Category: Updates

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.

Hello, and welcome to another Quorn wagon update. This week we’ve been starting a few smaller projects to tide us over until the next wagon arrives. We’ve got some during the week news to cover before I get to the weekend.

During the week, using the wheelset Nick took to Rothley on the lorry, the C&W team swapped the failed wheelst on the Coal Hopper, B425356. I’ll cover more work on this wagon later on.

Dave started the weekend with a touch of signwriting, finishing off the dock side of the tool van.

Nick and I relocated our other sign from our shed to the signposts next to the turntable. Charlie then painted the uncovered brown wood on the shed in black paint so this then matched the rest of the shed.

I then got stuck into a fact finding mission in the mess coach, ADB977107. For as long as we’ve been based at Quorn, we’ve used water carriers for our water. We’re now looking at re-commisioning part of the water system to be able to have a hand wash basin and the kitchen tap to be able to be used for cold water only. I started by removing some ceiling panels down the corridor and outside the toilets to have a look at what was already there.

Nick and Charlie went off to Rothley with the black paint to paint the replacement axleboxes and part of the Coal Hopper. Dave came to assist me in the coach, we found a long length of rubber hose used as a balance pipe between the first class water tank and the tank at the other end of the coach. This is a feature not normally found on Mk1s, and is a part of its converison to a mess coach. This got cut at a convenient point and bunged as it was found that the north end tank is unserviceable. While above the ceiling I also tidied a few loose lighting cables.

Sunday saw Nick go off to Rothley again to paint the yellow bearing end caps on the Coal Hopper axles. This now makes the vehicle fit to go back into traffic, having now passed its annual exam.

Armed with supplies from Screwfix, I stayed at Quorn to start some plumbing in the coach. Starting at the south end toilet, I plumbed up the cold water tap removing any redundant pipework, and adding a freeze drain to prevent any damage in the winter.

I then made a start on the kitchen sink pipe run, but had to stop short of connecting this up as we plan to put in a UV Sterilizer. Again, this has a freeze drain off point as well.

Mark, Dan and Nick finished their day by scraping some of the leftover spoil from the nook and crannies of the Grampus wagons.

Thanks for reading, we’ll be back again next week for more of the same, although hopefully the Pipe wagon will come in. See you then!

Hello, this week the team have attended to a ShocVan roof.

Firstly though some mid-week news; Ross and myself took a trip up to see the Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society. Paul Beardsley had visited us last year in Test Car 2, and subsequently invited us to talk to them at one of their monthly presentation sessions. On Thursday after they had shown us around the Roundhouse and sidings, we spent a very enjoyable evening talking to a group of 25 society members about our wagon restoration work at Quorn and also Test Car 2.

With the sunshine over the weekend we took a look at the roof of Shocvan B852838. This van had been restored in 2017 and after 6 years service we noticed that the roofing felt sheets had started to crack and shrink at the joints and roof hoops causing concern that it’s not as water tight as we’d like it to be for storing our re-enactment parcels in.

The old roof covering was removed, carefully extracting it from where it had been stapled to the roof edge laths.

The roof end hoops were removed. Thomas and Dan got to work cleaning them up and painting them with primer.

Some of the roof edge bolts had pulled through the plywood; the nuts were seized therefore these were cut off. Replacement bolts were fitted with penny washers to hold the roof sheet down.

Some of the roof edge laths had rotted and split. We cut new pieces to size and fitted these; G-clamping them in place before securing.

We decided to again use our tried and tested method of roof covering with an old tarpaulin cover sheet. The roof was lightly scraped and cleaned before the cover sheet was dragged over into position.

Once the sheet had been smoothed out, which was made a bit easier with some sunshine to warm it; the roof end hoops were re-fitted with sealant along the edges.

The edges of the sheet were pulled tight and stapled to the underside of the new laths paying special attention to the length above the doors. An extra flap was left to provide a water run-off above the doors.

All the edges of the sheet were then trimmed.

Nick had also taken delivery during the week of a replacement (second hand) wheelset which is destined to go under our coal hopper B425356 which is currently out of traffic due to thin flanges.

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

Hello everyone, and welcome to our 2nd Bank Holiday update. In this 3 day weekend, we’ve been maintaining the van train in between the showers. During the week, Nick went to Coalville to pick up some donations to go into the theatrical vans.

Dave started Saturday by completing the signwriting on the Plate, taking care of the final D plate. Now this wagon is finished we’re looking at what will be next, which is likely to be the Pipe wagon.

The team of Nick, Mark, Tom, Oliver and Dan started sorting out some ladders for each van in the train while also locating the roof sheet required for B852838 which we’ve decided is the next to get a next roff covering. It was found while doing this that door of the doors were stiff to open, so they went along the train oiling the door hinges and mechanisms to ensure that the doors don’t seize up.

Having finished the Plate, Dave assisted with the sorting, but also fitted a door pull handle to an sticky internal swing door in the Yellow Coach.

Nick and I were on site on Sunday, and we put up the scaffold towers to look at the failed roof covering on P18422. It was noticed when the Test Car was last open that the roof felt had opened up. We had some roofing felt in-store, despite preferring sheets these days. We stuck the flap back down with felt adhesive, then overlayed 3 panels of roof felt with copious amount of adhesive to stick the panels down, and then to seal the joins. Pictures show the before and after taken from the scaffold tower.

After the roof was done and the adhesive setting, we looked at some lose body planking and a trim strip on the end of the east side siding door.

Mark and Dan joined Nick and I today, but due to the weather this ended up being a sorting and tidying day. I did manage to investigate Kiki’s wobbly tiller. I think a nylon bush is required to take out any play, so will have to measure up for this. Nick and I took Danny for a skip trip to end the day.

That’s the end of activities this week. Next week, weather dependent, we’ll be looking at the roof on B852838, wish us luck with the weather! Thanks for reading.

Hello and welcome to the first May Bank Holiday update from us! This week, we’ve been fixing some arising work on the Dogfish, which was picked up after their annual exams.

On Saturday, the team started by identifying 5 spare buffers from our stash to replace those identified as failed on the wagons. Nick, Mark and I worked on the buffers, using the oxy/propane to heat the nuts up prior to removal.

Thomas, Dan and Tom started the process of oiling the wagons, starting with the doors, their oil pots and then moving onto the oiling the brake rigging and handbrake mechanisms. Their size was an advantage here!

While the hot spanner was out, we also tightened up some brake safety loops the had become loose.

Thomas, Nick, David and I were on site on Sunday, and I started with a bit of signwriting!

The south end of DB986166 was reported as having no brake safety loops. Nick, David and Thomas found some and fitted them to the wagon to make this complete.

Having finished the D plate I was signwriting, I started to take a look at the Generator again, draining some of the fuel tank to check the contents, and replacing the engine fuel filter and bleeding the fuel system up to the injector pump. I also replaced the rocker cover gasket.

Monday was more work on the Dogfish, taking a closer look at some of the stiffer doors and further oiling them up as best as access permisses. Oh to have a pit! Thankfully some of the doors freed off an amount which should help when they come to be used in the near future.

I think that covers this weekend. 5 buffers have been changed, 21 doors have been maintained, one D plate painted and 3 safety loops fitted. 5 of the Dogfish have now re-entered traffic to jon DB993412, with the 6th one awaiting replacement wheelsets. Next week, weather dependent we’ll be looking at some box van roofs, and there is still one D plate to signwrite. Thanks for reading!

A diesel themed weekend for the team, we’ve welcomed visitors into Test Car 2 during the Spring Diesel Gala, and started investigating the problems with the Test Cars’ generator.

During the week we opened Test Car 2 as part of a University group visit to the railway. Ross, Richard and myself providing engineering students with insight into the groups work, the Test Car and railway wagons.

On Saturday the Test Car was readied again to greet visitors to the Spring Diesel Gala.

It’s been great to see so many interested visitors in the Test Car which also provided a great viewing area to see the varied traction in operation this Spring Diesel Gala.
The star of the show being the unique visiting Clayton, Class 17 D8568.

Whilst I was busy entertaining visitors in Test Car 2, Ross and Nick fitted and painted a replacement tiller to BEV Tug 9804 ( also known as Kiki ). Those of you who are old enough to remember late ’60s kids TV may recognise the connection between our Electric Tug’s names; Hector, ZsaZsa and Kiki.

Ross also took a look at the filters on Test Car 2. We think the diesel tank may need to be cleaned out, and the fuel system given a good flush through.

Sunday brought a few showers through the day, however we again welcomed a good number of visitors into the Test Car, with Richard and Ross helping out providing an insight into the Test Cars’ history and wagon testing.

Over the weekend we’ve also had our model slip/brake test train on display.

The OO Gauge model of Test Car 2 has been superbly made by Kev Nolan who has very kindly donated it for us to display and help us explain the slip/brake test process to visitors.

The other models making up the typical slip/brake test train are on loan from our friends at West Hill Wagon Works.

Throughout the weekend Hector has been keeping a tight reign on his train of restored Brute trolleys.

Join us again next week when we will hopefully return to some wagon work; all the best, Dave

Hello everyone and welcome to another update from Quorn! This week has been has seen the signwriting on the Plate wagon ,E212315, nearly finished and the 2 TTAs, 1802 and 1919, got washed and an initial survey of the vacuum pipe routing.

As we are opening Test Car 2 up for both a visit in the week and at the Diesel Gala, Dave spent the day freshening up the interior, making it ready for visitors. The flies that have made TC2 home over the winter have also been evicted!

Nick started by picking out the white details on the plate wagon, these being the handbrake ends and vacuum pipe swan necks. He then joined Mark, Oliver, Dan and I in washing the 2 TTA wagons.

Dave, now finished in the Test Car, continued the signwriting on the Plate, writing the tare weight on the east side and chalking out the wheelbase on the solebar for me.

As menitioned previously, I was in the main yard with Mark, Dan and Oliver washing the tanks. These look a bit better having had judicious application of Traffic Film Remover, agitation with a brush and being rinsed with the pressure washer. There is still a fair amount of bedded in brake dust to remove, so suggestions welcome for that!

It was just Nick and I onsite on Sunday, so I first spent some time on the Plate, signwriting the wheelbase which Dave had kindly chalked for me. Nick used the time to talk Rothley’s BEV back to the shed.

I also took a look at the air outlet on the Hydrovane. After the needle guns had become full of condensation, I have put a water trap between the outlet and the hose connection to better control this.

Thanks for reading. We’ll have the Test Car open on both Saturday and Sunday next week, so do pop down and see us if you are visiting!

Hello and welcome to an Easter holidays update from the team at Quorn.

The big news this week is that our two ex.VTG, 1966 built TTA tank wagons have finally arrived from Gascoigne Wood (near Selby). The first to be delivered was 60879 (original number 1919) on the 3rd April, the second 60874 (original number 1802) arrived late on the 3rd and was unloaded on the 4th April 2023.

A total of thirteen wagons have been saved from the last batch of twenty-two, 4-wheeled tank wagons to operate on the mainline network. These two and another 11 which have been saved by the National Wagon Preservation Group at the Dean Forest Railway. They were latterly used for aviation fuel transportation between Grangemouth and Prestwick Airport.

We plan to restore both the tanks into a 1960s period livery; 1919 will be used by the GCR as an additional water carrier tank, whilst 1802 will be restored for inclusion into the tank train.

Making the most of a couple of days of sunshine during the week, the undercoat was applied to the plate wagon E212315.

On Good Friday, Nick, Mark, myself, Dan and Oli were on site and we got to work with the gloss Bauxite paint on the plate wagon.

By the mid-afternoon the plate wagon was looking much smarter.

Dan and Oliver helped me with our first good inspection of the new arrivals; our Vehicle Condition Survey forms were completed for each tank wagon. Overall they are in very good order with only minor work being required to make them operational.

On Saturday with just Nick and myself on site a few areas on the underframe were attended to in preparation for paint, including some stubborn rusting where the label clip block had rotted away. The air line was used to clean down any debris.

As the sun came out and things began to warm up, I made a start on giving the plate back its identity. The previously prepared templates were chalked and aligned on the wagon side doors; the numbering was then outlined to give a neat chalk template for signwriting.

The running number, load capacity, tare weight and wagon name were then applied to both sides.

On Sunday Nick, Mark and Dan continued with work on the plate; the non-original steps on the west side that were added for its crane jib runner duties by BR, were removed. The east side ones having been removed prior to preservation. The east side label clip and block were replaced.

Next it was out with black container paint and brushes to tackle the west side of the underframe.

Both headstocks were also painted.

Despite the typically wet start to the bank holiday Monday weather Nick, Mark, Dan, Oliver and Tom managed to complete the painting of the east side underframe.

At the end of the Easter weekend we have a very respectable looking plate wagon E212315.
The last few bits of signwriting on the underframe and detail painting are on the agenda for next weekend.

Join us again next week; all the best, Dave

Welcome to April’s first update from Quorn. Time for a bit of a tidy-up, but we couldn’t resist continuing with work on the bare plate wagon E212315. It was also great to see trains running past us at Quorn again after completion of the bridge repairs.

Danny was called upon to help with the tidying up trips to the skip.

Seeing as the Hydrovane compressor trailer had been so useful last week, we decided to extract it from it’s long-time resting place on the dock to make it more accessible for use.

The dock space was cleared of some foliage and the old floor planks from the Plate wagon were used to make a bed to allow us to tidy up the spare van body sections.

The Hydrovane compressor has found a new mobile home being secured onto the back of the pick-up.

We then got stuck into needle gunning the remaining areas of the Plate E212315

A start was made measuring up and working out what lettering and numbering templates will be required for the signwriting once the Plate is painted.

We continued on Sunday with the final preparations of the plate E212315 ready for painting.
Door tops and bottoms had any paint removed.

Door and body-end inside faces were scraped.

The needle guns were used to remove any last bits of stubborn paint around the door hinges and buffers.

One of the door centre stanchions was noted to be a little stiff so this was freed off.

The whole wagon was then swept and any remaining dust and paint debris blown off with compressed air.

With paint brushes in-hand and paint kettles charged we set too with the Primer.

Well, we did say we would be painting a ‘plate’ today!

Back to the wagon and the painting continued.

By the end of the afternoon the doors, kerb rails and body ends were all in primer.

Thanks for reading, join us again on the 10th April for the Easter weekend update.