A6071 Tank Wagon: 2013

Wednesday, 18 December 2013

Merry christmas and Happy new year

Last work day for 2013, well for myself any how. Keith will be possibly down once more before year end but that depends on weather. On this last day, a couple of things occurrd. The day started by removing the west ladder, so that it can be cleaned during the next cold spell. It came off relatively easy and us now resting upon the adjecent conflat.

Work on the east side continues, with more paint being removed and matching the rest of the barrel currently sitting in a Barry condition. This will be easily removed and then primed when weather improves.

A completion date of June is seeming reasonable, with mainly painting the only work to be done.

The start of 2014 may also see the start of two other projects, more info can be found on our website

And finally, we wish all of our followers a Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year
GCR WAGON GROUP

Sunday, 24 November 2013

A surprising find

Just a quick post today. Work on Tuesday concentrated upon the east side of the barrel once more, with progress advancing even in this cold weather. Whilst cleaning back, the above was found. Believed to be apart of the original livery, it seems it is the contents logo, and was painted over in future re-paints. This will sit on the side until measurements have been taken, hopefully this Tuesday, then this can be cleaned and hopefully primed before Christmas.

With Christmas approaching, work is inevitably going to be hit and miss due to weather and commitments. Hopefully, the east side should be fully in primer before the new year.

Sunday, 3 November 2013

Update

Just a short post to update you all on latest progress.

Work has been continuing on the east side of the barrel. Approx 2/3rds of this side is now sitting in primer with the rest moving rapidly along. The group now has access to two ladders which makes it easier to attack both ends simultaneously. Hopefully the weather picks up before it gets worse so that it can have undercoated applied.

The brakes are still awaiting the support blocks which sit inside the metal bars for extra strength. These have been cut and are awaiting delivery. Apart from a couple of bolts missing from a couple of buffers, we would have thought the bottom may be done, however on Tuesday it was noticed the first layer of gloss seems to have a habit of flaking off. This generally seems to be the areas that have been previously cleaned before we started work, however it isn't a big job and will be corrected when we apply the second coat of gloss.

As you can read, a finish is definitely in sight, with the autumn gala 14 looking promising for its debut. If you would like to help in achieving this then do get in touch. Work isn't going to stop either once in service, we are already in discussion with our new project owner, as well as the intention to have multiple projects on going at once...keep your eyes posted on future posts

Sunday, 29 September 2013

Brake, brake and erm ladder?

Just a quick blog today, mainly as the photos will speak more then I can.

The new look west side, with freshly painted axle boxes, axles, and brake gear all attached.

Another view showing the south and west sides. Not long now till a second coat will be applied followed by the all important branding.

Also re-attached is the east side ladder. This was cleaned and painted the back end of 2011 and was sitting on the adjecent conflat since. An imminent shunt in the yard has resulted in this being attached, however this also helps us as we can now start to attack the east side whilst we wait for A6071 to be moved to a suitable location where the scaffold can be left up.

Friday, 13 September 2013

Big update

You would be forgiven if you thought work had stalled. In fact its the complete opposite. Work has made great steps in the last couple of weeks, even with the change in weather.

Firstly, Keith has made good progress on the walkways on the top, as you may remember one had work started on it. These have both been fully cleaned, primed and undercoated. Whilst working on the walkways, he has also made progress on cleaning the main release valve, which again is now sitting in undercoat.

Two weeks ago we undertook a parts exercise, seeing which parts we had, and if any bolts/nuts were to be ordered. This resulted in a order of 10 a2 M16 bolts with nuts and 20 a2 m12 bolts with nuts as well as some spare wickworths nuts for existing bolts. Whilst doing this exercise, we discovered there was actually parts sitting in store that can actually be refitted.

Below are two photos showing newly attached items. These being 2 brake hangers as well as steam pipe work.

A view of the steam pipe work, now re-attached to the pipes.

The first brake hanger back in place, a fiddly job if put on incorrectly as we found out, but that is how we learn.

This week saw a major advancement, and one that has taken a year to complete. The wheels, axles, axle boxes are now sitting in their final colour, nice lovely gloss black. These have been painted, between rain showers, and really give A6071 a view of the end. The west side brake rigging still needs to be re-attached as does the axle tie bar however once these are done, we can say A6071 can actually run.

A view of the completed axles, axles boxes and wheels on the west side.

A view of A6071 looking from the south.

A6071 is now sitting in its first coat on three sides. The East side still needs starting however this is being held up by an imminent shunt taking place within the yard. Hopefully A6071 shouldn't end up right down the yard as we have put a request for it to be moved by one wagon length.

Our next job is to finish the walkways on top, re-attach the release valve gear/wheel and then comes a job that im sure would seem easy at a glance, however is going to prove to be an all day job. This being the re-attachment on the east side ladder, then to take down the west side ladder. Apparantly a crowbar/hammer, wheatabix and a pot of tea may be needed. Look out for updates on this.

I'll close with my normal request for help. If we have inspired you to help then do get in touch. We have a list of wagons that we would like to start on as well as ones currently in the freight train needing a bit of TLC and we do have one of the biggest collections in the country for BR era wagons. They do not look after themselves and we are a small group, so help would be appreciated

Tuesday, 20 August 2013

Quick Update

Just a quick one this week.

Keith has finished cleaning out the inside of the tank, so much so there is an echo even when he is leaning out the tank. A photo will be attached next week showing how clean it now looks. He will be going in with a brush to just tidy up, then it will be inspected by Phil.

Work has continued on the steam valve. This has been cleaned and glossed, with the help of a spray can. Keith has been very busy as not only did he do the work inside the tank, he cleaned down the bolts for the steam valve.

Work for next week will focus on the main release pipe, and also a fitting exercise to see what bolts need to be ordered. If there is time, we may even start cleaning the east face.

Tuesday, 13 August 2013

A finish in site?

Last Wednesday work concentrated upon the axles. These have been cleaned, primed and undercoated. Whilst these were being cleaned, date stamps were found. The south Axle dates from 1927 where as the north axle is 1948. The south west wheel has now been undercoated as well. These are all going to be glossed on the same day, along with the north west wheel. Below is a photo of the newly undercoated south axle.

Keith was busy on Saturday. All the west brake components have now been fully glossed and are now ready to be re-attached. These will be re-attached once he has finished cleaning the inside of the barrel. Whilst Keith had the gloss out, he also applied the first coat to the south end face of the barrel, now meaning THREE yes THREE sides are now in black gloss. The picture below was taken this morning before work commenced.

To today's report. Keith once again has been inside the barrel scraping the rust and dirt from inside. Its a big job and a real difference can be seen when looking in. He believes one more day inside and it should be clean, depending on results from inspection by Phil. The long term aim is to use A6071 as a water carrier for the engines, so the insides do have to be suitable.

For me, work concentrated on taking the steam valve off the side of the tank. A few months back, Keith applied grease to release the nuts, making them easy to take off. The only reason it wasn't taken off then was it was tightly fitted. For a job that would take approximately 5 mintues from looking at it, it instead took an hour to free. Cleaning it up is going to be a big job. The main issue is that it is made out of brass like material, meaning using an angle grinder with wire brush is not a suitable method. Next week I will try cleaning it up with some Brasso. Below is a photo showing where the steam valve is attached.

The main work is now focused on several areas again. The list of items to be done is growing, not shrinking and the list in summary is below.

Clean and paint the west walkway
Clean and paint the valve pipe (runs through the tank, only top half to be done)
Gloss the west coast wheels, axles and axle boxes
Clean and paint east side of barrel
Clean up steam valve
Attach wood blocks to brakes.
Re-attach west side brakes
Clean and paint the west ladder
re-attach the east ladder
second coat the barrel in gloss
apply logos
apply small writing
attach new wagon plates
re-assemble discharge pipes

Once all the above has been completed, then A6071 can enter service on the freight train and also be used by the GCR. If you would like to help us accomplish the list then please do email me on thomas_lees_21@hotmail.com. There are plenty of wagons for us to work on and the future of the GCR is looking bright, with a future for freight running over the 18 miles between Leicester and Nottingham. It will be like the 50's all over again, so come and join us.

Tuesday, 6 August 2013

6.8.2013

Hi Folks

Just a small update for today.

Keith has been busy in the last couple of weeks. All the small components have now received gloss on three sides, the fourth will be done on Saturday (mainly for ease of storage). Also the brake blocks and handle have also had three sides done, again these will be finished Saturday.

The fourth wheel is now fully in primer, awaiting undercoat. The plan is now to clean the main axles and prime these, then undercoat the axles and the wheel in one go. Then the two wheels, axles and axle boxes will then be in gloss.

Speaking of axles, these have started to be cleaned, however each one is only half done. Reason? Simple. Keith has been inside the tank again cleaning out the 40+ years off dirt and rust, which is being pushed out the main hole at the bottom. Not really practicable to clean these with dirt falling on me. However I have the next few days off work so I have a good chance to get these finished. Photos will also be up tomorrow, Including new stamps found.

Look out for more updates

Tuesday, 16 July 2013

ITS BLACK!!

It has been a couple of interesting weeks working on A6071. Weather has been glorious, and this has allowed us too advance A6071 to a new life.

Last week, work concentrated upon small items, mainly the valve gear from the top of the barrel. This is now sitting in undercoat, waiting to be glossed.

Work also progressed on the fourth and final axle, which today has now been completely cleaned. It is now awaiting primer, then will receive a finish like the others in a lovely coat of black.

Keith has made a start of cleaning out the old rust and dirt that accumulated within the barrel itself. Not an easy job and has been postponed until a cooler day to resume.

That is all work that has been happening in the last couple of weeks. Today a major advancement has been achieved, as can be seen in the photos attached.

With the weather being as hot and glorious as it is present, it is perfect to apply the first coat of gloss. This has now been applied on the north end as well as the west.

A comment was made today, doesn't it look weird sitting in black. We got so used to it being in red and grey that, being in black was something different. We also thought the end was in sight...until we remember the east side is still sitting in weathered condition, i.e. see below.

With two sides sitting now in their first layer of gloss, and the third to hopefully be done Saturday, an end is definitely in sight. January may seem too optimistic, but with weather like this it could be done. It could be done sooner with more help and we always welcome new members. There is a lot of wagons currently in store that could be seen at galas, and if you would like that sense of achievement in making it happen then do please get in touch.

Tommy

Sunday, 16 June 2013

Holiday season

No update for a month, you may have thought work has stopped on A6071. Especially with work commitments and holidays taking up time. However I can report today work has been continuing at a pace.

Keith has cleaned and primed the top of the barrel. It is no easy task, especially on a domed surface. However the west side and the top have been primed, leaving only the walkways to be completed. He has also taken apart all the locks from the lid, which are currently stored pending cleaning. The lid has also been undercoated and matches the rest of the barrel.

I re-started work this morning for the first time in a month. I have now under coated the areas in which Keith has attacked previously and they do look nice in the grey charcoal undercoat we use. See the pictures below and you will see what I mean.

Newly painted tank lid. This will need touching up in due course.

The north end of the lid/barrel currently sitting in undercoat. The walkway at front of picture is yet to be cleaned

South view, with the valve pipe clearly visible. This will be cleaned in due course, and then the valve wheel will be re-assembled.

The south view, this part of the walkway has been cleaned and is now sitting in undercoat.

As you can see work is still progressing well. There are some plans a foot for a small work week in August in which hopefully a major push will happen. Again with more volunteers, this project can be moved on quicker so I end this update like normal with an advert for help. Do get in contact either on here or by emailing me on thomas_lees_21@hotmail.com and I will pass on your details to our group leader.

Sunday, 12 May 2013

Busy week

What a glorious start to the week we had. And we certainly took advantage of this great weather. On bank holiday Monday, the weather was so good that it was a good opportunity to get the north west axle in undercoat, to match the axle box.

To paint this whole wheel took a good hour n half to complete and I think the pictures show the level of work gone into this.

Also on the Monday, the opportunity was there to prime the valve components from the top of the tank. Only one piece has not been primed, which is the wheel. This will be primed once finished cleaning.

Tuesday, the weather was still great, and again we capitalised on this. Both my self and Keith decided that the barrel should be put in undercoat. So that is what we did. We spent the whole session turning the tank from Homebargain colours to a lovely charcoal grey. This includes the top of the barrel, and the whole of the west side. The pictures below show the current stage it is sitting in.

Once we finished painting, we had to stand back. It has taken 20 months of hard work, but we can finally say 2/3rds of the barrel are now in undercoat. This just leaves the east side to do. And if you haven't seen any photos of what this looks like, look below.

The photo was taken back in 2011 when I first started work on this, Keith joined around August 2011. Since then a lot of work has been accomplished. And with the barrel being in undercoat, we really can see a finish becoming more and more closer. However there is still a lot of work to do, and we could finish this project a lot quicker with more help, so do get in touch.

Ps there will be no update next week due to work commitments

Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Tuesday 30.4.13

After a busy weekend with the Gala, work was concentrated on two areas.

Keith seems to enjoy cleaning all the parts for the handbrake, and today he made good progress cleaning two tension bars. They seem easy to clean, however originally they had a very thin protective layer which is difficult to come off. Keith had good patience on these as the two were looking smooth before lunch. Once these were cleaned, he primed them using the usual red primer and left them in the safety of the van to dry.

My main area of work was once again on the spokes on the north west axle. The best way to clean these is with a drill and a screwdriver. It took roughly an hour to clean these. These were then painted and now the whole wheel is sitting in primer, looking rather eye catching currently red.Looking at the picture you can see what I mean. The main connection between the wheels will be tackled soon, however from trying last year, there is a very thick substance which we know will destroy the brushes.

Attacking the spokes took less time then I thought, so after lunch I started attacking the fourth and final wheel. As per usual I started at the back and will finish towards the hub. The main outer tyre cleaned up easy. Moving to the hub itself revealed another date stamp, one that has yet to be mentioned in this blog.

The south end wheel set is from 1927, as seen from the date stamp above. The north end dates from 1948. And it is different in appearance to. The spokes on the south are at a slight angle, with a different pattern in-between. The axle boxes themselves are different in appearance, only if you look at them closely mind.

Once the hub was cleaned, work then concentrated upon the back side of the spokes. This uncovered another great surprise, although if you have read mainline magazine, you will notice it is nothing new to me. This is the thickness of the dirt that comes off. In some places, it is an inch thick. You can imagine the state I looked when I came out from underneath the wagon. Only half the backs have been cleaned due to time. This whole section that has been cleaned, is currently sitting in our old friend, Red primer. This can be seen below.

Before any of the above took place, we had re-fitted the axle tie bar to the east side. This was painted a couple of months ago in gloss and looked lovely. shame it had chips once we had finished re-attaching it. However we were expecting this, so once it was tightened up, and we had our good friend out, we decided we would prime all the chipped paint areas, including any parts of the brake rigging which has been unfortunate in loosing paint. This progress can be seen below.

A busy gala resulted in a busy day, progress is being noticeable, a couple of visitors did comment on the paint scheme during the gala. More progress could be possible with more volunteers. So if you would like to help do get in touch.

Sunday, 28 April 2013

Giant leap for the axle boxes

A busy week for the group this week. Work again concentrated on two areas, undercoating the south end of the barrel, and the continuation of cleaning the wheel. 2/3rds of the wheel has now been cleaned, the only area to be completed is the small gap between the spokes, more of a screwdriver and brush job. This should be completed this coming Tuesday.

Because the weather has been nice for the past two sessions (Saturday and Tuesday) it has allowed undercoating of the axle boxes to commence. These really have leaped forward. We will wait to gloss these until the fourth wheel has be cleaned and undercoated. Below is the current view of the west side, showing both axle boxes sitting in there lovely charcoal undercoat.

The above photo is a closer shot of the wheel and new painted axle box. It will make a nice sight once both areas sit in gloss black.

The above shot shows the freshly painted section that was hidden by the brakes. This has been cleaned, primed and undercoated by Keith on a Saturday session. The rest of the area was cleaned last year, as can be seen by the appearance of black gloss. This will be glossed when we have a big gloss session, hopefully by the end of may most of the west side will be in gloss.

This weekend has seen the arrival of a new gala at the GC. The Swithland Steam gala was a brilliant day out, seeing shunting of wagons in the yard, windcutters up the Mountsorrel Branch as well as a freight train running the line, (not on the saturday due to a derailment at Quorn, unfortunately the freight was removed to cater for passenger movement) With the gala however meant that no work was undertaken, so expect an update Tuesday evening on progress, yes I do mean Tuesday as well.

Sunday, 21 April 2013

Glorious Sunshine

This weeks blog is being written a couple of days after work took place.

Last Saturday, Keith made good progress on the south west axle box. It was the only one left to be cleaned and primed. This also included the spring and a back section that was missed with the brakes attached. The photo below shows this work completed.

Now to this weeks work. I made a good start on the north west wheel. The outer face and half the back face have been cleaned and primed. Also three spokes have been cleaned and primed. To complete, the whole wheel takes a good day, and does completely run down the brushes quickly. That's just cleaning. Painting again takes a good couple of hours, mainly due to so many spokes, and getting the brush into small spaces isn't easy either. This wheel will hopefully be completed next week, and then will be ready for painting in undercoat the week after. The picture below shows the outer face and the spokes that are currently sitting in primer.

Whilst the wheel was being attacked, Keith took good advantage of the sun and started applying undercoat to the barrel. The South face, and the south end of the west face have now had their undercoat applied, more was going to be applied this Saturday by Keith and will be discussed next update. Again this takes time as we want a smooth finish, and having to move the ladder also takes time. The overall finish did look smooth, and credit to Keith for taking on the challenge. The photo below shows the areas in which Keith has successfully undercoated.

Hopefully the weather this Tuesday will be the same as this past week, really sunny to allow more painting to commence. I may even stay later to complete more painting if it is really good weather. Work will be halted next weekend however due to the Swithland Steam Gala taking place, do look out for A6071, it is easily recognisable as it is currently in many different colours.

I will end this how I always do by asking willing volunteers to get in touch.

Tuesday, 9 April 2013

9.4.2013 behind the axle boxes

This will be a short piece this week, even though for us, a lot was accomplished taking in the consideration of working areas.

A lot of activity was happening in the yard today, with the GCR PW being in attendance for ballasting of the Mountsorrel Branch, it is nice to see a 37 appear hauling dogfish and a shark.

Keith has previously cleaned the lid at the top, this was re-cleaned (mainly due to not being primed at the time, light surface weathering needed taking off) and primed. This proved interesting as the inside had to be rested upon the lock to stop water gathering. This will be touched up, and under coated in due course.

With the west brakes being off, it has now become possible to clean behind the axle boxes. It is easier without the brakes being assembled, however the accessibility is still not brilliant. A drill with wire brush accessories was mainly used. This area was then primed. The axles will be tackled next before undercoating will begin. Each wheel takes about a day to clean, and about half a day to paint. So we are looking at possibly a month before these will be finished in gloss.

The parts that were cleaned last week have now been put in store. I'm still considering the best approach for painting these. It may well be constructed and painted in stages instead of painting before re-assembly. I have now taken the wheel and the main support home to clean, these will be with the other parts hopefully next week. Mean while the area in which they have come from needs to be cleaned.

Areas to be worked on:
Top of Barrel (Cleaned and painted)
Lid components (taken off, cleaned, painted)
Brake Components (cleaned, Painted)
West side axles (cleaned, Painted)
West side axle box (Cleaned, Painted)
East Barrel face (cleaned, Painted)
Axle tie bars to be re-attached

Once again we seem to have created many jobs, each at different stages. Determining which is more beneficial at the time, weather depending, is key to making sure its done, however each job can be done quicker if we had more support so please do get in touch.

Tuesday, 2 April 2013

2.4.13

After a week off due to commitments, work has resumed. And what a day to have. Sun shining, some heat in sun, and plenty of work to do.

Saturday Keith had cleaned and primed two of the four brake tension bars, as well as tightening all the bolts and pins on the east brake rigging.

Todays work has been more of completing areas that were missed when the sole bar was worked on. These being areas in which were unaccessible mainly due to the rigging.Other areas were the brake handle pivot support and the support for the cylinder housing, as seen in the picture below. These are now in primer and await being painted in undercoat. Hoperfully the weather will hold out.

Whilst I was working on these areas, Keith had assigned himself the task of cleaning the brake handle. Bigger job then he expected. It seems this one was more weathered then the previous one, possibly due to being on the wagon longer without use. Once cleaned it was moved on to the adjoining conflat and painted in primer, as seen below.

This evening has seen parts taken from the valve wheel, located at the top of the tank, cleaned. This has been done away from the site, allowing areas of A6071 to be done at different times. It also means, whilst work is being done on brakes, work is also still being done on the tank and the valve gear. Below is photo of the parts that have been cleaned. Two parts still need to be cleaned, the wheel and the main housing. These are currently located in the tool van, and will be taken home next week to be cleaned.

There is still plenty of work to be done, and still an end is in sight for the end of year. The date for running could be sooner with more help. Please do get in contact if you would like to help, either by volunteering or by donation.

Tuesday, 19 March 2013

18.3.2013 brake change

This week we have gone from the top of the barrel to the brakes. Keith was back and as we had already discussed, we needed to see how many pins needed to be made. We saw fit that we should take the west side apart and reconstruct the east with everything we have available.

Picture shows the west side without brakes. It took just over an hour and half to take apart mainly due to tight bolts.

Picture showing all the components for the brake rigging. The metal pole is not a part, we used it as leverage for the tight bolts.

The afternoon was spent reconstructing the east brakes. This was the first time we had attempted this, and it showed in the time spent working on this. In total 2 hours were spent re-constructing this side, including getting all the parts from the van and organised. As you can imagine, first time led to trial and error. We at one point had the metal bars not lining up, then we couldn't get the handle onto the pivot pin. As to getting the tension right, again it was trial and error.

Photos Copyright Tommy Lees 2013

The picture above and right show the completed east brake rigging re-assembled. There is still some work to be done, re painting certain areas which were disturbed in reconstruction and some that were missed first time. We also need to re-protect and paint the wood in between the metal brackets.

As you can see plenty of work has now been created, as the parts now need to be cleaned and painted, the west axles, axle boxes and main axles need to be cleaned and painted, a couple of areas on the sole bar need cleaning (in accessible due to brakes) as well as the east barrel, top barrel, valve gear. Any help would greatly be appreciated and we are open to new volunteers. You do not need to know anything about wagons, I still have a lot to learn myself, but that is also the fun part of being a volunteer, learn in the process. If you are willing, do get in touch.

Tuesday, 12 March 2013

Cold day in March

Cold day down in Swithland Yard, not only the cold going against the work though. Today, I was working by self. We always have plans if one of the group is away, mainly due to common sense, no power tools are to be used. Luckily there is enough work to do by self. This mainly is all small components on the top of the barrel, relating to the valve wheel on top.

So, once I had finished the usual railway tradition of having a brew, and also having a conversation with a member of S+T that had popped by, I started work on taking to bits all the valve gear. Its a pretty simple piece of apparatus. Photos were taken during the dismantling, to aid putting together again once cleaned and painted. All parts were also labelled, given a description stating the direction they go in and when they were taken off. The photo below is halfway through the dismantling. Best way to describe this is a 3D jigsaw, it builds up in different layers.

The whole process of taking the valve to bits took roughly an hour. Whilst putting the items away, I decided that I should label all the bolts we have found. It sounds easy, however due to some bolts being stored for over a year, it was a case of going over the wagon to remember where they went. It has also become more easier to see how many bolts we need to order for areas that are missing. These areas that possibly require new bolts include the ladder for the east side, brackets under the barrel, one or two for the buffers (although I may have these after I ordered wrong ones for something else).

By lunch time, the cold had started taking its toll, and with little work further achievable by myself it was time to call it time, however it was a productive morning and now I have parts I can work on at home from next week.

Tuesday, 5 March 2013

Tuesday 5.3.2013

As some of you are unaware of what A6071 looked like before we started, here is a photo taken in 2011, just after I had started working on it. This is looking at the east side.

The start of the day was misty, bitter and we were wondering where the sun was. Luckily it did come out later in the day and it was glorious to work in the sun.

The morning was spent attacking the barrel once again. Keith, on Saturday, had attacked the top of the south end barrel and today he attacked the north end, cleaning all the way to the weld line.

Meanwhile, I attacked the remaining areas of the west face that had yet to be cleaned and primed. These areas were as follows: behind the ladder at the top, a patch just right of the ladder, the remainder of the right side of the walk way and then attacked some of top barrel. The top is proving to be time consuming, seems to be a thicker paint. Either that or the elements have taken their toll.

Copy right Tommy Lees 2013

The picture above shows the south end of A6071. As you can see, the top is now in red primer. Keith was priming the north end when this was taken.

Towards mid afternoon we were in the process of tidying up, when I checked emails to see I had one from Phil, stating he was going to order wood for the brake supports that are missing, and asked if we could see the quality of the two we currently have. Me and Keith set about taking the bolts out that hold the wood, and checked the quality of the wood. Conclusion...wood is solid and does not need replacing. Brilliant. However before we got the email we discussed that the next time we are down we should take apart the west brake pins to make sure they are useable. Reason for this is that we have had an offer for pins to be made for the east brake set, and if we need west pins replacing now would be the time to put it in the same order.

We also discussed that if the pins are in a suitable condition, we will re-construct the east rigging using the west pins, allowing us to work on the remaining two wheels, axle boxes, and brake components.

I have also taken a nut and bolt home so that I can get some exact ones on order. These are brake support bracket bolts, four of which are missing, mainly on the east side.

Next tasks:

Take apart pipe wheel at top of barrel, (pictures and tags of parts will be made)

Take apart west side brakes, check pins

Undercoat barrel in grey

Clean under left side of west walk way

Take bolt of west ladder, get duplicates made for east ladder

The above tasks should take a couple of weeks to complete, depending on weather and free time.

If you are liking what you read, or we have inspired you to help us then do please get in touch. I can be contacted on thomas_lees_21@hotmail.com.

Tuesday, 26 February 2013

Current Stage

Well its been just over a year since I returned to Swithland Yard, mainly due to recovering from a broken hand and also employment issues. Any how a lot of work has been completed in this time. Two wheels, one set of brake rigging, one ladder, the sole bar had all be completed to gloss stage before christmas 2012. 8 months to complete that, not bad meaning there is two, sorry three, of us working on this.

Since Christmas'12 we have been focused on attacking this side of the barrel. This is a pretty big job, especially as tracing of the Shell BP logos had to be completed. The photo above shows work also concentrating on the south face, which is fully in primer waiting for a nice spell to apply undercoat.

The picture above now shows the same side but an updated view. Currently, I have yet to take a photo from today's work, however it is easy to explain where we are now at. The BP logo has now been primed and also the barrel has been primed behind the ladder, the top below the walk way and the main face is now 2/3ds red. If the weather is fine, Keith should be able to finish the main face, allowing us to focus on taking apart the main tank lid at the top, as well as cleaning the top. Whilst it seems common sense, we didnt start at the top, don't ask us why as we don't know either, we have decided when it comes to east face, we will.

Hopefully, A6071 will be running for the October gala, after two years of continuous work. If you would like to help, either by donation or helping volunteering, please do get in touch. The GCR has a fine example of wagons from the 40's to 60's, with many still requiring work. If you were down the GCR for the January gala, you would have noticed the freight train consisted of box vans only. This is due to some wagons not being show worthy. So please, help the GCR make the mainline vision come true and help us to maintain one of the biggest wagon collections in the country

Tommy