Good Contractor Progress

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

Windows continue to be the main focus, with a frame fitting device having been built, the design of which is inspired by a similar example showcased by the LNER Carriage Association at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

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

We have received another bumper image update from our contractor who is doing an excellent job restoring the Gresley BTO. A brand new guards lookout ducket has been manufactured, fitted and painted. The sliding ventilator windows are being prepared and painted. The vehicle has also been glazed.

On the interior, the entire area has been sealed with aluminum wood primer and internal doors are being prepared for fitting. Internal woodwork containing passenger communication cord pipework has been prepared.

Perhaps most dramatically of all has been has been the exterior work, with more doors hung, paneling progressed and painting up to Crimson & Cream achieved in several areas.

Back at Weybourne, a more modest job has progressed with some painting of pipe brackets for the vacuum pipework being prepared.

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

Some more bodyside has been "bare metaled" on the seaward side which is steadily heading towards the end of the vehicle and therefore the half way point. This section in particular must have hit an area with lots of body filler as the surrounding area resembles Pompeii!

British Railways 1958 Brake Corridor Second M35148 (SILVER)

The paintwork has marched on steadily. The whole coach was undercoated last week with the first coat of gloss being applied this week. The landward side is glossed, with the seaward now following.

Some bits and bobs have been completed on the interior, such as the repainting of the fire bucket and the preparation of the accessible saloon door furniture (chains etc.) ready for fitting.

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

This week has been all about windows. The disturbed metalwork along the window apertures along the seaward side were checked against the window frame units and not all was well. Numbers did not add up and even after allowing for the possibility that the new metal was in the wrong place, the window units still didn't appear to fit and the gaps which the fixing rubbers go in were badly inconsistent. After much investigation we couldn't come to a proper conclusion so we have had to move on and gently tailor each aperture to fit the windows better, in the hope that final assembly will be kinder this time around. The modifications have involved both shaving down of woodwork and steelwork to sit the windows centrally. This all has to be correct as we don't want to refit the windows until all the body preparation and painting is completed, so it will too late to modify when we are trying to fit the windows back in.

On the bench, a trial window frame has had its glass panels replaced with new internal rubbers, something that we believe has only been done once before on a Class 101 in preservation, at the Worth Valley Railway, and they reported that they were not happy with their results. Now that we know our sourced rubbers are a good fit, we will order much more, enough to complete this vehicle and its matching powercar.

The cab refresh also continues to progress well. The Automatic Warning System equipment cover has been restored nicely for the first time in its preservation history and is now smooth and repainted ready to refit.

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

Three planks on the Holt end have been cut and replaced in conditions that take some beating!

Workshop

A strange box-like structure, taken from steam engine 53809, is being replicated to assist our friends in the Loco Department with their winter maintenance program.

Maintenance

As part of the annual "C exam" program, A set stalwarts 4843 & 4958 are being investigated for vacuum leakage which has been a problem on and of in recent months. 4958 in particular has been "a bit of a leaker" and a variety of seals, pipes and components are being adjusted, resealed and improved to steadily reduce some of the leakage discovered during the exam.

Inside RBR kitchen car 1969, the generator/shore line switching cabinet (which featured in these notes a few months ago) has finally been finished off now that proper plastic labels have been attached to the face.