London North Eastern Railway 1950 Brake Corridor Third E1866 (GOLD)
No progress to report.
London North Eastern Railway 1938 Brake Third Open E16631E (GOLD)
No progress to report.
London North Eastern Railway 1929 4 Wheel Pigeon Van 6843 (BRONZE)
This is the first of no less than THREE new winter projects to be started following the removal of the Quad Art set from the shed recently. Whilst the vehicle has remained substantially in good condition since its initial restoration, longer periods outside without the frequent re-varnishing that we probably should have been doing, have left the vehicle with some concerning areas of varnish breakdown and several split panels (an ongoing issue for teak paneled vehicles). The issues were flagged up last year but regrettably there was not enough room in the programme to tackle it, so the vehicle has had to wait until now to be brought in for these repairs to be undertaken.
So far, with resources generally directed elsewhere, progress on the vehicle has been limited to a good wash down of the two varnished sides so we can get a proper look at which areas require further attention and also generally get the sides closer to a state where they can be rubbed down for further varnish post panel repairs.
British Railways 1961 Brake First Open (Kitchen) M14021 (GOLD)
In a slight change to previous plans, the large section of bodywork on the seaward side was in fact sanded and filled to a finished state. This allowed five refurbished window frames to be permanently fitted to the bodyside and the whole section, suitably smoothed, has been coated in a final sealing layer of primer, concluding the work in this area for the foreseeable future.
So that the landward side was not left out, exactly the same treatment has been undertaken on the guards compartment section, which is now also at the same (finished) stage.
Back on the seaward side, the equivalent section around the guards compartment has received further body preparations, however there is an outstanding section extending into the former luggage area which means this section will not receive a final prime until other bodywork has been completed.
Internally, the sliding door between the middle passenger vestibule and guards corridor has been test hung and is now sliding nicely. The door and runners have been modified to slide further than the original, to maximise the corridor for staff carrying food through from the kitchen. As the door slides right back beyond the bulkhead out of view, a salvaged BR Mark 1 handle escutcheon, usually found on compartment stock, has been let into the guards bulkhead so that the recessed handle of the sliding door can be reached from the kitchen side to close the door when required, one of a number of small details that are being carefully thought about when modifications to the coach are being done, to ensure that it is both practical and remaining in a BR style.
Smoothing and prep work is also progressing on the guards compartment wall on the kitchen side.
British Railways 1953 Tourist Second Open E3868 (SILVER)
This is the second of the three new arrivals for winter works. In a very similar manner to Pigeon Van 6843, this coach has been looking decidedly tatty on the outside (particularly on the sun side) for over a year, but has had to wait in a queue until now. The primary issue with the vehicle is a paint/varnish breakdown on the landward side with much of it flaking off over large unstable areas. Happily however, there is very little deep corrosion to speak of, so we are optimistic for a quick turnaround over the winter months in time to rejoin the fleet for next season. We would like to provide the operating department with 10 standard service coaches (two 5-carriage rakes) for the entire 2025 season, something we wanted to do in 2024 but only achieved for a month or so, as for most of the year we had one coach out for repairs.
The first task to start has been the failed paintwork along the landward side, particularly the lower sections. Much unstable paint has been mechanically chipped off these lower sections, revealing good metal below thankfully!
We have also discovered that whilst the window frame units are stable and bedded well onto the coach with little corrosion showing, the main panes of glass themselves are letting water in as the seal between the glass and frame has perished over time. The glass will therefore require removing and resealing. So far, all of the wooden window surrounds have been removed from the Holt half of the coach and the first two panes of glass gently removed.
We have also started on an interior refresh. All tables and seating have been removed from the Holt end half of the vehicle and temporarily stored in the Sheringham end, to give superior access to the refresh works.
We will work downwards from the ceiling, and this week a start has been made on rubbing down the ceiling ready for a coat of white gloss paint.
British Railways 1957 Metro Cammell Railcar Driving Trailer Second Lavatory E79263 (SILVER)
A window rubber sealant product arrived this week, so we have trialed its use on two of the worst leaking windows. The initial trial appears to have stemmed a lot of the leaks, which is a relief, so we can now progress further down the vehicle “finding and fixing” all of the minor leaks. This will be a steady process as after each session we require a good day of rain so we can stand inside and check our works are sound.
British Railways 1951 16 Ton Ballast Plough Brakevan DB993707 (BRONZE)
This wagon is the third and final arrival into the Weybourne works for a winter freshen-up. It has been suffering from sun bleaching on the exposed side along with a failed canvas roof covering which has been letting water into the cabin and soaking into the roof timbers, causing the ceiling paint to flake off in areas and mold to flourish in other areas. This is being tackled early before the damp turns into rot and destruction, as wooden brakevans stored outside are not forgiving unless they are tended to on a regular basis. It was last painted 5 years ago in 2019. Half a dozen small woodworking repairs and a new roof covering are planned before a rub down and a full repaint, which should mean that all three regularly running brake vans have been repainted over the past few years. Fitting the vehicle in has only been possible because Pigeon Van 6843 is a short vehicle and there is a gap in the shed of 30 feet which was not able to be used by a carriage.
So far, the roof has been looked at, with the collar which holds the stove pipe in removed and brought down to ground level. It has been cleaned of old paint and sealant ready for refinishing. Nothing else is being done on the roof itself as the new covering is intended to be fitted over the top of the old. The new covering has been delivered this week and is now awaiting fitting. The fixing boards which go around the perimeter have all been removed, stripped of old paint and repainted ready to fit back on next week.
One of the two end bargeboards, at the Sheringham end, had rotted very badly so has been removed and a replacement cut out of timber. It has been painted inside and out and is now also ready to refit.
A good start has been made on the exterior bodywork ready for painting. The difficult side is the seaward side which contains all the unstable paint. This is having to have a very deep sand which is taking much time. We are steadily working our way down this side to regain stable wood. Each section is being primed as it is completed.
On the landward side, one corner of the cabin was found to be rotten with a section of floor and lower pillar badly affected. This has been chopped out and new sections glued in. It now awaits filling and finishing to size which will make it a seamless repair.
Removed handrails are in the process of being repainted white whilst they are off the vehicle.
On the inside of the vehicle, unstable paint has been chipped off the ceiling in several places where the failed roof covering had allowed water to get in. With the paint now gone, we can leave these sections to dry out for a week or two before repainting them. The rest of the ceiling is in good condition and just required a heavy clean to remove mold and steam loco smut. This cleaning has also been extended to the cream walls in the cabin itself, which were similarly filthy. These walls are around 50% complete. We will give the ceiling a top-up coat of white but will leave the cream walls as they are still good following the clean.
British Railways 1954 13 Ton Pipe Open B740918 (BRONZE)
Still awaiting the fitting of its tarpaulin “hood” cover.
Maintenance
Preparations for the gas upgrade on kitchen car M81033 continue. The moving of the water services on the coach itself has been completed this week and the system recommissioned. We now have a completely clear space on the coach in which to fit the new gas bottle cabinets.
These cabinets have now also been finished back at Weybourne, with final painting now completed. We now await the vehicle’s move to Weybourne so that we can weld supports to the chassis to carry the cabinets.
Workshop
The scheme to fit new lighting to the workshop has now been completed, with the older half of the shed now boasting new LED lighting throughout, which has seriously brightened up the area. We also have new lighting installed on our mezzanine storage area, which has never had any lighting since it was built. The newly lit stores will make things a lot safer and we can now dispense with the use of torchlight up there!
