Half Way There

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

Work continues to complete and improve existing projects. The ceiling at the toilet end of the vehicle has been improved and a cover fitted over the extractor fan. A correct LNER handle has also been fitted to the new extra wide sliding door into the saloon.

London North Eastern Railway 1924 Quad Articulated Set 74

The Quads have reached the half way point in the complex operation of lifting them and extracting bogies for tyre turning. They have been a major focus for us with most of our resources being put in this direction. This week, we resolved the electrical issue which had plagued the borrowed Loco Department lifting jacks and once these were working again a straightforward lift of 48861 was undertaken.

With the bodies in the air we then rolled the three bogies out into the yard, with the added complication that the bogie at the back (under the guards compartment) fouled the bottom of the battery boxes by about half an inch as the loco jacks do not lift as high as the carriage ones. We had to manually jack the bogie off the rails and slew it six inches to one side and roll it along the concrete floor clear of the battery boxes before repeating the process to put it back on rails!

Whilst outside the opportunity was taken to clean the oil off the brown painted wheels as the increased access is seldom available when the bogies are in their normal positions.

With all three bogies outside the next step was lifting them onto a flat-bed road trailer using the M&GN Society crane "Horace". Again this was done successfully and quickly and they were soon off on their way to Freightliner at Leeds. The move was undertaken by Box Worx in Woodbridge and was all done on time with no timekeeping worries.

Once at Freightliner their professional team then stepped in to turn the six wheelsets over a night shift back to the correct profile we required. One bogie has wheelsets close to the end of the tyre's life so the team were particularly helpful in carefully agreeing the cut and finished size in order to allow those wheels to have one more stint of service life and also correctly match the tyres on adjacent bogies further down the set.

Lunchtime the next day saw the bogies returned from the county of the Quad-set's birth back to their retirement home, Norfolk. Horace was in action again to unload, only this time in a snow/sleet blizzard! It was much less pleasant than the loading but we were lucky in that it was to be the following day before the aggressive winds came. The bogies were pushed uphill back in the shed, with the cold conditions becoming an incentive to push hard and get them inside quicker!

Following further slewing across concrete the three bogies were positioned back where they came from under the coach and the bogies of 48861 & '62 lowed back down. Plenty of re-greasing was done on surfaces we can't normally get to. This was officially the half way point for the project.

With the two bodies back down and harsh conditions outside, it was decided to reconnect the brake gear and vacuum hoses then adjust the brakes up correctly before shunting the vehicles outside. 

A shunt of the yard followed and 48861 & '62 were stabled outside with '63 & '64 coming in. These are the longer vehicles of the four so the jacks were all re-positioned ready to lift in the revised positions. The carriage jacks under '64 were leveled and weight gently taken ready to lift but we ran out of week to do the same on the loco jacks under '63.

Next week should see a similar story unfold as we repeat the process for the second pair of vehicles. As readers can imagine its been very busy!

British Railways 1961 Brake First Open (Kitchen) M14021 (GOLD)

The vehicle had to be moved outside so that its space could be taken by 3116, itself evicted from the staging by the Quad-Arts. No progress on 14021's overhaul was possible whilst outside but it has now reentered the shed following 3116's return to the staging.

British Railways 1962 First Open M3116 (SILVER)

Lettering and lining has continued with all the lower lining and letters now completed, including all of the data on the end of the vehicle.

Because the section of Quad-Arts inside the shed only had buffers at the Holt end, DMU 51228 was required to haul them in and out of the shed for the duration of the tyre turning. This meant the DMU was trapped inside the staging for a few days and is also the main reason 3116 was evicted onto the other side of the shed.

 

Whilst outside of the staging a large team descended on the underframe areas for a cosmetic upgrade. A coat of gloss black was applied to all visible areas of the outer underframe, battery boxes and bogies. Details such as springs and electrical sockets were also picked out in red.

The second pair of Quad coaches have buffers at the Sheringham end, meaning they could be moved into the shed conventionally allowing 3116 to be returned to the staging. This will allow the top lining to be completed next week after which varnishing will start.

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Motor Brake Second M51188

Similar to 14021, no progress due to resources being directed towards the Quads.