Hello everyone, welcome to another QWW update. This week, we’ve continued work on the LNER Plate wagon, E212315.
The paint on the Plate is quite cracked and crazed, which means we’re having to strip it back to bare metal before we repaint it. To that end, Nick and I decided that we should make a start looking at the air equipment and making sure it was all working, including 3 needle guns.
We’d managed to get the generator in the Test Car going to use the coach’s compressor, but the engine didn’t really sound too happy, though it started and ran the compressor. Two out of the three needle guns we’ve got worked so we made a start on the east side of the wagon, you know, just to test them. By the end of the day, we’d completed three quarters of the west side doors.
Sunday saw more of the gang here, Nick and I were joined by Mark, Tom, Dan and Oliver. Sunday was a trying day on the equipment front. The genset in the Test Car would not start, so we had to try the Hydrovane. The battery I put on it ended up being flat, so we got the charger/jump pack out which promptly decided it would let some of its magic smoke escape.
Thankfully, we found another battery and the Hydrovane sprang into life after around a 3 year slumber. It did spring an air leak later in the day, but this was patched with a piece of rubber and some jubilee clips as a temporary repair.
Finally, we got back to needle gunning the wagon. We concentrated on the West side today due to the very much reduced train movements while the bridge job is still underway. Everyone got both doors stripped down, plus 3/4 of the west side solebar, and then moved around to the head stock and the final 2 panels Nick and I left yesterday.
In anticipation of a couple of pending arrivals, I made sure the pressure washer is still functioning after its winter in the shed, which thankfully it did. All being well, we just have 2 TTAs arrived next week that need a wash!
That about covers this week, join next week to see if we’ve been cleaned some new tank wagons, or continued with the Plate! Thanks for reading.
Quorn Wagon & Wagon 