Hello and welcome to another Bank Holiday update from the team at Quorn. This week we have made a start on the next wagon for our Mixed Freight.
12T Pipe wagon B740654, built in 1953 at Swindon to diagram number 1/460, was saved from Booths scrapyard and came to the GCR way back in 1988. It is therefore about time for it to receive some well deserved TLC from the team.
The first job was to assess the state of the wagon. Inspection revealed that it needs a new floor, most of the door planks and all the end planks need replacing due to rot. One set of door hinges are seized so the door won’t open.
We set-to measuring up for the replacement wood.
The East side door planks were removed.
Replacement planks were selected from our stock pile of re-useable treated timber. Some of which had to have nails removed before cutting to size.
Once cut to size the new planks were inserted into position and bolted into place.
The doors are fitted with retarders that help control the speed at which the door opens. It was found that these were the problem causing the door not to open. Removing the retarders, adjusting and re-fitting rectified the problem.
Next we moved on to the south end; the planks were removed, grinding and chiselling the rusted and seized bolts as necessary.
Over the years the build-up of rust and muck at the bottom of the end stanchions had slightly twisted the end kerb rail; this was straightened before measuring up and cutting new planks for the end of the wagon.
The stanchions were needle-gunned to clear the old paint.
The new planks were duly slotted into place and bolted up.
The top plank was painted with wood treatment before the capping rail was re-fitted. The south end lamp bracket was also re-fitted.
With the needle guns out, we also cleaned up the south end headstock, east side framework & fittings, and made a start on the west side frame.
The pipe wagon B740654 looking somewhat better by the end of the weekend, but still a lot to do.
Other work we have progressed this weekend includes connecting up some of the water piping in the Mess Coach.
The restoration work on Madge has also been progressing, stripping the dash, removing all the instruments, cable loom, clips etc and taking it back to bare metal. A couple of small repairs will be needed, in the meantime a coat of protective primer has been applied.
Thanks for reading, we’ll be here again next week when it’s also the GCR’s fantastic 1940s Wartime Weekend, where the 1940s are brought back to life with an evocative commemoration of life in wartime Britain, from Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th June 2023.
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