Wagon Group Update

The latest wagon news update is now available on the Wagon Group website:

http://nvrwagons.wordpress.com/news-blog/

Wagon Group Update

A brief wagon news update is now available on the Wagon Group website:

http://nvrwagons.wordpress.com/news-blog/

More Mk1 Progress

Over the last couple of weeks the ventilators have been reinstated on the freshly-painted roof of BR Mk1 SK E25347.


Despite appearances these vents are brand new replica items, not repainted originals.


The full extent of the roof, showing the large number of vents required per carriage.


Each of these is a work of art, handcrafted with incredible skill by Karl, one of our full-time carriage restorers and expert 'metal basher'.


The Class 107 DMU has now been removed from the railway - here is the centre car in failing light, which is/was the last vehicle of the 3-car set left on site. This is to also leave shortly (if it hasn't already), presumably to rejoin the two driving cars at another location, although I cannot be sure of this. Personally I'm quite sorry to see it leave, as although it needed quite a bit of work, it was quite an attractive vehicle both inside and out. Sadly it never ran a public train on the NVR under its own power. Having said that the C&W department is a small department, and the question remains as to whether the C&W resources could stretch to maintaining a DMU in addition to the large carriage fleet, many of which require a substantial amount of work.

Speaking of departures, it is also time to say "thank you and goodbye" to Cris Rees, who recently stepped down as NVR General Manager. I will never forget his friendly and encouraging welcome when I first hesitantly stepped into the office to sign up as an active volunteer, and his support when I first mooted the idea of a new NVR Wagon Group which is moving forward with active restoration work. Indeed this blog only exists thanks to his blessing. I very much hope his successor will help the railway accomplish new challenges in the future, onwards and upwards as they say!

Wagon Group Update

The latest wagon news update is now available on the Wagon Group website:

http://nvrwagons.wordpress.com/news-blog/

In the carriage shed...

Happy New Year to you all - apologies for the lack of updates over the hectic festive period, progress is being made on several fronts at the railway but I have not had time to sit down and update the blog! Particularly impressive progress is being made in the carriage shed, the new folding walkway system proving its worth. I am reliably informed it took ONE DAY to put the walkway in place AND strip THE WHOLE ROOF of BR Mk1 SK E25347. I believe this compares to about three days just to erect the previous scaffolding arrangements, let alone undertake any restoration work.


Here are the newly manufactured roof vents for the same coach, mentioned in an earlier posting.


A view taken approximately two weeks ago, the whole roof painted in primer/undercoat and the topcoat going on...


...about one third topcoated, seen here mid-December.


A more recent photo, taken at the end of the coach, just after Christmas. Topcoat completed (I am not sure if there have been/will be one, or two topcoats).


Although some work is required to the sides of this coach (particularly around the windows, which are flush-sided as originally built), these essential works to the roof have made an enormous visual difference and the whole vehicle now looks much smarter in appearance.


Also in the carriage shed, another platform barrow undergoes complete renovation. The timber superstructure is complete and painting has started, although I didn't get a photo of that for some unknown reason. The previously completed barrows and trolleys looked very smart under the canopies erected for the 'Santa Specials'.

Wagon Group Update

The latest wagon news update is now available on the Wagon Group website:

http://nvrwagons.wordpress.com/news-blog/

New Arrivals

As mentioned in an earlier posting on this blog, there have been two new stock arrivals on the railway. These are Swedish railcar No.1212, and a special ballast hopper to be paired with the TASC-45 civil engineering vehicle, which was recently returned to traffic after restoration from vandalised condition.


The bodywork of the railcar is in a bit of a state, but apparently it runs. The "International Railway Preservation Society" (IRPS) will be taking on the overhaul of the bodywork, so hopefully one day it will look as good as Swedish 'B' Class No.101, now cosmetically restored by the group.


The interior of the passenger saloon.


A not-very-good photo of one of the driving positions.

Much more detailed information about this vehicle can be found on the IRPS page here.

On a totally unrelated note, the "Battle of Britain Locomotive Society" (owners and restorers of Bulleid 4-6-2 No.34081 '92 Squadron') have an excellent write up on page 32 of the current "Steam Railway" magazine (Issue 396, December 2011). It is so good to see various projects around the railway appear in the railway media over recent weeks, with the "Heritage Railway" magazine feature on the TASC machine still to come (available in the shops from 22nd December). I hope this new appetite for publicity will continue, as any interest generated amongst railway enthusiasts and the wider public can only be a good thing!

Mk1's make progress

Work to the roof of BR Mk1 SK E25347 has progressed rapidly over the last two or three weeks since SNCB (Belgian) coach No.21013 vacated the carriage shed (happily in time for the 'Santa Specials'). As the photos show, the roof has been roughly divided into three manageable chunks, cleaning/rubbing down and repainting being undertaken in sections.


This roof was in particularly poor condition cosmetically, what little paint remained was coming away in flakes! This has now been removed, and approximately two-thirds of the roof rubbed down...


...in preparation for the first coats of paint, seen here applied to the first third of the roof (these photos are now a week old, so may already be out of date). The corroded roof vents have also been removed, and replacements fabricated already. I'm quite amazed at the rate of progress on this vehicle as work only began towards the end of November!


E25347 seen above is from the current running fleet, however Allan has been busy applying the lining to his Mk1 TSO No.4466 which is being restored from non-running condition. It is hoped that this coach will be ready for traffic before too long, giving a fleet of seven operational BR Mk1's for the first time in many years, with others in the wings awaiting their turn for restoration.

D9518 finds a new home!

D9518, the ex-BR Class 14 diesel that has resided in the damp Wansford tunnel for many years, has found a new home at Williton on the West Somerset Railway. It has been purchased by a member of the Diesel & Electric Preservation Group based there, as an appropriate Western Region 'diesel-hydraulic' to add to their fleet.

The report on the Diesel & Electric Preservation Group website can be found here: http://www.depg.org/dec11shed/3rd/D9518.doc

Repairs and Tidying

This week a couple of days were spent finishing off the new roof for one of the grounded van bodies at Wansford, and tidying this corner of the site by cutting and burning the vegetation on the embankment. Here we see the van bodies and embankment before work commenced, the lorry tarpaulin was not too bad but the supporting plywood was rotten and full of holes, allowing water to pool and pour into the van.


After installing the majority of the new boards a few weeks ago, the final ones were cut and fitted during the week, and felted as seen above.


The vans and embankment at the end of the day. Despite appearances these grounded 'Shocvan' bodies are structurally sound, they just look very tatty. A job for another day is to rebuild the doors with salvaged materials, and the whole lot can then be given a quick clean up and a lick of paint.


The new roof and tidied embankment makes quite a difference when compared to the first photo, which was taken only two weeks ago.