When a job grows arms and legs!

Christmas was good to us, fully booked Santa trains, a full house on Boxing day and a busy New Years day resulting in the train being strengthened to eight coaches.  The defect report running to 3 steam hoses and one dynamo belt, I think that we can live with that.

 

The errant parts, the steam bags appear to have just exploded out at a weak point.

 



 

An on going project to refurbish commonwealth bogie horn guides.  The two plates top left and centre are the original outer rubbing plates which are made of hard metal.  The two pieces top right and bottom are new mild steel inner plates.  The inner and outer plates have to be bonded together by a rubber layer.  We hope to make a mould to pour the rubber material in between them, Saturday volunteer, Alan has experience of this sort of thing and is leading the project.

 

 

The Bullion van back outside, now waterproof with the addition of plywood windows, suitably painted to blend in.  The very long term plan for this vehicle would be a mobile workshop / messing facilities for the p-way gang.

 

The line of axles, six of them are awaiting sending away for profiling of the flanges.

 

 

 

 

Bogies, B19 and B20, these have been removed from under mark 2 TSO 5149 and await dismantling so that the wheels can be machined to eliminate flats.

 

When a job grows arms and legs!

If you remember we were going to work on mark 1 So, number 4477.  This vehicle became the spare at Christmas and so we brought in mark 2 BFK, number 17101 for a compartment makeover.  This vehicle had suffered from water ingress through the windows, causing mould to form over the tables, curtains and flooring.  We had previously stripped one of the compartments and found structure damage, we continued with the toilet end vestibule and found;

 

 

The end panel with the internal trim removed showing extensive corrosion.

 

 

The corridor connection viewed from outside the vehicle, there should be a substantial hardwood timber across here with the corrugated metal sheet butting up to it.

 

 

This shows where a metal strengthening support once was, it has completely disintegrated.

 

 

Another view from the side passenger door.

 

 

 Further corrosion has resulted in a hole at roof line level behind the drip moulding, this hole spans two compartments.

 

 

Ralph removing windows

 

 

When the roof panels are removed it revealed insulation in bags, very loosely fitted.  The roof panels themselves were loosely fitted, being slotted in to a moulding on one side, pushed up into the ceiling and fixed with a few screws on the other side.  There are no fixings down either side.

 

 

Ralph removing the seat frame from the adjacent compartment.

 

 

The state of the side panels when removed.

 

 

Juliano working on the buffer beam

 

 

The buffer beam with buck eye coupling, steam and vacuum pipes removed.

 

 

The cleaned up buffer beam after a coat of red oxide primer.

 

 

the removed buck eye coupling having been stripped, cleaned, pins greased and reassembled.

 

 

There is some good news, the first compartment stripped has had its metal framework renewed.

 

 

Another picture of the repaired framework.

  

 

This reservation was found behind one of the seats, it shows that our coach was once in front line service.  It shows that on the 14th august 1970 it worked the 17.05 Kings Cross to Bradford.

 

 

This wagon has come in for repair, a rotten floor and a broken sideboard.

 

 

The broken sideboard, broken completely in two pieces.