We start by thanking you all for the tributes paid to John Houghton following the announcement of the news of his death in last week’s blog, including those who took time to post comments onto our Facebook page (click on the image below to go to the page).
It is clear that he really had made his mark with so many people and he will be sorely missed by us all.
We’ll start the news this week with the loco formerly co-owned by John Houghton – Caliban. Howard, Alan and Adrian have carried on the good work on the 0-4-0ST and the frames have now started their ascent to allow the axleboxes to be examined – there is still some way to go though with the jacks…
Contractor Ian Massey spent Friday and Saturday welding the new metal onto the front frames of Wootton Hall‘s tender. This is still work in progress and a further visit from Ian is being arranged in the coming weeks.
More good progress has been made this week on the RSR’s TPO coach which is being restored for the Museum by FRT volunteers. The third can of filler is now nearly empty and, having brought the north side of the coach up to a condition whereby it is ready to receive paint, all hands are now being concentrated on the corridor ends and the south side. We were delighted to welcome Paul Balshaw to his first working party with the gang last Wednesday and hope to see him again on a regular basis.
The visit to Embsay by Fred and Keith last Sunday to wash out 5643’s boiler was stymied by the refusal of the high pressure pump to actually pump the water, even though the engine was running smoothly. A further attempt to wash out the boiler was scheduled for yesterday after attention had been given to the pump at Preston on Friday.
The big event over the weekend was the arrival at Preston Riverside of a Pathfinders Tours charter train from Eastleigh with some 500 passengers on board, which had set off at 05.27 on Saturday morning. It arrived bang on time at 14.30 before departing, again on schedule, at 16.30. 
The FRT shed was specially opened up to the visitors, having been cleaned in readiness the previous day, and Alison was there to sell souvenirs whilst other FRT members showed visitors around the shed.
After taking into account donations received, it proved to be financially very helpful. We also seemed to make quite a number of friends and, surprisingly, saw a few familiar faces who had driven south to Coventry to board the special!
Of interest to the Carriage and Wagon Gang was the inclusion in the 14 coach special train of RMB No. 1813, carrying the number adjacent to RMB 1812 which we had just overhauled. However, 1813 was built at Wolverton in 1960 in a different batch whereas 1812 was built at York in 1957.
It has to be said that John Dixon looked very pleased with himself on Saturday (and rightfully so) for he had completed the plumbing in the new mess room and now awaits an electrician to connect up the electric water heater. Just a few more jobs to do to box in the water pipes and fit some cupboard doors. We can then decide upon the layout of tables, chairs and other equipment within the mess room.
Finally Alan and Alison are heading across the Pennines again next Friday for the first of FR 20’s steamings at Locomotion, Shildon, now in the final six months of its ten years boiler certificate. Let’s hope that the snow holds off for them!
It is with the greatest sadness that we start this week’s blog with news of the death of John Houghton, who passed away in the early hours of Friday morning at the age of 82. John was a most colourful character who was founding chairman of the Lakeside Railway Society when, in 1968, it was formed out of the Lancashire Railway Circle, now 50 years ago. John led the Society through the formative years at Carnforth and then on to Haverthwaite where the volunteers played such a major role in preparing the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway for re-opening in 1973. He was also the joint owner, with Alan Middleton, of former Courtalds Peckett 0-4-0ST Caliban which was the Society’s first steam locomotive. These were the groundbreaking and fun days of railway preservation when there was less intrusive legislation to dampen volunteer activities! This undoubtedly fitted in with John’s philosophy of life and, at the end of Sunday working parties, he was often to be found in the White Hart at Bouth, entertaining all with his strong views and stories. These activities obviously played a major part of John’s life at that time, although he was also heavily involved in local politics, being an elected member of Cattterall Parish Council until last year, worked for the British Aircraft Corporation at Salmesbury and was of course supported at home by his late wife Jean.
Last Wednesday morning saw two low loaders with a carriage each in the car park at Preston. Tom Milner had arrived the previous evening in readiness to load up the second class North London Railway coach first thing on Wednesday morning for despatch to the Beamish Open Air Museum. 
Dale Calkeld then arrived with Great Eastern Railway Royal Saloon No. 5 which has been on hire to Beamish since April 2010. It had been restored to operable condition by members over the previous nine months in the polytunnel at Appleby. The Ribble Rail lads undertook the necessary shunting moves at Preston and the GER saloon was duly under cover in its new home in the unheated part of the FRT shed by lunchtime.
The North London Railway coach was duly commissioned into service at Beamish on Friday morning, sandwiched between Peckett 0-4-0ST No. 1370 and the Duke of Sutherland’s saloon No. 58A. (Photo courtesy Beamish Open Air Museum.)
Mike, John Davis and Paul went aboard the ‘magic carpet’ to sand down the east corridor end whilst Roger Benbow undercoated the west end headstock. 
Tim carried on with filling and sanding the north side of the coach, with filling assistance from David on Saturday.
Work has continued apace on the RSR’s TPO where Andy Morton paid a visit on Wednesday afternoon in preparation for giving a regular hand with the project from this next week. He is seen here with the statutory number of onlookers whilst he works.
John Davis and Paul fitted a new piece of wood above one of the TPO shutter doors on Friday and Tim has once again been busy with the filler and sanding machine. Roger appeared on Friday to continue painting the frames.
Ade has been attacking the grime on Caliban with a needle gun, and can be seen here working on one of the hornguides.
Fred has been making dust once more, this time cleaning up 5643’s blast pipe. Fortunately the weather was good so the dust stayed outside!
John Dixon has continued his work on the new kitchen in the mess room where the sink unit has now been fitted and the drain connected. Will we see some running water next week?
Finally, the welding on Wootton Hall’s tender frames has been put back a week and is now scheduled to take place on the 9th and 10th February.
Thereafter John soon had the drain pipe installed and the trench was immediately filled in with the JCB.
Friday saw John doing the delicate task of cutting out the hole in the work top for the double sink to be fitted.
Work has continued on the RSR’s TPO where the initial assumption that the bodywork was in relatively good condition has been somewhat contradicted by the fact that Tim has now applied the best part of two large cans of filler and a can of fibreglass – and he hasn’t yet started on the south side of the vehicle!
Paul and John Davis have just about finished their works on the south side double door and are seen here fitting a new retaining hole surround.
Meanwhile Roger Benbow has continued to paint the bogies and frames.
Fred filled the shed with dust on Friday as he cleaned up 5643’s superheater header ready for some machining.
Keith and George spent Saturday cutting and trimming metal for the top of the tender frames for Wootton Hall whilst Derek recorded their work on video for posterity.
And finally for this week, David spent Saturday painting a signal post which will shortly become an exhibit in the RSR museum.
Mike is seen here last Wednesday with the statutory assemble of onlookers drinking tea whilst he attempts, in vain, to drill a hole. 
Paul took up the cause on Friday and was more successful, only breaking one drill bit in the process!
Good progress is being made on the bogies and underframes and Fred is seen here in action with his paint brush.
The new worktop is seen loosely in position awaiting adaptation to accommodate the double sink. It is planned on Wednesday to dig a trench outside for the drain, although the weather conditions look a little wintery this week!
The first photo shows the completed concreting under the east end shed doors which was laid just before Christmas. There is still plenty more to do in the east half of the shed, but the more immediate task has since been to continue the installation of the kitchen in the new mess room. As John Dixon is both our head of concreting and chief plumber, it is a case of one job at a time. 
We then need to dig a channel outside the mess room to allow a pipe to be laid to a nearby drain manhole. Once this is achieved, new tarmac can be laid there as part of the overall plan to create a new playground.
John David and Howard Fletcher are seen here examining a corroded and ill fitting door whilst, below, Ade is seen demonstrating his method of fixing the problem – with a hammer! 
Tim has continued with the filling and sanding, Paul with the renewal of rotted woodwork, and Fred and Roger have continued to clean and paint the headstocks and bogies.
Alan Ogden made a welcome re-appearance from Devon to refurbish Fluff‘s fuse box.
Keith has continued to assemble more steelwork on Wootton Hall‘s tender frames as can be seen from this view of the rear of the chassis. Some more components for the locomotive, which have become available recently, have been purchased, including these two rear valve head cover castings which cost £60 each.
The smaller items cost £60 each whilst the larger casting cost £180 each.
Finally, Live Steam played their last gig of 2017 at the Engine Inn at Cark-in-Cartmel. Both Alan and Tim were suffering for the excesses of singing on the Santa Special Trains at Preston but just about managed to sing without too much coughing and spluttering!
After more materials were requisitioned on Thursday, the job was finished on Friday morning and it should be possible to remove the shuttering this Wednesday. 
The photos show the gang concreting and John Dixon levelling off and then brushing off the finished concrete.
Tim continued the long task of filling and sanding the north side of the RSR’s TPO vehicle on Wednesday and then Fred and Roger spent Friday painting one of the headstocks and a bogie side.
Staying with the TPO, the new water filler cover has now been fitted.
Adrian is continuing to work on Caliban‘s motion and Howard is seen here fettling one of the loco’s new sand box covers.
Keith has been undertaking some more metalwork on Wootton Hall and was joined on Saturday by George to prepare the new extension pieces for the tender frames for welding.
John Dixon was once again diverted from fitting out the mess room kitchen, with compacted ash having been laid in the six foot between roads 3 and 4 in the unheated part of the shed during the week. After a long discussion which eliminated many options, it was decided that there was no easy way to get ready mixed concrete in from a lorry. Therefore the best way forward was to mix it manually in the concrete mixer. Ed and John therefore got on with the job of making up the shuttering and cement, sand and aggregate have now arrived for mixing on Wednesday.
Mike and John Davis have created a replacement filler cover, seen here on the right.
Keith is seen here making sure that all areas have been adequately covered before they are put back outside.
Alan had a trying weekend as he managed to lock his keys in the car at Preston on Saturday (very late arrival home) and his central heating has packed up!
The tracks at the east end of roads three and four in the shed have now been packed which has enabled John Dixon to lay some Visqueen against the rails to stop concrete sticking to them and causing cracks when drying. It also stops the concrete from seeping into the four foot, which isn’t going to be concreted. Ash has now been laid to top up the levels in the six foot and the job now moves on to the shuttering phase.
Mike has been lettering the gas compartment doors for the RMB, surely one of the very last jobs remaining on the project. 
Tim has been busy sanding the RSR’s TPO coach and Mike and John Davis have been tackling the replacement of one of the water filler covers. Fred and Roger have continued the job of cleaning and painting the headstocks and bogies. The proofs for the graphics have been received and approved. It was only during this process that it emerged that the dimension panels at the opposite ends of the coach differed, one stating that the width was 2.74m whilst the other showed 2.83m! We have plumped for 2.74m so at least they will be consistent in future, if incorrect!
Adrian has once again been working on the job of cleaning and painting Caliban‘s motion whilst Alan has achieved success at last in removing a stubborn pin from one of the motion retaining collars.
Wootton Hall‘s tender wheels were grit blasted on Saturday and two of the wheelsets had received the attention of David’s paint brush by the end of the day. 
Keith has continued to work on the replacement steel sections for the front of the tender which are now held in place prior to welding at some point in the future.
The RSR’s Santa Specials started this last weekend with Alan and Tim providing the music and various other FRT members assisting. Alison and Jen staffed the sales stand and Alison took the opportunity to photograph Tim’s latest Christmas hat – we’re not sure that Father Christmas will approve of the two legs poking out of the top of the chimney which suggest that he (Santa, not Tim!) has feasted on too many mince pies!
Tim has begun the task of sanding down the sides whilst Mike Rigg and John Davis have been attending to the end sockets which allow access to the water filler pipes. A new cover will be required for one of the sockets. Mike and John have also been removing the seals from around the sliding doors in order to allow access for painting. 
The new replacement warning sign has been affixed to the new gas compartment door and the paint touched up. 
Fred has been cleaning up the bogies with a wire brush and has removed the redundant steps (the bogies came from a different vehicle) whilst Roger has begun the task of applying primer.
And Ade has been attending to Caliban‘s motion, seen here cleaning out one of the holes.
John Dixon has continued the task of fitting out the kitchen area of the new mess room and has found that Wickes now have a kitchen sale as well as a 15% discount because they are reorganising the store! 
Cue the purchase of a new three metre work top!
Two new cabinets for the storage of paint have arrived and been filled and lights have now appeared in the 1st class North London Railway coach which is currently being used to store materials.
They then performed for an hour and a half at Abbeyfield in Ulverston early Sunday afternoon before being joined by George on the out door Theatre Street stage at 4 pm to close down the Dickensian Festival in fine style!