18/02/24 – Hmm, not sure about these Palvan doors…

Hello everyone, and welcome to another update from Quorn. This week we’ve continued with the Palvan, making a start on the doors. We started on the dock side, and got cracking removing one of the two doors.

I went round the door and tried to undo any bolts that would with the impact gun (which is still one of the best tools I’ve ever bought!). Michael and Nick followed with the grinder to cut any bolts that had spun.

The door sort of crumbled off and was taken apart to its consituent parts. The top and 2nd horizontal members were salvageable along with the uprights, leaving everything else to be made new.

Before doing so, Barry and I retrieved our radial arm saw from the GUV and fixed it up ready to use. We dealt with a stuck motor and a non-functional start switch to get the machine fully functional. Its been invaluable to sorting out these doors because it makes it so easy to cut the tenons for the frame work.

Ernie cleaned up the hinges on the van and painted them in red oxide, making them ready to receive the door once remanufactured.

Nick, Charlie and Michael de-nailed some of the remaining planks from the loco shed roof to use as the bottom of the doors. These are the right deopth and thickness to use for a re-designed door bottom. We are having to do this as we have no pattern for the bottom of the door.

Barry and I managed to finish the day with the new horizontal members cut for the door, and dry fitted into the uprights. Dave and I started by measuirng and cutting the ply sheet for the back of the door. The frame was then glued together and the ply laid in and screwed down. The door was clamped together and then rolled over so the diagonal bracing could be cut and fitted.

Nick, Mark and the lads began by making a kit of parts for one of the Catfish, which has a cracked spring pocket on the top of the axle box. The lads had a small lesson from Nick on how the axle box is assembled, much easier without the axle there!

The diagonal bracing was cut and placed into the frame, with plenty of glue and 2 screws each just to hold them in place. Between the 3 of us we cut out the plank from the loco shed and made it into a pretty good door bottom, which we fixed to the bottom of the door with copious glue and screws.

The other half of the team replaced a foot step on each one of the Catfish, removing, cutting a new one and then treating them with preservative. Then the scrapers came out and they got to cleaning down more of the Catfish’s bodywork, getting them that one step closer to paint. Nick also finsihed off by undoing or cutting most of the bolts on the other door of the pair, getting it ready for next week.

Next week we’ll be continuing with the door, getting the finished one mounted and its partner off and rebuilt. Thanks for reading, and see you next weekend!