Sunshine, cloud, rain showers and even a rumble of thunder — we had the full set of weather conditions on site today. With only a small and select team available, we made the most of the day and pushed on with a surprising amount of progress.
Before the rain arrived, the last few panels of Heras fencing were moved from the container to the north end of workshop 83B to help deter visitors from wandering into active working areas. The three building plaques were brought into 83A so they could start receiving their black topcoats in the dry. A pair of metal skids also gained their new wheels, making them far more useful for moving rolling stock around during maintenance. Timber was trimmed to size for use in next Wednesday’s wagon extraction.
Work continued across the site: new lettering began going onto the sides of the two passenger carriages to better complement the brakevan, while the unenviable task of scraping years of accumulated muck from the underside of the Dough Wagon chassis got underway. After lunch, the axle tiebars and springs for the Dough Wagon were cleaned down with a powered wire brush and given a coat of red oxide primer.
Elsewhere, replacement wheels were made for one of the trolley jacks, and attention turned to Tinkabell. Investigation revealed that its alternator has finally given up, so a new unit will be required. To improve security, a new key‑switch start system is also being fitted.
A day of mixed weather but steady, positive progress all round.
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