Great Gresley Progress

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

Existing tasks continue, including cleaning the brass window frames and improving the passenger door frames ready for their new skins.

London North Eastern Railway 1938 Brake Third Open E16631E (GOLD)

We've received another comprehensive image update from the hard working contractors at LS Engineering. They have progressed in a particularly visual fashion this time with the bulk of framework repairs now complete allowing some panelling to be fitted. Both interior plywood panels and exterior aluminium composite panels have been secured in place to the frame which has changed the overall appearance of the coach notably.

New end plates over the tops of the headstocks continue to be fitted - this has become a common Gresley issue which is best dealt with during any serious restoration given the body has to be moved out of the way! Metal repairs are also ongoing on other chassis components.

As well as the panelling work, the "beer cupboards" and some bulkheads and walls are being fitted and/or restored at the brake end of the vehicle along with the vestibule wall at the other end.

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

Needle gunning has progressed round the Holt end buffer beam and associated equipment, and it has been finished off (nor now) nicely in grey primer.

The repairs to the seaward side battery box continue steadily.

British Railways 1958 Brake Corridor Second M35148 (SILVER)

Another few weeks of good advancement. The guards brake area has been populated with as many of the wall mounted fittings as possible. This was quick and easy as all the items had been steadily restored on the bench so were all looking good and ready to fit. Anything that will get in the way of floor painting has been omitted for now, as the floors will be painted late on in the overhaul, but other than that the area is now considered almost complete.

Work to rub down the side corridor adjacent to the guards compartment has continued.

The accessible saloon has seen cream painting of both sets of double doors. These will likely get a second coat and that will see the accessible area also fully complete.

Both the Sheringham end vestibule and the passenger side corridor have seen the final coats of varnish applied bringing them up to a completed standard. Once again, these areas are now all but complete, with floor painting probably the largest remaining task.

The aluminium window surround trim for the sliding light windows were oxidised and grubby in certain areas, so these are being carefully hand cleaned in turn. Two or three of the ten required windows have been completed so far.

The replacement varnished wooden lower door cards have now reached a point where two out of the four have been cut to size and test fitted. The third is now in progress.

The exterior has progressed as well as the interior. The sanding and filling process has surged forward with the seaward side following the landward into a state of maturity. The smaller finishing touches are now being applied, but it will be handed over for painting before Christmas.

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

The current doorway welding project has now reached the end of its metalwork phase. All new sections are now welded in and painted giving a firm basis upon which to rebuild. A start has now been made on rehanging the door itself, which is currently holding on certain hinges to aid drilling and fitting of the missing hinges. The general fit of the door looks promising so far.

A new task has also been started: the cab refurbishment. This had been restored in the past but had become fairly shabby again. The good news is that all the main heavy stuff is in good structural order, such as the side wall panelling, ceiling, bulkhead and desk for example. This will give a good basis upon which to cut back the paintwork and give a thorough repaint to freshen things up. The initial angle of attack this week has been a mass removal of components that had been added to the vehicle over the years, are no longer in use on the NNR, and are not original (1950') in any case. As well as being less to restore and maintain, it will make the cab airier and also provide more room to work during the refurbishment! The items that have so far been removed are a 1980's water heater, track circuit clip wall brackets, a plastic 1980's emergency flag case, a wing wall next to the drivers seat and some redundant switches and sockets from the control desk including old high-intensity headlight switches etc. The removal of these items has left many gaps and holes, especially in the desk, so we plan to get the whole desk looking much nicer than before by flush plugging the holes and filling over them smooth before repainting, rather than the British Rail practice of just nailing a square patch over the top!

Now that M35148 is edging closer to completion internally, hopefully some more resource will be being spent on E56062 as we go into next year.

British Railways (GWR Design) 1958 "Fruit D" W92097W (SILVER)

Stripping of the old paint from the woodwork has continued as and when the weather has allowed. Unfortunately, due to the amount of rain, it has not been possible to pull the van out of the awning to access the harder to reach areas of the landward side on many occasions, so these areas are lagging behind somewhat. However that is to be expected at this time of year so the progress that has been possible is most encouraging!

Maintenance

The proper labels for the (RBR) kitchen car generator shore supply changeover cabinet have arrived and will hopefully be fitted soon. The changeover switching itself has been successful so far with the vehicle regularly performing for the Norfolk Lights trains and Santa Specials.