Update 05.10.2019

Mark 1 TSO number 5057 was out shopped back in July.  Pictured here outside the carriage repair shed.

It was outside coupled to steam engine 46512 which was providing steam to check that the heating was working correctly.  The windows were being given a final clean.  The open door in the foreground shows the new door interior in its finished state having been varnished.

The finished interior with the curtains and antimacassars fitted.

Work on mark 1 RU 1936 has continued steadily.  This is the view inside the kitchen with the hardboard panels for the ceiling waiting attention.

The kitchen ceiling has been prepared with extra wooden battens to fix the extraction hoods to.  Wiring for the lights, fans and roof space insulation in place.

Close up of battens and insulation around the fan vent openings.

This is the edge of one of the three emergency exit doors.  The brass strip that has been fitted holds the outer rubber piping (draught excluder) to the door.  There is also an inner piping to be fitted along the edge of the interior panelling.

This picture shows the handrail "wings" at the saloon corridor connection end.  To remove the formica from these they had to be completely re-made.

The saloon interior.  The ceiling has been painted with primer, undercoat and finally a gloss white finish.  The square lamps have been refurbished and fitted.  New curtain pelmets in oak have been made and fitted.

Another saloon interior view.

A slight distraction from vehicle repairs.  These are panels that box in the pillars at Aviemore station, unfortunately they are suffering from being out in all weathers and have areas of rot on them.

A stripped down panel.

A new panel under construction.

Steam heating pipe repairs.  The casting on this end of the top pipe has been causing problems with cracking.  It took three attempts to repair with silver solder.

Mark 2 TSO number 5204 has been brought into the shed for a tidy up.

One of its main problems are blown double glazing of which there are seven windows needing attention.  This is when moisture penetrates between the two panes of glass and makes it difficult to see through the window.

A project that has been carried out by the engine shed volunteers is the refurbishment of these two tank wagons.  They have been fitted with a pumping system to be used for washing out steam locomotive boilers.

Another view

The water pump and pipework.

Refurbished wagon plate.

Wagon plate showing Furness Railway origins.

One more.

Update 31.05.19

Since the last update most of our work has concentrated on mark 1 TSO 5057.  The coach was fitted with aluminium doors a few years ago.  Whilst the doors themselves are in good condition the interior door furniture was poor.  Therefore it was decided to completely strip them down.

The window runners and interior panels were fixed to the aluminium frame using self tapping screws.   Many of these were broken with the remains of the screws still in the door and impossible to get out.  This picture shows the door frame being fitted with timber inserts to which the runners and panels will now be fixed.

The next picture shows a window refitted into the door.  The operating mechanism at the bottom, which is called the "lazy tongues" have been cleaned and lightly oiled.  The two window runners on either side have been screwed into the wooden blocks and have had new felt fitted to the slides.

One of the bogies also had a problem.  One of the track control tubes (not the correct name but its what I call them) had become loose and could be rotated by hand.  This picture shows the tube, bolt and rubber bushes removed as well as the horn clips in preparation for lifting the coach.

After lifting the coach to check the centre casting which was all ok, it was decided to change the bolster springs, fitting new spacers whilst doing so.  The track control rod was refitted also using new bushes.

A view of the bogie showing the position of the springs and rod.

Inside the coach the steam heat pipe covers have been repaired, painted and re-fitted using new hinges.

The next picture shows the first stage in replacing the seat frames.  The new lino floor covering, a very light grey can be seen under the seats.  The centre aisle is protected with hardboard.

The next stage in replacing the seat frames.  The back frame and centre aisle end panels are fitted.

A close up of the seat ends, repainted in a grey finish.  The edges will be varnished later, they are currently covered up using masking tape.

Another view of the seat frames, all of which have had extensive repairs followed by a coat of paint.

Transformation! the new upholstery now in place.

The next stage, the tables going back.  They have all had the fixings repaired, the legs have been cleaned, painted and fitted with new rubber blocks which go in the base of the leg where it fits to the floor.

Another general view.

One of the doors with some of its interior panels fitted.  These will be stained and finished with multiple coats of varnish.

During this time there has been a small amount of work taking place on RU 1936.  Murray is pictured below preparing the exterior for paint.

This door hinge pillar has had a new wooden insert fitted.  the door itself has been cleaned up, especially the very corroded bottom step.

The saloon roof panels needed edging with a moulding.  This had a very tight curve at the sides and was proving very difficult to bend.  This is our attempt at steam bending timber, the idea for which I got from a LMSCA video.  So if you read this guys, thank you.

The saloon end panels and sliding door have been put into place.

This is the sliding door.  It has had the Formica covering removed which left a glue residue covering it.  This has been sanded down and then varnished.

More pictures of the exterior work.

The coach had to have a trip outside whilst the lifting jacks were moved.  This profile view shows where the two windows and kitchen door have been panelled over.  These are to the left, whilst the doors to the centre and right are the new emergency doors.  At this stage some areas are in red oxide primer.

two more views.

The next stage.  The roof has been painted in steel grey whilst the sides have received a coat of light grey undercoat.

The other side view.

The saloon roof showing the new mouldings which were mentioned earlier.

Another roof view.

During the last week the window surround panelling and mouldings have started to be re-fitted.

One slight distraction is that the pressure switch and gauge in the dining car pantry vehicle had to be replaced.  Pictured here before the covering panels went back on.