Category: Features

  • Insight 12/08/25 – Large Logo Application

    Insight 12/08/25 – Large Logo Application

    Hi all, we’ve had a few queries about how we go about applying the large logos or numbers to wagons such as the running numbers or Shell and BP logos on tank 1919; so here’s a brief insight of how we go about it.

    1 – No, we don’t use vinyl’s or stickers !….

    2 – we draw up templates on the computer (full size) then print them out full size; larger templates have to be printed in parts and pieced together to form the full size paper template.

    3 – Once ready, the template has chalk rubbed to the back, rubbing over with fingers to ensure even application, then shake off any excess. White chalk is used for a black background, and red or blue coloured chalk for lighter areas.

    4 – Where necessary the wagon is prepared, such as for multi-colour logos where the background area is undercoated and the base colour applied.

    5 – The template is then positioned onto the wagon and taped to hold it in position and ensure it’s flat to the surface.

    6 – A pencil is then used to carefully trace around the outline of the logo or numbering

    7 – The template is then removed to reveal an chalked outline of the numbering or logo on the wagon. It may be easy to see on the black, but not so clear on the yellow background !

    8 – It’s then time to get out the paint and brushes. Normally starting at the lower left corner so as to reduce the risk of resting the mahl stick in any wet paint. The chalk outline is used as a guide for painting the numbers or logo.

    9 – For the larger logos the outlines are painted first using a signwriting brush, then the main areas painted with a larger brush.

    10 – The completed logos are left to dry thoroughly, then a coat of varnish is applied to help them last a bit longer and deter fading.

    Thanks for reading, all the best from the Quorn Wagon & Wagon team.

  • 02/02/24 – Finally, a blow through!

    02/02/24 – Finally, a blow through!

    Hello everyone and welcome to another update from Quorn. This week we’ve finished fabricating a through pipe for one of the two TTA tanks, plus we’ve made more progress on painting the GUV.

    Dave and Ernie made a start making the set piece of pipe for the south end, first trying a recovered piece of pipe with a set, but then found that two 45degree elbows would work. With the set pipe made, it was onto cutting a section of straight pipe to fix to the centre section. Plenty of threading action for the three of us!

    Nick, Charlie and James tidied up the bit of yard behind the signal box, and also adjusted the door to the grounded fish van. Dave drilled one of the trollies to mount a large vice as some of the piped were too short to hold and thread in the pipe vice.

    The straight piece of pipe over the south axle was measured, cut then fitted. Even Charlie had a go on the pipe threader…

    Nick started on Sunday painting the south end of the GUV into black gloss, as befitting a brush painted carriage. Ernie and I started to fabricate the last section of pipe, a straight section across the front of the air brake equipment.

    Mark and Oliver took over the black gloss, while Tom worked on the north end of the GUV and primed the metal work. Dan started work on tidying the A type Container, applying primer and scraping the side.

    Nick and Ernie started adjusting some dummy brackets to fit to the now through piped tank, one required a bit of heating, straightening and re-twisting. While they did that, I measured up to alter a pipe bracket for the tank.

    That about wraps up this weekend’s activities on TTA number one, unfortunately we’ll have to repeat it all again on TTA number two. On the plus side, we’ll be well practiced at pipe work! Join us next week to see what we’ve got up to. Thanks for reading.

  • 26/01/25 – Winter Gala Pipe Wrangling

    26/01/25 – Winter Gala Pipe Wrangling

    Hello everyone, and welcome to the update from the Winter Gala. We’ve been progressing in our little yard while watching the freights whizz up and down the line.

    The team set up a handrail and platform at the north end of the GUV to continue the repaint. After this was ready, Mark and Oliver started to undercoat the south end of the GUV.

    Ernie, Dan and I carried on with the through pipe on the TTA, finding a helpfully shaped bit of pipe to sort out the north end of the pipe run. It required a bit of fettling and trimming to suit.

    Mark and Oliver continued with the temporary north end scaffold, adding a rope barrier and a shelf to sit their paint bucket on. They then used the temporary scaffold to scrape and prime the wood on the north end of the GUV, but rain stopped play for any other painting just after lunch on Sunday.

    Ernie, Dave and I measured up to alter the pipework bracket, cutting bending and then welding up the bracket. Dave altered the bracket for the headstock with Nick and Ernie unbending then re-bending an existing bracket to make it suit.

    Nick and Charlie started stripping down the other pipework to make them less of a trip hazard and to ready them for use on either the other TTA or for the TEA.

    The pipe was set back underneath in its new brackets and measured against the next piece along. both was cut to suit and threaded for the two pieces to be married together.

    In the fading light the pipe was hung back underneath ready for the next bit to be measure for and made, but that’s a job for next week! This leaves two pipe lengths still measure, cut then bend. Oh and then we’ll have to repeat it all again for the second tank! Join us then and see how we get on.

  • 19/01/2025 – Tank Pipes

    19/01/2025 – Tank Pipes

    Hello and welcome to another cold weekend update from Quorn. We have reassembled a vacuum cylinder and started manufacturing the vacuum piping for the two TTA Tanks.

    On Saturday morning The Class 50 arrived to collect the van train from the yard in preparation for next weeks Winter Steam Gala.

    Ross fitted a replacement coil pack to the small petrol generator which was then successfully started up. This will be a useful addition to provide power for small tools etc. when we are working away from a mains supply in the yard for example.

    Ross and Ernie then got started selecting suitable pieces of vacuum pipe and modifying lengths and elbow joints to produce the main stepped section of pipe for the first TTA, some heat was necessary to release old joints; the pipe was trimmed to length and new threaded sections cut before assembling.

    The stepped pipe section was trial fitted to TTA 60874 along with the swan neck hose adaptor on the headstock.

    On the vacuum cylinder that had been started a couple of weeks ago, the release valve mounting threads were cleaned up using a die-nut. The piston rod gland was removed, studs cleaned to and the seal replaced with a new one.

    The cylinder was then re-assembled, firstly fitting the piston adaptor that allows a piston rod to be fitted from the top to aid lifting it into place. The rolling was carefully fitted to the upper edge of the piston then the piston was lowered into the cylinder, with a little jiggling to get it to go down evenly.

    The dome was then re-fitted with a new sealing ring and the securing nuts torqued up.

    A transport screw was fitted to the vac cylinder to keep the piston in place preventing damage to the rolling ring, this allowed the cylinder to be turned as necessary for scraping and wire brushing. It was then cleaned before being given a coat of Red Oxide primer.

    A second stepped vacuum pipe section was prepared for 60879.

    Sunday was very much a tidying up day, although some progress was made with cleaning up the final areas of the south end of the GUV, then applying Red Oxide primer to the metal parts.

    The inside of the Mess Coach and GUV were both given a good tidy up along with sorting out the taps and dies that had been recently donated.

    Once the Red Oxide had dried on the end of the GUV the wood areas were treated with wood primer.

    The two TTAs had their vacuum pipes removed when in main line service many years ago; along with the pipes some of the multi pipe brackets were cut back. It was therefore necessary to remove these brackets to allow us to make and re-fit the missing sections that will hold the new vacuum pipe. Some bolts un-did easily whilst others needed the grinder treatment.

    Using a piece of scrap plate of the right thickness, sections were cut, dressed and bent to form the vacuum pipe part for each bracket. These will subsequently be welded to the existing brackets at a later date.

    https://tickets.gcrailway.co.uk/events/91505That wraps up another cold but busy weekend for us; thanks for reading, join us again next week when the GCR will be running the Winter Steam Gala.

    More info here :- Winter Steam Gala 2025

  • 12/01/25 – A very cold weekend!

    12/01/25 – A very cold weekend!

    Hello everyone, and welcome to another weekend update from Quorn. Saturday was a bit of a cold one, with the below 0 temperatures precluding any meaningful external work, though I did design a part for the cut off saw to accept the commercially available abrasive wheels. We laid some more carpet inside the cage area of the mess coach. At least the tank train looked very picturesque in the Down Lie-by!

    With my newly designed and 3d printed parts, I got the cut off saw working and ready to work. Dan and I used it to prepare some of the pipework found last week, cutting away the flame cut ends to square up them up.

    Mark, Tom and Nick did some more work on the south end of the GUV, re-fixing some of the hinge strapping back to the doors, and scrapping the iron and woodwork.

    Danny was uncovered and started for the first time this year to take some items to the vans in the yard. His sheet was unfolded and measured and found to be suitable for a van roof, so this was stripped of components and folded for storage.

    Lastly, we also assembled some pallet racking in the fish van to increase storage space.

    Thanks for reading, and join us next week where we should be starting to fit vacuum pipework to the TTAs.

  • 05/01/25 – Cool Tanks

    05/01/25 – Cool Tanks

    Hello and welcome to our first update for 2025. We have been painting the GUV when the weather has allowed, assessing parts for the tank wagon vacuum piping, and doing some housekeeping.

    Mark, Tom, Dan and Oliver took the opportunity of the good weather on New Years Eve to get the West side of the GUV painted in gloss. They also started work on the south end doors.

    On Saturday Nick, Ernie, Charlie and myself made a start collecting together and assessing what pipework we have that could be used for the vacuum through piping of the three tank wagons. The pipe route on the two TTA wagons is relatively straightforward as these two wagons were vac through pipe fitted when new. Some of the brackets still remain too.

    The TEA however has never had a vacuum pipe so sorting the best route and where to fit suitable mounting brackets is a little more complex.

    On Sunday Mark, Tom, Dan and Oliver continued with the housekeeping including erecting some much needed storage shelving in the Fish Van.

    It was great to see the tanks running throughout the weekend that were being operated as part of staff training exercises.

    Thanks for reading, join us again next week, best regards, Dave

  • 31/12/2024 – Happy New Year

    31/12/2024 – Happy New Year

    Thank you to everyone who has supported us throughout 2024; we’ve enjoyed the busy year and are very much looking forward to getting stuck in to some new projects during 2025.

    Here’s our end of year roundup in pictures.

    Happy New Year from the team at Quorn Wagon & Wagon

  • 29/12/2024 – Vans and Vac Cylinders

    29/12/2024 – Vans and Vac Cylinders

    Over the festive period we have made good progress with four box van roofs, salvaged some of the Lowfit’s rotten floor and made a start on the restoration of a vacuum brake cylinder.

    23rd Dec – At Rothley, Nick, Ross, Mark and Tom stripped the roofs from B777171, B780282 and B779978. New roof sheets were opened out and rolled up to be lifted on to the roof of each van. Dan, Oliver and Charlie cleaning the sheets and tidying up. By the end of the day, each van was sat with a sheet resting on its roof.

    24th Dec – Nick, Ross, Mark and Tom fixed down the roof sheet at each end and along the sides of B777171. The top door frame was refitted to both sides and the roof sheet fully fitted and finished. The roof coverings of P18422 were removed down to the bare wood. Oliver and Charlie assisting tiding up the old roof coverings then cleaning and painting the roof hoops.

    27th Dec – The roof was prepared on P18422, the sheet laid out and lifted onto the van for rolling out. The roof hoops were fixed on B779978 & B780282, and both sides fixed down aside from around the door frames due to rotten door top frames.

    28th Dec – Nick, Ross, Ernie, Charlie and myself returned to Quorn to look at options for replacing the four rotten top door frame noggins. The floor of the recently arrived Lowfit wagon was assessed and will need to be replaced. The majority of the planks were found to be rotten however there were a few that could be salvaged. They are by coincidence big enough to be made into replacement noggins for the box vans. We therefore set about removing the re-usable planks.

    Whilst myself and Ross were busy with the planks, Nick, Charlie and Ernie continued the work on the 21″ vacuum cylinder spares. Despite having enough parts for three cylinders, the corrosion damage on two of the cylinder bores means that these will need machining before they can be used again.

    Ernie finished off drilling the split pin hole in a new door hinge pin that he had made to replace a missing one on the Lowfit. The new pin was then fitted to the wagon.

    Ross and myself selected the best of the four rotten door frame noggins from the vans at Rothley. In the warmth of the Mess coach there was much head scratching and careful measuring up of what was a somewhat incomplete noggin. We were eventually able to complete a drawing that will enable the manufacture of some replacement noggins.

    29th Dec – Nick continued with painting up the one usable vacuum cylinder whilst I cleaned up the threads of the dome studs with a die-nut.

    Ross and myself took a look at the first of three floor planks from the Lowfit that had been left inside overnight to dry out a bit. Slicing in stages to assess the integrity of the wood in the middle of the plank, we were able to cut good wood of the correct size for one replacement noggin.

    The next stage, using our drawing, was to start marking out the positions for the eight mounting holes, which were then drilled.

    Thanks for reading, join us again soon for an end of year round-up looking back at what we have achieved over the last 12 months.

  • 22/12/24 – New projects…

    22/12/24 – New projects…

    Hello, and welcome to another update from Quorn. Now that the Catfish have departed Quorn destined for the Mixed Freight set, we’ve received the two TTAs, and the TEA has been brought down from the top of the yard. We’ll be looking at vacuum through piping these over the coming weeks and months. We’ve also been preparing for a short spell at Rothley to give the roofs of four of the vans some attention.

    First off, the team set about locating our 21″ vacuum cylinder spares, which were spread across a few locations. During this, the yard area was tidied up to release a complete (but not very well cylinder) from inside the Volvo’s bucket.

    This cylinder was removed from 3711 when it arrived, for obvious reasons. Now we are restoring a handful of engineer’s vehicles, which usually all have a 21″ cylinder, we felt that we’d need to check the condition of all available parts, which includes that cylinder…

    With a lot of brute force and occasional ignorance but without heat (surprisingly), the cylinder was dismantled. It remains to be seen if this cylinder will resurrect, but we can only try. Plus it gives us a chance to try soda blasting it!

    Dave removed the cylinder head from the de greaser and gave it a rinse off with the pressure washer. This was left to dry out in the heated mess coach. We’ll begin to assess the rest of the parts as time and other projects allow.

    As the light was falling, Dave and I took a brief look at the through pipe route for the three green tanks, the two TTAs having a well defined route in a bit of a contrast to the TEA.

    All that leaves us to say is Merry Christmas from us. We’ll have another update for you before the New Year with a bit of a wrap up and to cover what we’ve done over the Christmas and New Year period, do join us then!

  • 15/12/24 – A Lowfit at last!

    15/12/24 – A Lowfit at last!

    Hello all and welcome to this week’s update; after many years waiting we finally welcome the arrival of our Lowfit wagon into the fleet.

    Lowfit B452718 was built at Shildon in 1957 in Lot No.2729, to Diagram 1/002.
    It was last used on the main network at Basingstoke as an internal user wagon numbered 083473 and entered preservation in 2007 at the Mid Hants Railway.  The wagon arrived at Quorn during the week loaded with a D-type open container that had been constructed during preservation. Although the floor of the container looked quite rotten in places, our initial thoughts were to try and lift the container off the wagon in readiness for some necessary underframe and floor repairs.

    The Volvo was positioned and we attached some straps to the lifting eyes; gently raising the forks however pulled two of the lifting eyes straight out of the framework; it was somewhat more rotten than we had realised.

    So onto plan B; we decided to dismantle the container in situ on the wagon. Whilst the floor and side framework was rotten and not saveable, the side panels, corner framework and doors were quite solid. With most of the team on-site on Saturday things happened quite quickly, the doors were removed, end panels unbolted from the sides and the parts lifted from the wagon onto the Volvo forks for moving to storage.

    The remainder of the rotten framework was swept off the wagon and disposed of with the help of Hector and his trailer.

    The south east corner door frame of the Lowfit, catch pin and loop had taken a bash at some point in its life.  Ernie got out the gas bottles and heated up the bent loop which was straightened with Nick’s favourite item from his toolbox. Once cooled the area was treated with re-oxide primer.

    With most of the team on-site Mark treated us to some fabulous turkey & duck Christmas baguettes for lunch, thanks Mark and the chefs helpers.

    Further progress was also made on Test Car 2s generator; Ross and myself drained the coolant out of the engine, removed the rocker shaft, the cylinder head, and finally got to the bottom of the poor starting and lumpy running. The cylinder head gasket had totally failed between cylinders 1 and 2.

    The cylinder head studs were removed from the block and surfaces cleaned, cylinder bores cleaned & hoovered out, checked for condition and the engine set to No.1  piston at TDC.

    On Sunday myself and Ross dismantled the cylinder head removing the cam followers and valves; the large pillar drill made an excellent valve spring compressor.

    The cylinder head was then soaked in a bath of warm degreaser solution and as much of the gunk removed as possible. Further cleaning up is planned for next week.

    The repaired corner on the Lowfit was given a coat of gloss Bauxite.

    The two Catfish wagons are planned to leave Quorn next week, in readiness we completed a vacuum brake test on both wagons, finding a slightly suspect vacuum cylinder branch pipe on DB983393 which was duly replaced.

    Thanks for reading, join us again next week, all the best, Dave