Middleton Wagons 09

2007 sometime. Without digging I can't give an exact date. It was in faded MOD green livery. I've got its MOD number somewhere but I can't lay my hands on it at the moment!

 

Arghhh I didn't know you had its Army I/D. I thought you meant it had no I/D at all! Ok let me know if you find out what its AD number is, I have a lot of previous I/d's for these.
Cheers
Steve

 

Hi all.

Right, more wagon news. Over the Easter break, the railway was host to some youngsters from a few other railways. The gents lent a hand on the first stages of work on one of our BR 5 plank wagons. Work included needle gunning the entire frame, replacing some metal work, fitting a vac train pipe, cylinder and linkages etc. We spent 4 straight days working and by the Friday morning had most of the frames complete. Attention has now turned to the top half starting with the floor before reaplcing the side planks and doors. On the last day (Friday) we ran a freight train using MSC 67 for the participents to give them some time on the footplate and lineside. Below are a few photos taken by Tom Parham, one of the visitors.















This is pretty much the freight train set up that will be used for the forthcoming Class 05 (D2578) charter and gala. Places are still available on this!

Andy Hardy

 

Technicly, the "gents" refers to the visitors, and seeing as your a regular you come under the "home team" and thus my sentance would be correct. But yes, Hayley was there with the Middleton crowd. Quite impressed with her use of the gas axe...

Andy

 

A small update.

The 5 plank wagon now has a floor, along with all the body timbers cut to size ready for fitting. Just waiting for some bolts to arrive to allow us to start fitting them up.

The freight train will also be out and about over the next week for a charter and our diesel gala event.

Andy

 

For those that took the pictures of the completed wagon but forgot to post them

here are some updates

copyright T Veacock

Wagon completed further by adding steel cappings to tops of sides and ends

 

The only problem with refurbishing wagons is that the ability to make up a set of "well used" rolling stock is not avalilble , somewhat detracting from the charm of the older railways. I can remember on my local branch standing on the footbrige while a Class33? loco + one or two grey/rusty mineral wagons + one veranda brake van running back to wimbledon on the afternoon service.

 

We've still plenty of un-refurbished wagons if thats what floats your boat! It's really given some of the younger members of the railway something to "cut their teeth on" honing skills that will ultimately benefit the railway. It also helps to make the station site appear tidier and the stock much more well looked after.

 

Look great to me well done. Certainly the ballast wagon looks a lot better in olive green than 1980s grey and yellow.

I am sure they will weather all too soon - look at the wagons at the GC for example.

 

some useful info in here, (I've only just found the thread !) ...

 

Yes there is, but it has been asleep for nine years, so much should have happened since.

 

The Palvans built for the MOD all have their registration numbers (185xxx) stamped on their underframes where the works plate would be. If yours has no stamped number, it’s a BR built one.

We have an ex-BR and later MOD one on the GCR with no stamped number and whilst the chap who bought it for preservation was given a number by the MOD, it’s wrong as it’s not a Palvan number. However after studying lots of photos there are some detail differences between early and late batches and we have pinned it down to two lots built at Wolverton in 1960-61. You might be able to take a similar approach with yours - but check for a stamped number first.

‘Ours’ (belongs to a friend of mine actually) was WGB4002 in its later MOD service but this is no help as this series of numbers were re-used, there is a list somewhere which records a wagon against this number but again, wrong type. However in a certain light you can make out lettering on the solebar, including ‘47514’ which is its earlier (and unique) MOD number. It still doesn’t help us as nobody seems to have records of these. But at least it is something. So before you take a wire brush to the solebar, see if there is any lettering painted on it.

Finally, another GCR colleague has had some success going gently through layers of paint using wet & dry paper (dry, I believe) on the body side until earlier lettering revealed itself. Of course this only works if it hasn’t had an over-enthusiastic previous owner in preservation which, unfortunately, is not always the case.

Edit: and having written all that I’ve just realised I was replying to a truly ancient thread. Ah well!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

There has been a lot happening, I quite agree.
But old treads can have useful info in them.
(I added to this one to make it easier for me to find it again)

 

Well.....the mineral wagon and five plank wagon have been repainted in the last couple of weeks by a new generation of young volunteers. The Dogfish in the above pictures has now been painted (after a fire in the neighbouring timber yard, scorching one side of the wagon)into a fictional livery of Black and soon to be lettered with NCB to run in our last coals to Leeds event.

In the fire mentioned above the pal van came worse off. The fire was so intense the heat ignited the wood and now it's a burnt out shell . Unfortunately destroying all the pw equipment stored inside it.

 

Sorry to hear about the fire-related damage at Middleton.

 

Will be in touch shortly.
Does anyone have any construction drawings of the BR palvans or do I need to delve into the NRM archives?

 

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