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Just myself and Nick on Saturday for me a full day of signwriting and for Nick a full day of scraping. Nick prepared the underframe of S56010 for painting, sole bar, headstocks and running gear.  My first task also centred around S56010 applying the running number, wheelbase and tare.

I then moved over to the Tankflat. Although it is a 1942 built vehicle for the purposes of the Remembrance event it is receiving the livery of a first world war flat.  Visually there is little difference between a 1st or 2nd World war built vehicle.  Those built in the 40s are able to carry a load of 50T the earlier ones being 40T.  This is distinguishable by the riveted L angles along the entire length of the main frame, top and bottom.

The marking ETAT was added to vehicles that went to France and translates as State,  referring to the National State Railway,  this means the vehicle is maintained and operated as part of the French railway system.  When crossed out the maintenance and operation returns to the War Department and the Railway Operating Division.

Once complete with the Brakevan Nick came over and prepared the West side bogies for Paint.

On to Sunday and we were joined by Jake. When I left Saturday I wasn’t solely happy with the letter S I had applied to the Brakevan.  It was weighted more than the rest of the number and really looked out of place.  This is an advantage of signwriting, I narrowed the whole letter and finished it to match the number it accompanies.

Nick and Jake continued with the underframe applying the bitumen based paint to the areas prepared the previous day.  They also replaced 3 of the 4 top steps that were life expired.

I continued with the tank flat applying top coat to the headstocks and applying paint to the details, Draw hook, Lamp irons, Vacuum pipe and jack screw threads.

I also sign wrote what would normally be a plate to indicate what direction to turn the handbrake wheel.

The final task once the underframe paint on the brakevan had dried was to fit the wagon plates and pick out the lettering on the repair plate.

Another week of earlies for me so anything can happen.

Once again a week of earlies and opportunity to carry out work in the week.

Most of my attention has been on the Tankflat, Tuesday Wednesday and a number of topcoats applied to the sides. As a Military wagon this is a Satin coat instead of the usual gloss.  Thursday the headstocks were scraped down and cleaned off as well as the brake reservoir tanks.

As well as the Tankflat I also did a few jobs on the Southern Brake, tidying up the demarcation line on the inside. Painting the inside of the duckets, manufacturing some filler pieces for the floor under each door, undercoating a number of areas the spray gun could not reach and a touch of signwriting

On to Saturday and the full crew in attendance.  Despite the forcast, we were blessed with blue skies and warm temperatures so the opportunity was taken to Gloss S56010.

Once complete again attention turned to the Tank flat, undercoating the headstocks and scraping down and applying bitumen to the east side of both bogies.

Sunday and down came the rain, unfortunately, this put a hold to the plans to continue painting. We were able to fit the filler pieces, painted over the previous days, and finished off the final detailing of the interior. Handbrake wheel painted, track circuit operating clips and the short-circuiting bar fitted.

It was also possible to apply undercoat to the ceiling and add white details to the doors.

Because of the rain, we spent most of the time carrying out a spot of tidying of our workshop accommodation. Finders are crossed for better weather next week.

This week has seen me popping in after my early shifts to make a solid push on the interior of S56010.  Starting from the top and working down Monday saw the application of White Gloss to the Ceiling.  2 Coats of Cream Tuesday & Wednesday.  Masking and Undercoat Thursday and Friday a Coat of Bauxite.

A few further items remain, notably the duckets which require some surface preparation and the stove surround.

Not only have I spent time on the Southern Brake van but the Caledonian Weltrol has seen its restoration progress. Taking advantage of the weather I applied Black Gloss to the Buffers, Draw hook, shackles, Load plates and Handbrake,  all in preparation for signwriting.

Friday saw the arrival of WGF 8127, our tank flat which this weekend received its special load for Great War Great Central.
On to the weekend and Nick, Ross and Jake rubbed down and prepared S56010 for exterior paint.  All woodwork then received a coat of wood primer.

I, unfortunately, had to work but when I had finished I arrived to apply Signwriting to the Weltrols Eastside.  Final push for Saturday was placing the WWI tank on to the Tank flat,  assistance was sought from Quorn station volunteers.  Jack had spent the day stripping the tank but it still had a sizable weight.  With plenty of hands, the tank was positioned without to many problems.

Sunday and we started the day preparing the Bogies and top decks of the Weltrol for bitumen. This was to allow the wood primer on the brakevan to dry a little more as it was still a little tacky from overnight.

Once rubbed down Nick, Ross and Jake moved back to the Southern Brake and applied a layer of undercoat,  the opportunity was taken to teach Jake a new skill, that being the use of the spray gun.

I continued with the weltrol and began painting the prepared areas,  I was soon joined by the rest of the gang who continued the painting whilst I then completed the signwriting on the west side and headstocks.

The final task will be to paint the tires white which is typical of pre-grouping vehicles, apart from that the Weltrol is complete.  As the sunsetted on the yard our final weekend task was to remove the wheels from Jacks tank, do it sits more prototypically on the Tank flat and reduces the likelihood of it rolling off the flat.  This was a little tricky as we had to jack up the tank remove its wheel and lower, whilst laid under it in a gap no more than 2 feet high.  It took a little longer than expected with it being 20:30 before we left.

This will require securing and this will be a task for the upcoming week.
Steam Gala next weekend so come and see the box vans in operation.

This week has been full of activity for us. It all began on Monday with a Timeline Events / EMRPS photochater using the vans with visiting Warship D832 “Onslaught”

The 10th and 11th November sees the GCR commemorate 100 years since the end of the First World War. As part of this, the GCR is assembling a train of appropriate vehicles of either age or type. The first from our collection to see attention for this commemorative train is M300356, this vehicle, a Well Trolley (Weltrol) was built in 1913 by the Caledonian Railway and is being returned to CR livery.

Tuesday – Friday saw the vehicle’s coating of Bitumin removed, this was quite a labour intensive task, Ross and I were helped by Jack Shaw (Great War event organiser) and Andrew Devine (Quorn & Woodhouse station foreman) We managed to completely stip the sides of the vehicle. Unfortunately, the rain stopped play Friday and we only managed to Red Oxide the East side.

Glimmers of the vehicles past life became visible as the layers of paint were removed. Visible in the image below, flecks of Brick Red paint, the CR wagon livery we shall be applying. Also visible the thick layer of bitumen that had to be removed.

Saturday and a visit to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway after an invite to view the Carriage and Wagon Works at Winchcombe. It’s always nice to see how other establishments operate and to build a relationship that is mutually beneficial for all. In fact, this visit saw us deliver a BR Brakevan brake cross shaft needed for the refitment of the vacuum brake system to a vehicle on the GWSR. Our thanks go to Richard Stone and the other members of the GWSR C&W team for your time, patience and hospitality.

It was also nice to see GWSR’s latest wagon project, a BR built china clay wagon.

We also got to see Thomas the Tank Engine and a few of his friends

Back to the grind on Sunday and S56010. I completed the interior trim and turned my attention to the main cabin doors.  Over the life of the vehicle these have become worn so much so that the door is essentially planing the floor.   The top hinges were removed and moved up to attain the correct clearance at the bottom.

Jake and Nick continued removing rust from the veranda ends and red oxiding when back to solid metal.

Ross installed a new lock to increase the security of the vehicle.

Final job for the weekend was the Red Oxiding of the west side of 300356 and first gloss on the East side and buffer beams.  The red brick does seem very close to Bauxite although there is a slightly deeper red tinge.

This weekend work continues on S56010, during the week a new nogging was manufactured which was the final piece required to complete the west side.  This was trial fitted adjusted and the final side planks fitted.

Once the planks were installed the internal plywood liner was fitted.

It has been decided that the vehicle’s incomplete air brake system will be removed fully. This began with the removal of the Main Reservoir gauge pipe and the Brake Valve exhaust pipe when the west site was dismantled.  The main train pipe branch which fed the brake valve was removed and the hole plugged with a large coach bolt. With the pipes which entered the vehicle removed the sole bar Main Reservoir and Main Train pipes were then removed.

The supporting brackets on the solebar were removed and the remaining welds ground flush.

Once removed the areas of bare metal were red oxided.

Whilst the air system was being removed the veranda doors and the corner noggings that include the door latches saw attention.  All Noggings were removed and areas of built-up plate rust removed.  A number of door repairs were also carried out most notably the South East Veranda door which Ross is particularly proud of, work included a lot of fine woodwork to get the door to fit up and close effortlessly.

Back inside I began manufacturing and fitting finishing trim around the edges of the plywood lining.

The Stove base plate was also red oxided, black glossed and the stove base fitted as well as the steel lining which surrounds the stove and protects the wooden walls of the van.
This vehicle has been without a stove since its arrival on the GCR and Guards will be happy to know this is being reinstated as part of this refurbishment.

Finally, we had a visit from a gentleman that contacted the GCR soon after the Model Rail event.  Robert’s father was a Goods Guard in the 1950s, he was involved with the training of Windrush Generation Guards and unfortunately, this was disliked by the union.  It basically resulted in ill health and Robert lost his father when he was aged 12.  All that remains are memories and a single image.
Robert visited the GCR during the Model Rail event and noticed M730562 and instantly recognised it as the same type of vehicle in the image of his father. He was placed in contact with Nick and came to visit us over the weekend.  We presented M730562 in a condition that his father would instantly recognise, complete with Guard’s Journals, lamps, timesheet, rulebook and other items required to fulfil the role of a Guard.
The opportunity was also made available to recreate that image of his father.

Its moments like this that remind us why we restore and maintain these vehicles. We are sure Robert enjoyed his visit.  We certainly did and it was great to hear the memories he has of his Father, Thank you Sir.

LMS Brakevan M730562 has been putting up a fight since we started almost 2 months ago. The light, however, is at the end of the tunnel, it is also now entering the van.  The replacement Glass effect perspex arrived Monday and I took advantage of a week of earlies. Tuesday and Thursday I removed, cleaned the frames, fitted and sealed the glazing for the veranda ends.

On to the weekend and Nick continued the painting of the underframe.  Including the Westside steps and Eastside solebar.

The main task undertaken was the replacement of the Ducket glazing.  The frames were removed,  we originally thought this would be tricker on the westside as these were riveted, but thanks to once being employed by the RAF with a tour on an aircraft structural repair unit it didn’t take me long to whip out the 32 rivets.

Once removed the window mastic previously used was removed from the frames and Ducket, the bare metal areas were then red oxided before new mastic and the glazing was fitted to each frame.  These were then fitted to the Duckets and the mastic trimmed and shaped to the fill the gaps.  Finally, the Bauxite and Cream top coats were reapplied.

Top coats were also added to the Handbrake standard, Vacuum hose swan necks, steel stove surrounds and Vacuum brake valve.  The Vacuum gauge was polished and a 1940s style coat hanger was also fitted.

I also took a moment to apply the correct running number to the LMS box van and popped into Rothley to Carriage & Wagon to see how B954546 was progressing.

 

 

The weekend saw the GCR commemorate 50 years since the end of mainline timetabled steam and the final service 1T57 having been hauled by 70013 Oliver Cromwell.  I of cause commemorated in my own style dressed as a disgruntled employee of the London Midland Region, precisely 50 years to the day.

Saturday also saw Nick and Jake key and paint the handrails on M730562.

On to Sunday, I started with applying coats of white to the veranda ceilings,  With Nick and Jake turning their attention to the underframe first scraping down and applying bitumen.

Between coats of white and the spots of rain, I chalked and painted the signwriting to the West side of the vehicle and Nick refitted the Wagon Label clip to the East side removed for planks to be replaced.

Still a few more final details to apply including new windows but the end is now in sight.
Oh, and what of Ross you ask,  his view is slightly different to ours as he continues to enjoy the Sun in Greece.

Work continues on M730562 despite the rain.
As Nick was alone Saturday he spent the time cleaning the inside of the van and filling over the screws.

Sunday was business as usual with Ross and myself joining Nick. With the wet weather, there was no chance of starting the external repaint of the vehicle. So attention turned to the inside.  I sanded the filler applied by Nick.  There were a few remaining activities on the outside of the van and during breaks in the wet Nick and Ross carried these out,  mainly one final bolt for a handrail and a few missing screws.

Attention then turned to second coats of Cream and Bauxite.

Nick also manufactured and fitted a new seat base for the East side as the original was removed for previous work and was too fragile to refit.

We also made some BR style door signs there use we shall reveal in the next update.

Finally, we have made some positive steps towards Identifying the LMS van that has recently joined the collection.  Our thanks go to Phil Hetherington and John Hall for their efforts so far and we have reached a likely identification.

The story so far sees a number of 500XXX vans being condemned at Barassie of these one makes it too Inverkeithing infact of all 1000 Derby built D1891 diagramed vans only one makes it to this location.   Inverkeithing is on the Rosyth Branch so is the nearest BR location identified by a 4 digit depot code to the Naval Dockyard at Rosyth the location our vehicle was purchased from.  This single-vehicle was 500954, a number of other avenues are being looked into which hopefully will take this likely identification to a positive.

Matthew 7:25
“And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.”

A bible quote I think aptly describes today.

Work continues on M730562, the replacement wood has been ordered and is due in the week,  in preparation Nick and Jake have been removing the life-expired planks.

Unfortunately, one of the bolts on the west side was located behind the boarding beside the internal locker.  So my first task was to cut and manufacture an access hatch as this will be a reoccurring issue.

Once complete my attention was turned to the seat backs for the Guard.  I removed the old layers of upholstery.  This exposed the frame which required some repair and reinforcing.

Both the east and west side were repaired and trial fitted

Of interest are the layers of upholstery removed,  unfortunately, none dating back as far as the LMS.  How do we know?  The first layer above the base horsehair is clearly marked with its manufacturer this, of course, being British Railways.  Successive layers having the British Rail Double Arrow logo on the reverse.

Sunday continued with Nick and Jake removing life expired planks as well as re-securing all of the internal planking which has detached from the floor due to worn fasteners.

Ross and I started to upholster the Guards seats continuing the work I began Saturday,  Foam and vinyl was cut to size. The vinyl matches that applied to the vehicle during BR usage. The vinyl was sewn into a box shape to fit over the foam backing and stapled into position.

Once the seat backs were completed a base for each seat was created and foam and vinyl covers again manufactured and sewn. The seat backs were trial fitted but not fitted fully.

The seats were then also trial fitted although again not fully fitted,  this will be done once all internal and external work is complete.  The vinyl will be affixed to the seat base hence its baggy appearance.  As a trial, we began planning the side cushioning for the seat sides.

The final task was the replacement of the Starter motor in Nicks van, this is vital as this is the vehicle required to collect the wood for next weekends tasks.

This update includes work carried out during the week as I popped in after my Early shift to carry out some tasks on M730562.  Monday I applied a coat of primer to the bare woodwork on the East side and red oxide to areas of bare metal.

Wednesday I was back to apply a coat of white to the ceiling

On to the weekend and the next colour to apply was the deep cream, as per B954268 we are applying the British Transport Commision scheme for brake vans of white, cream and bauxite.

With the ongoing heatwave the cream was ready for masking Sunday, the first coat of 3ft 6in high bauxite was applied as well as the vacuum gauge which had been removed for painting.  A second coat of bauxite will be required but we shall give it a week for the first to harden off.

The final task this weekend was the application of Gloss white and detailing of the Handbrake wheel.

Nick and Jake carried out a number of tasks and drew up plans for the purchase and replacement of parts of the exterior cladding.
Ross was away with his work at the IMechE Railway Challenge 2018.
His team of first-year graduates from SNC-Lavalin came 2nd out of 10. The competition was to design and build a locomotive to compete in a few dynamic tests and challenges. Dynamic challenges included Traction, regenerative braking and energy storage.