Restoration of LMS railway carriages at Rowsley (Peak Rail) & Wirksworth (Ecclesbourne Valley Railway)
Wishing all our followers and all who are not, a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Steady progress over last month. Layers of undercoat- grey, pink and now red- on both sides of 7828. A final few coats on the roof with extra layers in strategic places has finished work above the cantrail. All four side doors have been adjusted and in the case of one, completely re-hung, to permit easy closing and improved fitting. The bump stops, locks, keeper plates, handles, budget locks, escutcheons and guide wedges have been painted and bedded on before being undercoated with the rest of the sides.
All of the frames for the fixed windows have been cleaned and old screws removed. The internal sections of window frame are being stripped prior to refinishing, taking advantage of the glass being out for the moment. All of which means, apart from window glass, the exterior is complete except for gloss painting and transfers now.
Work continues on the upgraded gangway. New clampwood has been made to support the bellows when they arrive, and the steelwork has been painted up to midland maroon gloss.
I’m informed the rewoven 1925 moquette – to replicate 7828’s original seat coverings – is ready for collection now, and to this end some of the seats have been tentatively removed from storage to allow assessment.
A roundup of online restoration news from the world of carriage preservation.
Welcome to the 3rd edition of this quarterly summary of carriage and wagon restoration news. Thank you to those who contacted me from the 1st and 2nd editions. If I have missed any groups out or if you have any information to add please do let me know, either by leaving a comment below or email website [at] lmsca.org.uk
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Bluebell Railway — Carriage & wagon works news — GWR open wagon 87782
Isle of Wight Steam Railway —
LMSCA —
LNERCA —
Mid Hants Railway —
National Railway Museum —
Railway Vehicle Preservations — News — LNER TTO 23981, LNER Buffet Car 24278, LNER TPO Stowage Van 70268, shed appeal.
Scottish Railway Preservation Society — Rebuilding Gresley TK 10021 – Chapter 7
Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust — Restoration news — LNER Pigeon Van 70759, LNER TTOs 43600 & 52255.
West Somerset Railway — W233W, and work on W233W.
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Now that the heater pipes have been refitted to 7828, I have moved on to the cleaning and polishing of the heater covers.
After many years of service and storage, the heater covers were of a blackened appearance, reminiscent of the condition they may have been in during the latter days of the carriage being in service. Gently rubbing the covers with fine steel wool and t-cut has revealed the copper coating on these steel covers, as well as reducing the level of rust found where the coating has worn off. A further coating of waxy furniture polish has also been used, to help reduce further tarnishing of this attractive finish to the decorative metalwork.
A roundup of online restoration news from the world of carriage preservation.
Welcome to the (slightly late) 2nd edition of this quarterly summary of carriage and wagon restoration news. Thank you to those who contacted me from the first edition. If I have missed any groups out please do let me know, either by leaving a comment below or email website [at] lmsca.org.uk
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Bluebell Railway — Carriage & wagon works news — GWR 87782 open wagon (May 2013).
Isle of Wight Steam Railway — Carriage & Wagon News – April 2013 — LBSCR 8-Compartment Third 2403, SECR 4-compartment Brake Third 4149, LBSCR 3-compartment brake third 4115, LBSCR Car truck 60579, LBSCR 10 ton goods van 3713, other news including the Changing Trains building.
LMSCA — LMS 7828 Vestibule Third — Ceiling, Ceiling Beading, Ceiling and Torpedo Ventilators, 7828 Gets Heavier.
LMSCA — LMS 27162 — 6th May, 20th May, 10th June.
LNERCA — 1623 — 7th April, 11th April, 27th May, 12th June, 25th June.
NSR Rolling Stock Restoration Trust — NSR 127 — News update May 2013
RVP — News — Shed project.
Scottish Railway Preservation Society — Rebuilding Gresley TK 10021 – Chapter 6
Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust — Restoration news — BR 4509, LMS Stove R 2886.
West Somerset Railway — Autocoach 169 news.
And finally, something from the world of records preservation, a few (LMS themed) gems from the NRM —
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The wooden framework is now substantially complete and the steel roof hoops have been fitted. We now await the arrival of the steel side panels which will then be welded to the existing panels. They will be fixed to the wooden frame using stainless steel screws.
The existing side panels have now been completely returned to bare metal and filled as required. Painting is now underway and the primer is being followed by the first maroon undercoat.
The sliding windows have been completely reglazed as almost all of the were original plate glass which did not withstand the heat of the fire. They have now been painted on the outer side and await fitting.
John Leather
Existing bodywork in primer
The wooden framework almost complete
Steel paneling in first undercoat
Primer coat on the sliding windows
Sliding window in primer coat
Beading filling completed during the week, then primed and undercoated. Some patches of brush filler applied to the panels and beading here and then, then the whole side sanded and undercoated in light grey. A few more areas attended to once this guide coat was in place, and then the side rubbed down again, ready for pink undercoat. Glazing removed from the fixed windows and bolections sorted out, guttering in place and filled and sealed to the roof. Lavatory vent has been repaired and is being filled ready for fitting.
7828’s original south end gangway has been carefully dismantled, and the portal removed for storage along with the plastic curtain. The replacement from 8422, which is fitted with adaptor gear, had already been cleaned down, modifications removed, painted and had the normal pattern of top and bottom swivels fitted. With a pulley system fitted to the shed roof, the new portal was mounted on the old scissors, which have been overhauled and fettled to extend slightly more than previously, as on the vehicle we are copying. The new arrangement allows the gangway to couple to a Mk.1 ‘Pullman’ type gangway and extend further to do so, and incorporates improved swivel provision whilst retaining the ability to work with either type of standard LMS gangway.
The whole assembly is now being painted prior to installation of replacement bellows, then there are a number of clamps and fittings to refurbish as well as new floor plates to process.
John Lennon’s line from ‘A Day in the Life’ is reputed to refer to a newspaper report he saw about the state of the roads in Blackburn, well the LMSCA can beat that. We have done a ‘high-level desktop exercise’ as used in the HS2 cost estimates, OK the back of an envelope actually, and we reckon each side of the LMS Third Open 7828 at Rowsley has received approximately 3,000 1.5mm holes drilled in the beading to receive the pins which attach it to the bodyside, so about 6,000 in total. Just a few feet of beading remain to be fitted, and boy will we be glad when all the holes are filled and sanded! We are not sure how many holes remain in Blackburn’s roads…
Dave Winter
Work on the framework has continued and the east side frame and cantrail has been fitted. The west side is currently being prepared in the workshop. The gangway end has been refurbished and fitted temporarily to determine the position of the bolt holes.
In the meantime much effort has been spent in reglazing the sliding windows. This required dismantling of the brass frame by drilling out the fixing screws at one end after which it was necessary to apply sufficient heat to melt the solder holding the corners together. New rubber seals were purchased and the glass fitted with the help of liberal quantities of detergent. Further work on the replacement of windows is continuing.