2015

Work is still being undertaken on 6071.

Just before the new year, the tyres were painted white and bring out a new look to below the solebar.

We are still awaiting sign writing to commence, this will begin once the volunteer has finished other projects. The aim is to have 6071 in service ASAP as other then sign writing, we only need to fix the wooden brake strengtheners, Wagon Plates and vacuum hoses and it will undertake its FTR.

(copyright Tommy Lees 2015)

Above is the west side, with the newly painted tyres. They really do make everything stand out more.

Copyright Tommy Lees 2015

A view of the east side, again with the newly painted tyres.

Wooden spacers

Two new wooden spacers have been delivered (around a month ago)

These have now been trial fitted, with the holes now drilled. These are now awaiting priming before being inserted into the brake tension bars. 

The two original have now been re-inserted and tightened. The pins will need a touch up however the west side is now complete.

Still awaiting to commence work on the lettering. 

Update 27/08/14

Small update

The buffer bolts have now been attached to the wagon and just need painting to match the rest.

The wood has arrived for the brake spacers. These need marking out, drilling and then protecting for the elements.

The final paint livery has been sent to our new member and work should start on the livery in a couple of weeks.

The other work of split pin replacing is going to start during the colder months as this can be done without the weather playing an impact.

Update 6.8.14

A sketch of A6071 done some years ago has been found with all the important details regarding the livery in which 6071 should go in. (thanks go to Ronnie for doing this and to Phil for finding them) Notice the A was dropped then. That's because it will now be known as 6071, the A was added later.

Hopefully, lettering will be seen in the next couple of weeks, depending on availability and weather. This does mean that work on other projects may be hindered, however now that the group are working approximately 3 days a week, work will continue elsewhere.

Also some key details:
The tyre rims are going to be painted white to brighten up the bottom half
The "BP" will have "-" either side

An End is really in sight for 6071. The prospect of it running in October is rather tight, especially as pins and Vacuum hoses need fitting as well as a FTR exam on the axle boxes, not to mention the fitting of new plates and wooden spacers in the brakes. A completion date is hopefully set for the January Gala. Keep checking back weekly for further updates.

Update

As some of you maybe aware, we have now sourced bolts for the buffer mountings, these will be fitted in due course. We have also got some gasket material on order for the discharge pipe. This will mean the pipework will have to come off to fit. We already knew we would have to do this and actually this job should only take a day to complete. Whilst the bolts are off, we will also drill holes into them and fit new split pins. This then crosses 3 jobs off the to do list.

A supporter of ours, Mr B Hallett has been in contact and has a book of liveries which may come in handy. He has advised us that normal household paint is suitable for sign writing and will of course give us any extra help in sign writing. A couple of useful tips were also learnt, which we wont discuss yet, we will let you find out what they are once we have completed this step. Writing should commence within the next couple of months, starting by applying the star and hopefully the Identification Numbers on the end.

Almost finished

Sorry about the wait for an update. Due to circumstances work was put on hold however work has now resumed.

Work started off this week on applying coats of gloss to areas which we missed, including the ladder which had lost its coat due to being used.

Keith meanwhile freed the release valve, which had become stuck due to paint seeking into the thread.

Not a lot can happen now, its sitting in its final coat of gloss, awaiting the logos and sign writing to be applied, and a couple of other items also need addressing however these are awaiting the return of Phil.

Below are recent photos showing the newly applied "Overhead Live Wire" signs. They really stand out against a pure black back ground

Work Week

A bit late this one as work week occurred last week. And it proved to be a eventful week which has moved A6071 onto the home straight.

Tuesday:
Work was carried out on rubbing down the barrel so that it was ready to receive its second coat of gloss. All of the barrel was rubbed back as the photos show below.

Copyright Tommy Lees 2014

Copyright Tommy Lees 2014

Thursday:

Was a pretty basic day, took delivery off new 5/8 and 1/2 whitworth bolts. We now have spares for our other projects as well as bolts to replace none whitworth which are currently attached.

Friday:

First job of the day was to replace the none Whitworth bolts with the correct bolt. These included ones for the ladder, the pipe support bracket and some brake rigging. Below are photos of the newly attached pipe work. Note the west side is missing a release valve, if anyone has a spare off any tank wagon that will fit then please do get in touch.

Copyright Tommy Lees 2014

Copyright Tommy Lees 2014

Copyright Tommy Lees 2014

The afternoon was spent glossing the North End face of the tank. Once again, the weather has maintained to a standard glossing is possible. The wagon had to be slightly moved to allow space for the ladder. It was then glossed within an hour. Below is a photo taken on the day

Copyright Tommy Lees 2014

Saturday:

Once again the weather was fantastic gloss weather, allowing the top, and the three remaining sides to be glossed in the second coat. This took just over 6 hours to complete however has proven a wagon can be painted within a day if the conditions are right.

Below are photos showing A6071 in its second coat.

Copyright Tommy Lees 2014

Copyright Tommy Lees 2014

It does look like the same photos from last year, however these are current photos and shows the level of work which has gone into this project.

This weeks progress:

The first task was to get a stubborn bolt into a tight hole. A bolt which was not correct was replaced with a whitworth bolt however when being removed the holes became out of alignment. With a lot of help, Keith managed to get the bolt back into place and it is now secured into place. 

Meanwhile, I undertook the job of applying the new "Warning Over Head Live Wires" signs to the sides of the barrel. It is an extremely fiddly job using nuts and bolts which can only be compared to Meccano. Out of the 8 holes to attach, only one nut was lost which when you consider the size is really good going. The job took an hour and the signs look lovely on the sides. They really stand out with a black back ground, of course this will change once writing has started to appear.

The afternoon was spent attaching the west side pipe work without the valve as we are still looking for a replacement valve. This proved slightly difficult as the bolts we used are to attach the pipe to the valve, not pipe to pipe. Once we have the valve, these bolts will be better.

We also placed the lid of the pipe onto its right position. However it is not connected to the chassis like the other via a chain as it is missing a link. We took a decision for a temporary solution to use some scrap metal and bent it into a chain and interlinked it between the two. It will last until we replace it with new chain. 

Unfortunately the nice weather did not last, and work was called off before photos could be took however I will post photos as soon as possible.

As you can see, this week has progressed A6071 to an almost finished state. Apart from the sign writing, only small little things need to be completed and then it shall see service. Keep an eye out when passing through Swithland for our latest progress