Carriage & Wagon Report November 2008

The most important thing that has happened since the last report is that our maroon rake of coaches is now back in every day use, after a two year overhaul and refurbishment programme was completed. All six of the coaches have been attended to, for an average of 3 – 4 months each.  So far, they are running well, with only a few teething troubles to attend to.

A very considerable amount of work has been done to try and rectify the leaks on the steam heating system. The difficulties in doing this were as I described recently and are well demonstrated by the fact that on the weekend after the set went into use there was hardly a leak anywhere. So much so, that one of the guards had to ask for the heating to be turned off as it was too hot on the train.

Three weeks later, there were was one substantial leak and two others which need attention. So, as soon as the system is made steam tight, it fractures somewhere else. Frustrating or what?

Immediately the last of the maroon coaches left the shed, it was replaced by one of the Elegant Excursion coaches, FO (Open First) 3091 ‘Marguerite’. We expected this coach to present us with some problems, and it has. The biggest problem by far, is the amount of water that has got into the roof in two places, near to two doors. That has allowed the wooden door framing, much of the steel door framing and the nearby floor to rot.

We have had to remove the rotten woodwork, and then cut out the rotten steelwork for replacement to begin.  Also, in other places water has penetrated around many windows, causing interior panelling to become stained and rotten. That has to be replaced. Exterior painting is going well, in the circumstances, and we have checked the coach over mechanically. One vacuum cylinder which was not working properly has been replaced. The coach is required for use at the beginning of December for the Christmas trains. It will be touch and go. Whether we shall succeed and what plan B is if we don’t, we shall have to wait and see.

The LNWR van 47972 which was mentioned earlier is now in the final throes of completion. It was built before the grouping in 1923, and has a wooden chassis. When originally refurbished, it was put into the bay platform at Winchcombe as they needed a stores vehicle. It began to leak, and we were asked to rectify the problem. No one envisaged that it would mean literally taking the body to pieces and rebuilding it.  The photo I have attached shows how far it has got. New canvas has just been fitted to the roof, and it is in undercoat awaiting the final paint job.

Similarly our Shocvan B854239 mentioned earlier has made big strides. Again I have attached a photo. Still to be done and not apparent from the photo is that the roof boards need complete replacement before a canvas sheet is fitted, and a door on the far side needs to be repaired and re-fitted. This is to be used as a store by C&W, as we are constantly short of covered space for all our spares and equipment.

A considerable amount of work has also gone into the BSOT SC9000, which has been out the front of our shed for several months. Apart from fitting a couple of replacement exterior doors (from an EMU), nothing has yet been done externally. Internally however, it has been stripped, and most of the panelling has been sanded down to remove all old varnish prior to revarnishing. All seats have gone away to be reupholstered; some by our volunteers and some by contractors. All upholstery is now ready to be refitted. A start has been made on building the disabled area, which this coach will have in what was the luggage compartment.  The plan is to get this coach inside for several weeks once we have finished 3091, so that we can at least make a start on the body repairs. One end in particular, where we have removed the corridor connection, needs a fair degree of surgery. We have been able to locate a supplier of coach bodyside corner sections, and a set of four has been ordered, so that the worst areas can be cut out and replaced. These are complex double curves, which it is almost impossible to bend correctly without a proper jig.

Once Christmas is over and the Elegant Excursions set has stopped running for a couple of months, we have to repaint and do any necessary repairs to the Kitchen Car. This was actually only repainted a couple of years ago, but such was the speed we had to do it, it was not prepared properly. It left the shed to go into service with some of the paint still wet, and without any logos. Inevitably, the finish has not lasted, and so now we have got to do it all over again.

A couple of weeks ago, we extracted two coaches from one of our sidings as they were being taken off site. They were an SK 24918 and a CK 15849 which were privately owned. They arrived here about 10 years ago in a deal that saw us move the GWR Autocoach to Cholsey & Wallingford for restoration. As time moved on it became apparent that they did not fit in with our plans, and we were not going to restore them. So they have gone to Long Marston to be restored. Similarly, we have been told that our Suburban Mk 1, and a privately owned green departmental BSK marked ‘Springburn’ have been sold and will shortly be leaving. These departures are all part of the continuing plan to clear out coaches that are of no practical use to us, and will never get restored.

I have arranged that during the winter shut down, the demonstration goods train will be brought to Winchcombe, to be stabled in one of the sidings behind Elegant Excursions. This is so that we can easily extract the wagons one by one and overhaul them. Also, there is a plan to make the set a bit more representative, by making it up of types of wagons which would have operated together. In return for basing the set at Winchcombe, a rake of wagons that have no immediate use will replace them in the north headshunt at Toddington.

It will be an opportunity to sort out all our wagons, and reorganise where everything is located. In particular, we are keen to try and ensure that as far as possible, the decent looking wagons are on show, and those ‘awaiting attention’ are hidden away from sight. It will also mean that the demonstration set will be easily accessible from that siding when it is needed for a gala weekend or other event.

Finally, I have managed to establish that the Steam Heat Van we acquired was originally BSK 34071; built at Wolverton in 1954/55 and converted for export to Ireland in 1972.

Several new volunteers have joined us in the last couple of months, and are settling in well. Our new Thursday working party is now making great strides and a healthy number now attend each week, meaning that even more work than before is undertaken.

Richard Johnson
November 2008.

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1 - a view of BSOT 9000 showing the new door fitted, and indicating how much has to be done to it.
2 - a view of the Shocvan inside the shed
3 - a view of the LNWR box van nearing completion.