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SVR wagons 2019

Discussion in 'Heritage Rolling Stock' started by olly5764, Jan 10, 2019.

  1. olly5764

    olly5764 Well-Known Member

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    Well as you can see, my new years resolution to be more reliable is going well! Only taken me until Thursday night to write a report.
    Happy New year to all my readers and welcome to any new readers out there .
    Here's a quick round up of what we are working on and the state of play.
    Towards the south end of the yard, 2303 is nearing the end of her spell with us. She has had some door and roof repairs, a full re-paint and attention to the brakes that have underpinned my thoughts on just what the GWR actually thought standardization meant! She is now having the sign writing done, step boards attached and Will hopefully be back in traffic in the very near future.
    Just to the north of her, we see our old friend, the Mica B (the number of which always seems to escape me) back for replacement of rotten timbers. We will, of course, once again be looking to see if there is anything we can do to reduce this, although the design seems to be almost an attempt by Swindon to trap moisture.
    Moving into the shed, we find 12522 (I think) the SECR wagon, and one of the last vehicles built by the SECR prior to grouping.
    The body has had a complete replank including the floor, with the lads really getting into their stride with this around Christmas time. Proof that good prep and a good rhythm can work wonders as the lads got the body back on this with stunning speed.
    Underneath, it us currently waiting for muffins here to finish making two new brake push rods, which depending on weather, motivation and other distractions, could be done by Sunday (No promises though chaps!)
    Finally at the north end of the shed, 101961 awaits a roof canvass having had some attention to her river side doors and bodywork.
    With a bit of luck, 3 out of these 4 could be back early this year.
    Watch out for a bit if a back burner project coming onto our radar soon too.
    Cheerful,
    Olly
     
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  2. Ploughman

    Ploughman Part of the furniture

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    Happy New year and welcome back.
     
  3. nick813

    nick813 Well-Known Member Loco Owner

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    Thanks for the report.

    May be the wagon storage shed will help keep these wagons in better condition.........!
     
  4. olly5764

    olly5764 Well-Known Member

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    Just need someone to pay for it
     
  5. ghost

    ghost Part of the furniture

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    Happy New Year and thanks for the latest update!

    Keith
     
  6. olly5764

    olly5764 Well-Known Member

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    We had a bit of a re-shuffle last week to get the SECR wagon outside and the Mica B into the shed.
    So lets start with the SECR, she now has her brake rods fitted, these have been a bit of a challenge as they are cranked at one end, and this has to be in the right place, to avoid the safety strap, and look the part. They were riveted together the week before last, and drilled and fitted last week, but having fitted them, we found another problem, with the brake lever itself, showing some wear.
    The brakes on this wagon have a slotted link one side and a sort of treadle the other rather than the more conventional clutch, this had caused the handle to wear away over the near century of it's life, thankfully, a little electric glue was applied to build it back up.
    2303 is getting more of her sign writing done, despite frustrations caused by the weather, with rain damaging some of the wet paint a few weeks ago, but this one should not be far off now.
    Now to the Mica B, this was supposed to be a quick re-paint and replace a few rotten planks. Now, regular readers will know that we regularly find more than we expected, on closer examination, it soon became apparent that this wagon was not in as good order as we had hoped, the doors have already been found to be very poorly, and will probably need total replacement, anyone who has seen Kevin's photos on Facebook this week will see exactly what the state of play is here.
    We think the problem is a design flaw, as Mica's are double skinned, with a gap between the two layers of wood for insulation. The roof has no overhang either like other wagons, and we suspect water coming off the roof is getting between the two skins and getting trapped in there. We are hoping that putting Louvres into the inner skin (So as they won't be visible from outside) and a good coating of the inner faces with Cuprinol will help prevent a repeat of the problem.
    Meanwhile, just slipping onto our radar is another Open, 98480, this is currently down the carpark looking a little sorry for itself. Mechanically it will need a bit of work but the body, which is no doubt rough, however, one of the beauties of these open wagons is the bodies are made of very big, solid bits of tree, and once the bare frames have been cleaned down and prepared, the floors and body walls can go together with impressive speed, work on this may start in the background in the next few weeks, so watch this space.
    Olly
     
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  7. olly5764

    olly5764 Well-Known Member

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    I'm getting good at this do stuff and then write a report business, it has actually appeared on Sunday this week (We'll gloss over the fact that I forgot completely last week).
    101961 is moving slowly at the moment, it is waiting for a new canvass on the roof and I need to check some bits underneath, mainly because I can't remember what I have and haven't done on it!
    The Mica B is getting more attention, removing more rotten bits, of which there are many, and removing the ice tanks and the Zinc lining. We are also examining ideas for how to prevent a repeat of the unusually rapid decay, although more on that when we decide what we are going to do. On the up side, the roof's OK on this one!
    Passenger fruit van 2303 has been getting a second coat on most of it's sign writing, although the cold weather is obviously an issue the gaffer, who is also our sign writer having to retire to the van on at least one occasion to put his hands around the stove pipe just so he could feel his fingers (Having gone into an icy cold machine shop that morning myself, he has my sympathy too!)
    Underneath the Chatham, Martin was braving the cold to clean and paint the bits that hadn't been done on the chassis as well as touch in the bits that have been missed on the body, with a discussion ensuing about whether or not it needs another coat of top coat although with the temperatures still relatively low and the air damp, this restricts the hours in which we can paint, as painting top coat on things much after about 2 p.m. simply results in the paint blooming and it needing redoing.
    Meanwhile, a look at 98480's underneath has revealed there may be some work needed, as one of it's odd quirks is that the brake cross shaft is moving so much that most of the brake gear is heavily worn, so new parts are being produced in readiness and old ones are being re-conditioned, some of the new brake gear coming courtesy of recycling and modifying old parts from, of all things, the SECR wagon! We waste nothing on this department!
    And finally, a picture showing how order is created from chaos, a picture of the top of the head stock of the Elliot lathe showing some of what is required to turn a jumble of worn parts into a mechanically restored wagon. 20190210_154340.jpg
     
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  8. ghost

    ghost Part of the furniture

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    Good to see that there's a cuppa on the headstock to keep you warm Ian!!

    Thanks for the updates


    Keith
     
  9. olly5764

    olly5764 Well-Known Member

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    My body is 75% tea, so I don't want to dry out
     
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  10. olly5764

    olly5764 Well-Known Member

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    We've had a busy few weeks at Bewdley.
    2303 and 12522 are having their sign writing applied and both will be out soon, although probably not before gala this time, but there may be a couple of others too before autumn.
    The lads are still taking rotten bits off the Mica, every time I see it, there's a bit more of it in a heap on the floor, on the up side, the roof is ok and so are the brakes!
    98480 has started to receive an initial scrub to get all the green stuff off the frames, and there is quite an impressive build up of green stuff, it's amazing just what moss will grow on, the brake safety strap on one side is about twice it's original thickness thanks to build up for green muck. On inspecting the under side of the wagon, there are quite a few well worn bits, it has certainly had an interesting life, and there will be more than the usual repairs to come. At the moment, some of the old brake drop links off other wagons are in the process of being repaired the plan being to fit these repaired brake parts in due course, along with new hangers and repaired push rods, how ever, with the 'V' hangers, cross shaft, brake hangers, handles and pull rods all needing attention, most of the wagon will end up on the work bench at some point.
     
  11. olly5764

    olly5764 Well-Known Member

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    Finally, I have gotten round to an update! Yay!
    Don't mistake my lack of reports for a lack of action, the main issues have been my inability to organise a party in a brewery, and my lack of imagination when it comes to saying we made brake gear and scraped paint, however the lads have been very productive in this respect.
    We have of course had a gala since my last report, in which we did have a short goods train running which performed as expected, with no horror stories coming to light when we did the routine checks on the train etc.
    We have received a new casting for conflat buffers, we will hopefully be machining and trial fitting it shortly.
    The banana van has now completed her tour of duty at Bridgnorth works and has had a mechanical exam, and returned to Bewdley with Warwickshire last Thursday.
    The hand crane has also been extracted from the Stourport sidings and is currently in the down yard waiting for the next part of the plan, it is ultimately to get a cosmetic restoration for display at Arley.
    Meanwhile 101961 got a new roof canvas, this was fitted on Saturday, meaning that by the time you read this, we will all have stiff arms and upper bodies and bruised knuckles, the process involving a lot of pulling to get the required tension on the canvas, there now starts the process of painting this with a mix of paint and linseed oil.
    The good this about all this distraction on 101961's roof is that the Mica B hasn't lost any more wood this week, although her roof will need some attention, and we've not begun work of the north end yet, but this will be a big repair, hopefully, the wagon will be a star of goods trains for years to come.
    See you soon,
    Olly
     
  12. olly5764

    olly5764 Well-Known Member

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    My report this week will only be brief as I was firing / driving this weekend while the lads were hard at work, but I thought I'd better say something as I'm away next weekend.
    A lot of the rotten wood has been removed from 98480, this will allow us access to do the repairs needed on frames etc in the near future.
    101961 has had her first coat of paint on the new roof canvass, now for a fee more weeks of painting and watching it vanish!
     
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  13. ghost

    ghost Part of the furniture

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    @olly5764 we've been missing your weekly reports. Hope all is well.

    Keith
     
  14. olly5764

    olly5764 Well-Known Member

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    Yeah sorry mate, just been lacking motivation if I'm honest.
     
  15. olly5764

    olly5764 Well-Known Member

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    Very sorry that it has been so long since my last update, those of you who know about my mental health issuses of a few years ago will understand when I say my motivation has been a little lacking, but things are back on the up now.
    So enough about me, 101961's new canvas went on very well, and the process of painting it is just about complete meaning attention can turn to the top coat on the body, which means hopefully some big steps forward will shortly follow.
    The Mica B has for the time being, stopped getting smaller, and some timber is starting to go back on this. This wagon having the steel frame work inside the outer body cladding, has to be assembled slightly differently to a normal van, with a timber frame going up around the steel, to screw the planks to.
    98480 has had three new brake hangers made, the fourth will be a repaired one removed from another wagon a while back, hopefully I will be able to get this done some point in the next few weeks. This wagon has had a patch removed from the sole bar revealing a large crack and another round of "What has this thing been through in its life." Again, work on this has been steadily chipped away at in the background with little bits here and there progressing which will hopefully lead to a round of reports where large steps forward happen for a few weeks, possibly towards the end of summer.
    Right at the North end of the yard is the regent tank, hopefully this won't be in for long, the plan is a re-paint, change a damaged buffer and repair the delivery pipes to the vacuum cylinder which have become damaged. A quick look round the bottom end suggests that mechanically this wagon is in good order.
    I'm not sure when I'll be able to do another report as plans are a little fluid at the moment so please bare with me, and wish us all luck!
     
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  16. ghost

    ghost Part of the furniture

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    Thanks for the report Ian - sounds like things are as busy as ever!

    Glad to hear that things are on the up for you and please remember that your reports are appreciated on Nat-Pres.

    Keep well

    Keith
     
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  17. olly5764

    olly5764 Well-Known Member

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    Thanks Keith, it helps massively mate tbh.
     
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  18. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    I'll second that - as a volunteer on wagons it's good to read about what's going on in that area on other railways :)
     
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  19. Rumpole

    Rumpole Part of the furniture

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    Agreed; the annual SVR threads have always been of interest, and with the quality of work being turned out and how interesting you make them are likely to remain so.
     
  20. olly5764

    olly5764 Well-Known Member

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    Thank you, I try. It keeps it interesting for me to write.
     
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