Any planning of work for last Wednesday’s working party at Preston went out of the window when we learnt that morning that it was proposed to have a shunt of vehicles in the shed.
It had previously been agreed that Caliban‘s frames would be moved on to road two and that the newly shot blasted and painted tender frames for Wootton Hall would be moved behind the RMB buffet coach on road three. And so it all came about along with the movement of Peckett 0-4-0ST John Blenkinsop into the paint shop from road two, to be replaced by Hunslet 0-6-0ST Kingsley.
Needless to say, work had to start quickly on preparing Caliban‘s frames, including oiling the axleboxes which John is seen here undertaking along with a photo of it in its new position. 
This was a chance to photograph the repainted buffet car out in the open and also the Class 47 cab which Dave and Jo have been preparing for the museum. 
It was also possible to photograph Wootton Hall without the RMB in front of it.
The tender frames are seen here in their new position in the shed.
Well done to Ribble Rail’s Phil and Mike for getting the shunt carried out in a day.
Friday was then spent removing the accommodation bogies from under the tender frames, giving the shed floor a good clean and setting up a display of FRT work and sales tables before the sheds doors were opened officially to the public for the first time for the Heritage Open Days on Saturday and Sunday.
There was a constant flow of visitors to the shed, with a mix of enthusiasts attending the RSR’s Autumn Steam Gala and other members of the public following the Heritage Open Days trail around Preston. Around three hundred people visited the shed and Alison recruited four new members as well as making many sales.
The Saturday was also a milestone event for the restoration of Andy Booth’s converted Hunslet ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0 No. 2890, which made its passenger hauling debut at Preston on the 14.45 train. 
Considering that the boiler had only been placed in the frames in the last ten days, this was quite an achievement and a great birthday present for its owner.
Next week sees Alan, Alison and Tim heading over to Shildon for Locomotion’s Autumn Steam Gala where Furness Railway No. 20 is due to be top and tailing the demonstration line train with some whippersnapper LNER 4-6-2 locomotive called Flying Scotsman…
With the weather looking reasonable last Wednesday, John and Tim applied a gloss coat of paint to the side of the new mess room that will be up against the shed wall when it is moved, hopefully some time in September. For those worried about painting the door, it swings inwards and so can be painted at any time!
Mike and Paul have continued work on the interior of the RMB with the servery heater guards being fitted and a new heater guard for one of the saloons being finished off and painted. John has been replacing some of the architraves around the doors where they have been damaged during the welding repairs.
Despite the absence of other members of the team, Howard has continued his efforts to repair Caliban‘s sanding gear and can be seen here with one of the sand boxes.
Fred and Roger have continued their task of painting Wootton Hall‘s tender frames, which are now beginning to look very smart, and Keith also appeared on Friday to carry on his work on the running plate.
David has made up a presentation board recording Wootton Hall‘s history in readiness for the opening up of the shed for the Heritage Open Days this next weekend. 
John is seen here making it some legs. Do come along this weekend to see progress. And don’t forget, it is also the Ribble Steam Railway’s Autumn Steam Gala.
He then joined Tim on Friday to complete the rub down on the east facing wall of the new cabin and to apply a layer of dark grey undercoat. 
It is hoped to be able to put on the top coat this next Wednesday, which should match the RMB’s roof colour. David came in on Saturday to clear away the stones and earth from around the bottom of the cabin to allow access.
Fred and Roger have been hard at it with paint brushes again on the tender frames. 
Keith, meanwhile has been drilling more holes in the new running plate for Wootton Hall.
They also visited Rocks by Rail for a ride in the FRT’s LMS brake van.
There has again been more progress at Preston, the highlight being the shot blasting of the tender frames, which have now also been primed, with most available working members lending a hand with the paint brush. 
The frames are now in the process of receiving undercoat paint. 
Work has also continued on Wootton Hall‘s engine, with more of the replacement metal for the running board being cut and the buffer beam being filled, sanded and primed; the latter will enable the buffers to be bolted on again. And Matt has been busy making new nuts for the cylinder and valve studs.
The RMB, lino laying now completed, has received further attention from Mike and Paul who have re-installed the buffet sliding door and the cupboards and “bum rest” in the servery area.
There has been more attention given to Caliban, with Adrian working on the frames and sand boxes, John H in the cab, and Howard on the sanding gear.
More progress has also been made with levelling the track on road three of the unheated portion of the shed, with Ed, Phil and Keith seen here.
John is seen above unrolling the last piece of lino for fitting in the RMB, which he completed today. Well done! It looks great!
The cab has been brought round to the shed in case there is time to sand blast it tomorrow with Wootton Hall‘s tender frames. 
As you will see from the photo, it attracted some interest and Alan is seen making some modifications to the bunker.
There has been more work also on Wootton Hall where Keith has been cutting new plate to replace the running boards above the cylinders, which had corroded beyond economic repair. Fred has again been cleaning components.
Matt Bedford has been continuing the task on running a die nut over the studs for the cylinder cover.
A new reversing handle casting for Wootton Hall has appeared, purchased from the Betton Grange team. No doubt Keith would appreciate any contributions towards the cost..
We show a first photo of the interior of the new mess facility. Plans are being made to re-site it and have it plumbed in, hopefully in the not too distant future. Meanwhile, we have taken delivery of some surplus chairs from the RSR which will be used in the mess room and also for future meetings at Preston.
John has continued his lino laying in the RMB and should hopefully move into the servery area this next week, where the melamine panels and metal beading strips are now securely in place after attention from Mike and Paul. 
After screwing in the beading, Paul has been cleaning up the corner cupboards and assisting Tim with replacing a sliding door runner and with refitting the door itself. David has also removed the buffet door and bottom runner ready for the new lino.
Fred has again been busy cleaning some of Wootton Hall‘s brake components…. 
…whilst Roger has been cleaning up the threads on the end of the brake beams using a rather unconventional bench to support them! George has, amongst other things, been needle gunning the running plate. Matt has been cleaning up threads on the studs for the cylinder covers whilst Keith has continued to fit lubrication pipework.
We mustn’t forget the continuing work on Fluff where Alan Ogden has finished refurbishing the ammeter.
Looking forward, Alan and Alison are due to head off to Shildon this next weekend for FR 20’s next steamings and a person has been engaged to sand blast Wootton Hall‘s tender frames on the 10th August.
We start this week with the news that the Trustees have agreed the purchase of the portable office on the Ribble Steam Railway site, close to the FRT shed, that was formerly used by the Amber Trains training company. The acquisition of such a building for a mess room had been planned for some time, but the project has been on hold waiting for space alongside the shed to be cleared. The fact that this building is already on site and would otherwise have been returned to the hirer meant that a deal beneficial to both parties, which saved on transport costs, could be done. David has now transferred across the money to complete the purchase, so all we need now are some tables, chairs, kitchen units and the hanging baskets..!
There has, however, been considerable progress with the re-installation of the melamine panels in the RMB, assisted by the welcome return of Paul Newton on Friday. The photographs speak for themselves. There is, however, still plenty to do before this job is finished.
Fred and Roger appeared on Friday and continued their work on cleaning components. Fred is seen here using the needle gun on Wootton Hall‘s cylinder block. Keith and Matt have also been at work on the loco.
And we mustn’t forget the continuing work on Fluff, where Alan Ogden has been refurbishing the electrical termination boxes.
There was much measuring and double checking of measurements on Wednesday and Friday as the lino was cut and it is hoped to be able to glue some of it down permanently this next week. Re-instatement of the panelling in the servery area has had to take a back seat during Mike’s absence but no doubt its time will come.
Adrian had a quiet day under Caliban with the paintbrush on Wednesday whilst Alan and John H continued their work on the running board repairs. Howard did further work on the sanding gear whilst Alan Ogden (who seems to be commuting between Lancashire and Devon) re-appeared to work on Fluff.
Mike has been fitting more wood in the buffet car and arranged a trial fit of the melamine panels in the servery area to check the location of the securing holes for the ‘bum rest’ which has then to be fitted and aligned with suitable wooden backing pieces behind the melamine. 
Mike also refitted the original sign back on to the old gas box door. 
Tim took the plunge and cut the first piece of lino to rough dimensions ready for detailed fitting whilst John continued his task of repairing the flooring at the door entrances and also started the task of setting the brass door treads into the floor.
There has been more fitting and welding of new pieces for Caliban‘s new running board. 
Staying with Caliban, Howard has been preparing the tooling for creating a square hole in the new piece of sanding gear.
Fred has been busy again with the wire brush cleaning up a borrowed cylinder lubrication bracket which is to be used as a pattern for a new one for Wootton Hall. 
Matt has again been busy with the paintbrush priming the Hall’s cylinders.
And finally, Alison has now received a new batch of Cumbria badges (sponsored by a member) to add to the 5643 badges displayed last week – why not buy one of each at £3.95 per badge?
Mike and Tim continued on the job of piecing together panelling and wood for the servery area of the RMB. All a bit confusing as they have found some bits of window frame which don’t seem to have a home! However, there is a plan to get more of the jigsaw back in place this next Wednesday and it won’t be too long before it will be time to lay some lino.
Absent from the blog for a few weeks have been reports of Howard breaking bits of Caliban‘s sanding gear. Just for once we have a photo of a new component (which Howard has made) alongside its mate and the broken piece.
Further red oxide has been applied to the front frames of Wootton Hall and Tim has taken some time out from the RMB to start applying a layer of filler on the front buffer beam to cover up dimples in the metalwork caused by corrosion over the years. Keith has been busy with some of the new copper tube for the lubrication runs and it is planned to have a photo of some of this work in a future blog. Meanwhile, on a slightly smaller loco, Anthony Jolly reappeared on Wednesday after the birth of his daughter to recommence work on Fluff.
Outside the shed, a Pete Marquis lorry has been steadily removing the large pile of spoil where the future FRT mess hut is to be sited. But we are told that even more spoil might land there before the mess hut can appear…!
Trustee Peter van Zeller and member Dickon Chaplin-Brice are seen here on Saturday with the soon to be unveiled plaque to mark the re-opening of the railway museum at Ravenglass. 
The official opening was performed by Antiques Roadshow expert and railway author Paul Atterbury prior to a buffet lunch and a return trip to Dalegarth behind River Irt. The special was, incidentally, driven by David Moseley who was responsible for the manufacture of FR 20’s new chimney back in 1998.
Alan and Alison were to be found at the preserved Kirby Stephen East Station on the Stainmore Railway which was holding a model railway event on Saturday and Sunday. As can be seen from the photo, Alan was in his element in the Station Master’s office where he was able to display his tinplate ‘o’ gauge railway in public for the first time. Appropriately, a Furness Railway train of six-wheeled coaches can be seen rounding the bend on the left hand side of the picture. 
Alison occupied herself with the sales stand whilst young Matthew tried his hand at driving a traction engine!
And finally, whilst on the subject of the sales stand, Alison now has a splendid badge of 5643 which can be seen here. They are available at £3.95 each.