Blog
Body side panels 26/10/12
First of new side panels fitted, having been sealed with PVA, primed, undercoated and painted over the last week.
all new eaves and upper body panels pinned in place, and the first of the new waist/lower panels- a tricky operation to gain the tumblehome.
Beading ‘L’ 17 Oct 2012
Or it could be an ‘F’ or a ‘T’, that Don Lee is a picture of concentration working on with the router. Now that the panels for Third Open 7828 at Rowsley are all cut out, the beading needs to move up the priority list. It will be a little while before the panels are all fixed in place and painted but then the panel joints will need to be covered by the beading. The main purpose of course is to prevent moisture getting into the joints, but a secondary purpose is to add to the attractive appearance of the coach. The junctions where the long straight sections of bead meet come in several different shapes, these are cut out on the bandsaw, fettled up a bit on the bobbin sander (for which we have a slightly rude name), then the edges are rounded off using the router on a former guide, one for each shape, made by Alan Taylor. It’s a very noisy job which is why Don is wearing ear protection.
13th Carriage Restorers’ Convention
October 2012 saw the return of the Bluebell Railway Carriage & Wagon department as host to the 13th Carriage Restorers’ Convention. This has become an annual event where rolling stock groups and owners from Heritage Railways across the country congregate to share skills and ideas, and to partake in the ever important networking and catching up with one another.
Demonstrations this year included resin casting of reproduction carriage and wagon plates, construction of replacement droplight frames, and testing the dynamos that generate electricity for power such as carriage lighting.
Opportunities were also taken to tour the carriage & wagon restoration and storage facilities, and the Bluebell line.
‘Taylor-Made’ Panels for 7828
Now that the final frame repairs have been completed on Third Open 7828 at Rowsley, thoughts turn to re-panelling. Originally panelled in mahogany, we are using 9mm WBP ply, and Alan Taylor sprang into action by cutting out virtually all the panels for the upper bodyside, while James White and I made sure any bare wood on the framing had at least a coat of primer applied. The ply will need pva wood glue applying to the edges then priming and painting on both sides with the exterior side getting the paint, sand, fill, paint treatment many times over. Alan looks very happy with his efforts don’t you think?
7828 Frame Repairs Complete
At Rowsley the frame repairs on the NRM’s Third Open 7828 are at last complete aside from a few little tweaks. Ben Riley slogged away for hours trying to get a stubborn bolt out of the bottom rail at the toilet end, had a rest, Harvey Coppock came along and gave it a couple of taps and out it came! Such are the joys of carriage restoration. It’s been a long slog of repetitive work on the framing but the prospect of applying the new panels is now mouth-wateringly close. The props we put in to support the frame and cantrail are now out, and that will make access inside the coach much easier.
27162 Frame Repairs set to commence
As work continues to prepare Third Open 27162 for repairs to the framing , panelling and roof, following last October’s fire, plans are being drawn up to move the vehicle into the Maintenance Facility at Wirksworth on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway.
If these plans go ahead on schedule, work should begin sometime in October 2012.
Whilst we are waiting for this to begin, the surviving wooden framework and metal skin have been painted with emulsion paint. Arrangements are also progressing with the set up of internal lighting facilities, to allow members to see the work that they are doing through the winter months.
During the course of the last year, all of the surviving internal fittings have been removed for cleaning and refurbishment where possible.
Progress 27001 18th Sept 2012
Two tasks were progressed today on the Brake Third.
Much grinding, hammering and chiselling was applied to one of the vertical frame supports, which needs to be removed in order to facilitate the wider window reveal, for the proposed extra seating bay.
This was the second day of work on this item, and finally the weld attaching the metal socket to the cantrail gave up. The resultant piece of hardwood will be re-used as the window sill frame.
Also, following recent welding work on the brake end panelling, primer and undercoat have been applied to this.
We await further bolting & welding to attach the steel corner plates to the outside of this panelling.
Rowsley Carriage Shed open on 27th May
The LMSCA Carriage Shed at Rowsley will be open for visitors to see our restoration work during the visit of steam locomotive 70013 Oliver Cromwell to Peak Rail on Sunday 27th May 2012.
Further information on the railtour can be found on , and
Please be aware that car parking facilities at Darley Dale and Rowsley South will be subject to a small parking charge for this event.
Update: Peak Rail have advertised there will be an admission charge of £2 to either Matlock Platform 2, Darley Dale Station and Rowsley South Station and Site, which will be redeemable off the price of an all day rover ticket.
LMS Weekend at the NRM, Sep 2011
Over the weekend of 24th-25th September 2011 the National Railway Museum in York, UK, held a London, Midland & Scottish (LMS) Railway weekend. The LMS Carriage Association was invited to attend to put on an exhibition for the event. This video provides a record of the event on the Saturday showing the LMSCA exhibition and the activity in the museum yard.