REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2024

As is traditional, the final Blog post of the year looks back on what we have achieved these past 12 months. Exactly a year ago, I wrote about the challenges of adjusting to the post-Covid world of a slashed volunteer workforce which for us had led to a drop in released carriages after we’d reverted to more thorough works, which contrasted with the 2022 quick refresh policy that had to some extent given us a false sense of strong progress. Returning to 2024, we have pushed on with the same policy as 2023, that of continuing a mix of minor and major overhaul work to a variety of vehicles. Happily, despite having the same policy, we have outshopped many more vehicles this year compared with 2023 which suggests that we have, at long last, adjusted ourselves to the post-pandemic resource landscape that we now must work with going forward. Therefore, I think this year will probably be the last annual summary that uses the pandemic as its comparative yardstick, which is no bad thing as we seek to move on towards a positive and exciting future.

This year, we have completed two Bronze level overhauls, two at Silver level, a mid-life revarnish and routine revarnishing of the four Quad-Art vehicles. These were joined by two repaints of static coaches assisted by corporate volunteer group visits and no less than five wagon repaints. The wagon figure is particularly noteworthy and is a bit of a record, only being matched by the year 2017 which saw an equal number treated. So a total of sixteen vehicles noticeably improved in condition.

Four of those vehicles (25%) were wagons undertaken by and/or funded by the Joint Heritage Coach Fund, who have done particularly well with freight stock this year, forming 80% of the “wagon output”. The Fund (an arm of the M&GN Society) have not appeared this year in the carriage totals, primarily because they are doing such good work progressing two thorough Gold overhauls of historic LNER vehicles that demand long-term attention. Gold overhauls are essential to the long-term survival and health of our fleet, are often the most rewarding projects of all, but do not add to yearly “scores” very often. Nevertheless, we look forward to an increase in LNER specimens in the main running fleet in the future.

Sticking with the long-term theme, the railway’s core Carriage & Wagon department has its own project quietly progressing: replacement kitchen and future dining car 14021. Much like the LNER restorations, 14021 remains in the workshop, just where it was 12 months ago, but in a greatly improved condition. We had not started the vehicle in earnest last year, but over the summer and autumn period a significant amount of the major bodywork this coach demanded has been completed. Around half of the body rebuild works have now been completed, so with a fair wind we may have a completed shell being fitted out this time next year! Below are the monthly summaries of what we have achieved this year:

In January we were hiding up at Weybourne from the cold weather steadily progressing what was already in the sheds. This involved continued component restoration on long term diner 14021 and painting of the main service set brake 35148 which was having bodywork repairs and a repaint having sat most of the previous season out.

February was another mundane winter month, with bodywork progressing on DMU trailer car 56062, diner 14021, and the Fruit D wagon up at Holt. Over at the contractors in Derbyshire, LNER Brake Third Open 16631 reached a milestone when the bulk of the exterior bodysides were finished and painted in a holding coat.

March was the third month in a row which could be described as "steady progress", reflecting very much that the bulk of carriage restoration work is sadly not glamorous. We suffered a graffiti attack at Holt, thankfully on a stored carriage, the results of which we eradicated very quickly, as is our policy.

April at last saw a vehicle released back into the wild following works. Just missing Easter was brake 35148 which made a welcome return to service as it contained the favored accessible saloon, which the railway had done with without for an entire (2023) season. Its place in the workshop was taken by the Gresley Buffet car (9128) for a much needed exterior refresh.

In May, the Gresley Buffet was returned to service after its rapid body refresh. This involved replacement and/or repairs of much of the upper and end wooden panels and repaint to the sides and roof. It had been due to be done in 2025 but heavy usage on the cream tea trains had led to accelerated degradation of the vehicle, so it was felt it needed to jump the queue to protect this older, wooden, vehicle. We also bid farewell to ex-tube wagon chassis 732930, which had been used as an underframe for vintage coach M&GN 129, until it was replaced by a better riding and more historically accurate 6-wheeled version a few years ago. The chassis went to Ferryhill Heritage Railway Trust in Aberdeen, who were to use it to carry one of their vintage coach bodies.

June was the third consecutive month that a refreshed vehicle returned to service, this time it was brake coach 21224 which had been brought up to Weybourne for some repairs and a revarnish. Revarnishes are relatively quick so the coach was back out as quickly as it arrived.

July inevitably saw a return to steadier work, and we took the opportunity to lean in and get some heavier work done on long term project 14021. The fourth member of the LNER train, Third Open 13548, was extracted from Bridge Road Carriage sidings and emptied of spare parts storage, so that it would be ready for dispatching to the contractor engaged in Brake Third Open 16631 in due course.

In August, corporate volunteers assisted in the exterior refreshing on several static vehicles, including LNER Corridor Third 12493 at Sheringham, the former "play coach" that sits very visibly in platform 3. They also repainted support vehicles at Weybourne that house the bookshop and model railway.

September was another month to celebrate, this time the completion of the Fruit D wagon repairs and repaint. A huge amount of other work was also ongoing with several more projects edging closer to completion, including the DMU trailer car and Mark 1 Second Open 4843. LNER Brake Third Open 16631 was moved in Derbyshire from one location to another for its repairs to continue. Back at the NNR, there were also two more wagons in the pipeline, being undertaken by the team up at Holt and the Youth Development Club.

In October, the repairs and exterior repainting on 4843 were completed and the vehicle returned to service. We also started on a great number of Norfolk Lights Express preparations that were designed to improve the experience this year.

November saw no less than six vehicles released outside, Lowmac wagon 904149, the DMU trailer car (which had been transformed into 79263) and the four vehicles that make up the Quad-Art set. The Quads had been treated to their routine revarnish, whilst the Lowmac had had heavier deck repairs and a clean down and repaint. The DMU of course was a long running project, which is still not completed internally, but space in the shed was needed for the new winter 24/25 projects.

The final month of the year, surprisingly, saw a last minute reveal in the form of Pipe wagon 740918, which had been repainted by the Holt wagon team. The rest of the month was taken by absorbing all of the new projects that are going to kick-start 2025 off!

It has been an exceptional year for "outshopping" with numerous passenger and freight vehicles being so treated. So what will 2025 bring? It is expected that the existing long-term Gold overhauls of Thompson 1866, Gresley 16631 (under contract) and Mark 1 Brake First Open (Kitchen) 14021 will continue on their existing trajectory over the course of the year. The three normally operating vehicles that are currently in the shed for repairs are expected to be completed and returned to service in the first half of the year. These include Mark 1 Second Open 3868, Gresley Pigeon Van 6843 and Oyster Brakevan 993707. 3868 will be returning to its 1970's colour scheme of Midland & Great Northern Railway Brown to take part in the 2025 NNR 50th Anniversary celebrations. Other vehicles that will be treated to refreshes should include DMU powercar 51192 along with vintage train members M&GN Picnic Saloon 3 and Great Eastern Railway 853. We should also commence the Silver overhaul of DMU powercar 51228 which will take much longer that the other refreshes. Towards the back end of the year, we have a period of time dedicated to continuing to protect several of our normally static vehicles which will degrade beyond repair if we do not do some external repairs to them. These candidates will include protecting the side of the play coach (12493) which wasn't accessed this year by the corporate volunteers, along with work to Thompson BG 70621 to create a multi-purpose rolling events space. 70621 will in due course replace Mark 1 BG 81269 which is currently in poor order and used as a Christmas trains support vehicle. If time allows, right at the end of the year, Corridor Second 25189 may just get a look in as this coach is now due for cosmetic attention, particularly to its paintwork. I think everyone will agree that will plenty to be getting on with for the year!

Happy Christmas

We hope all readers have a good festive period wherever you are. This is the last normal update for the blog this year but don't forget the annual review of the year which will land before New Year!

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

Window fitting has continued, with the two new oval windows (closest the accessible entrance) now glazed, quickly following the main passenger windows that had been similarly treated. Some further lower brass sections have also been fitted internally.

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

All of the seat backs for the vehicle have now been completed down in the upholstery shop. There remains around half a dozen seat bases to recover before they declare the main seat units themselves finished, which will leave just ancillary components such as side cards and armrests to consider.

Following a break, work on the coach itself in Derbyshire has restarted with sanding back of side paneling completed both internally and externally in preparation for further painting.

Saloon wiring and lighting work has also progressed.

London North Eastern Railway 1929 4 Wheel Pigeon Van 6843 (BRONZE)

The bodywork on this vehicle has now started in earnest. The first of the two major issues being rectified is the splitting of around a dozen teak body panels, the majority of which are located in the upper half of the vehicle, which is interesting as splitting always seemed more prevalent in the larger lower panels on our other Gresley stock.

Surrounding beading has been carefully removed to access these panels which are now out and on the bench. This was easier said than done as the vehicle was restored 20 years ago with a lot of glue and brown mastic sealant, so it was a real challenge separating the parts to gain access without causing a lot of damage. Luckily, this has been achieved with a surprisingly good success rate, with all original beading being suitable to put back on. Of the panels themselves, most of these have now been glued back together and reinforced on the rear faces where appropriate. Two were too far split to repair and have been replaced with sections of Teak panel reclaimed from buffet car 9118. The repairs had disturbed the varnish so the panels have been sanded back to bare wood and are currently being built back up with the requisite layers of varnish.

The second major issue is the breakdown of varnish in lots of little tedious places dotted all around the vehicle. This is as a result of the vehicle being outside too long between revarnishing. Water damage and staining has occurred, some of which is irreversible but much can be improved via bleaching before we revarnish. In preparation for this, a fair amount of beading and sections of panels that have suffered this breakdown have been sanded back and stabilized prior to bleaching.

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

We are now taking a break with work on the exterior, following an excellent run on this long term project over the summer and autumn, in order to progress this winter's workload, but limited work on the interior is still set to continue.

The ceiling has now been fitted to the side corridor adjacent to the guards compartment, which is the last major fixture in this small area. It is now being trimmed and the light fitting and electric conduit fitted back onto the ceiling panel. All previously hardboard material, adored by BR, is being replaced with the stronger plywood equivalent. There has also been further prep and sanding work to the bulkhead wall twixt guards compartment and kitchen.

Work has also restarted on building the First Open style toilet compartment, or store cupboard for us. The main support timber which also forms the Holt end vestibule wall, has been modified at the ends into a better arrangement and now fitted. We now have a completed "raft" of supporting hardwood timbers in the floor, which forms the foundations on which to build back up with our bulkhead walls.

British Railways 1953 Tourist Second Open E3868 (SILVER)

This vehicle is seeing a high level of attention at the moment, as it is important that it does not run late and miss its return to service date for the railway's 50th anniversary celebrations next year. The exterior element of the overhaul is progressing well, with a strong start to the first quarter of the coach (the Holt end landward side). With all failed paint that had reacted in the sun now mechanically removed along this first section, two weeks have been spent identifying unstable areas and welding or filling as required, though the coach's overall excellent condition means there has been much more filling than welding, and as a result, progress has been swift. This prep work has also included ensuring the window frame units, which are staying in place, are secure and any small areas attended to. A small section of gutter at the very end of the coach required removing to access two small corrosion holes which have been caught early and welded back up before reassembly. This quarter is now complete from a preparation point of view.

Exterior works have now moved on to the Holt end and the Holt/Seaward quarter of the vehicle. The doorway on this corner has some surface corrosion around the weather strip, so this has been removed and the areas beneath cleaned up. On the end, bad corrosion on the end steps is being tackled in-situ, with the sides of the steps cut off and the main bodies cleaned up. The side pieces of the steps are being replaced with new examples which have now been cut out ready to weld back on.

Also on the exterior, a separate team have succeeded in removing all eight of the lower panes of glass in the Holt end of the vehicle, although more work is needed inside on the window frames removing fixing screws which are stuck in place.

We started the task of fitting an in-built battery charger in order to match similar TSO Mark 1's in the fleet that had been fitted this year, but quickly discovered that this vehicle has had its battery boxes significantly modified at the rear. We therefore made the decision to unbolt the entire battery box arrangement from the vehicle, which we plan to swap with a set of standard boxes that are currently out of use one of our static coaches.

On the interior of the vehicle, the preparation work on the ceiling at the Holt end is now complete and  awaits painting. The walls are also in a similar state: all rubbed back ready for a top-up coat of varnish in the new year.

British Railways 1957 Metro Cammell Railcar Driving Trailer Second Lavatory E79263 (SILVER)

Work to freshen up the passenger vestibules and rear wall adjacent to the toilet, which are painted rather than Formica paneled, has been undertaken. They have been rubbed down and repainted with a single coat. The rear vestibule required a new piece of wood adjacent to the door machining as the old one was in a poor and snapped state. The new piece was fitted and primed before being top coated with the rest of the vestibule.

These vestibules are painted in a sage green to match the original Formica as closely as possible because when BR refurbished the vehicle 40-50 years ago, the original sage Formica in the vestibules was removed and replaced with bright orange panels. In preservation, with the cost of new Formica being prohibitively expensive during the original restoration, the later orange Formica was painted over instead, to approximate the original look and feel of the interior decor. Feedback over the years has told us that the end result in the flesh has always been considered very good, and certainly better than it sounds when put into text. The main reason to repaint now was purely because the original paint, whilst doing very well, had become stained and dirty in several areas, understandably in such a high traffic area and after being in service at the NNR for so long.

British Railways 1951 16 Ton Ballast Plough Brakevan DB993707 (BRONZE)

Rubbing down has continued on the troublesome seaward side where all the varnish and paint had destabilized. Pleasingly, the hard bit has now been finished with all of this side now stripped, sanded, filled, sanded again and built up as far as undercoat.

The most dramatic change however has been the recovering of the roof. The new cover was stretched over the old and pinned down around the perimeter, with the repainted side and end trims refitted securing the cover.

Current progress is back on sanding the easier sides ready for repainting. The two ends and half of the landward side have all been rubbed down, and is proving much easier than the seaward side.

The two ends have now joined the sea side in reaching undercoat, with just the landward side left to complete repairs, filling and painting on.

On the interior, the stove has been cleaned out thoroughly, much needed after it had been left in an appalling condition by some members of the railway's group of goods guards and other brake van users - we wonder who you are?!? Also cleaned have been the cream side walls, which in contrast had become dirty through more natural causes.

The two verandas have almost had all of the internal walls rubbed back gently, in readiness for a single gloss coat refresh, which is all that is needed as they have survived far better than the exterior surfaces. The ceilings are in the process of being rubbed down for a repaint as well.

British Railways 1954 13 Ton Pipe Open B740918 (BRONZE)

Still awaiting the arrival of its new hood cover.

Maintenance

A number of minor steam heat repairs have been undertaken to keep the Norfolk Lights and Santa sets in heated running condition. In the workshop, the restoration of three oil tail lamps has been completed to a fine standard, and these have now been released back into the wild.

Winter Works Programme Brings New Projects

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

No progress to report.

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

No progress to report.

London North Eastern Railway 1929 4 Wheel Pigeon Van 6843 (BRONZE)

This is the first of no less than THREE new winter projects to be started following the removal of the Quad Art set from the shed recently. Whilst the vehicle has remained substantially in good condition since its initial restoration, longer periods outside without the frequent re-varnishing that we probably should have been doing, have left the vehicle with some concerning areas of varnish breakdown and several split panels (an ongoing issue for teak paneled vehicles). The issues were flagged up last year but regrettably there was not enough room in the programme to tackle it, so the vehicle has had to wait until now to be brought in for these repairs to be undertaken.

So far, with resources generally directed elsewhere, progress on the vehicle has been limited to a good wash down of the two varnished sides so we can get a proper look at which areas require further attention and also generally get the sides closer to a state where they can be rubbed down for further varnish post panel repairs.

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

In a slight change to previous plans, the large section of bodywork on the seaward side was in fact sanded and filled to a finished state. This allowed five refurbished window frames to be permanently fitted to the bodyside and the whole section, suitably smoothed, has been coated in a final sealing layer of primer, concluding the work in this area for the foreseeable future.

So that the landward side was not left out, exactly the same treatment has been undertaken on the guards compartment section, which is now also at the same (finished) stage.

Back on the seaward side, the equivalent section around the guards compartment has received further body preparations, however there is an outstanding section extending into the former luggage area which means this section will not receive a final prime until other bodywork has been completed.

Internally, the sliding door between the middle passenger vestibule and guards corridor has been test hung and is now sliding nicely. The door and runners have been modified to slide further than the original, to maximise the corridor for staff carrying food through from the kitchen. As the door slides right back beyond the bulkhead out of view, a salvaged BR Mark 1 handle escutcheon, usually found on compartment stock, has been let into the guards bulkhead so that the recessed handle of the sliding door can be reached from the kitchen side to close the door when required, one of a number of small details that are being carefully thought about when modifications to the coach are being done, to ensure that it is both practical and remaining in a BR style.

Smoothing and prep work is also progressing on the guards compartment wall on the kitchen side.

British Railways 1953 Tourist Second Open E3868 (SILVER)

This is the second of the three new arrivals for winter works. In a very similar manner to Pigeon Van 6843, this coach has been looking decidedly tatty on the outside (particularly on the sun side) for over a year, but has had to wait in a queue until now. The primary issue with the vehicle is a paint/varnish breakdown on the landward side with much of it flaking off over large unstable areas. Happily however, there is very little deep corrosion to speak of, so we are optimistic for a quick turnaround over the winter months in time to rejoin the fleet for next season. We would like to provide the operating department with 10 standard service coaches (two 5-carriage rakes) for the entire 2025 season, something we wanted to do in 2024 but only achieved for a month or so, as for most of the year we had one coach out for repairs.

The first task to start has been the failed paintwork along the landward side, particularly the lower sections. Much unstable paint has been mechanically chipped off these lower sections, revealing good metal below thankfully!

We have also discovered that whilst the window frame units are stable and bedded well onto the coach with little corrosion showing, the main panes of glass themselves are letting water in as the seal between the glass and frame has perished over time. The glass will therefore require removing and resealing. So far, all of the wooden window surrounds have been removed from the Holt half of the coach and the first two panes of glass gently removed. 

We have also started on an interior refresh. All tables and seating have been removed from the Holt end half of the vehicle and temporarily stored in the Sheringham end, to give superior access to the refresh works.

We will work downwards from the ceiling, and this week a start has been made on rubbing down the ceiling ready for a coat of white gloss paint.

British Railways 1957 Metro Cammell Railcar Driving Trailer Second Lavatory E79263 (SILVER)

A window rubber sealant product arrived this week, so we have trialed its use on two of the worst leaking windows. The initial trial appears to have stemmed a lot of the leaks, which is a relief, so we can now progress further down the vehicle "finding and fixing" all of the minor leaks. This will be a steady process as after each session we require a good day of rain so we can stand inside and check our works are sound.

British Railways 1951 16 Ton Ballast Plough Brakevan DB993707 (BRONZE)

This wagon is the third and final arrival into the Weybourne works for a winter freshen-up. It has been suffering from sun bleaching on the exposed side along with a failed canvas roof covering which has been letting water into the cabin and soaking into the roof timbers, causing the ceiling paint to flake off in areas and mold to flourish in other areas. This is being tackled early before the damp turns into rot and destruction, as wooden brakevans stored outside are not forgiving unless they are tended to on a regular basis. It was last painted 5 years ago in 2019. Half a dozen small woodworking repairs and a new roof covering are planned before a rub down and a full repaint, which should mean that all three regularly running brake vans have been repainted over the past few years. Fitting the vehicle in has only been possible because Pigeon Van 6843 is a short vehicle and there is a gap in the shed of 30 feet which was not able to be used by a carriage.

So far, the roof has been looked at, with the collar which holds the stove pipe in removed and brought down to ground level. It has been cleaned of old paint and sealant ready for refinishing. Nothing else is being done on the roof itself as the new covering is intended to be fitted over the top of the old. The new covering has been delivered this week and is now awaiting fitting. The fixing boards which go around the perimeter have all been removed, stripped of old paint and repainted ready to fit back on next week.

One of the two end bargeboards, at the Sheringham end, had rotted very badly so has been removed and a replacement cut out of timber. It has been painted inside and out and is now also ready to refit.

A good start has been made on the exterior bodywork ready for painting. The difficult side is the seaward side which contains all the unstable paint. This is having to have a very deep sand which is taking much time. We are steadily working our way down this side to regain stable wood. Each section is being primed as it is completed.

On the landward side, one corner of the cabin was found to be rotten with a section of floor and lower pillar badly affected. This has been chopped out and new sections glued in. It now awaits filling and finishing to size which will make it a seamless repair.

Removed handrails are in the process of being repainted white whilst they are off the vehicle.

On the inside of the vehicle, unstable paint has been chipped off the ceiling in several places where the failed roof covering had allowed water to get in. With the paint now gone, we can leave these sections to dry out for a week or two before repainting them. The rest of the ceiling is in good condition and just required a heavy clean to remove mold and steam loco smut. This cleaning has also been extended to the cream walls in the cabin itself, which were similarly filthy. These walls are around 50% complete. We will give the ceiling a top-up coat of white but will leave the cream walls as they are still good following the clean.

British Railways 1954 13 Ton Pipe Open B740918 (BRONZE)

Still awaiting the fitting of its tarpaulin "hood" cover.

Maintenance

Preparations for the gas upgrade on kitchen car M81033 continue. The moving of the water services on the coach itself has been completed this week and the system recommissioned. We now have a completely clear space on the coach in which to fit the new gas bottle cabinets.

These cabinets have now also been finished back at Weybourne, with final painting now completed. We now await the vehicle's move to Weybourne so that we can weld supports to the chassis to carry the cabinets.

Workshop

The scheme to fit new lighting to the workshop has now been completed, with the older half of the shed now boasting new LED lighting throughout, which has seriously brightened up the area. We also have new lighting installed on our mezzanine storage area, which has never had any lighting since it was built. The newly lit stores will make things a lot safer and we can now dispense with the use of torchlight up there!