The Linear Scrapyard: Which locos/coaches/wagons in it would you most like to see get restored ?

In an ideal world it would be great to have an offsite place to work on stuff, but renting an Industrial building is a huge, huge monthly expense (Very Few could afford this unless they are running a business). In the case of the Flour Mill, Bill Parker put a lot of money into it to buy the building and get it set up and now it does commercial contract work this can pay for the place to keep running.

The thing is even if a railway had the money to rent a place, they would only do this for their own stuff, not some privately owned loco/coach etc.

 

@Sidmouth The MHR wagon group has a 16T mineral wagon - used with the boss's 45T steam crane & we've not long taken delivery of a 21T mineral wagon that the Tank Museum at Bovington were going to scrap - its going to take a bit of work though!

 

To answer the original post. I would like to see the last surviving Class 103 Park Royal DMU set (Helston) and the last Class 120 DMU vehicle (Great Central) restored. Both are unique and they are the last two of the rare DMU's still awaiting major restoration and/or "rescuing" from groups or railways who haven't had the resources to tackle them.

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The KWVR's museum at Oxenhope is a good example of how to both store and display non-operational stock. Rocks by Rail built one recently as well, so that information on the stock can be displayed for visitors. It also gives people something to do in between the trains and on non-running days.

 

Completely ignoring the strictures my own post earlier, my own prioritised wishlist on the Bluebell (ignoring vehicles already under restoration) would be as follows:

- 6 wheel LCDR brake 3rd No. 48: a historically interesting vehicle and very rare example of a Victorian carriage still with original underframe; it would also provide a second brake for the SE&CR train (for maintenance resilience) and as brake vehicles go, it is also a high capacity (4 compartment) vehicle so operationally useful.

- 1061 (another SE&CR Birdcage brake) and 1050 (tri-compo). Together with the already running 3363, they would form a Birdcage trio set, an absolutely key set to recreate for an SR branchline. 1050 is an especially interesting vehicle being built by the SR from two Victorian SER six-wheelers on a new underframe; it was the prototype for such conversions to electric stock, though it never ran as such.

- 971 (the second SE&CR hundred seater), just because I have memories of them back to my earliest visits to the railway, and it always feels like a modestly simple way to get a high capacity vehicle back into traffic (I appreciate I might be underestimating the complexity).

After that, in my priority list (but I think will actually happen first in the railway's priority list) would be to strengthen the Maunsell set to six vehicles.

Looking further afield onto other railways, I wish a certain railway in Somerset would stop having arguments pro-or anti- heritage vehicles and just get on and actually turn out a decent train from the 16 or so GWR carriages they have; I would certainly increase the frequency of my visits if I thought there were decent carriages on offer. More whimsically, every time I visit the NYMR , I wonder about the two H&B bogie carriages at Goathland.

Tom

 

I'd be more inclined to think about what primers are used and what wood is used with what treatment in the first place rather than what the topcoat is. I don't know much about those issues but I know there are lots of options that weren't available when these vehicles were originally built.

You had me agreeing with you at "stop having arguments" but I definitely agree, would love to see a rake of GWR carriages on the Minehead branch.

 

Agreed, like that plough ...
and I'm biased about the Knotty Coaches, having had rather a lot to do with them ...

 

Snowplough last year on a shunt back from a display in Pickering.

 

Absolutely appropriate, but also beautifully ironic.

 

Is that the same plough that was in the film Snowdrift at Bleath Gill ? Have you ever tried it in real snow ? I know the Engine in the film survives and is now steaming again

 

Alex, I've been briefly looking at (2 part) Epoxy paints as a primer. The China Clay vehicle, which Richard and Paul are working on, has degenerated to that state in only a few years. Similarly, the Grey van which they restored is already showing signs of deterioration of the plywood doors. As for the Barry Wagon, which was only restored a few years ago, there are bits literally falling off the doors.

We can't always go for hardwoods, on a cost basis, and as for Tantalized timber, there are Health considerations when machining such. I've seen elsewhere, possibly on the NNR C&W Blog, a reference to using Epoxy paints and a search suggests that they are much in favour within the 'Boating' community, where the integrity of such is literally, sink & swim.

My brief foray into the subject suggests that such Products are available as base coats for both wood and steel.

The protection provided may not only apply to Wagons. The vulnerable points on Carriages are the Door Liners, along with the (wooden framed) doors themselves. Encasing such elements in an Epoxy coating may extend their life manifold.

As you are shortly off back to Uni, you will have plenty of spare time to Research the subject, and prepare a 'Paper' to Dave as to why such is the best approach to pursue.

Departmental reparté aside, does anyone else have any experience of using 2 part Epoxy on either wood or metal and and any particular recommendations?

 

Mm, interesting stuff, sounds like it's definitely worth getting a couple of tins, maybe try out on the BR standard brake van when it comes in? I can put forward some excuses regarding the Barry van, as I recall the doors were rotting when it came in and they were simply bodged as that's all we had time for. And looking at it the China clay wagon didn't have much paint put on it in the first place - also strange how some planks you could push a bolt straight through but others were as solid as the day they were fitted. The plywood van though had tins and tins of paint put on, so if they're going then it really does suggest that it might be worth looking further afield.

 

On the KESR we used 2 pack epoxy primer on our coaches i know we did on the last Ashford 4 wheeler and it does extent the lifespan , i cant remember what type it was but it was an 2 part etching primer we used it on the interiour side of door and body panels you need to use good quality face masks when applying though
Strangely the body framing being teak in most cases was sound but everything had several coats of wood preserver followed by primer then undercoat the replacement panels were marine ply and these were treated with epoxy both sides and primered on the facing out side, we had to remove a panel so treated 3 years after it had been on a coach and the ply was as good as the day it was fitted, the next one that hadnt been treated had began to delaminate

 

I was talking to a painter guy recently who works full time whilst he was lining out Owsden Halls Tender (was interesting seeing how it was done) and he said he used both TR Williamson Paint but much prefered the Craftmaster paint, ( he said it a bit more expensive but left much less brush marks.) Not used the Craftmaster stuff myself but I might go down this route. They used the Craftmaster paint on Tornado, and I think they have offered it for free for the P2 . I haven't used it myself so no idea how hard wearing it is, but he was using the Craftmaster paint for the lining.
He also did say if I was buying a lot with them then it is worth opening a trade account with them to get lower prices

http://www.craftmasterpaints.co.uk/

 

I would go along with that Craftmaster gives better finish than Williamson , i painted 32670 using Craft master and the finish was far superior than the last engine that was done, using Williamson . last time i saw Bodiam the finish still looked good and thats some 5 years now

 

Used some two pack epoxy on "William Riley" (restored pulling lifeboat, the one in the Lloyds advert) and recently used Craftmaster on a couple of projects instead of Williamsons ...
I tend to use wood preservative, then primer coats, undercoats and finally gloss coats. I have been known to use non-yellowing varnish over that ... If I recall correctly, some Railway carriage works could get up to the low twenties in terms of coats from bare wood to the final varnishing.

 

If the existing owners would part with them at a reasonable price, I would go for:

Coach - Bulleid RTO 1457 (ex deparmental coach) http://www.cs.vintagecarriagestrust.org/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=414
Wagon - Horse Box S96300 - http://www.ws.vintagecarriagestrust.org/ws/WagonInfo.asp?Ref=2194
Locomtive - 34073 or 92245

 

My goals are a bit more modest and achievable than most, I'd go for the ex-Cornish Railway broad gauge crane that's currently outside Kidderminster Railway Museum.
https://www.svrwiki.com/GWR_601_1Ton_10cwt_Hand_Crane

 

Yes it is
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowdrift_at_Bleath_Gill