NVR Wagon Group Updates

Those box vans look good and it is rewarding to see that goods wagons are being used to help market the railway and its attractions. Well Done!

 

Thank you, and always nice to receive encouragement from our peers in the wagon world

 

While Josh and I were enjoying ourselves at the Duxford Flying Day today, some of the rest of the Wagon Group got stuck in at Wansford...

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/1619944654862169

"Wansford Yard is currently resembling a Goods Yard with wagons everywhere!
A warm welcome to new recruit Paul Bricklebank who got straight to work helping Tim, Jason and Gareth with an axle box exam. We decided that before we went too much further with the restoration of Van B775176 we had better take a look at the axle boxes. This van hasn’t run since the 1990s, but we were pleased to see the journals, bearings and pads were all in excellent condition. The oil reservoir needed draining of 30years of sludge and then cleaning, the T-bolts were cleaned and oiled, then everything was put back together, oiled and new split pins added.
Meanwhile Phil and Cliff were busy painting planks for the shop van. The external planks will be painted before being fitted to the frames and then new doors will see the body watertight ready for internal fittings."

 

Next steam freight driving experience with GWR Prairie 4144, Friday 13th August, on sale now...

https://nvr.org.uk/product.php/245/freight-driver-experience

 

It appears that there has been an issue on the booking area of the NVR website since sometime last week indicating no availability for this Friday's Diesel Freight Driving experience with Peak 45041 when there are still a few places available. The issue has been resolved, so if anyone fancies having a fun half day playing with the freight rake behind a big diesel, now's your chance

https://nvr.org.uk/product.php/243/diesel-freight-driving-experience

 

This week so far... (and there's still a driving experience happening tomorrow as well!)

Monday: https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/1627527480770553

"Steve and Tim were busy taking a look at the corrugated ends of Van B775176. There is a lot of corrosion at the joint and so some metal will be cut away and a new piece welded in which will be in keeping with the original end.
Meanwhile Phil and Graham were busy painting planks for the shop wagon. The special profile planks are painted to top coat before fitting to hopefully preserve them a bit longer."



Wednesday: https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/1627530424103592

"There was a bit of a shunt at Wansford today to move some stuff around. At one point during the course of the shunt the Civil Engineering Siding was emptied and for a brief time looked like a double track main line. The shunt also saw some wagons pulled out of the tunnel revealing a rare glimpse of one of the vans used in the B&Q Paint Advert still with some blue paint on one side."

 

To finish the week's updates, a couple of reasons why we do it all - so we can have the wagons being used.

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/1629524680570833

"Yesterday we hosted another successful Freight Driving Experience.
The Wagon Group were in attendance to ensure our customers were looked after and happy. There were smiles all round, the weather was perfect, everything ran to time, and our own Tim Hobman as Guard was definitely getting his wagon fix on the Freight.
The rake was slightly reduced in size due to the Vans departing for some filming elsewhere, but four Opens and two Brake Vans still looked great behind the Peak. We can’t discuss the filming job due to contractual obligations, but we’ll tell all when we can, though safe to say it’s great news for us that our work is getting recognised."

 

Just a reminder that after our successful diesel freight driving experience last week, we are back to being steam hauled for the next one with GWR Prairie 4144 on Friday 13th August...

https://nvr.org.uk/product.php/245/freight-driver-experience

And it appears there have been sightings on FB of our vans out on their filming job...

 

Tim's second Conflat has arrived from SVR today to join his other Conflat and 3 containers in the restoration queue. We hope to get both Conflats in to the demonstration rake at some point (sooner rather than later, hopefully), although the containers to go on them present a more challenging restoration project, so it may be a while before they appear on either vehicle.

 

More progress today on the ticket office/shop shared with the Wansford Miniature Railway guys. Tim insisted on using up our stock of 100mm M10 coachbolts - so someone is going to be busy with the angle grinder at some point...

...and it definitely pays to have a ratchet spanner when tightening up so many nuts on long bolts where you can't get a socket on them

Don't forget there are still places on the western goods driving experience on 13th August

https://nvr.org.uk/product.php/245/freight-driver-experience/

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/1639659849557316

"An awesome days progress on the Wagon Group/Miniature Railway shop and ticket office.
First job was to get the floor down, so Stu and Graham cleaned the edge metal, whilst Tim, Jason and Cliff started to lay out the supporting timbers. Once this was done Graham and Cliff moved on to cutting wall planks, whilst Tim, Stu and Jason laid the ply floor….at this point Tim likened it to a dance floor and proved it with some moves!
Steve then joined the team to get some of the wall fitted. By close of play the van was starting to look more like a BR Van from the outside (at least in one corner)."

 

Would those be the rake of brown vans that were standing just outside Didcot Rly Centre yesterday?

 

Might be But that's about as much as we're allowed to say at this stage...

 

So that would tie in with the rumour that 6046's move to Didcot was paid for by a filming company.

 

That's correct (or so I was told by a reliable source ). GWS have only had to pay daily steaming fees for their own use of the loco.
I did hear a few more details about the filming, but NVR are not the only ones bound by a confidentiality agreement and although I'm not, I wouldn't want to cause any issues for friends at Didcot.

 

Save the date!

We are just finalising the arrangements and full details are to follow, but save the date if you’re interested in an evening of Bahamas with the wagons.
Please don’t call or email us as booking is not yet open, but we’ll let you know when you can book and what the event will entail as soon as we can.

Photo - credit to and with thanks from Sam Steventon

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/1640656756124292

 

Tickets now on sale for this one off event.

ONLY £40 pp numbers limited to 40 so don't delay in purchasing yours

https://nvr.org.uk/produ.../252/bahamas-photographic-charter

The Package

You will arrive at the Nene Valley Railway Wansford Station at 6pm on Sunday 29th August and participate in a short welcome and briefing regarding the event.

Once the briefing is done and dusted the practical fun begins and you will be escorted to the platform where LMS Jubilee Locomotive No 45596 ‘Bahamas’ will be waiting for you in steam for the first static shot of the evening; facing east coupled to the wagon rake awaiting the ‘right away’ from Platform 3 as a passenger train departs and is halfway out of Platform 2. The second static shot will see Bahamas on Platform 2 with the wagon rake and the passenger stock in Platform 3 as a backdrop. This time the various staff in period costume will be employed in loading and unloading some goods from vans. There will then be a short break for buffet refreshment which is included whilst the operating staff set up for the final static shot. This third shot will see Bahamas tender first on the other side of the river awaiting entry to the station at the bracket signal with the goods train. The grand finale will then see Bahamas make one run past with the goods train before the event is concluded at approximately 8.30pm.

 

Another day working on the ticket office/shop joint project with the miniature railway. Another corner tackled by Tim, Graham, Stu & Josh...

And if anyone is considering this Friday's Western Goods Freight Driving Experience, I believe there is one ticket left in each session.

https://nvr.org.uk/product.php/245/freight-driver-experience

 

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/1647893435400624

There has been a flurry of activity over the last few days to get ready for tomorrow’s Freight Driving Course following the vans return from a filming job at Didcot….

[I'll split the update across two posts so I can attach all the photos]

Tuesday-
B771300 has been in desperate need of new doors for a while and so Tim, Stu and Josh set to work replacing the doors. Meanwhile Colin, Graham and Jason painted the remaining panels of Fruit Van B761651 which escaped painting in May. Then Colin, Graham and Jason varnished the inside of some of the vans.

 

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/1647893435400624

Wednesday-
There were a few little jobs to finish off before Tim, Steve, Phil and Colin began to inspect and oil up all of the wagons.
Towards the end of the day the vans were shunted back into the rake and looked amazing! For a very short time they were coupled to Brake Van B954024 whilst being shunted out onto the mainline.
Tim then stayed behind after hours to start getting the lettering back on B761651.
Thursday (today)-
Tim popped in to just finish the lettering on B761651 as he was defeated by the failing light last night. There was a lot of lettering to put back on!
I think you’ll agree the rake looks better than it has in ages. The Brake Vans will receive some attention before the winter, but it’s all coming on nicely.

 

Just a quick update with some of the photos posted from the freight driving experience last Friday (some from the FB update, some of my own).

It didn't run quite to plan (we lost a trip on the morning session while an issue with the lubricator was dealt with), but everybody still appeared to enjoy themselves despite the hitch. The wagon group then enjoyed some private running with another couple of round trips in the evening, finishing as the sun dipped below the horizon. And yes, most of us got to have a drive too Nice loco, makes a great sound!

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/1649270085262959