Author: Dave Bower

This weekend the team have supported the Road Rail Steam weekend welcoming visitors into Test Car 2 in the goods shed dock. We’ve also made a little more progress with the A-type container.

Nick and Oliver worked on the container, fitting some more bolts through the metalwork including a door hold-back loop and making & fitting bottom door strips.

They also salvaged a corner bumpstop from an another scrap container end panel, grinding off the rivets and bolting into place to replace the missing one on the A-type container.

Over the weekend Barry, Ross, Richard, Tom and myself welcomed visitors into Test Car 2.

For this weekend the organisers had placed us in the good shed dock which meant we had access to the new power supply recently installed on the dock. This allowed us to run the air compressor in the Test Car so that we could operate the air brakes on our Steel High test wagon, replicating the way the brakes were operated during slip-brake testing when it was carried out by British Rail.

There were many superb exhibits on display and operating in the yard during the weekend, including the 9F 92214 and D123 hauling a goods train.

Instead of trying to wind us up, this weekend Oliver decided instead to try and wind up a traction engine !

We look forward to opening up the Test Car again next weekend for the GCR’s Spring Diesel Gala; we will be open to visitors all weekend (27-28 April 2024) in the yard at Quorn outside the Marquee.

Hello and welcome to the first April update from the team at Quorn. Again the focus has been on progressing the Palvan, and we’ve also paid some attention to the dilapidated A type container rescued from the Loco shed last year.

During the week Tom and Oliver helped remove the axlebox keep plates from the Palvan in readiness for the wheelset change.

The six restored Brute trolleys were given a good clean up in readiness for going into store in the Palvan.

On Saturday the Palvan was positioned in the yard ready for the wheelset change; Richard and myself taking measurements of bumpstop gaps and buffer heights.

The trusty Volvo L70 loader was used and the replacement wheelsets were soon under the Palvan.

With the new wheelsets in place Ross, Richard, Ernie, Nick and myself set about removing the axlebox oil pans to clean out, check the oil pads & journals and replenish with new oil. The axlebox keep plates were also re-fitted, and Charlie helped out oiling all the brake rigging.

Some of the axlebox retaining bolts needed the threads clearing with a die nut and old rusted split pins punching or drilling out. We were very surprised to find both oil pads missing from one of the wheelsets considering that the wheelsets had been removed from an operational wagon (at another railway).

The journals were checked and the cleaned boxes filled with new oil. Three new oil pads and one cleaned re-usable pad were soaked in new oil and refitted.

With the new wheelsets fitted the Palvan was taken for a trundle up and down the yards to ensure the suspension was settled. Measurements of the bumpstop gaps and buffer heights were taken again, comparing well to those taken before the wheelset change. All buffer heights were between 40³/₄” and 41¹/₄“, the prescribed limits being 37″ min. and 42” max.

The six Brute trolleys were loaded into the Palvan with the Volvo, fitting neatly into the space inside. These will be secured before the van goes into traffic to prevent any movement or damage to the Brutes.

To round off Saturday the dilapidated A type container that was rescued from the Loco shed last in June year was carefully moved from beside the mess coach to it’s new home on the dock. The area on the dock was cleared and some strategically placed timbers were laid out for the container to sit on. A ratchet strap was used to hold the container together and secure it to the Volvo for movement.

Sunday began with the decision to move Edward the Hydrovane compressor trailer from the back of the pick-up truck onto the BEV stillage; this will make it more movable and accessible, and also free-up the pick-up for other duties. Kiki was woken up to provide a lift for the stillage, however she needed a hydraulic oil top-up to get the lift to work.

Making the most of the morning sunshine, we gave the site a good tidy up.

Edward was then started up to provide air as Tom, Mark and myself got to work scraping and needle gunning the framework and underframe of the west side of the Palvan.

Dan tackled the cleaning up of two replacement handbrake wheels for Catfish wagon DB983393.

Nick, Ross, Oliver and Richard took a look at the A type container we had moved on Saturday. The hinges of the lower door section were freed off, and the outer edge of the floor secured to a new baton. Some adjustment was necessary with Nick’s favourite hammer and the grinder needed to remove the old corner rotted plate.

A new steel corner plate was cut and bent to shape by Ross, then fitted in place by Tom and Dan to replace the rotted one.

The bolts we had didn’t have enough thread length, so Oliver (with Nick’s help) used a die-nut to cut a longer thread length for the plate attachment bolts.

Andy and Harry popped in for a while to continue with sanding and priming of another area of the GUV bodyside.

By the end of the afternoon the west side of the underframe and suspension of the Palvan was progressing well towards readiness for paint.

To finish a pic of one of the goods train workings this weekend; behind Peak D123 at Quorn. Thanks for reading, join us again next week, all the best, Dave

Hello and welcome to another update from Quorn where we are making steady progress with the second pair of doors on Palvan B781908.

With Barry, Ross, Nick, Charlie and myself on-site Saturday, we go stuck into re-making some of framework of the door that was removed last week. The replacement bottom 5″ section was drilled out for the dowels and trial fitted together.

Plenty of glue was applied to the dowels and joining faces before the parts were clamped in place and left to set in the sun.

The joints on one end of the top cross member were also rotted, so this was cut back to good wood and replacement parts cut to re-make the joint.

The middle cross member was rotted on it’s outer face, so again this was cut back and new timber fitted. The frame was then trial assembled.

A door sheet was cut to size and along with the frame moved into the Palvan for assembly. Plenty of glue was applied and the frame assembled. Then more glue was applied and the door sheet strapped into place.

Once we were happy with the fit the door sheet was screwed into place and left to dry overnight.

An opportunity was taken to tidy up a bit and fit a new bolt to the shed door.

The frame work and door hinges on the Palvan were also treated to a bit more re-oxide in readiness for the door re-fitting.

Sunday was a somewhat wetter day, however with Mark, Dan, Oliver, Tom, Nick, Ross and myself on-site we managed to progress the re-built door working mainly inside the Palvan to keep dry.

Overnight the door had settled very slightly out of square, thankfully the glue had not fully gone off so some slight adjustment was possible. We then cut the new bottom plank for the door and this was clamped in place with glue and sealer for the main joints.

The door was propped up and the inner facing ply screwed to the new plank.

Replacement diagonals were cut to length then door was then turned so they could be trial fitted and outer face of the door coated in wood primer.

We did some tidying up and preparation work in Test Car 2, and also fitted the deceleration meter bracket to the steel high wagon ready for next weekend.

Making the most of the wet afternoon, we worked in the dry and did some more scraping of the rear framework on Madge.

That’s it for this week, apart from a reminder that next weekend (16-17 March) sees the GCR 125 – Anniversary Open Weekend

During the weekend we will have Test Car 2 open to visitors in Quorn & Woodhouse station yard. Why not pop in and say hello; take a look inside to find out how and why rail vehicles were tested by British Rail, meet the team who have restored and care for this unique piece of railway history.

You can also support us by visiting our stall beside the Test Coach to get your copy of the Test Car 2 booklet and our Quorn Wagon & Wagon Pocket Stockbook.

Hello and welcome to a special Winter Steam Gala update from the team.

Throughout the weekend it’s been great to see both the tank train and the mixed freight running.

Work has continued on the Palvan B781908 with Barry, Richard, Ross and Ernie removing the East side rotten panelling. Some chisels needed a little TLC for splitting the rusted nuts.

Oliver, Tom and Mark helped Nick scraping the Palvan framework whilst Ross removed the old screws from the internal panelling framework.

The panel sizes were checked and three sheets of 3/4″ plywood were cut by Ross and myself; Oliver helping with sanding the outer face.

The cut sheets were cleaned down and propped up inside Nick’s box van. The edges and outer faces were then treated with wood primer.

The scraped framework on the Palvan was checked for correct gaps for the new panels to fit neatly. Some minor adjustment was required before a coat of red-oxide primer was applied to the inside faces of the framework.

With the Palvan framework and new side sheets painted and left to dry, our attention turned to one of the two catfish wagons that have been brought into the siding ready to start restoration work.

DB983393 will be dealt with first as this is considered to be the easier of the two restorations. DB993560 will need a greater amount of attention to the rusted and dented bodywork. Both wagons will require brake system overhaul, however to start with the team got stuck into some basic bodywork scraping.

Thanks for reading, join us again next week for the next episode of Palvan restoration; all the best, Dave

Hello and welcome to another update from the team at Quorn Wagon & Wagon. Work has continued on the Palvan B781908, and we put the finishing touches to tank 3777.

It is not often that everyone in the team can volunteer at the same time; however this weekend with ten of us at Quorn, we took the opportunity to grab a team pic.

From the left, Jake, Ross, Charlie, Nick, Oliver, Dan, Mark, Tom, Barry and myself. Richard and Thomas were unfortunately unable to join us.

Over the last few weeks we have been planning, measuring and procuring new aluminium Esso logo plates for tank 3777. We have had these professionally cut, drilled and rolled to the correct curvature for the tank.

At Rothley on Saturday myself and Ross double checked them for fit on both sides of 3777. The Esso logo templates were also prepared. stitched together and checked for size on the plates.

The plates were de-greased then sprayed both sides with Etch-Primer, which was left to dry then over coated with White Enamel.

Meanwhile back at Quorn the rest of the team got stuck into changing the defective south end buffers on brake van B954268. The buffers were removed, the headstocks cleaned, painted and new packing blocks prepared and painted.

The replacement buffers from our stock were then fitted.

The two buffers on the south end of Palvan B781908 were also found to be defective with rotating heads; these were duly removed and replacements fitted from stock.

The painted plates for tank 3777 had dried nicely dry overnight at Rothley; so Sunday morning Ross and myself got to work chalking the back of the template, marking the plate centre line and attaching the template to the first plate.

The oval border and Esso logo were traced, then the template moved to the second plate and the process repeated.

First the Esso logos were applied, Ross doing one plate whilst I did the other.

The blue oval plate outline was then applied.

Back at Quorn the wind was starting to pick-up, so some extra securing straps were fitted to the tarpaulin covering the Palvan, and the site was tidied, making sure things were secured; the defective buffers making great tarpaulin cover weights.

Whilst the red and blue paint on the plates was drying Ross and myself took a rare trip on the train up to Loughborough; the rest of the tank train was seen at Swithland.

As the light was fading, but before the wind picked up too much, we were able to fit the finished Esso plates onto tank 3777. M10 bolts were fitted with sealing washers to each side of the plate before being secured to the wagon with locking nuts.

This completes the restoration work on 3777. We are very much looking forward to seeing it coupled into the tank train very soon.

Thanks for reading, join us again next week for the GCR’s Winter Steam Gala.

We start 2024 back at Quorn Wagon Repair Sidings, getting stuck into work on Palvan B781908.

You may remember a couple of weeks ago that the roof from the Palvan was completely disintegrated by the strong winds, leaving most of the rusted screws still in the wagon.

With Nick, Ross, Mark, Tom, Oliver, Dan and myself on-site the Palvan was soon cleared of the last items of rubbish, a filing cabinet and the very sodden remains of some old paperwork. Danny helping out taking the rubbish to the skip.

Myself and Ross got to work removing all the old rusted screws and unbolting the roof end hoops.

Nick, Oliver and Dan removed the north west corner Oleo type buffer that had lost pressure and was stuck in. The bolt threads were cleaned and oiled before a replacement buffer from our stock was fitted in place. The south end of the wagon was fitted with a screw type coupling rather than the (correct for a Diagram 1/211 wagon) instanter coupling. Oliver helped Nick replace this with a correct instanter type coupling.

Dan helped Tom cleaning up the roof end hoops, then painting them in red-oxide primer. These were then stored away safe for when they are needed for the new roof sheet fitting.

Any remains of tattered roof sheet were removed and the above door noggins were unbolted, although most of the bolts were badly wasted causing them to snap off rather than unscrew.

The internal secondary protective ply panelling side sheets were removed; these will not be re-fitted as they serve little purpose for our use of the wagon as it will not be used for carrying palletised goods. The sheets will be saved for possible re-use elsewhere. The clalk-boards & brackets were removed; and as the rotten side sheets will be replaced, Ross was using the hammer and punch method of seized bolt removal.

Measurements were taken of the wagon in preparation for ordering the replacement roof sheet wood. As we still haven’t found a source for a like for like replacement of the full size sheet of 17’11” x 8’8″ we will do as we have successfully done on other vans, and use four 10′ x 5′ sheets of ¹/₂” plywood cut to width and jointed together with the strips of offcut material.

All the top faces of the roof metalwork were scraped and cleaned of any rust, then given a coat of red-oxide paint.

All twelve of the large door hinges on the Palvan were partially seized up making opening and closing the doors very difficult. Nick and Ross used the oxy-propane to loosen up the hinges after which they were oiled.

Futher detailed measurements were taken for the replacement side panel sheets; including a count-up of the number of new bolts required. Six sheets of ply from our stock were assessed as suitable to use for these replacement sheets and put aside ready for cutting, painting and fitting.

We also decided that we should re-start the work on getting Test Car 2’s generator up and running again. Ross took a look at removing the injectors, one of which was decidedly wet and discoloured compared to the other two. We intend to send these away for testing, and refurbishment as necessary.

Our shed has also suffered from the recent poor weather; a window frame and glass pane had become very loose. This was dealt with by fitting a sheet of ply.

Thanks for reading, join us again next week when we aim to continue the progress with Palvan B781908.

We’ll leave you with another pic of our two recently restored tanks A6090 and 3777 that we hope to see running during the up-coming Winter Steam Gala, all the best, Dave

On the run up to Christmas the team has been busy again with work on the two tank wagons, but we’ve also had to tidy up some damage caused by the high winds this week.

On Tuesday we progressed work on A6090. Whilst Ross and myself chalked and painted the west side Esso logos, Richard took the plunge and had a go at some signwriting too, making a superb job of the Tare and Wheelbase text on the east solebar and also the Tare on the west side. Nick attended to the vacuum hose and dummy end seals on 3777 and painted a few more of the hard to reach areas of the underframe.

Ross then applied the south tank-end number whilst I did the west side number and undercoated for the commuted charge symbol square and star.

I finished the day with the north tank-end number.

On Thursday Tom, Nick and Mark continued with the underframe painting on tank 3777.

Tom also took a look at the axleboxes on A6090, extracting any emulsified oil before replenishing with fresh oil.

During a visit to Quorn later in the morning the team were met with the aftermath of the strong winds. Palvan 781908 which we had cleared out in November ready to start restoration, was looking somewhat battered, the roof missing completely and disintegrated by the winds.

Saturday saw Nick, Ross, Richard and myself at Rothley with the signwriting brushes out again. Ross began with the large tank-side stars on the west side of 3777 whilst Richard applied the Wheelbase text to the west side of A6090.

I busied myself with the Esso Petroleum address text under the number on the west side of A6090.

A chalk line was used to mark the tank barrel centre-line on 3777; this was used to position the Esso Petroleum Company Limited large text template. Ross then traced the text to produce the chalk template on the tank barrel ready for painting.

Richard applied the corner numbers on A6090, whilst Nick applied another coat of yellow to the commuted charge symbol squares and stars.

I chalked out the templates for the Charles Roberts builders plate and the registration plate on the west side of A6090, then applied the paint.

Ross continued on 3777 making a start applying the tank-side lettering.

On Sunday Mark, Tom, Dan, Oliver , Ross, Nick and myself were on-site. Ross, Dan and myself continued with signwriting whilst the others went to Quorn to do some tidying up; also calling in at Swithland to check over and carry out Fitness to Run exams on the tank train.

Ross finished off the west tank-side lettering to 3777.

Dan also working on 3777, applied the east side Tare, Wheelbase & Load text followed by the west side Wheelbase text.

I applied the east side Builders and Registration plates to A6090.

Mark also went round with the black paint tiding up any last bits and I dealt with the final bit of signwriting on A6090, the commuted charge symbols.

Apart from a vacuum pipe leakage test and fitness to run exam, the restoration A6090 is now complete; the tank now very much smarter than it was when it arrived back in August. We’re looking forward to seeing this marshalled into the tank train in the New Year.

Thanks for reading our update, all that remains is for the Quorn Wagon & Wagon team to wish all our followers a very Merry Christmas, all the very best, Nick, Ross, Dave, Richard, Barry, Mark, Tom, Dan & Oliver.

We start September with Test Car 2 open again, this time supporting the Diesel Gala long weekend in some glorious sunshine at Quorn.

Unfortunately we didn’t have the demonstration wagon with the Test Car so no slip/coupling demos; however we still fitted the slip coupling and were able to show the special slip/brake flashing lights unit in action using the diesel brake tender further along the siding to simulate a ‘slipped’ test wagon.

Many thanks to the Type One Locomotive Company for their support this weekend with 1705; this was the first time that Test Car 2 has been coupled with a Class 47 in preservation. On Sunday Mark and Tom helped out welcoming visitors into the Class 47 cab.

In the 1980s a Class 47 was normal traction used to haul Test Car 2 during slip/brake testing; so we’ve been able to re-create (well nearly) the look of this 1987 test train.

Thanks to everyone (including a special visitor) who took the time to visit us in the Test Car and to listen to myself, Barry and Richard talking about how and why British Rail carried out testing of freight wagons.

And thank you to everyone who supported us by purchasing our new booklets, or by visiting our little stall.

In other news Andy & Harry have made a start on the east side of the GUV M94052, during the last week the bodyside has been scraped down and any bare metal treated with red oxide primer.

To end, here’s a few of our pics from the weekend. Join us again next week when we’ll be back to some wagon work, all the best, Dave

A great weekend for our team helping out with the Railways at Work Gala. Oh and a new arrival.

So first we have a new arrival to report, 20T Tank A6090 which was previously at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway. This tank has an interesting history; spending many years at the Railway Technical Centre in Derby as their internal user fuel tank, 024296.

No time was wasted getting stuck in to assessing the tank, removing some of the additional brackets and pipe; then checking the axleboxes, journals, bearings, oil and oil pads. A start was also made scraping some of the accumulated grime off.

The main focus this weekend has been the Railways at Work Gala, and I think the best way to sum up the weekend is in pictures, so here’s some of ours.

Thank you to everyone who came along this weekend and made it a special, very enjoyable Gala.

Join us again next week when we’ll return to the Pipe wagon. All the best, Dave

Despite the inclement weather continuing, we have had a busy weekend tidying & sorting the theatrical vans in preparation for the upcoming Railways at Work Gala, doing some housekeeping, attending to gutters and a sticky wagon door, progressed the Pipe wagon and we also managed a bit of work on tank 3777.

We’re very much looking forward to the Railways at Work Gala which this year will (amongst many other attractions) feature two Pick-up-Goods trains operating in and out of the yard at Quorn.

It’s therefore important that the we get the right goods in the right places before we start.

Thanks to Jack and Andrew (the phantom box juggler) for their help too.

At our Open Weekend in July, Kiki took part adorned with our friends’ West Hill Wagon Works logos; however in preparation for the Railways at Work event Kiki will receive a more appropriate livery. The first step was to carefully remove the temporary vinyl lettering and clean the paintwork. Kiki‘s new livery will be revealed at the Railways at Work Gala on the 19th August.

The heavy rain on Saturday highlighted to us that some of the gutters on Test Car 2 and the Mess coach had become clogged with muck and debris. These were cleared out allowing the rainwater to flow along the gutters rather than overflowing down the coach sides.

Sunday and the weather improved allowing us to work on the Pipe wagon B740654; after a couple of weeks for the planks to settle we tightened all the door bolts on the west side & south end, and trimmed a couple of slightly long ones.

A final bit of scraping of door furniture then we set about applying some red-oxide primer to the door furniture and stanchions.

Whilst checking the wagons in preparation for railways at work, we came across a very reluctant drop-side door on steel high ADB280364. The cause was a lipped top latch post which was dressed lightly with a grinder and some red-oxide paint applied. This will make the door much easier to open and shut during the loading/unloading demonstrations.

Following the removal of the air driven pump from Tank wagon 3777 last week, the remaining section of pipework was removed. The brackets on the underframe were ground off and red-oxide primer applied.

So despite the weather we’re a lot closer to being ready for Railways at Work Gala, and we’ve made some good progress on the Pipe and Tank.

A quick reminder that our new Pocket Stockbooks are available from the team, pop down and see us at the south end of Quorn & Woodhouse yard at the weekend.

120 Pages with colour pictures and details of all the Quorn Wagon & Wagon group’s rolling stock in a handy A6 pocket sized ring bound booklet.

The Stockbooks are also available from our friends at West Hill Wagon Works and on eBay here.

Lastly pop a date in your diary, 19th & 20th August for the GCRs 2023 Railways at Work Gala, full details are on the GCR WebPage here.

All the best, Dave