With such a busy schedule recently, the lack of blogging means that no less than three vehicles have been released from our workshop to re-enter service on the railway.
London North Eastern Railway 1950 Brake Corridor Third E1866 (GOLD)
Since the window fitting has been completed, the focus has returned back on the interior fitting out. With glass fully installed, varnished wood window surrounds have been the next target, firstly being machined from scratch utilising science lab bench tops reclaimed from a school many years ago. These varnish up very nicely and have been used for a variety of components on other vintage coach restorations. Black edges have also been painted on the inside of the windows over the top of white mastic sealant.
London North Eastern Railway 1938 Brake Third Open E16631E (GOLD)
A rare site visit was made recently allowing the vehicle to be seen by NNR eyes "in the flesh" which was exciting, giving us a taste of what is to come. It was also interesting seeing our contractor's facilities which look impressive and fit for purpose.
Latest progress has included further adjustments of doors which had been providing trouble and additional roof coverings which will smoothen out the normally rough planked surface which the canvas will eventually be stretched on top of. During the visit the opportunity was taken to drop off three spare Gresley pattern doors and a variety of guards van furniture, all of which will assist the restoration through the latter stages of the contractors involvement.
The transformation of the vehicle compared to the state it was in when the restoration began is astonishing, and we are looking forward to seeing the vehicle touch down on NNR metals, all in good time.
Earlier this week beading has also been applied to the passenger saloon ceilings and been painted.
London North Eastern Railway 1929 4 Wheel Pigeon Van 6843 (BRONZE)
The Pigeon Van is the first of three vehicles covered in this post to be released back into service, following an intensive operation to get it over the finish line and conclude the repairs and refreshing. On the interior, the second half of the vehicle was cleared out and fully repainted from the roof down to the floor. The floor itself was cleaned thoroughly and all of the demonstration luggage and pigeon racks returned into place. Now that the vehicle is seeing less of a museum role and more of a running one, we have decided to concentrate all of the demonstration goods in one end, leaving the Sheringham end empty so that the vehicle can be used to full potential at events, particularly the 1940's weekend where an uncluttered buggy space will be welcome.
Incomplete guards emergency equipment has been restocked and a new sealed cupboard repurposed in order to bring the van up to current standards. The vehicle had been badly robbed to stock other guards vans at various times, so the purchase of additional equipment will hopefully mean we are less likely to see a repeat, as there will be more equipment in "the system".
The outside has also seen a lot of attention. With the spot revarnishing of the repaired panels built up layer by layer, the next step was to apply two coats of varnish fully over the entire vehicle. This has sealed in all of our repair work and returned the gloss shine to the body. To finish off, all of the iron-work, including the repaired guards lookout ducket, has been repainted with two coats of LNER brown, setting off the varnish nicely.
The roof, generally in good condition, has had a pair of rain strips fitted, which have been in the shed for 15 years awaiting fitting, one of those jobs that was missed during the original restoration and was never followed up. With these in place, two coats of white roof paint were added on top of the existing but heavily stained layers. It looks fantastic in white but I'm sure it won't last as such!
The final touches included recoating the step boards, bufferbeams and vehicle ends in gloss black, after which it was time to exit the shed ready for tripping back to Bridge Road sheds. This is the first member of the vintage train to be refreshed this year, as part of a programme to cover most of the set.
British Railways 1961 Brake First Open (Kitchen) M14021 (GOLD)
Discussions are planned to explore how best to increase progress on this vehicle, as despite being of utmost importance to our strategy, we have struggled lately to maintain a strong focus whilst servicing other vehicles and tasks. The vehicle did however take a rare trip outside as part of clearing the shed to allow access for a Branchline Society "rare lines" charter, which allowed recently completed bodywork to see daylight for the first time.
British Railways 1953 Tourist Second Open E3868 (SILVER)
Visual progress has slowed somewhat as the steady task of making the windows good has taken its toll. A great deal of repair work to the aluminum frames and glass clamping woodwork has now been completed and the woodwork varnished up ready for refitting.
The exterior bodywork on the second half of the coach has now started in earnest with failed paintwork being mechanically removed from the lower bodyside.
It has been decided not to reseal the windows or undertake any interior restoration in the second half until the next works visit in a year's time, which will make the vehicle's return to service quicker.
The conversion of the battery boxes back to their original size has now been completed and the boxes painted up to gloss ready to refit to the underframe.
During the shunt to extract the Pigeon Van the opportunity was taken to jet-wash the bogies and underframe of 3868 which has allowed a start to be made on gloss painting the bogies and underframe.
British Railways 1957 Metro Cammell Railcar Driving Trailer Second Lavatory E79263 (SILVER)
After leaving the shed, the interior completion of this vehicle had dragged on somewhat so it was satisfying to give it a big push to get it finished ready for launching at February Half Term (the second vehicle in this update to be released back into traffic). This involved far too many snagging and smaller tasks to list, but the main ones including the completion of fitting aluminum window surrounds, wall trim and heater duct covers. This allowed seating to then be reinstalled, followed by a deep clean of the interior for service.
The Locomotive Department had been busy giving the vehicle a major exam since it had been out of traffic for so long, several jobs of which were handed over to us as it was our area. With these completed and signed off, the vehicle was deemed safe to return to service, operating for all of the holiday week successfully.
British Railways 1951 16 Ton Ballast Plough Brakevan DB993707 (BRONZE)
Its been a fairly quiet month for this vehicle, which had been in the staging next to the Pigeon Van for much of the time waiting for a slot outside the staging. Once this came, the vehicle was rolled outside and the chassis jet-washed and all the green moss-like material removed. Once back inside and dried out, the underframe and step boards were treated to a coat of black and the lower signwriting was completed.
With the overhaul completed, the vehicle was removed from the shed at the same time as the Pigeon Van and is also now awaiting tripping back to Holt. 993707 is the third, and final, vehicle in this report to rejoin the operating fleet, this time in the demonstration goods set.
British Railways 1954 13 Ton Pipe Open B740918 (BRONZE)
Still awaiting the fitting of its covering "hood" before returning to service in the demonstration goods train.
Maintenance
Much overhaul work has been missed due to some ongoing maintenance issues with the dining train kitchen car 81033. We undertook a great deal of work to increase the gas capacity of the kitchen and on board generator only for the generator to fail shortly afterwards. As a temporary measure we have set up a separate diesel generator to power the kitchen for now but we are now in a period of quite serious discussion about the best way to move forward in both the medium and long term.
