Tag: 3689

  • 31/5/26 – One more coat..

    31/5/26 – One more coat..

    Hello everyone and welcome to this weekend’s update from Quorn. As you could expect its been all go on the tank front, thanks to co-operative weather, with both tanks looking good in their black top coat.

    With just me holding down the fort on Saturday, it was down to me to get both tanks into top coat, spraying both barrels top to bottom and all underframe pockets. Nick and Charlie each had a go with the spray gun on the underframes.

    Charlie undertook a pad exam on both the Conflat and Lowfit with no issues found and also oiled all the brake rigging.

    We noticed that the pins in part of the brake rigging on 3854 were too long for their intended function, we set Ernie onto cutting them down and re-drilling the split pin hole. Nick and James refitted the pins once they’d all been cut down.

    Dave and I made a start on second coat on 3854, this time with Oliver assisting. Oliver has expressed an interest in learning how to spray paint, and we are only too happy to pass on the skills. After talking through the set up, Dave and Oliver took the reigns in applying the paint, as I got a bit distracted…

    To celebrate an upcoming birthday I put on a BBQ for the gang with plenty of food to go round. The team were well equipped to assist with the eating but also helped a lot with prep and the washing up!

    The rest of the gang set to work in the GUV, removing a woodworking machine and rearranging the paint cupboards to give some more room for storage. Dan also got the two repaired splash guards for 3689 painted up into undercoat, ready for a coat of gloss.

    Dave and Oliver ran out of time to get 3689 up into its second coat, so that’s what we’ll focus on next week. Join us then and see what else we get up to!

  • 25/05/26 – Two Grey Tanks

    25/05/26 – Two Grey Tanks

    Hello and welcome to a glorious bank holiday weekend update from Quorn. Two wagon restorations are finished and two tanks go grey.

    Saturday started with Dan finishing off signwriting the two builders plates on the Lowfit B452718, whilst Mark, Oliver, Tom and Nick applied a coat of varnish to the body of the Lowfit and also the Conflat B507489.

    Ernie and myself got the Esso Plate jig out and fitted the brackets for the east side of 3689 to the jig, which was then offered up to the tank barrel, checking the bracket positions before grinding each of them up as required.

    With the jig in place again each bracket was tack welded; the jig was then un-bolted and each bracket fully welded in place; Charlie and myself also having a go at the welding. Once cooled Oliver applied some red-oxide to the new brackets.

    Charlie did a bit of work on Edward’s frame and bodywork, however some further work is required to get him operational again to reliably provide a source of compressed air.

    The Test Car’s generator was run-up to warm it through, the throttle linkage was adjusted to get the generator running speed correct to give 50Hz output; then in accordance with the workshop manual the cylinder head nuts were re-torqued up whilst the engine was warm. This involved removing the rocker cover, rocker-shaft, injectors and various fuel pipes from the top of what was quite a hot engine.

    We decided to leave the re-assembly of the generator until it had cooled, so Sunday morning Ross and myself re-fitted the injectors, rocker shaft and fuel pipework, then re-checked the tappets, with only one needing very slight adjustment. The rocker cover was then re-fitted with a new gasket, new rubber top-nut seals and a smear of sealant.

    The fuel system was bled and it started up first time, and the Test Car’s compressor run up to check operation, and the air used to blow-down the two tank wagons 3854 and 3689.

    Having now got a reliable source of compressed air, the main focus for Sunday (on one of the hottest days of the year so far) was for Ross and myself to get ourselves wrapped up in protective overalls, masks, gloves etc and break out the paint spraying equipment. Some grey primer/undercoat was thinned, mixed and checked for consistency.

    After Nick had removed a few spiders webs and bird droppings, we then set about spraying the two Esso tanks 3854 and 3689, starting with the north ends and east side of both wagons.

    More paint was mixed as required and we moved round to the west side.

    Nick and Ernie followed behind us with brushed to attend to parts that we couldn’t easily reach with the spray-gun.

    By the end of a very warm day we had both the tanks looking very grey. The spray equipment was given a good clean out so it will be ready for when we need it to apply the black gloss top-coats.

    On Monday, Nick, Charlie and Ross brake tested the Conflat and Lowfit together using the little test rig before the mercury started to climb. Both passed with minor issues, one needing a brake adjust and the other requires a bit of lubrication.

    With the brake test complete, Nick got the undercoat back out and touched in more areas that myself and Ross couldn’t get to or missed.

    With the weather being so hot, not a lot else could be achieved with most of the team retiring to the shade for most of the afternoon. Next week, we shall hopefully be getting the gloss out and getting the two tanks into their black top coat. Join us then and see how we get on!

  • 17/05/26 – A little Perkins springs to life

    17/05/26 – A little Perkins springs to life

    Hello everyone and thanks for joining us for another update, there has been more progress on the two tanks and the Test Car has had its generator run up properly for the first time in 18 months.

    Mark, Oliver and Tom finished off painting the pockets on 3689 into undercoat, once we have a good air supply again (more on that later) and the brackets are welded to the west side of the tank we can get the whole barrel into undercoat.

    After taking delivery of some new (to us) machinery we’ve had a bit of a sort out in the GUV and put up some shelves and sorted some stuff off the benches onto the shelves.

    After Dave and I’s Monday reassembling the generator and being thwarted by a tiny little fitting for the rocker shaft oil feed, I ordered one, but it turned out being the wrong part. Ernie can to the rescue and soldered two brass fittings of the right size together which worked quite well! I got it reassembled and filled up with fluids and with a bit of help from Charlie, got the fuel system bled up. The little Perkins lump fired straight into life, which means we can use the compressor on the Test Car while we get round to sorting out big Edward. There will be a few last small things to sort on the generator, but nothing to stop it from being used.

    Dan carried on with the signwriting on the Lowfit, getting the container warning painted on the West Side. We’re very close to getting both the Lowfit and Conflat painted with a coat of varnish before releasing them both.

    That wraps up this week’s efforts at Quorn. We’re really thrilled to have got the generator up and running again and looking forward to use it to progress our projects again. Join us next week for some welding and maybe even some paint (if the weather allows)!

  • 04/05/26 – Floors floored and finally all in primer.

    04/05/26 – Floors floored and finally all in primer.

    Hello everyone and thanks for join us for another Quorn update. This week has been quite productive with two floors prepared, and the final prep work done on 3689.

    Firstly, thanks to the funds raised last weekend at the Diesel Gala, we’ve been able to pull the trigger on getting the parts for the generator in Test Car 2. The new cylinder head arrived with some new gaskets, and a new oil filter as while we’re in there we’ll give the engine another service. Dave prepared the area around the engine and stripped the studs required out of the old head ready to put in the new one. The injector studs were a tad stubborn, but were soon released with a bit of heat.

    Three boxes (one large wooden and two small cardboard) stacked on the floor into front of a grey painted cupboard
    Tidy working area either side of a Perkins diesel generator
    Dave's hand removing one of the rocker arm studs from the old cylinder head
    An old cylinder head sitting on the workbench in Test Car 2 surrounded by tools
    Ernie applying heat with a oxygen propane fuel flame gun to the old cylinder head to release the last few studs.
    The old cylinder head sat on a workbench with the removed studs sat next to it.

    Nick finished off the last panel of paint removal on the west side of 3689 after which the remaining bare metal area was painted in primer. While that was being done, Mark, Oliver and Tom focused on finishing the east side, leaving the end for Monday.

    Dan carried on with the Lowfit, adding the lettering concerning containers on the west side.

    The floor for the Conflat was also started, with Dave and Ernie cutting the rebates while Charlie and James marked them out. The cut ends were treated with preservative and eventually taken to the wagon to be drilled and fixed down. The two boards at either end needed cutting down their length to give room at the end of the wagon above the head stock such that we can easily monitor its condition in future.

    The floor for the Lowfit was also marked, cut and preserved, unfortunately a little family of Robins have made their home beside the north end drawhook so while the nest is active we won’t be fitting the floor.

    Tom, Oliver and Charlie stripped the remaining paint from 3689’s north barrel end and east side after which primer was applied. The tank now needs its plate lugs welding back on then it will join 3854 for a quick wash followed by the next stages of paintwork.

    The little diesel test rig is in use a bit more as a compressor while Edward (our 1970’s Hydrovane) is a bit poorly, so Charlie and I gave it a once over and a clean up. This is another reason for us to get the generator and the compressor working in the Test Car again to take the pressure off repairing Edward.

    Thanks for reading this week’s update, and again massive thanks to those that came to see us, purchased from our stall or donated last weekend. It has meant we can get the Test Car working again and not have to worry about trying to diagnose other faults instead of sorting out the wagons. We’ll be back again next week for another update, see you then! Cheers, Ross

  • 12/04/26 – Springs & Noggins

    12/04/26 – Springs & Noggins

    Hello and welcome to a bumper update from the team at Quorn. Over the last four weeks we’ve been busy re-springing two wagons, making floor hold-down noggins for the Lowfit, giving the Lowmac some TLC, and continuing with Esso tank wagon restoration work.

    Six new wagon springs were delivered to Rothley; four destined for the Palshoc van B855568; the remaining two were taken to Quorn for fitting to Esso Tank 3621.

    Ernie, Charlie and Nick fitted 3621s springs, and with this wagon’s restoration now complete, it was tripped to Swithland for marshalling into the tank train ready for the Goods Friday event.

    At Rothley Nick, Charlie and Oliver dealt with the four springs in-turn on Palshoc B855568. The wagon was then moved to settle the new springs and the buffer heights were checked.

    Nick, Mark, Ernie, Dan and Oliver applied some paint to the underframe, swan necks, lamp irons and handbrake levers on the Lowfit.

    Then continued with some needle gun work and red-oxide application on the underframe of tank 3689.

    Nick and Charlie turned their attention to the Lowmac wagon DE269001 that is needed for use by the P-Way team. The axleboxes and bearings were checked, oil levels topped up, oiled the brake rigging, a lamp iron replaced and an incorrectly fitted 3-link coupling replaced with a screw coupling which Ernie and Nick had spent some time freeing off and repairing.

    Ernie had previously measured up and done a drawing ready to help us manufacture some new floor hold-down noggins for Conflat B507489. Along with Oliver I set about selecting some well seasoned timber, extracting a few unwanted nails and marking out for cutting.

    Four pieces were cut to length then sliced to the correct width for the noggins. The rivet cut-outs were made then the mounting holes drilled.

    Each noggin was then checked for fit onto the wagon. These will be installed to hold the new floor down once we get the flooring wood.

    Further needle gunning was carried out on tank 3689, including some sanding, uncovering some of the east side solebar lettering; followed by some red oxide.

    And then some more red-oxide.

    The four Conflat noggins were given five coats of creosote / engine oil mix which was allowed to soak-in between each coat.

    Over the Easter weekend there was much tiding-up carried out over our whole work area, including the GUV. The interior of Test Car 2 was also tidied and the slip-end pipework re-assembled in readiness for our Diesel Gala opening at the end of the month. The guards area storage heater was sanded and given a first coat of white, and three new display boards were prepared and painted.

    Edward was treated to some new tyres that allowed him to be removed from the BEV stillage and put back onto his wheels, thus making him mobile .

    The BEV stillage was cleaned and de-greased then the bed repaired. This will make a very useful bench for welding projects.

    The spark guards from tank 3689 were cleaned up and checked, three of them will be suitable for re-use following some welding repairs, however the fourth will need to be replaced. Ernie and Nick made a start straightening, cutting out the rust and weld repairing.

    Another lamp repair was completed by Ernie including a coat of black gloss. And I made & fitted a brace bracket to the garage door chain-box in an attempt to stop the chain sprockets going out of line.

    A good start was made by Mark, Tom, Oliver, Dan and Charlie on the tank barrel paint removal from 3689. Approximately 1/4 of the tank barrel and one ladder being taken back to bare metal.

    Hector got a little embarrassed after suffering a puncture whilst on an errand down the yard; having to rely on a rather ignominious rescue by the Volvo. Following Ross’s inspection he found the inner tube of the front wheel had failed due to rubber rot!

    The Volvo came in useful again moving the bunded barrel pallet spill tank that we have been donated, to a safe place.

    We’ll leave you with a reminder that Test Car 2 will be open to visitors for the upcoming GCR Spring Diesel Gala 24 – 26 April.

    We still have the fantastic Great British Locomotives Models & Magazines Complete Collection for sale; forty one (41) OO Gauge Models with Magazines all in their unopened original packaging which is available as a rare complete collection.

    Please get in touch if you are interested, all proceeds will be used by the Quorn Wagon & Wagon group to directly assist with the continued restoration and maintenance of Test Car 2.

    Example Model & Magazine, GCR 506 Butler Henderson.

    Join us again soon for more Quorn Wagon & Wagon news, all the best, Dave

  • 15/03/26 – Getting ready for more…

    15/03/26 – Getting ready for more…

    Hello all and welcome to this week’s update from Quorn. We’re not getting ready for more wagons, just more progress! Both the Conflat and 3689 have recieved some attention, and we’ve also been finishing off some jobs that have been hanging around.

    Daniel spent some time on the Conflat, scraping and priming the kerb rail getting it close to be prepared for its floor, which is now on order.

    Dave got set up varnishing the two Esso plates in the Test Car, which are now ready for fitting to 3606, while he did this Charlie cleaned up the ash from last week’s fire.

    Ernie finished up the headlamp from the Rothley shunter, making a ring portion from a piece of copper and soldering a lens back in.

    Ernie’s soldering skills also came in handy to fix the compressor’s expansion tank which had suffered a slight blow out… Charlie removed the offending article and refitted it.

    Once repaired, Dave got the needle gun out and finished of the west side sole bar on 3689, which then got a coat of primer.

    Charlie fixed up the steps from the mess coach, which went rotten and got replaced with the steps from the Test Car. With us opening the Test Car up at the upcoming Diesel Gala, we are in need of another set. Once stood up, the steps were moved round to the access door and finally fettled for height and stability.

    Dave had an unwelcome visitor to the lovely varnished finished on the Esso plates, so ended up doing a small touch up.

    I tested a new toy to try and undo a buffer mounting bolt, which undid with ease despite the liberal coat of paint. The new impact gun was also used on the ladder bolts with were turned around to give more foot room on the rungs.

    Ernie did some welding on a small trailer rescued from the undergrowth and attempted to weld up some steel access steps, but they are too far gone to carry on fixing. Nick and I had to hold the welding screen due to the wind gusting.

    Mark and Dan carried on where Daniel left off on the Conflat, finishing the kerb rail and painting the tops of the solebars. Tom and Oliver hoovered and painted the pockets on 3689.

    In some of the inclement weather on Sunday, Dave and I finished off the diesel heater install but adding two more vents and some ducting to spread the heat around the seating area.

    Ernie took one of the side rails from the Conflat into the coach to measure up. Tom, Oliver, Mark and Dan primed inside the chassis on 3689, which only leaves the east side solebar to needlegun and prime for the chassis to be ready.

    In the dry spells of Sunday, Charlie mowed both the dock and the strip of grass between the mainline and our siding, with an appropriate look out.

    That’s where we wrap up this week. Both Dave and I are away for the next two weeks, so there will be no update from Quorn over that time. Do not fear though, we do have something going out in our usual slot so keep your eyes out for that.

  • 08/03/26 – First Coat of Bauxite

    08/03/26 – First Coat of Bauxite

    Hello and welcome to this week’s news from Quorn. The Lowfit gets a first coat of Bauxite; Conflat-A B507489 had some attention, Tank 3689 progresses, and the lettering is completed on 3606’s Esso plates.

    The area where the water tower top had been moved from last week was levelled and more track ‘biscuits’ and clips were recovered. Charlie managed the bonfire to deal with the pile of scrap timber tidied from the area.

    The east side label clip was removed from tank 3689 as this was mounted in the wrong place so would be foul of the builders plate, and also it was mounted on an smaller wood block that standard.

    We took a look at Conflat B507489, and the jack-rust that had bent up the end kerb rails. An air-chisel and needle guns were used to clear out as much of the rust as possible from under the bent up sections of angle. The largest sledge hammer was then employed to flatten down level the kerb rail at both ends.

    The inside and outside of the Lowfit’s four doors were treated to their first coat of Bauxite Gloss.

    The Red paint we had been using for the Esso plate lettering was previously not laying on evenly, not covering well and taking rather too long to dry; so after some searching we found some lettering Enamel of the correct colour. A test was done to check that the new paint would not react with the original, then Ross and myself applied the red lettering’s second coat to both of 3606’s Esso plates. The coverage was notably better and the paint had dried within a few hours. The next stage for these plates will be a coat of varnish.

    Ernie made a start on some lamp repairs to the Rothley shunter’s headlamp that lost it’s lens last week.

    Ross and myself then turned our attention to the west side solebar on Tank 3689; with needle guns out again about 3/4 of the solebar was cleaned up, and all the flaky paint removed back to bare metal, Ernie then followed applying some red-oxide primer.

    Nick touched up a few areas of the black gloss on the underframe of the Lowfit, and made a start on painting the inside of the kerb rails, again in black gloss.

    Whilst Ernie had the red-oxide primer out, he painted the inside of the vacuum cylinder piston he’d cleaned up last week.

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

  • 22/02/26 – Lowfit gets some Paint

    22/02/26 – Lowfit gets some Paint

    Hi and welcome to our weekly update from Quorn. The Lowfit has received some paint, work continues on tank 3689, and 3621’s signwriting is completed.

    Mark, Tom, Oliver, Dan and Daniel did some more needle gun work on the underframe of tank 3689.

    Dan did some needle gun work and red-oxide painting on a vac cylinder dome.

    Charlie did some tidying up in the garage and some vac cylinders were put into storage. Ernie did some more lamp repairs.

    Nick did some cleaning out of rust from under the tank supports on 3689. He also installed the new first aid equipment and notices in our Mess Coach booking-on point.

    Mark, Dan, Daniel and Oliver took advantage of the warmer/dryer weather and got stuck in to applying red-oxide primer to the majority of the Lowfit wagon.

    I finished off the last couple of bits of signwriting on tank 3621.

    Charlie fitted a couple of the heater vents to the seat box sides in the Mess Coach.

    I painted 3621’s Esso plate attachment bolts in red-oxide, and when dry applied the blue.

    Ernie and myself dropped the doors and end panels on the Lowfit, wire brushed and applied undercoat the the insides of the doors.

    We then raised the doors and made a start applying undercoat to the door sides and ends.

    That wraps things up for this week, I’ll leave you with a pic of Standard 2 78018 steaming past our Mess Coach on her last day in service before withdrawal for overhaul.

    Join us again soon; all the best, Dave

  • 15/02/26 – Plates ON

    15/02/26 – Plates ON

    Hello and welcome to this week’s news from the team at Quorn. Tank 3621 is getting closer to completion, there is progress on tank 3689 and we continue with vacuum cylinder repairs.

    Charlie, Dan, James and Oliver did some site tidying-up.

    Mark and Tom continued with the needle gun work on tank 3689’s underframe.

    Oliver and Dan helped Nick remove the spark guards from tank 3689, this will allow access the underframe areas below, and also to clean up and make any repairs to the spark guards.

    I applied the Commuted Charge Cc logo to both sides of 3621.

    Ernie continued with the vacuum cylinder weld repairs, with Ross helping pressure test each stage of work; the soap solution highlighting any small pinholes which were then dealt with.

    The heater was put-on for a while in Test Car 2, and the previously sign-written Esso logo plates were given a light key over the front surface. Ross and I then applied a coat of gloss varnish which was left to dry overnight.

    Dan cleaned up the first of the vacuum cylinders to have it’s repairs completed and tested. He then applied a coat of re-oxide primer.

    Ernie continued with the second vacuum cylinder, welding and low-pressure testing for leaks. The cylinder held the low-pressure for a couple of hours confirming successful completion of the repairs.

    The Empty/Load changeover symbol was applied to the east side of tank 3621.

    The weather wasn’t kind to us on Sunday, however in between the showers Ross & I managed to fit the two varnished Esso plates to 3621; whilst Ernie made a start on some lamp repairs.

    We set up the next two Esso plates in Test Car 2 and gave the surface a light key ready to receive their sign-written logos.
    These two plates will be fitted to tank 3606 once completed.

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

  • 08/02/26 – Clearing defects and cleaning vans

    08/02/26 – Clearing defects and cleaning vans

    Hello everyone and welcome to another update from Quorn. This week has been one of defect clearance, cleaning and finishing off vac cylinder repairs, including a new improved special tool! Its also been lovely to see the tank train running on Saturday for as part of the firing school. Okay, lets jump in to what we’ve done..

    First job was to fit a flip down stop board in the four foot of the dock road to protect the vehicles in the siding, and the people working on them.

    Ernie arrived with a new plate to use for pressure testing vacuum cylinder domes once they have been repaired. This also means we can test 18 inch domes as well. Thanks to Ernie for sorting this out. Between Ernie and myself we got the plate sorted and made two o rings to act as the seal between the plate and the dome.

    Ernie also worked on another tool used to push out the guide bush in the bottom of the vacuum cylinder.

    Charlie, James Oliver and Dan started tidying the area outside the coach beyond the dock as it was starting to look quite untidy and overgrown. Some equipment was re-sited and a lot of brush clearance was done.

    Mark, Tom, Oliver and Dan finished off washing the vans in the yard. Mark and Tom then moved over to needle gunning in the pockets of 3689.

    Nick and I cleared some of the defects noted against the vans when they have their Fitness to Run exams. A few handbrake rack bolts, underkeep bolts and a handbrake chain. With a bit of assistance we also change two buffers on B784409 on opposite corners.

    I had managed to get hold of some soda media in the week and finally had the opportunity to try out the soda blaster, firstly on a vacuum cylinder, but also on 3689. It made a bit of a mess, but thankfully its water soluble! We’ll keep experimenting on this to find out what its best to use it for.

    We pressure tested the latest cylinder and found a few further pin holes, however the new plate worked a treat!

    Thanks for reading, and join us next week to see what we get up to! Cheers, Ross