Doubly Good News for 2018

It’s a doubly good start to 2018 for us as we have just finished the restoration of CCT E94630 which will become our upholstery workshop, plus after a bidding process, ownership of Medical Examination Car 10825 has been transferred to us from the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.

The CCT is one of three donated to us by in 2001 by Jarvis Rail, and had been kept in the goods shed at Wakefield Kirkgate for many years along with a LMS BG which was also donated – unsurprisingly they were known as ‘the Wakefield Four’. E94630 was used for storage at Peak Rail and although we were keen to restore it events overtook us, and it was left on the back-burner. Then an idea was put forward to use it as an upholstery workshop and work started in earnest, especially as much rotten steelwork had to be cut out and new steel welded in. Everything has been done to a high standard including the interior which has new LED lighting and a full electrical installation. It was wheeled out of our workshop on 30 December and is now in its new position just awaiting the access steps to be built. The video shows the rollout and some of the team involved.

The Medical Examination Car 10825 was built by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway as a corridor third at Newton Heath in 1910. It was converted to a US continental ambulance staff car in 1917, then rebuilt by the LMS as a staff medical examination car numbered 10825 in 1923. It would have toured the LMS and London Midland Region conducting eyesight tests etc. It was eventually withdrawn in 1971 and initially preserved by the Historic Rolling Stock Group at the Severn Valley Railway, it then moved to Dinting Railway Centre in the care of The Bahamas Locomotive Society, then to the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester in the early 1990s. A group of museum volunteers carried out a high-quality restoration, and a full repaint in early LMS livery. The then museum management wished the public to see how a carriage was constructed, and one end and a 10ft length of one side were therefore left unfinished.

10825 will be transported to the Rowsley to complete its restoration. Fortunately many drawings, including the bespoke furniture, are available, and as much as possible of its history and fabric will be preserved. It has one large central saloon and two smaller saloons one of which has longitudinal seating, while the other has transverse seating. The large saloon has no fixed seating so is a completely flexible space, it also has double doors each side. There are two toilets, one of which originally contained a stand-alone Dargue-Griffiths heating boiler, and two small changing rooms. The flexible large saloon will have appropriate seating and in conjunction with the smaller saloons will allow daily running with disabled access, dining, private parties, education and training, hospitality, and filming contracts. The disabled access provided by the double doors means we will not have to modify another of our vehicles.

So as always, plenty to keep us busy!

Happy New Year.

Dave Winter

A Perfect Day

Last Thursday I set off for my normal volunteering duties at Rowsley and was pleasantly surprised at how light the traffic was. A good and productive day was had in the carriage shed with the always welcome bit of socialising and putting the world to rights. Then off to Tideswell for some delicious fish and chips, taken to eat on the platform at Millers Dale station, where (old age does have some benefits) I recall steam days when there seemed to be a freight train through every few minutes, usually with a Fairburn tank doing the banking for the northbound ones taking their coal to the hungry Lancashire mills. Back to reality and the Peak District looked stunning with the sun casting long evening shadows as I drove home. On arrival I opened the post and found a letter from one of our supporters who lives ‘north of the border’ – and enclosed was a cheque for £500 towards our LMSCA efforts.

Makes it all seem worthwhile!

Dave Winter

PS the photo was taken at Millers Dale on 10 April 1964, shortly before Rowsley MPD closed.

Who Ya Gonna Call? Tankbusters!

Here’s the thing, we want the lovely LMS Period 1 Third Open 7828 we’re working on to have working toilets, but with Period 1 and 2 coaches you have to scramble up on the roof with a hose to fill the tanks, not a good idea. So we brainstormed a low level filling system – the first version attempted to fill via the drain but we found the internal pipework gave a ‘virtual head’ of water causing the fill to take the easy way out of the breather pipe – it worked if someone went on the roof and blocked the breather with their finger but you’re back to square one. OK so version two was to cut a hole fairly high up in the tank and fit a bog standard 15mm compression brass tank fitting (£2.17 from Toolstation). But, how are we to get it through the hole we’ve drilled given that the roof filler is too small to get a hand through into the inside of the tank – unless you can borrow a small child? This is where a piece of wire comes in and the good Dr Ben Riley says this is like a medical procedure.

So it went like this, first a 22mm hole was cut in the tank, as far as possible in line with the roof filler and avoiding the baffle in the tank. Then while I was up the ladder Bob Matkin pushed a length of electrical wire through the hole and I hooked it out from above and tied it off. Then the tank fitting was given some sealant and threaded onto the wire, and Bob below told to standby. The fitting was released and by some miracle shot down the wire and straight out of the hole! By the time I had come down the ladder Bob had already screwed the retaining nut on and there we have it! We had a backup plan to use a couple of ‘L’ shaped hooks to pull the fitting through the hole but didn’t need them in the end.

A ‘T’ piece and two non-return valves will be used with concealed hoses down to solebar level to enable the filling. It doesn’t happen very often but now and again things do work out nicely!

Dave Winter

Link: Carriage Preservation — further articles on carriage preservation techniques.

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14th Carriage Restorers’ Convention

November 2013 saw the return to the annual carriage restorers convention to the National Railway Museum at York.

Stathis Tsolis of the NRM welcomes delegates to the 14th Carriage Restorers’ Convention

The weekend was focused around a number of presentations and practical demonstrations, along with networking opportunities and access to some of the heritage carriages (LMS 14241 & Topaz) not normally open to the public.

A demonstration of scumbling techniques by Mullins Studio.
Ian Matthews demonstrates lining using a coachliner brush and signwriting paint.
Stathis Tsolis shows the application of a varnish fix transfer. Further information can be found on the LMSCA website and NRM blog.

Presentations subjects included the restoration of the NER Railcar, water gilding, the Railway Heritage Registers Project, the NRM Carriages Illumination project, LNER restoration case studies, LMS 7828 restoration and Metropolitan Coach 353.

The NRM have produced a YouTube video summarising the event which can also be viewed on their blog.

Carriage Preservation Roundup: Q3 2013

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 PreservationsNews — LNER TTO 23981, LNER Buffet Car 24278, LNER TPO Stowage Van 70268, shed appeal.

Scottish Railway Preservation SocietyRebuilding Gresley TK 10021 – Chapter 7

Severn Valley Railway Charitable TrustRestoration news — LNER Pigeon Van 70759, LNER TTOs 43600 & 52255.

West Somerset RailwayW233W, and work on W233W.

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Carriage Preservation Roundup: Q2 2013

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 newsGWR 87782 open wagon (May 2013).

Isle of Wight Steam RailwayCarriage & 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

RVPNews — Shed project.

Scottish Railway Preservation SocietyRebuilding Gresley TK 10021 – Chapter 6

Severn Valley Railway Charitable TrustRestoration news — BR 4509, LMS Stove R 2886.

West Somerset RailwayAutocoach 169 news.

And finally, something from the world of records preservation, a few (LMS themed) gems from the NRM —

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Carriage Preservation Roundup: Q1 2013

A roundup of online restoration news from the world of carriage preservation.

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Bluebell Railway Carriage & wagon works newsGWR 87782 open wagon.

Gwili Vintage Carriage Group26 Mar — Taff Vale No 28 Project.

Isle of Wight Steam RailwayCarriage & Wagon News January 2013 — LBSCR 8-Compartment Third 2403, LBSCR 3-compartment brake third 4115, LBSCR Car Truck 60579.

LMSCA — LMS 7828 Vestibule Third — Ceiling week 1, Ceiling week midweek report, Carriage restorers resort to magic mushrooms, Ceiling week end of week, Above and below.

LMSCA — An atmospheric shot at Rowsley carriage shed.

LNERCA — 1623 — Flooring, First seat, 22Feb, For comparison, Treadplate and TreadmasterMore seats fitted.

Mid Hants Railway — Bulleid 4211 — 15 Jan, 31 Jan.

RVPNews — TPO updates, TTO 23981, Carriage shed news & appeal

Severn Valley Railway Charitable TrustRestoration news — LMS 2300, LMS 2886, BR 4509, LNER 7960, LNER 43600.

Vintage Carriages TrustNewsMetropolitan Railway Nine Compartment Third No. 465.

West Somerset RailwayAutocoach 169 news.

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If I have missed any off please leave a comment below including any relevant links, or contact the webmaster. I will endeavour to include updates from these groups and railways in any future updates, which I intend do do on a quarterly basis during 2013.

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.

Delegates arrive at the Bluebell’s impressive Carriage Workshop at Horsted Keynes

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.

Detail of mortice and tenon used in droplight window frame construction
Adhesive, sealant and battery powered sealant gun used in droplight window frame construction
Dynamo test rig
Dynamo test rig and regulator

Opportunities were also taken to tour the carriage & wagon restoration and storage facilities, and the Bluebell line.

A view of the new 3-road (A, B & C) carriage shed at Sheffield Park
SECR 16358 receives a welcome coat of paint (Bluebell page)
A train about to depart from Horsted Keynes
Southern Railway Maunsell Carriage 6686 about to depart from Horsted Keynes (Bluebell link)
And finally, to bring a bit of an LMS theme, London & North Western Railway Observation Car 1503 inside the carriage shed at Sheffield Park (Bluebell link)

 

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