Gala Preparations

A lot of time and effort has been spent this week making preparations for the Steam Gala. Having an event where nearly all of our rolling stock is intended to be in use, so early into the season, puts a great deal of strain on the maintenance and examination side of the department, as it prevents us spreading the annual exams into May. All of the "special stock" has come out of winter hibernation and been ticketed for use for this event and indeed for the year ahead. It has been worth it however as a real show has been put on with some interesting formations and a good time had by all.

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

Work has restarted underneath the vehicle, with a good section of the new re-routed steam pipe being produced ready to fit, as the original route was needed for the new control emission toilet tank.

This tank continues to be arranged underneath the vehicle, with thought being given as to its mounting arrangement. 

A good step forward on the exterior of the vehicle has been the arrival and fitting of replacement glass for the small luggage area windows. Around 3/4 of these have been fitted already with just a few still to finish off.

Additional shelving and further tweaks are being made to the servery area inside the vehicle.

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

Work on the landward side battery box continues, which has turned out to be more rotten than first appeared.

British Railways 1958 Brake Corridor Second M35148 (SILVER)

In similar style to previous weeks, a continuation of the bodywork which is slowly creeping its way down the Holt side. Several doors are having in-situ metalwork replacements, particularly around the lower end. As we don't like to strip the doors fully down unless it is a Gold level overhaul, this is a good way of giving the doors a new lease of life and removing corrosion for relatively little outlay, albeit without being able to protect the rear faces of the metal as much as we would perhaps like.

Further passenger compartment windows have been removed to allow early corrosion underneath the frames to be dealt with.

British Railways 1957 Class 101 Railcar Driving Trailer Composite Lavatory E56062 (SILVER)

No progress to report.

British Railways 1958 Class 101 Railcar Driving Motor Brake Second M51188

No progress to report.

British Railways 1954 13 Ton Pipe Open B740918

Now that Spring is in the air and we are getting some drier days, this wagon project which had to be stalled in the Autumn has now recommenced. This week the landward side ironwork has had a coat of red primer applied all along the body. It is planned next week to move onto the Sheringham end which so far has escaped attention.

British Railways (LMS Design) 1949 20 Ton Brakevan B950133

This week has been all about paint stripping, getting there slowly but surely.

A start has also been made sanding in areas where the existing paintwork is pretty good.

Peter Leny

It is our sad duty to inform readers that long standing C&W volunteer Peter Leny died last week. Peter was known universally as "Doctor Peter" owing to the fact that after joining the department there were too many Peters to keep track of and his career had been as a GP. Peter was old school, a gentleman, down to earth and softly spoken. I never saw him angry even once, and one of his greatest skills in my opinion was the ability to convey any irritation in such a way that the listener hardly realised he was complaining, an art which is surprisingly rare! Peter was an interesting person to spend time with, having a seemingly eternal bank of stories from times gone by providing heathcare to the general public. There was a case study relevant to almost any situation being discussed. Despite being long retired Peter was often consulted by other volunteers and paid staff for an opinion on any ailments in the department, something I never fully worked out whether he minded or not. He would be far too polite to say if it did bother him! Peter's entire life was dedicated to helping people beyond himself and being part of a wider cause, which he translated seamlessly into his volunteering at the NNR. Peter understood completely that his weekly contributions tediously cleaning down carriage components were part of the backbone of the restoration process despite not being particularly photogenic. He gave many years to the railway and his departure around the time of the Covid pandemic leaves a hole in the department hard to fill.

Doctor Peter (left) with partner in crime Nurse Peter