7828 Round Up

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Seating bay
Seating bay
Assembled table tops awaiting stain and varnish
Assembled table tops awaiting stain and varnish

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A summary of work completed on 7828 in the last few months. It has become difficult to update at times when the coach is changing so quickly, but for several months most volunteers were engaged in preparing large quantities of components- either trimming seat parts, machining timber mouldings, varnishing, glazing, painting underframe or searching for brass work.

 

So, state of play as of today-

All seat back and end units are fitted, lined up and bolted down. We need some more screws to finish putting the full quota into each anchoring bracket, but as soon as they land we can install them, leaving the way clear to bolting in the seat bases.

Bases all trimmed, some are awaiting their piping. 8 armests are finished, the other 20 are having piping applied.

The luggage racks are up in the 3-bay saloon, and stacked up ready for the 4-bay. I would think they’ll be up by the end of, say, Tuesday. Table lamps are up in the 3-bay, ready for installation in the 4-bay, and the lights are up and working in the loos and vestibules. Ceiling lamps not delivered yet.

The droplights have been rebuilt, glazed with toughened glass, assembled and sealed, painted to gloss on the outside and varnished inside. Specially made felt sections (20mm x 10mm and 10mm x 10mm) have arrived to allow us to fit new seals to each side, which help with vibration and sound proofing as well as facilitating a smooth slide. These are ready to pin on, and then it’s just the leather straps to apply with the cleaned and painted fittings prior to installing in the coach. Each droplight, for saloon or door, has already been tested in it’s own numbered aperture.

Tables- all parts now made to reproduce the original early Period 1 LMS TO table. We borrowed a genuine example from the team at Swanwick, and have produced a set of 14 in solid utile. The previously mentioned leg base castings are machined ready to go, and the fixing brackets and tabs are sorted into boxes. 7 table tops have been assembled to date, it’s a fill in job when we get an hour at the end of another task.

Toilets- sink and loo fitted in No.1 loo, all works. Loo seats and lids to varnish. Parts ready for No.2. New toilet roll holder cast and fitted. Paper towel holders sourced and mounted, bins procured. Vacant/engaged locks have arrived thanks for team based on ELR, modified to suit 7828 and now ready to fit. New left handed keeper plates have been cast and drilled. Some jiggery-pokery to convert the door locking system back to as-built is underway. The main door handles are now fitted and working.

Vestibules- not much gone on here, apart from draught excluders fitted around the side door apertures, as these areas have been virtually finished for some time. The clips to hold open the partition sliding doors were discovered and fitted.

Underframe- fusebox in process of being put back where it was meant to be, and some painting undertaken at the ends. Still gloss black to go on some bogies parts and the trusses, when we shunt it out again.

Lining- continues… Livery- LMS transfers due in 2 weeks time.

A list of final jobs exists in the carriage shed, ranging from window cleaning to spotting odd missing panel screws, gluing in bell pushes to hanging lampshades. Come see.

The Hand of Bob

Well more like the finger of Bob really, Bob Matkin that is, who with yours truly finally managed to plumb in one of the drop-down sinks into the NRM’s LMS Third Open 7828. Much adjustment of feed and waste pipes was required but I think the work was worth it with Ken Paige’s cleaning efforts on the sink showing to good effect. Just need to connect up the toilet pan now and we’re all ready to go – err but not in the shed or the station please!

Dave Winter

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Ceiling

It has been a long job, but the entire ceiling has been painted in brush filler, laboriously rubbed down (thanks for your help Dave), and then the lighting patresses and beading fitted. As I write this, there are 6 pieces of beading left to screw in, the other 43 having been (in some cases quite literally) bent into shape and secured in place.

The vestibules and toilets were particularly tricky, as the angle of the partitions and curve of the roof required 3 different flavours of curved hockey sticks.

As we’re almost there with the beading, Dave and Bob have started throwing more filler about. Once that’s done (I haven’t tried to count all the holes, I thought it would be depressing), we can start to think about showing it a paint brush.

Trevor continues to apply further layers of undercoat to his gangway end door, and James has cleaned up the last roof vent and carefully wire brushed and sprayed the first components of the passenger communication gear.
Mike’s heater installation continues with the preparation of some 40′ of timber moulding to which the heater brackets are secured along the length of the saloons. This has been cut to length, drilled and primed.

The epic tasks of beading the side, and applying the roof vents are almost upon us, help always welcome.

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