December News

Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853 (BRONZE)

Some condensation free days has allowed some painting progress to continue. This has been helped by a new roof being fitted to the tent at Holt which again has reduced water ingress onto the coach! This has allowed the running boards to be (black) undercoated, the Holt end to be (red) undercoated and the landward side/Sheringham end to have their first top coats of Crimson gloss. A start has now been made on the first gloss on the seaward side.

Great Northern Railway (later M&GN) 1887 6 Wheel Third 129 (BRONZE)

The penultimate Vintage Set refresh project is progressing well in the shed at Weybourne. Having dried out from its thorough washing, all of the teak exterior woodwork has been rubbed down and all of the damaged and flaky sections along the landward side have been laboriously cut back to bare wood, with as much of the silvered and black water damaged woodwork as possible sanded back to clean wood. Some staining is too deep, as we had not got to it in time, so the damage is therefore permanent. We then had a wait for some wood bleaching acid to arrive to restore the damaged areas, which was delayed slightly as since we last ordered some several years ago newer regulations have been introduced making it illegal to supply to the public. Whilst heritage/business use is still permitted under the regulations, the formalities have had to be arranged. This arrived towards the end of this week and the offending areas have now all been bleached.

Whilst we are waiting, the undamaged seaward side and the two ends have been washed and given the first of two coats of varnish, improving their appearance greatly.

The vehicle's prominent footboards have also been the source of much attention, with the seaward side lightly rubbed down and treated to two coats of black gloss to top them up. The landward side, once again because of sun damage, had flaked in many areas so required more attention. The loose material has been removed followed by a good rub down, a coat of primer and two coats of gloss. These boards are now complete and ready for service once again.

In the New Year, the plan is to build up the varnish on the damaged woodwork on the landward side. The lining will then be recoated before the whole side is finally sealed in with a varnish coat.

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

The remaining fittings that were on top of the old (failed) canvas have now been removed, including the rain strips and the cantrail strips that pin the edges of the canvas to the body. This left a bare and relatively smooth canvas that the new material can be built upwards on. With the canvas bedding compound arrived, the first task has been to coat the roof in an initial coat of the compound, which is a distinctive yellow colour. This is now being left to dry over the Christmas period.

The tables for the passenger saloon are now almost complete with frames modified to allow legroom and treated table tops back from a contractor. Hopefully it won't be long before the frames are varnished up ready to accept the new tops.

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

No progress to report.

London North Eastern Railway 1945 Gangwayed Brake E70621E (SILVER)

The two corridor end doors, which are being progressed inside the shed now that the vehicle itself has been exiled outside, have been built up with replacement "di-bond" panels in place of the original plywood. Both frames have been repaired and have had a degree of sanding and filling smooth.

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

The main focus has continued to be the exterior of the Sheringham (kitchen) end. Several passes of sanding and filling has been done with primer applied where required.

The imitation window frames and door strips along with bump stops, hinges and other bodyside furniture have all been off the vehicle again to be protected on their rear faces, ready to fit permanently in due course. All of this work is steadily heading towards a final primer coat being applied, after which the area will be declared complete.

British Railways 1953 Tourist Second Open NN3868 (BRONZE)

Interior stripping out of the Sheringham end passenger saloon has continued, with all of the interior woodwork around the windows now removed, which will allow the next task of removing the window glass to start.

All of the tables from this end and the wall mounted brackets have also been stripped out, leaving only the seating remaining to come out.

Maintenance

The final intermediate running exams of the season have now been completed, so plans are now already being made on how to handle the winter/closed season examinations. This year it will be particularly challenging as we will be working in amongst major disruption at Sheringham owing to the long awaited re-signaling scheme. 

Workshop

A new grit blasting cabinet has arrived and been installed, which is 2025's big workshop improvement (or treat!). Our old cabinet had become so intermittent and unreliable it had become effectively useless so this new machine will make such a difference.