Tag: TPO

  • 06/10/19 – Autumn Gala

    Welcome to another update from us lot at Quorn.  This weekend has been the Autumn Steam Gala, which means Travelling Post Office demonstrations.  Most of us are TPO crew, so have been busy running the TPO train.  The van train has also been running at the gala, at the full strength of 16 which is the longest it has been for many years.  Progress however, hasn’t stopped for the weekend.

    New recruits, Eddie and Harry continued work with Nick on the Conflats.  The rails, fitted to B505313 last week, have been cleaned down and primed.  On Sunday, these were painted in black bitumen paint.  The decks of the Conflats have been swept down, hoovered and painted in the first coat of wood preserver.

    Meanwhile, the foundations have been laid for the start of the Quorn Wagon and Wagon Travelling Post Office Display team.  I have taken another bike in storage out of the GUV and resurrected it.  Matt blew up the tyres and I too it for a test ride.  Whilst at Loughborough to get the TPO, Nick and I liberated the frame of another GPO delivery bike.  It is intended to build this back up to increase our number of bikes from 2 to 3. Matt is able to borrow the bike from the station, and I have the resurrected one.

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    Image courtesy of Jack Shaw

    On Saturday evening, we had a visit from Jason Cross asking if he could test some new acquisitions which can be used at photo charters. Test Car 2 was used as a test subject to try the new lights. Thanks to Jason for the use of the pictures, they look fantastic!

    Thanks for reading this short update, there will be more progress made next week. Why don’t you join us then!

  • 08/09/19 – Test Car on display

    08/09/19 – Test Car on display

    Here we are, Diesel Gala and Test Car 2 is on display for the public. Dave and I were in attendance for all 3 days with Nick and Jake poping in between TPO duties.

     

    We are humbled by the number of people who came to see us,  especially those of you that regularly read this website. Thank you all for your generous donations and finally thank you to those former BR and Serco staff that came to see your Test Car.
    Specifically, Paul Mosley, Ray Smith, Chris O’Donnell and Dave Moore.

     

    A few more images from over the gala:

     

    Back on to wagons next weekend, something a little flatter we feel.

  • 27/01/2019 – “I’m Postman Matt and no, I don’t have a cat!”

    Hello everyone, and welcome to another weekly update from Quorn Wagon and Wagon.

    This weekend has seen the railway host the annual Winter Steam Gala, with the van train running and the mixed freight making a welcome reappearance. We were also staffing the demonstration Travelling Post Office train, performing ground duties in the mornings and staffing the train for the afternoon run.

    Most importantly though, we fitted the sheet to the Shochood B, which makes us the proud owners of the only Shochood B in preservation! Matt collected the sheet on Friday. We have fitted it temporarily, as the best place to store a sheet is in place on the wagon. The sheet will be removed before painting. As the fitment is temporary, we’ve used cable ties to attach the sheet to the wagon. We discovered when putting the sheet in position, that one of the bars was able to jump off its prop, leaving a sharp pole. Nick and I went around inside the wagon and used some steel strapping to prevent the poles lifting off the poles.

    Matt has put some effort in and put himself together a GPO uniform to play the part of a postman from the 1960s. He also borrowed a post bike from the station to complete his image. On the TPO, Matt and I did some work to free of the letter flaps, as fitted to Postal Sorting carriages.

    Thanks for reading this small update, and join us next week for another!

  • 04/02/18 Sheet, Mail and more Shock Gear

    04/02/18 Sheet, Mail and more Shock Gear

    Saturday saw the team take a day trip to Swithland Sidings. Our main task was to help our friends at RVP with a task on POS 80301.  The opportunity however was taken to fit an item we had delivered in June.

    B721587 our Shock High fitted with a bar has now been fitted with a sheet. We would like to thank the Nene Valley Railway Wagon Department for their assistance in this project, specifically the dimensions and location of the lettering applied to the sheet.  Our sheet is numbered 120224 sequentially with theirs which is 120223.

    Our main purpose for the Swithland visit was to assist with the jacking of the sorting rack within POS 80301,  this was involved in a collision a few years ago and had shifted,  the structural components of the coach was restored by external contractor with the internals by RVP.

    Finally for the weekend, Sunday saw the completion of the shock gear on B850498, all apart from the end caps which will be fitted next weekend.

  • 28/01/18 Posters, Postals and Photo-charters!

    28/01/18 Posters, Postals and Photo-charters!

    Just because it has been a Gala weekend, it doesn’t mean we have stopped work! Having two of our number as Travelling Post Office crew does hamper progress a small amount, but it is also very nice to see the van train running up and down. When walking around today, I’ve heard nothing but good things about the van train, with a few people mentioning their new branding posters, fitted on a few vans by Matt on Friday.

    This weekend saw the first run in preservation of B784409, and work continued on the imitation shock gear for B850498. Matt has replicated the brackets he has made for the West side of the wagon and they are now fitted on the East. There is one bracket left on the east side before that is finished.

    Other first run in preservation this weekend is the Esso Tank, 3436. This vehicle ran in the mixed freight. Before it could run this vehicle had the vacuum cylinder configuration changed so that only 1 of the 2 cylinders operate. This had fixed a long standing issue with the vehicle.

    The next outing for the vans is a Photo charter in the coming week.