Despite the warmer weather this week, John Dixon and Tim managed to get two coats of undercoat applied to the roof of Great Eastern Railway Royal Saloon No. 5. John surprised us all by having to confess that he had discovered a rare mistake in that he had put one of the rain strips in the wrong place!! Still, as they say, the man who never made a mistake never did anything! Heat permitting, it is hoped to put a top coat of paint on the roof on Wednesday.
Ade has been trying to fit the larger of Caliban‘s two pistons into one of the re-bored cylinders. A skim on a lathe is probably now required to ensure that this job can be completed.
John Davis and Phil Bell have made further progress in fitting Fluff’s new roof.
We had a rare visit from Bob Thomson on Friday. We couldn’t get a smile out of him for the photo but assume that he was happy to be back.
We hear that Andy Booth should be able to make a start on an interim re-tubing of ‘Austerity’ 0-60ST Cumbria next week. Arrangements are being made to transport the new tubes from Preston to Embsay.
Friday sees our folk group, Live Steam, making another appearance at the Engine Inn, Cark-in-Carmel starting at 8.30 pm. Please pop along and support the band if you are in the area.
Finally, the latest edition of The Iron Horse magazine has been delivered from the printer and should be with members very shortly, along with the Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts and an invitation to the Annual General Meeting, which will be held on Tuesday evening, 13th September.
John Davis and John Dixon are seen moving the cage door into position.
John Dixon makes the final adjustments to the cage.
Phil Bell and John Dixon secure the roof.
Inside the shed, John Davis and Phil Bell have lifted the first half of Fluff’s roof into place. John Davis is in Fluff’s cab whilst John Dixon (right) continues his work on the final two vents for the roof of Great Eastern Railway Royal Saloon No. 5. Matt Crabtree and Keith Brewer discuss progress on welding new steelwork on Wootton Hall’s tender.
We were pleased to welcome Wilfie Pinch who has spent his first day working in the FRT shed. He is seen here with Sam preparing daily water treatment sachets for FR 20.
Ade has been wrestling with Caliban’s valve spindles.
The overhaul of Great Eastern Railway Royal Saloon GER No. 5 moves on, with John Davis seen here removing the old leatherette to allow more detailed inspection of the interior and then planned replacement by moquette.
John Dixon is nearing completion of the new gas bottle cage, the concrete base for which was laid as planned last Wednesday.
We are nearing the end of work on the roof of Great Eastern Railway Royal Saloon No. 5. John Dixon is finishing off a few jobs before it will be time to apply several coats of white paint onto the roof. The tops have now been fitted to the gas lamp housings.
Phil and Anne Burton appeared last Wednesday and we are pleased to be able to report that Anne has been making good progress after damaging her arm in a fall away from the railway. The end of the chaise longue has been removed for further investigation prior to being reupholstered.
The woodwork inside the corridor of the coach has been transformed with the removal of old varnish which has been painstakingly carried out by the very patient and dedicated team. Measurements were taken last week with a view to ordering some replacement veneer where it is needed.
Matt Crabtree was back at work on Wootton Hall’s tender on Saturday where he has been practising his welding skills.
The lower part of the left hand tender side has now received a layer of filler to even out all the old paintwork. Good use has been made of the new dustless sanding machine in preparing the surface for a first coat of paint.
Another project taking shape has been the creation of the new gas bottle cage, with John Dixon seen here working on it. Concrete for the base has been ordered for 4 pm this Wednesday afternoon. Bring your wellies if you would like to lend a hand.
This week’s “seats of the week” photo sees Dave Starkie making a welcome return to speak to Alan Middleton and Keith Brewer.
Finally, Sam Middleton is taking his practical firing test this next Saturday. He was spotted having some pre-exam practice on Grant Richie No. 272 last Saturday. Good luck, Sam!
Work has continued on Great Eastern Railway Royal Saloon No. 5 where the gas lamp housings and torpedo vents now have been re-fitted to the roof. Again, there has been more progress in refurbishing the interior woodwork.
Young Matthew Owen, having achieved a welding certificate, also appeared a week last Wednesday to lend a hand and is seen here grinding rust from the old steelwork in readiness to weld in new plate. Needless to say, Matthew found that welding rusty metal is more of a challenge than the pristine steel found in the college workshop!
Finally, the Jubilee Weekend saw Furness Railway No. 20 in service at Preston on both the 4th and 5th June, complete with headboard and flags.
We are sorry to have to start this week’s blog with the sad news that Andy MacGregor passed way last Tuesday night, having been in care for some years after having suffered a stroke. Andy was a prominent working member of the Lakeside Railway Society, becoming a fireman and tackling all sorts of jobs during his time at Haverthwaite. He also joined in the busy social life that we had in those days. He joined British Rail’s S&T department and, after living at Crewe, Shirley and Timperley, finally returned “home” with his family to Kendal. We send our heartfelt condolences to wife Gill and sons James and Robert. We have not yet received details of Andy’s funeral.
Work has continued at Preston on the overhaul of Great Eastern Railway royal saloon No. 5. John Dixon has bee re-fitting the rain strips on the roof.
Fred has started the process of painting the gas lamp housing lids ready for them to be re-fitted.
Finally, there has been a request for Furness Railway No. 20 to haul Ribble Steam Railway’s trains over the Jubilee weekend and so time was taken by Sam last Wednesday to clean up a headboard dating back to L&HR days made for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977.
John Dixon has now completed the re-fitting of the cornice mouldings on the upper sides of Great Eastern Royal Saloon No. 5 which meant the he and Tim were able to apply a 50:50 mix of canvas bonding paste and boiled linseed oil to the whole of the canvas on the roof last Wednesday. Friday then saw the gas lamp bases being fitted from under the roof in readiness for the upper sections to be fitted at a future date.
John has since been assembling the roof rain strips for fitting.
The torpedo vents have been painted undercoat white, again in readiness for fitting.
Furness Railway locomotive No, 20 arrived back at Preston safe and sound last Thursday morning after its successful visit to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. Ade was on hand to shunt it around to the FRT shed where it now requires a clean to remove the inevitable road film gained on its journey. The opportunity has been taken to remove the water from the boiler and a full washout may be carried out depending upon what is found when removing the bottom wash out plugs. The observant will notice that the locomotive is now facing west rather than east, the outcome of having to re-route the low loader under a low bridge to avoid using the overbridge at Quainton which has now had a 3 ton limit imposed. The chimney of the loco therefore needed to be placed adjacent to the neck on the low loader instead of above the rear wheels.
Work has continued both inside and outside Great Eastern Railway Royal Saloon No. 5. Work is progressing well on removing old varnish from the interior woodwork and those concerned are to be congratulated on their perseverance. John Dixon has been fitting and sealing the upper wooden gutters which also help to retain the roof canvas in place. The next job will be to apply a mix of bonding paste and boiled linseed oil to the canvas on the roof.
Tim is making slow but steady progress on preparing the outside of Wootton Hall‘s tender tank for eventual painting.
Furness Railway 0-4-0 No. 20 set off from Preston last Wednesday morning for a trip south to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre for the Spring Steam Gala there. Alan and Alison departed the following day, Tim on Friday morning and then Ade early on Saturday morning, all staying at the Premier Inn at Aylesbury. Alan spent Friday with our long term friend Frank Boait ensuring that the locomotive was back in one piece after the re-fitting of the sand pipes and guard irons and then Saturday saw steam being raised on FR 20 and the usual fitness to run examination. There was then time to shunt the three vintage carriages to be used and to take some photographs in the sunshine.
One of the most notable things when boarding the footplate was the presence of black ovoids in the tender, made from compressed coal dust from the Ffos-y-Fran surface mine in Wales. There were warnings that a good wood fire was necessary as a base to getting the ovoids to burn, but in fact there were no problems as long as the ovoids were given time ‘to cook’ before heat was required. There was, however, some clinker on the fire grate at the end of each operating day, but that did not appear to affect FR 20’s ability to steam!
Sunday was the quieter of the two day Gala and Alison, who had brought down some FRT merchandise with her, needed to shelter from the fresh breeze and showers in the waiting room.
However, warmer weather on the Monday brought out more visitors and there was a constant steam of passengers for FR 20’s vintage train rides. People seemed very impressed with the appearance of the locomotive and Alison, now in a prominent place on the platform, was able to take a tidy sum for the FRT.
Ade, Alan and Tim took in turns to assist on the footplate which allowed a chance to explore the extensive site and view the other four locomotives in steam. Sam and John Dixon visited on Sunday and we have yet another of our Seats of the Week photographs when Ade, John and Tim sampled the splendid miniature railway which has a home on the site.
Back at Preston Keith has been progressing the manufacture of the new reverser for former GWR 4-6-0 No. 4979 Wootton Hall.
Work has continued with the removal of varnish from the interior of Great Eastern Railway Royal Saloon No. 5, with Phil Bell and John Davis taking advantage of the good weather last Wednesday lunchtime to have a seats of the week photo taken!
John Dixon has been making up some replacement step boards for GER No. 5 with wood provided by Fred Jones.
Paul Newton has been removing old paint from the metal castings on the former Furness Railway bench.
Furness Railway No. 20 operated the Ribble Steam Railway’s train service on Saturday coincident with a visit from the Industrial Railway Society which was holding its AGM at the Railway that day. We are pleased to report that, after the previous adjustments to the right hand crosshead and big end, the loco performed very well. It is seen here taking a drop of water at the column to see it through to the end of the day. Alan and Sam have been back on site today to prepare the loco for the low loader that will transport it to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre on Wednesday. FR 20 will be taking part in the BRC’s Spring Steam gala this next Sunday and Monday along with four other steam locos and is due to be back at Preston the following Wednesday.
Sam was missing at Preston on Saturday having taken advantage of an invitation to travel on the Festiniog Railway’s famous gravity slate train. Here it is with no less than three FRT members on board!
Finally, it has been commented that the blog rarely contains a photo of Tim, mainly because he is usually the one taking photos of others! However, Diane Muldowney caught Tim on camera on Saturday and kindly sent us this picture of him holding the FRT headboard on FR 20 at the end of the day.