Hello everyone. After the excitement of the gala last week with goods trains running around, this one has been a bit more sedate on the train front, but just as productive for us.
We’re continuing with the Palvan, and made a start this week by removing the interior boarding on the south end of the van, so that we could start removing the side sheets on the west side.
Now that all bolts could be accessed, the team made quick work of cutting the nuts in half with the grinder and then splitting the remaining portions so that the bolts could be removed. Some bolts had to be split using a chisel due to a lack of grinder access.
Once the side panels had been removed, the team split into two. One side focusing on cleaning down the metalwork and priming it while the other half fitted the side sheets that had been cut last week.
With the east side looking quite smart with the side back in, the finishing touches were added including the chalkboard and the door restraining hook, which had been missing when we’d got the van.
Nick and I started cutting the boards for the East side, after first checking the measurements on the removed panels. The 3 boards were cut in quick succession, with Nick able to prime them to get them ready for next week.
Dave and I started to have a look at a patch of rotten plywood on the south east corner of the van. As we’d have had to remove some of the interior framework we opted to perform a patch repair, cutting out the old board as best we could and then making a new patch to fit in.
As we had to slide the pieces in, this had to be made in 3 sections that slotted together. As we did this, we discovered how the woodwork of the van was initially built. The hardwood framing was built in the carpenter’s shop at Wolverton complete with cladding panels screwed to the frame, and then the entire assembly bolted into the uprights of the van. As such, we’d have had to have stripped down all the interior frame to have replaced the plywood, so this is something for us to bear in mind with this van in the future!
Nick cleaned and primed some of the metalwork while Dave and I cut the bits of board out, and then the 3 of us fettled them to get the 3 pieces to fit in the whole nicely. The pieces were then slathered with both wood primer and PVA with a few woodscrews for good measure!
With the patch finished, there was just enough time to have a cuppa before heading home. Next week we’ll get the East side in the van, and probably get some sealant around all the edges. The next step is the doors, which will have to come off one by one to make sure we get them sorted as best we can. Thank you for reading and see you next week!
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