As we are now in holiday season the workshop hasn't been as busy as it could be, but things are still moving along...
London North Eastern Railway 1950 Brake Corridor Third E1866 (GOLD)
The two centre doors (the only passenger ones) have been removed from the vehicle and all the internal door cards and furniture have been removed from them. The brass hinges have been removed and their old steel screws thrown away. In turn the outer steel panels (Thompson doors are wood frame with a steel outer skin) have been painstakingly removed to allow access to assess what needs repairing.
In the guards area of the coach, the lozenge shaped upper window surrounds have been finished and painted.
Inside the guards compartment itself, the postal rack has been fitted complete with a quick release mechanism to allow cleaning of the window behind.
London North Eastern Railway Brake Third Open E16631E (GOLD)
Parts are being gathered for the Gresley BTO currently off site at LS Engineering, now that there is a more complete picture of what is missing from the vehicle.
A further milestone is that four replacement wheelsets intended for the vehicle have been turned on the lathe and will be prepared for dispatch to the Ecclesbourne Valley to be used on E16631E.
British Railways 1961 Brake First Open (Kitchen) M14021 (GOLD)
As explained last week, 14021 has been moved to the sheds at Bridge Road for the foreseeable future.
British Railways 1958 Brake Corridor Second M35148 (SILVER)
The main milestone this week has been the completion of welding repairs to the landward side of the coach, following steelwork being put into the compartment side-corridor section of the vehicle. The piecemeal nature of the progression makes it hard to judge things but we are well over the half way point with corrosion repairs now. The next challenge will be the Holt end corridor connection and end which has so far been fairly untouched and needs a lot of work.
British Railways 1957 Class 101 Railcar Driving Trailer Composite Lavatory E56062 (SILVER)
Bodywork has slowly continued, with the welding now completed in the middle saloon area on the seaward side, including all new window bottoms. These have all been ground smooth this week and painted in a holding coat of grey primer.
Internally, the reassembly of the rear saloon on the seaward side continues with around half of the removed Formica paneling returned to the wall after all of the supporting timber work had been refitted.
Midland & Great Northern Railway 1881 4 Wheel Tool Van 12 (REPAIRS)
Preparation of the two replacement axles for 12 is going well. The wheelsets and all four axleboxes have been rust treated, primed and given a coat of gloss black. The axleboxes have additionally been extensively cleaned out before the painting process began. The photos show the process of moving the wheelsets from one road of the shed to another to clear the way for shunting out the staging area and come courtesy of Richard Coleman.
Southern Railway 1939 Parcels & Miscellaneous Van S1359S
The shelving and lighting has now been fitted to the PMV in the platform at Weybourne which is now completed as "The Sidings" bookshop extension. Be sure to make a visit if you spot the doors open at Weybourne on your next visit!
British Railways 1954 13 Ton Pipe Open B740918
A small amount of de-greasing has continued on the seaward side of the underframe equipment.
British Railways (LMS Design) 1949 20 Ton Brakevan B950133
Hopefully there will be a larger update next time, but reports suggest that the vehicle has turned a corner and that the bauxite brown paint has started to be applied.
Workshop
The shunt to move E56062 and remove M14021 allowed the staging area of the shed to receive a good clear up and hoover, the fight against dust being eternal of course!
