Water leaks in LMS Coaches

We're in the process of converting an LMS BG from 1950 to be used as a waiting room, cafe and toilet facility at a remote halt on the Aln Valley Railway in Northumberland.

The coach was acquired having been 'restored' from scrap only a few years earlier. Unfortunately, we saw it on a dry day and quickly discovered that it leaks like a sieve. First job was to fix the roof vents which hasn't even been cleaned up properly before being stuck on with mastic. It hasn't solved the problem though. When it rains, water streams down the insides of the walls. I'm aware that, because of the way these coaches were built, there is a real weakness around the joints between sides and roof and that the problem probably lies here and with the way the rain gutters are fixed.

One of our team has removed some of the guttering and applied mastic with some improvement, but not entirely successful.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to properly seal these joints on a permanent basis?

 

You're probably right in your analysis. The SVR have extended the roof sheets and folded them over with the gutter then fixed on, if that makes sense! Definitely a poor design feature, as is the fact that water dripping down from ends of the gutters hits the footboard and splashes up onto the bottom rail.
Best of luck.
Dave

 

Thanks Dave.

That at least confirms our suspicion. I don't want to replace the whole roof sheets as they're in good condition, but I wonder if it might be possible to use a narrow strip of either steel or aluminium and fit it under the edge of the roof sheets and over the top of the guttering.

We're going to investigate next week and hopefully come up with a plan. I may be back with more questions!

Michael

 

I'm not aware of the design but a product I have used successfully is Flexocryl. Available in both Black and Grey. In essence, it is glass fibre strands suspended in paint. Except that the strands don't stay suspended for long. Hence much stirring 'from the bottom' is required.

I often use it for roof gutter joints. One brushed coat - and allow to 'go off' for a couple of hours. Using the same product, 'stiple in' fibre glass matting and leave overnight.

The next day, abrade any stray fibres and apply another two coats of Flexocryl.

Such provides a waterproof coating that truly bonds to the base material.

Hope that helps.

 

The other substance is Robex. We use a robex bandage that is a 2 pac application. Dries rock solid and water tight.