COMPLETION SPECIAL: Mark 1 Tourist Second Open M4843

This week we celebrate the return to service of M4843 after a two year "Silver" standard overhaul. M4843 is one of a collection of eight British Railways Mark 1 "Tourist Second Open" coaches owned by the North Norfolk Railway, which form the backbone of our two daily running sets which are essential for the railway's operations and survival. It is therefore important, in our view, that these are overhauled to a high standard so that we can continue to use them for years to come.

The year of M4843's birth is contested. Some literature states it was built in 1959 and the coach has a plate on it suggesting this, however other records show it was not introduced into service until the following year. Either it was built in 1959 and stored for a period before entering service, or if it was built in 1960. In any case, by July 1960 M4843 was part of the London Midland fleet of Mark 1 coaches, some ten years after the first example had been introduced. M4843 was part of a batch of 61 Tourist Second Opens built at Wolverton. Weighing 33 tons, M4843 seats 64 passengers in three saloons, one of which was designated no smoking. A central passenger gangway runs lengthways throughout the open layout saloons, with corridor connections at both ends for access to adjacent vehicles. Two toilets were present at one end of the coach, although these are now longer in use and have been converted by the NNR into store cupboards. Another conversion which was done in British Railways days was the swapping of the original bogies for more advanced "B4" versions, which saved a ton of the vehicle's weight.

Delivered in British Railway's lined maroon livery in July 1960, M4843 led an uneventful life working medium and long distance locomotive hauled services all over the Midland Region and through to neighboring regions as services required. With the modernisation program in full swing when M4843 was built, it would only have seen a few years being hauled by steam locomotives before diesels took over. To meet BR's new image, M4843 was repainted into the corporate Blue & Grey colour scheme, most likely in the late 1960's.  Electric heating was also added to the original steam heating making the coach duel fitted, although the increasingly common air braking system was never fitted, M4843 remaining a vacuum only braked coach its entire life. In June 1982, 4843 was transferred to the Western Region for the remaining 8 years of its working life before being withdrawn from service in August 1990.

W4843 languished for a year in storage as was being held at Neville Hill near Leeds. By this time it had suffered somewhat with most of its window glass missing and considerable damage to the interior passenger saloons including smashed Formica wall paneling and smoke damaged vanished woodwork. Nevertheless it was purchased by the North Norfolk Railway. 25 of the 61 vehicles built in this batch were preserved, their later build date and their superior bogies had led to many of the batch not being withdrawn from service until the 1990's, making them more available to preservationists than many earlier batches. Considerable acquisitions of spare parts from other withdrawn Mark 1's at the time (ironically in much better condition than W4843 but being scrapped by BR) would mean W4843's return to service in preservation could be viable for a less-than-cash-rich NNR.

W4843 arrived by road to Sheringham on the 19th November 1991 - the current Blog writer was 13 days old! W4843's condition meant a quick dust over and entry into service was never an option, so a six year restoration was undertaken to improve W4843's condition. Exterior corrosion repairs were undertaken along with re-glazing and a full repaint back into original lined maroon. The interior was modified with the smashed Formica paneling replaced with varnished wooden panels, more authentic for earlier Mark 1 coaches, and the smoke damaged woodwork either repainted or replaced entirely.

Early 1997 saw E4843 (renumbered during its overhaul as an Eastern Region coach) launched into preservation service, in excellent order for the first time in many years. It subsequently became a "favorite" coach and operated high mileages for nearly ten years before having an intermediate attention and a repaint in 2006.

By this time the bodywork was beginning to suffer as a result of historic BR water ingress compounded with the further NNR use. Unfortunately due to some over zealous welding in the past, severe distortion of the lower panelwork had to be smoothed over by large amounts of bodyfiller to achieve a smooth surface. This necessity was to prove problematic in the future.

E4843 was returned to service and undertook a second decade of NNR use very successfully, remaining an operating department "favorite".

By summer 2017 further weathering had taken its toll and the previous large areas of filler were falling out making the coach visually unsightly. It was withdrawn from service and brought into works for a Silver overhaul.

The 6-12 month project soon spiraled upwards with extreme levels of corrosion being found at both ends of the vehicle and all around the toilet. Unfortunately the roof had failed in the corners, which whilst not being uncommon for Mark 1 vehicles, normally results in water heading directly downwards and rotting out the ends of the coach. On E4843, it had tracked horizontally behind the vehicle's gutter, rotting out a 12 foot section all around where the toilets were formerly situated, as well as the end itself. As a result, the vehicle was in the welding bay for over a year having these repairs attended to.

The worst 1/4 of the coach was also re-skinned from the windows downwards eliminating the worst section of historic distortion and excessive filler.

The rest of the coach was re-filled where required to achieve the usual smooth finish and other issues such as doorway repairs attended to before the exterior was ready for repainting.

In a testament to the original 1990's restoration, the interior was in much better condition and required only a deep rub down of the varnish woodwork and several coats of varnish applied to bring back the shine to the interior. Other small repairs were undertaken here and there and anything with a painted finish repainted leading to a very presentable result. The 1/4 re-skin already mentioned also required a fair level of interior dismantling and reassembly to give the access required for the repairs.

During the overhaul of the vehicle, as part of our recent policy to apply the regional number that the coach was first built for, we have returned M4843 to its Midland ancestry for the first time since 1982. It entered service earlier this week, resplendent in its maroon colours, so look out for it!

Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853

Elsewhere in the workshops, the second coat of Crimson has now been applied to 853, it now has a deeper look and is looking very good.

The seating design has been approved and three out of the four bench seats are now completed - which means of course that the first of the two compartments now has finished seating, giving a good idea as to how each compartment is going to look like in service.

London North Eastern Railway 1950 Brake Corridor Third E1866E (GOLD)

Further flooring has been laid in the vehicle, which is now around 50% floored. The Sheringham end now requires the same attention.

Further work on the guards office has included glazing and restoration of the runner which sits on the floor and guides the guards sliding door.

Further steam heating work has also been completed, with the end valves now completed having been stripped down and overhauled. They are now painted, fitted, and have had the required water drains fitted.

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)

Bodywork continues. Fresh metal has now been let into the cantrail on the Sheringham/landward corner, in a mirror image of the work already done to the seaward corner. The plate which the passenger communication apparatus fixes to has been removed and new skin welded behind it as the previous example was holed.

Elsewhere on the exterior, the previously fitted windows have had any gaps on the mastic sealant resealed, this is currently setting and will be "dressed" neatly next week.

Good progress is being made on hanging/setting the doors on the seaward side. A complicated and non-standard wooden door edge has now been completed and fitted to the guards inward opening door.

Other smaller tasks continue to progress including making sure all of the sliding windows operate perfectly and further stripping/repainting of the exterior woodwork for the corridor ends.

British Railways 1957 Tourist Second Open E4521 (SILVER)

With M4843 gone, E4521 is now the only silver overhaul in progress. This week, work has continued to concentrate on the toilet ends. The landward side toilet is now almost stripped of all its walls and fittings to allow steelwork replacement in due course. These areas are notoriously difficult to photograph but hopefully the image conveys how sad it looks at the moment!

The sinks and pedestals for both toilets have now also been cleaned up and are now wrapped so they will still be fresh when we refit them!

British Railways 1957 Corridor Second W25189 (BRONZE)

M4843's replacement in the workshop is W25189, a corridor coach which has recently acquired the "leprosy look" on its landward side. The vehicle is in reasonable order however its exterior cosmetic condition is now poor and it has been in desperate need of some attention and a repaint for a year or two now. It is unusual in it's one of only two coaches running on the railway that still have the paintwork from a  previous railway applied to them. This is set to change as W25189 gets a "going over".

The exterior has been assessed and all metalwork work to be done marked on and agreed. This will be progressed by paid staff whilst the volunteers tackle everything else including any interior work.

The first area of the exterior to be tackled is the Sheringham end. On the seaward side corner, strengthening of the crash pillars at the bottom has been done and new panelwork fitted.

Bulging skin up the corner has been chopped out, the offending surface corrosion removed and the pillar below protected.

Three door pillers which had become damaged where the door locks engage have had the offending wood removed and repair sections glued in. These in turn are having new slots cut into them for the door lock and the cover plate replaced which has improved them greatly.

8 of the 18 windows will have to be removed for repairs. In preparation for this, the interior woodwork has been removed and the old sealant scraped off to gain full acess to the nuts which hold the glass in position. All of the old 1980's style "no smoking" stickers have also been removed so that the vehicle better suits its 1960's colour scheme.

British Railways 1962 12 Ton Box Van B784254 (GOLD)

No progress to report, however the vehicle did get a trip out in the sunshine during M4843's removal for service!

July News Part 3

There was no Blog last week due to a family trip to Hampshire that weekend. An afternoon visit to the Mid Hants Railway had to be made of course and it was interesting to draw Carriage & Wagon parallels between that railway and ours. Although on the face of it a "Mark 1 railway", it was interesting to note throughout the visit that upon closer inspection, there was more to see for those who chose to look. A single Bulleid vehicle was present within the main running rakes, rather similar to our Gresley Buffet which nestles amongst the Mark 1's.

A "Hampshire" Diesel Electric Multiple Unit was also in service, the interiors of which are incredibly similar to our suburban set. Inside the workshops were two more Bulleid coaches being restored, showing that a full 1930's/40's set of coaches is on its way.

Down the line was an impressive demonstration goods train, longer than ours and with a vibrant mix of wagons contained within it. Well worth a visit!

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

Back in Norfolk, the hot weather has prevented the second coat of Crimson to be applied to the outside of 853. It is currently resting in a rubbed down state waiting for the temperature to fall.

The exceptional working temperatures has also reduced the numbers of volunteers coming in which has affected progress slightly on all fronts, not just 853. However progress has been made on the seating, with one of the four passenger benches having been upholstered by the soft furnishings department. Unlike most other coaches that have separate seats that are in turn fitted into the compartments, these would appear to be trimmed in situ directly to the seat frame. This seat is currently being evaluated before the remaining three are tackled - to see if any modifications or improvements to the design need to be made.

London North Eastern Railway 1950 Brake Corridor Third E1866E (GOLD)

Since the last update two bulkhead walls have been fitted: one to the Holt end of the guard's "booth" and one to the Sheringham side of the toilet, at the opposite end of the vehicle.

This has the effect of closing in previously open spaces and changes the visual character of the inside of the coach, making it look much less like a stripped out shell than previously.

Other interior work has included repairs to the sliding guards compartment door, and also cutting many of the planks to size which were delivered a week or so ago for lining the walls of the luggage area at the Holt end of the coach.

Externally, the first half of the seaward side underframe/bogie has been needle gunned and primed.

British Railways 1959 Brake Corridor Composite E21224 (GOLD)

Bodywork continues. During a large reshuffle around the shed, 21224 now resides in the staging area of the workshop. Just before the shunt, the two rebuilt bogies, which had temporarily been the wrong way round, were returned to their rightful locations and the body lowered back down onto them.

Due to increased fire regulations, we have had to temporarily stop welding work now the vehicle is in this new location, until sufficient fire blankets are procured to protect the surrounding area. In the meantime, at the Holt end the gutter and roof has been cut away above the doorway on the landward side, in a repeat performance to what was done on the seaward side last month. This has revealed cant rail sections to replace.

The areas around the passenger communication gear have been needle gunned and the gear itself removed.

This was quickly done given it was in excellent condition and given a coat of primer.

At the luggage van end of the vehicle, the second set of double doors have been provisionally hung onto the vehicle, which makes a big visual difference to this side of the vehicle which is currently without its doors.

The two doors earmarked for the Holt end, continue to be stripped down into their component parts. A start has been made on stripping the varnished woodwork for these two doors, which had been painted over in previous years. Initial condition appears good, and we are optimistic that after further work, these can be varnished rather than painted brown.

Internally, the toilet compartment Formica panelling has received further cleaning work to get the residue of the paint stripper off the panels. We are pleased to report that under all the paint is original Formica in excellent condition, so this toilet should be able to return in very original condition. Further coats of varnish are being applied to some of the fittings destined for this toilet.

The two end windows in the luggage van area have had a dry fit of the woodwork which secures the glass in place. We will hold off fitting the glass until hot work has been completed at the Sheringham end later this year.

British Railways 1959 Tourist Second Open M4843 (SILVER)

A great deal of focus has been put onto this coach as it is destined to return to service next week. This has required a bit push on to all of the final finishing tasks. The largest of these was a quick repaint of the bogie side frames and the visible sections of underframe trussing into black. The first task was to steam clean the bogies and underframe to remove surface dirt and grease.

Several people have spent several days undercoating and glossing these areas and it looks much better for it.

After the areas had been treated black, finishing touches have included the painting of the bogie springs (red and white) and the application of solebar lettering and the four vacuum brake stars.

The battery boxes have had poor batteries removed and some replaced with other secondhand examples. It is not yet clear whether this coach will need new batteries or not.

The bodysides on the exterior are now also signed off as complete, following the shunt which brought 4843 out of the staging area. This allowed the lower lining to be completed, with the black being applied first, followed by the yellow.

The vehicle's numbering was also completed the following week.

Other final jobs for the exterior were the application of the British Railways roundels and the fitting of the six brass door handles.

Internally, the final re-varnishing works to the Sheringham end have been completed. Next week will require a final clean of the floors etc and the return of some fittings which were removed to allow varnishing.

British Railways 1957 Tourist Second Open E4521 (SILVER)

With effort on M4843 required, less work was able to be undertaken on E4521. However, stripping, repairing and repainting of the corridor connection components has continued, with almost all of the small metal bits now completed, including the passenger communication apparatus. This is now stored ready for the day that it will be needed to refit to the vehicle post steelwork repairs.

Work has started on cleaning down the two steel "hoops", also part of the corridor connection bellows, and all of the top dampers for the corridor connections for 4521 (and 21224) have been lined up on a bench for renovation.

More of the wooden corridor connection sections have been stripped off the coach revealing the full extent of corrosion behind them. These wooden sections are in turn being stripped down and repainted, they have survived much better than the steel has!

The vehicle has also been lifted to investigate the general condition of the bogies, floor and steam pipe so that we can assess to a full extent the works required.

Internally, the first sink and pedestal (for the seaward side toilet) has been cleaned up ready for reuse. These will be wrapped up to preserve their condition as it may be some time before they are refitted.

British Railways 1962 12 Ton Box Van B784254 (GOLD)

Further work on the new roof for the vehicle has been completed with the edges now all secured around the perimeter of the vehicle. It is almost ready to receive its new canvas, which was delivered on site this week.

All of the rotten outer plywood sheeting has now been removed from the seaward side doors.

Workshop

The project to paint more "not to be moved" boards for Sheringham progresses steadily. The boards have now been painted red with the lettering to follow soon.