First of all, sorry that we are a couple of days late this week, due to the overloaded diaries of the blog team. Apologies…
Following on from the announcement in last week’s blog of the sad passing of Chris Mills, we can now confirm that Chris’s funeral will be held at Preston Crematorium at 11.30 next Monday, 18th June. This will be followed in the early afternoon by a gathering at the Ribble Steam Railway where light refreshments will be available.
In the workshop there was a marked step forward on the (not so) mini project to remove the remaining extremely stubborn spring hanger pins from Caliban‘s frames. A further four pins were removed with the aid of an air powered hammer. Ade and David Starkie are seen here in action. Unfortunately, the air compressor sprang an oil leak and one pin, which has so far shown not one iota of movement, is still left to be extracted.
Sanding of the exterior woodwork of the Royal Saloon GER No. 5 has been completed and John Dixon is working his way around the coach with the wood filler. Tim has therefore been able to start the process of applying gold size, the effect of which can be seen by the accompanying photo, where the upper panels have received the gold size. Almost the whole of the north side of the vehicle has now been treated and more progress is anticipated this next week.
Outside the shed, there has been good progress on preparing the exterior of the mess room for painting. Fred had started the job the previous week and Paul Newton and John Davis are seen here on the roof applying the full force of the power washer. More red oxide on the exterior had appeared by the weekend and it is hoped to be able to continue this progress whilst the weather holds fair.
A further visit was made to Carnforth on Thursday by Alan, Keith and John Dixon to gather together the remaining small components that could be transported back to Preston with the RSR’s pick up. The next stage is to arrange a crane and lorry to transport the frames, wheels and tank.
The blog team received some “earache” for not mentioning last week the successful trial of Alison’s cream teas in the former FRT buffet car on the Bank Holiday Sunday. Assisted by Matt Bedford, the teas provided to the “guinea pigs” received the thumbs up and so a public launch is now planned for Sunday, 19th August. Well done, Alison.
The ten year boiler certificate for Furness Railway No. 20 expires on the 8th July and so it is planned to have a “last hurrah” for the loco at the RSR on the 7th and 8th July. Then it will be a case of stripping it down for overhaul in the FRT shed. Plenty there to keep us busy over the autumn and winter months.
And finally, a reminder that the RSR is holding its first Beer and Cider Festival this weekend complete with Classic Cars in attendance and a vintage bus service from Preston station. Late trains will be running on Saturday evening.