 16th Conveyor Belt vehicle has had a modest start made on its refresh. The upper sections of bodywork have been rubbed back ready for a coat of gloss, whilst the grubby aluminium window frames on the landward side have also been cleaned.

British Railways 1960 Covered Carriage Truck 94338

This week has seen a new arrival at the railway, CCT 94338. This 4-wheel van is identical to our existing two CCT's (M94125 & E94464) and has been acquired to replace M94125 which is in very poor condition. A slot has been made for the vehicle earlier in the year for remedial work and repaint to allow it to enter service, however sadly delays in getting it to us meant it missed the slot, so it will now be stored for a time until we can fit it in.

British Railways 1954 13 Ton Pipe Open B740918

No progress to report.

British Railways 1953 20 Ton Lowmac TDB904093

No progress to report.

Maintenance

As suggested last week, the task this week was to fit two replacement vacuum cylinders to TSO M4958 to help cure its vacuum leaks. This was successfully done and the vehicle has now been returned to service.

Elsewhere at Sheringham, "A" examinations have rolled around again, keeping several people busy in the process. This will ticket all of the coaches in use over the winter season.

Workshop

The space available in the workshop has been taken advantage of, with a large tidy up being undertaken before we set to properly on our winter projects.