Thompson Resurrection Commences

Midland Railway (later M&GN) 1886 6 Wheel Picnic Saloon 3 (BRONZE)

A second coat of maroon has been applied on the seaward side of the saloon, whilst the the landward side has been  re-sanded and further paining undertaken. A few areas have been identified which should have been filled previously, which were missed, so these have now been corrected and will be sanded back shortly. Once the maroon is finished most of the painting and lining will be down to coach painter Brian, with the rest of the team lined up to make a start on cleaning up the interior.

Lining has now also commenced, starting with the black. There is much to do in this area as there is a lot of it!

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

Interior panel fitting continues with improvements to trim etc. along the panels already fitted also ongoing.

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

No progress to report.

London North Eastern Railway 1945 Gangwayed Brake E70621E (SILVER)

We are pleased to reveal that a start has been made on saving the unique Thompson "Austerity" design Gangwayed Brake vehicle. Preserved as long ago as 1978, the vehicle served for some years, most prominently as the railway's museum at Sheringham, before being replaced in the early 2000's when the William Marriot museum was built at Holt. At this time, it lost its direct purpose and being a non-passenger vehicle would struggle to find a strong use and attract restoration investment. It was therefore put into store to await a more optimistic future, and was penciled in as the long term fifth and final member of the LNER 1930's train which was yet to be restored. It was planned to convert the interior into an LNER cinema coach (of which none survived in preservation) in an attempt to produce something more meaningful than towing 60 feet of empty space on the back of the set. After the building of Bridge Road Carriage Sheds in the late 2000's 70621 weas stored inside to arrest its decline, which is where it has remained for over 15 years. However the purchase of Gresley Brake Third Open 16631 to run in the future LNER set by the M&GN Society meant a 52 seat replacement had been secured for the set providing much needed seating capacity into the train but regrettably also bumping 70621 out of the plan. Given its historic interest, 70621 was offered to other railways and coach groups but sadly failed to find a new home. With disposal required before 16631 arrived on site to fulfil a "one in one out" policy, it was not looking good for 70621 which was being considered for scrap.

With 70621 on the brink of dismantling, a few individuals started discussing whether there was any way 70621 could be saved, as it just didn't feel right to scrap a vehicle that was the last survivor of its type. The answer was to give a solid purpose back to 70621, enough of a purpose to justify bringing it back into some form of use and give some sort of investment into it. Recently during meetings it had been noted now poor some of our non-running support vehicles were looking, particularly Mark 1 BG 81269 which often sits alongside the signal box in the Sheringham station throat and sees use annually supporting the Santa Special operation. Modest workshop space and resource was being planned to secure some of the static support vehicles, so an alternative scheme was agreed which involved transferring the resource across to 70621 and part-restore it as a multi purpose events and support vehicle, with the aim of replacing Mark 1 81269 as the Santa Special support van during November/December but also making it available at other times of year as a support vehicle, storage space, events aid or even exhibition space. 81269 can then in turn replace another vehicle on the railway (in poor condition) which can depart in place of 70621.

The exact restoration plans, including several modifications, for 70621 will be detailed in future blog posts, and it will not be one for the LNER purists, but it will secure the vehicle for the next generation and regain a purpose. However it must be remembered by observers that this unique vehicle was seriously threatened with scrap and that the rebirth has kept the coach in existence when no other option was available. Our works will help save the vehicle and will be done in a way that can be reversed in the future if ever the appetite and investment for a full and proper restoration to original spec ever becomes available. A good parallel is the Quad-Art set, almost lost in the 80's and 90's as restoration on such a grand scale just couldn't be imagined at that time. If it weren't for the sheeting over and application of wood preservative over the semi-rotted structures back then, there wouldn't have been a viable project by the 2000's when we saw the miracle restoration occur. We feel we can do the same again for 70621.

So far, the vehicle has been emptied of most of the residual museum items that had been in storage inside, to give a clear area on which to assess the task ahead and give access for repairs. It was then tripped to Weybourne and is now outside the shed for the summer for work to commence. A pair of bogies intended to be transferred under 70621 have been cleaned down and coated in black primer.

On the vehicle itself, the solebars and underframe sections have been cleaned down ready for repainting, whilst the degraded original side panels along the seaward side have been chipped of their loose and unstable paint and bare wood primed. The works so far have been undertaken by a corporate volunteer group from Aviva who provided over ten people for a day.

London North Eastern Railway 1937 Restaurant Buffet E9128E (REPAIR)

The Gresley Buffet car has returned to us for a third, and final, lift up the jacks to replace the worn wheelsets. Regular readers will be familiar that we have been changing out axles on this vehicle a pair at a time to steadily tyre turn them whilst keeping the vehicle in regular traffic. This final visit saw the Sheringham end pair of wheelsets swapped out for its original, reprofiled, wheels allowing us to return the accommodation wheels which have been temporarily running under the vehicle for two years to store. The vehicle now sits back on its original four axles, all reprofiled and hopefully good for many years.

This was all completed within a week with the body lifted onto stands, the Sheringham end bogie dismantled and reassembled with the "new" wheels.

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

To allow the fitting of bulkheads and vestibule wooden supports at the Holt end to continue unhindered, a section of lower bodywork and replacement "skirt" has been completed at the Holt end of the landward side passenger saloon, effectively kick starting the bodyside repairs along that side of the vehicle, which mirrors what we completed along the seaward side last year. Hopefully we will see more of this bodywork progress along the vehicle later this year.

The overhead steam heating element from the guards compartment has also been receiving a good clean up on the bench prior to painting.

British Railways 1958 Covered Carriage Truck M94125 (SILVER)

We have now removed all of the pop rivetted patches on the bodysides which are scheduled for replacement with proper welded repairs. It has revealed much corrosion but nothing which can't be remedied. Internally, come clearance work has been undertaken and four hinged parcel shelves removed to allow the window surrounds and glass to be extracted to facilitate metal repairs.

There has been progress on both ends, with the Sheringham end doors heated up and freed off so that they open, essential for getting generator sets in and out. We believe this is the first time these doors have opened whilst at the railway.

The Holt end is remaining sealed shut and has seen limited repairs before being chipped off, sanded back and painted in primer and later gloss black paint. It already looks much better for the refresh and concludes the planned work for this particular end.

Underneath, the two overhauled vacuum cylinders prepared in advance have been fitted to the underframe, along with all of the missing brake gear and rodding which had been removed to help keep the other CCT (94464) in service.

British Railways 1957 Corridor Second W25189 (REPAIR)

This running vehicle has now entered the shed and has been lifted off its bogies for a start to be made on repairing several holes in the steam heat pipework, with a view to making it suitable for use on the Norfolk Lights Express trains later this year. We also plan to fit battery charging equipment, ensure the lighting systems work and make preparations to install tables into the compartments.

British Railways 1954 13 Ton Pipe Open B740918 (BRONZE)

The replacement tarpaulin "hood" has finally arrived and plans are being formed as to the best way of fitting it soon.

Maintenance

Last winter TSO 4843 failed on a drawhook (coupling) during the examination period which meant for the past few months it has been restricted as to where in a train it can be and which coupling type can be used. We have now quickly had the coach out of service and swapped the drawhook for a spare allowing it to quickly return to service with all restrictions lifted.

A batch of half a dozen vacuum cylinders have also been overhauled and have all tested positive and are now being cleaned down and painted gloss black. Whilst several of these cylinders are directly intended for specific vehicles, and have been mentioned in the reports above, several more have also been done with the aim of having at least a pair of the smaller (18 inch) and larger (21 inch) cylinders as ready-to-swap spares for when we suffer failures this season or next. Whether they get hoovered up quickly onto stricken vehicles in the next month or so or if they're not needed for several years will depend on our luck out in the field with our operating fleet!

We also produced a novelty "Maplins Holiday Express" headboard for use at the Classic Sitcom weekend. This was a large affair done in the style of the big circular excursion headboards of times gone by. Fitted to WD steam loco 90775, it was received well over the three day event.

Workshop

Somewhat surprisingly given the amount of other work that has been going on, we have been able to progress a few workshop improvements to hopefully make life a little easier. The first is a rebuilt vacuum cylinder overhauls bench, as the original wooden example was not level and wasn't quite as well-built and secure as it could be. An old Signal & Telegraph electrical equipment "ladder" (purchased for almost nothing in a job lot) has been utilised for the framework and topped with a sturdy wooden table top which emerged recently from a clear-out elsewhere.

The second improvement is a dedicated bridge to cross the staging area when one or two small vehicles are accommodated in there rather than the normal full length vehicle. The need for this was highlighted recently when part of a scaffold tower was identified during a regular safety inspection as not being fit for that purpose. The new example is not finished yet but will incorporate fencing and handrails to keep users safe, especially when the bridge is not sandwiched between two vehicles which is the scenario where an unguarded crossing would represent an increased risk.

The final improvement is an outside clear-out of the "V" of land between the two lines that enter the carriage shed. This had become a dumping ground and was restricting access for shunting and also making it near impossible to work effectively on coaches parked outside the shed. It is now greatly improved on both fronts and with good timing as we wish to work on 70621 outside a lot in future.