Building an LNWR Prince of Wales

Getting more undercover accommodation for coaches is a huge priority. At the end of the day, if you can get a coach into a warm, dry building it can then wait as long as you like until you have the money to restore it (provided you can keep the building warm and dry during that time, of course!) But we have already lost so many priceless old coaches for lack of undercover storage space, and many more are still at risk. And as has been pointed out previously on this forum, new-build coaches (at least for SG) will be a much more difficult proposition than new-build locos, because the tropical hardwoods that we used to build them are now so difficult to obtain. So we need to protect what we have, now!

 

You are both right, but we have to come back to the fact that to build a shed you need a site and the money, both of which are in short supply on most railways. A good overall sheet, maintained and replaced as necessary is a cheaper and very effective alternative, albeit less visually attractive, and hould be the first priority.

 

I’d agree with this Gav, the only point I’d note is that in my experience, quite often vehicles used for storage end up being well maintained, since as a minimum they need to remain waterproof (I’m thinking for example of the Maunsell Society Van, which is in very good external condition, and I believe runnable if required. The Camelot Society van is likewise being restored at present).
Tom

 

I'm content to go with the overwhelming views of thems as knows far better than me .... but I've a question. Sorry if it's a daft one .....

Back before climate controlled undercover storage, receieved wisdom was that air in a carriage shed needed to circulate to keep stock from deteriorating, which was frequently achieved by leaving the bottom couple of feet of an unheated shed side open to the elements. Obviously, security is a far more important consideration these days, but was that style of construction only ever beneficial to wooden bodied stock in the first place?

 

This is a familiar dilemma, which in my IT industry can be characterised as "I'm too busy to do the training course that would enable me to do my tasks in half the time"

 

As I understand it the critical thing is the right humidity - it is no good having something totallly sheltered inside if the atmosphere within is dripping.

Practically
Don't be scared to leave the doors open and ventilate in fine dry weather.
The National Trust once stated that if you kept the temperature 5 degrees hotter inside than outside the humidity would automatically come out right.
(I'd be very glad should anyone know whether the degrees are Centigrade or Fahrenheit.)
You do not need much heat. Many items are in fact kept hotter and hence drier than is good for them - wooden panels split, wet sacks were carefully put over cart wheels to stop loose spokes.
Traditionally it was said of wooden railway carriages: " Keep them moving or keep them under some roof". Moving and in use they got ventilated.
It seems metal and wood are not entirely different: it was reckoned before modern rust proofing that a car port which was just a roof worked surprisingly well
compared to a typical garage.
What is mischievous is condensation on the inside of metal sheets fixed straight to a wooden frame and if something is in a dank spot all winter..........

 

In another sphere, but the principle remains the same. I have a 20' steel container used for storage, but with the amount of condensation forming, especially during the winter I eventually had to install a dehumidifier with a tube connected to it to discharge the water through a hole in the floor to help matters. After some years it was noticed that the roof was suffering corrosion mainly due to rainwater laying in puddles. Having treated this, and after fibreglassing over the holes that had formed, I conceived the idea of fitting a false roof by fastening curved corrugated iron sheeting to help protect it. This was fastened to a light steel angle framework on top of the container with about 6" overhang at the sides and 12" at the ends. Not only has this stopped the roof corrosion problem, but has also the unexpected side benefit of stopping condensation forming to the extent that the dehumidifier has been removed and is now made use of elsewhere.